Apple Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual download pdf (Page 39)

About Timecode

Timecode is a signal recorded with your video that uniquely identifies each frame on

tape. When you capture video or audio in Final Cut Pro, you also capture the timecode

signal, which is displayed in Final Cut Pro when you play back your clips. Timecode allows

you to recapture your footage from tape and always get the same frames. Final Cut Pro

uses SMPTE timecode (developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television

Engineers), which is represented in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames, using the

following format:

Hours Minutes Seconds Frames

SMPTE timecode

01:32:15:28

In Final Cut Pro, timecode is used for synchronization between video and audio clip items,

project interchange (such as Edit Decision Lists), and recapturing clips from tape. When

you play clips, Final Cut Pro displays the media file timecode. Timecode also allows you

to navigate through your sequences, and see how long your edit is.

For more information about timecode, see “Working with Timecode.”

About Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame Timecode

With the exception of timecode used with NTSC video, all video formats use non-drop

frame timecode, which simply counts at the frame rate of the video itself. For example,

PAL video runs at 25 fps, and it uses 25 fps timecode.

When working with NTSC video, you have the option to use drop frame timecode to

compensate for the fact that NTSC video has a frame rate of 29.97 fps, while the timecode

runs at 30 fps. Timecode can only be represented by whole numbers, so drop frame

timecode periodically skips numbers so that the timecode count and the amount of actual

time passed stays in sync. This way, the timecode count matches the the number of hours,

minutes, and seconds that it takes for your video footage to play. NTSC video can use

either drop frame or non-drop frame timecode.

Important: No video frames are dropped when you use drop frame timecode. Only the

associated timecode numbers are skipped.

Here is how to determine the type of timecode used in Final Cut Pro:

• Non-drop frame timecode has a colon (:) between the seconds and frames fields, and

no numbers are dropped from the counter.

01:16:59:29, 01:17:00:00

39Chapter 2 Video Formats and Timecode

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Apple Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual Page 39