Getting rid of duplicate frames in 24p Normal

Question

Hi All,
I've read a ton of posts and am still having an annoying problem. I have footage that was shot in 24P (normal) and am capturing it into FCP 6.04 using a DVX100. As per other's recommendations in here, I'm trying to capture with the standard DV NTSC preset which seems okay. Then I drop the clips into a DV NTSC sequence (makes sense, right?) but I'm getting a duplicate frame every fifth frame which is obviously a problem.
What am I doing wrong? I'm definitely missing something here. The final project will be output for tv broadcast, so I thought it would be best to stay in the 29.97 realm since that's what I have to putput at and 24p normal isn't actually true 23.98.
From everything I've read this should be a simple no brainer, but I keep getting the duplicate frame. This is really holding me up, so any help would be appreciated. thanks!
Scott

Answer 1

There is a LOT of conflicting information on your blog post.
Look. Think of it this way and don't think about 'freeze' frames...
When in 24p mode on any camera going to mini dv tape you will ALWAYS have a cadence added.
SO -- you must (MUST!!!!) always capture 29.97.
That's really all you need to know. DON'T EVER capture at 24 or 23.98 because that isn't what is on the tape. You'll only confuse the capturing software and get less than desirable results.
SOMETIMES when capturing 24p mode shot material FCP will let you remove the cadence on the fly when capturing. DEPENDING on what cadence the camera put on the footage as it was sending it to the tape!!!
2.3 or 3.2 cadence, sometimes called simple cadence is the same cadence used by broadcast TV stations to telecine FILM to VIDEO for broadcast. It is pleasing to the eye and has less of a jittery feel then the advanced cadences in the next part... BUT this is HARDER for FCP users to remove and requires Cinema Tools to remove it or reverse-telecine it back to 24fps.
2.3.3.2 cadence sometimes called ADVANCED cadence is actually simpler for FCP to recognize and therefore remove. The cadence adds one extra combined frame for every 4 frames... where 6 sets of 4 = 24 one frame extra per set gives 6 sets of 5 = 30!!! FCP just goes thru and ignores those extra frames. In fact, if you look at your TC base in the browser you'll see it is STILL 30, yet the Frame Rate is 24. Odd? Nope. Tab thru the frames and look at the time code. You'll see a skip.
SO... if indeed you shot in whatever camera in a 24 mode AND it went to miniDV tape (and yes, some HD driven cameras and SD driven cameras) it will still be some sort of 30fsp (or 29.97).
The key is to find some 'action' footage and watch it on an external monitor, or in FCP with the canvas set to 100%, and see which of those frames are 'combined' frames. 3.2 cadence will have 2 combined frames and 2.3.3.2 will have only 1 combined frame.
Hope this helps a bit. Don't confuse yourself. Just figure out which cadence was added and use the appropriate tool to remove the cadence AFTER you've captured it at 29.97.
OH... btw...
24p (simple cadence) they say is for creating a 'film look' while maintaining the 29.97 NTSC standards. I say hogwash. When you start editing it you'll cut all across the cadence creating a MESS of interlaced and progressive frames that will end up playing tricks on your eyes.
If you want the film look... just shoot everything in ADVANCED cadence mode or 24pA. Edit in 24fps... Then, you can easily add the cadence back in one step and have it nice and even across the entire sequence - OR keep it in 24fps for film, web or DVD.
CaptM