Matching DP's Time Code Readout With the Quicktme Video's

[davidmkgrossman]

Hi,

I've read a lot of the posts that seem related to this issue but nothing seems to help me with my specific concern - so apologies if it's been covered by I've missed it somehow.

I got a quicktime vid from the editor and loaded it into my DP file. (first time I've done this kind of thing). At the beginning of the movie, the time code at the bottom right says:

TCR 00:59:36:01

Without altering anything, my frames display on the transport control reads:

0:00:00:00

Question 1: Does it matter that they don't match? If so, why? (Does it have to do with the guy who gets my finished work and has to mix everything together?)

I've tried to get the time codes to match by using the Set Movie Start Time window in the movie sub-menu.

I've also tried to mess with the Chunk Start Time menu.

Neither make it so the two read "00:59:36:01" when I've rewound to the top of the sequence.

By the way, when the movie actually begins (as when the audience will see it) the TCR reads: 01:00:06:01.

Also - just before the actual beginning of the movie, this info shows:

Reel 1

1920x1080 (23.98)
48kHz 24-bit

TRT: 18:58:14

I would have thought that "1920x1080" had to do with pixel dimensions but that "(23.98)" looks like it could be a rounding-up of the FPS rate of 23.976 - is that what it is?

I was thinking TRT meant total reel time but when I move the movie control to the end of the quicktime movie supplied, the time reads "01:15:08:21"

Thanks in advance for your help!

David

[MIDI Life Crisis]

It only matters if you need to reference time locations with collaborators. It's also good to verify sync but I often score stuff sans visual code.

But to fix this, locate to 0:00:00 (sometimes 1:00:00) or wherever you want zero to be I'm the DP sequence.

From the track overview go to the drop down where you select other chunks and select sequence (chunk) start time and the select FRAMES. Critical step.

Scroll to the zero or desired start time and enter the frame value from the transport into the dialog box.

Actually I think you may have to scroll to that point and THEN open the sequence start dialog. Whatever. Then enter the transport #s into the dialog box and you should be done.

[davidmkgrossman]

Thanks! Actually I solved the problem differently, but I think reading your response cleared up some confusion I was having. I kept trying to figure out how to start the sequence at a negative number to make up for the fact that the movie started almost an hour into the time code. But this morning I realized I just had to set the movie start time to 00:59:36:01 which is what the quicktime video says at the beginning. So I just have many blank measures at the beginning of the sequence, but when DP hits 00:59:36:01, the movie begins and they move in lockstep from there. Don't know why I couldn't get that before, but my mind always gets cloudy with questions of time travel .
dg

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Perhaps I misrepresented the procedure. Here it is from the horses mouth...

http://www.motunation.com/forum/posting ... 6&p=277797

Here's the important part - (thanks Armageddon - best post of all time!)

Okay ... I've done this quite a few times, and while I'm sure I'll skip a few things that I'll remember ten minutes after this post, or not explain myself properly, here's my two cents:

1) open a New Project in DP. Make sure that, under the "Time Formats" window, you are set to display "Frames".

2) find out what frame rate this project is. Chances are it will either be 29.97 non-drop, if it's regular video, 24, if it's film or 23.976 if it's HD (probably your most likely choice), but find out for sure from whoever is sending you the movie. I'm going by DP 6, so under your "Setup" Menu, select "Frame Rate" and pick the right frame rate. This is necessary because a) you might not have a window burn (with timecode in the image) and b) your clock time will be in sync with the movie's time. You will also need to find out what the starting timecode is for your project from these guys.

3) import the QuickTime movie. Do this by selecting "Movie" under your "Project" menu and select the QT movie on your drive. You now have a QuickTime window containing your movie in your project, which you can grab and move to another monitor, or, failing that, make as large or as small as you need in your main monitor.

4) On the upper right hand side of the the movie's window is a sideways triangle. Click it and select "Movie Start Time". Enter in that starting timcode number from Step 2.

At this point, if you're using just one QuickTime movie to score to, save this as the template for all your cues. You won't have to repeat Steps 1-4 again. You can just load up the template and save it as the project for that particular cue, and it will always open that movie, with the same parameters you just entered.

If you are receiving more that one movie, you'll have to repeat Steps 1-4 for each movie.

At this point, I'll assume that you're getting some sort of spotting list with timecode numbers for the ins-and-outs of where they want your music. They may also have temp-tracked what they sent you with stock music. If the latter is the case, your job will be a little tougher, because you'll have to use the scrub controls on DP (which will now also control the movie) to pick where each temp cue starts.

5) Now, go under "Project" window and select "Chunks" . A small sub-window entitled "Chunks" should pop open in your main DP window on your right-hand side. You'll see a small sideways triangle again, click on that and select "Set Chunk Start" Under frames, type in the exact time code number for the start of your cue, meaning exactly where the music is supposed to start in that particular cue. You can close the Chunks sub-window after that.

Now, rewind back to Measure 1. The Transport Control's measure readout should read 1/00/00, your typical beginning, but your Frames readout should be the time code number you just typed into your Chunks Start, and the video should also be on that frame. You're now ready to score to your Quick Time movie.

This is optional, but I would then advise selecting "Markers" from the "Project" window. A "Markers" sub-window will open on your left-hand side of the main DP window. You can then scroll through the video and, anywhere you want to have the music change, there's a cue, a need for a sudden shock chord, whatever, you just pause the video, click on the sideways triangle in your Markers sub-window and select "Add Marker". It will put a marker in the Marker window with that time code listed next to it, and create what I like to call a "little yellow shield" at that point in your Tracks window. You can retitle the Marker anything you want, but make sure the "Lock" is selected in that marker listing. From that point on, no matter what you do, tempo-wise, that marker will stay in place with the video.

Anyway, that's how I normally do it. Hopefully, at least some of it made sense and helps you out!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
PS: ... and then I just re-read your original post and realized you're on DP 5. Sorry! The basic ideas remain the same in DP 5, you might just have to root around a little bit more to find the windows I was referring to. It's been a while since I scored a feature in 5, and I removed 5 from my machine a while ago, so I can't really refer to it for exactly how you find the above-mentioned windows, but they're not hard to find and do exactly the same thing in both versions. At any rate, I'm sure the way I do it isn't the totally "correct" way of scoring video in DP, but it should serve as a decent jumping-off point. Moreover, correct or not, it does actually work.

I think the above posters have a pretty valid point; I'm sure that most of us here taught ourselves, mostly through trial and error, the ins and outs of DP, computer music creation and sound engineering, and the only way you'll really learn is to just dive in and start using the software. I don't think reading the DP manual cover to cover is necessarily the answer (you'd have an easier time reading the Bible cover to cover!), but if you get stuck on how to do something, it's pretty easy to check out the glossary, find the right subject and figure out how to import a QuickTime movie or set start times or what have you, and exploring the program through trial and error will help you get used to it. The film scoring and MIDI features in DP are pretty much the best you can get, and they're very easy to use.

[wonder]

Resurrecting this so I can get some help.

I'm trying to figure this out

My movie starts at 00:00:00. The first frame I see picture is 00:00:00.

But I want to add a little music ramp up before the picture comes up.

If I set the movie start time to anything other than 00:00:00, DP's timecode is not synced with the movie burn in timecode.

If I want this movie to start at, say, 1 second, but have the timecode in DP to read 00:00:00 at that 1 second start time how do I achieve this.

I tried to follow the instructions posted but Step 4 referring to Step 2 didn't make sense to me.

ANY help is appreciated.