[ This article was first published in the June, 2009, issue of
Larry’s Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. ]
Ben Balser and I got into a discussion this last month on laying back to video tape. During which, I realized that many new editors have not had the experience of work with tape. So, just to put this into writing before it becomes as archaic as how to churn butter, here it is.
Most final deliveries for high-end productions are output to video tape, either HDCAM or HDCAM SR and not delivered as a file. When outputting to tape, you need to allow room for leader material which the engineering types use to make sure the tape playback matches the spec of when the tape was recorded.
Traditionally, this leader material is:
Timecode Content 00:58:30:00 Bars and tone 00:59:30:00 Black audio and video 00:59:40:00 Program slate 00:59:50:00 Black audio and video 01:00:00:00 Program start
A program slate consists of:
To create these leader materials in Final Cut you can either use File > Print to Video, or build them yourself in the Timeline. If you create them in the Timeline, go to Sequence > Settings > Timeline tab and change the sequence timecode to 58:30.
That way, the timecode of your sequence will match the timecode on your tape. Note, to make sure all your program times are correct, use File > Edit to Tape to record to video tape.
One Response to Laying Final Cut Pro Projects Back to Video-Tape
Is everything supposed to start at 09;58;30;00 instead? Or that’s just canadian/british thing?