MY FIRST FILM-PLEASE HELP

[cjordan]

Hello all-

I am doing audio post for my first full-length independent film, and I need a few pointers....

The movie was shot on film, and then the edited version was transferred to NTSC. They are supplying me with some location dialog and music from CD's.

I am going to use a FAST system to convert the NTSC to Quicktime for posting in ProTools.

Don't I need to worry about sync when the audio is matched back to the film? What is the proper sample rate for my ProTools session?

I think that the final product is going to be distributed on film.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!
(Go easy on me, it's my first time)


thanks
collin

[Peter Steinbach]

Hey Collin-
You are of course referring the the pullup/pulldown issues. The film is shot at 24 fps, and the production recordist records audio at 30fps. This is so that when the film is transferred to video (29.97 fps), the dialogue only has to be slowed down by .1%. This is really important, and is the one thing you REALLY have to pay attention to.
When using Pro Tools, there are a couple of ways of doing this: In the "Session Setup" window check the "pull down" button. This changes the sample rate to 44.056 (for 44.1k) or 47.idontknow (for 48k).
If you dont pull down, the dialogue will gain 1 frame every 30 secs. You can start to notice the drift after 10 secs or so. Make sure to read the section in the PT manual on this.
You dont have to worry about pulling back up when the audio is layed back to film for the print master, the layback house takes care of this. Consider your video to be the truth. MAKE SURE to contact the layback facility and ask, just in case I'm full of Sh*t on this one.
This stuff can be very confusing, but it does all make sense when you really think about it. A great book is "Timecode: A user's Guide", available on Amazon.com. Get it.
Also, try posting questions at the CAS (Cinema Audio Society) webboard. Stuff like this is more up thier alley. http://www.ideabuzz.com/cas/webboard/
Good Luck, feel free to write: peter@perastudios.com
-p