Video frame/field offset when using multiple clips in PT

[soundboy35]

When adding a second video clip to the end of a previous clip a session, can you be field accurate when placing this 2nd clip, and how do you know for sure, you are retaining frame accurate sync?

[Postman]

Originally Posted by soundboy35

When adding a second video clip to the end of a previous clip a session, can you be field accurate when placing this 2nd clip, and how do you know for sure, you are retaining frame accurate sync?

For movies at 30fps or less you are retaining the frame accuracy of the movie files you have. Movies are placed on the timeline at frame boundaries, not field boundaries. Those boundaries are definied by the frame rate of the movie itself. There is no way in Pro Tools to move a clip by one field, change field dominance, or to even see whether a scene change happens on field one or field two. So, if your movies are created the way you want them they will remain that way in Pro Tools.

For higher frame rate movies, like 50 or 59.94fps, Pro Tools treats those as if they were 25 or 29.97fps. Pro Tools treats every 2 frames as if they were fields, and the timeline is still divided up as if it is 25 or 29.97fps (relatively speaking).