FRAMES AND TIMECODE
With everyone getting into a lather over DI, it is worth bearing in mind that when you have material on tape (or Quicktime) and edit it offline using timecode… then your data (DI material) needs to be matched back to that same timecode when you do the online conform.
You would think that this is obvious, but after hearing a recent horror story about an established post company failing to do that, I think it is worth spelling out a couple of techniques which will save a lot of eye-matching pain.
First, the easy way. The DPX file format has a place to save the timecode information inside it. The downside is that a lot of programs ignore this. Stop here if you are lucky enough to have one that does.
Second, the brute force method. First a bit of hoary theory, from me:
Think of timecode as just a frame counter, which uses the format of time, like a digital clock, to count. The lowest increment is a frame; then seconds; minutes; and hours.
Just like you can calculate the number of seconds in an hour (60 secs x 60 minutes); you can calculate the number of frames in an hour (e.g. 24 frames* x 60 secs x 60 minutes). Therefore, you can express a timecode as a number of frames.
For example 02:10:10:04 (24 fps) = 187444 frames.
So then, if you were to put that into a typical DPX sequence:
myfilm.00187444.dpx = myfilm (frame 02:10:10:04)
*The only important thing to remember is what frame rate you are dealing with (30 or 25 or 24 etc).
A lot of compositing and DI packages are able to translate frame numbers into timecode (RED Cine does this, Flame, Shake, After Effects, Film Master all do it too). It makes the transition between tape or Quicktime and sequences of images very easy. It also means you are not ripping your hair out when it comes to doing a conform.
Of course, this isn’t a new way of working, nor is it rocket science. If you are acquiring on film and scanning, or using one of those new-fangled digital cameras, it is all the same.
Don’t panic.
And if that seems like incomprehensible rubbish, it probably is. If you are still with me, then try this.