Very Dumb Question about 30fps/24fps

So this is just a dumb question but i wanted to see if it's possible. I was wondering if there was any way to take 30fps footage (29.97) and put it in a 24fps (23.976) timeline to make a final product that's 24fps, that still looks 24fps? or is it just a bad idea in general and not workable?

My issues is doing weddings i always shoot in 60fps so i can edit in 30fps and it allows me to pick and choose if i want a shot to play normal in 30 or slow motion.

However, I'm contemplating having my final product in 24fps because i just like that look for a wedding video instead of 30. But in order to do that, i would have to predetermine if my shot, before i shoot it, will be a normal speed shot (shoot in 24) or a normal slow speed (30fps) or a super slow speed (60fps). and i just don't think i'm going to be able to actively predict that while shooting.

but if there was a way to edit a final video in 30fps like i've been doing, and doing some kinda algorithm to convert that 30fps project into 24fps for a final look, that would be amazing.

i know it's a long shot, and probably not do-able, but i just wanted to ask the forum i trust the most when it comes to this stuff

Unfortunately just dropping the 30fps footage into a 24fps project will not give you the real 24fps "look". It's the motion blur that is the secret sauce with 24fps footage. That can be added in artificially (with debatable results) but not with FCPX. I usually shoot 24fps so maybe someone else can give a solution? AE can add the motion blur but I'm not sure how well it would work for the look you're going for.

that makes sense. yea i just didn't know if there was some magic way of doing it that i didn't know about. Kind of like the conversion they do to get 24fps content to fit nicely in 30p or 60i for television. thought maybe there was a way to go the other way, but sounds like it might be more trouble than it's worth, with not as good of a pay off

Shooting 24p with either a 24 or 48 shutter is typically the way to go for the truest 24P cinematic look. In your case of shooting 60p, the biggest difference is your shutter which is at minimum 60 but even possibly 120 depending on your camera settings. If you are using a DSLR and crank that up higher, then further away from the cinematic look you will go. If you want a bit more flexibility with panning than 24p affords, you can shoot in 30p (29.97) and use a 30 shutter which will give a bit more motion blur. Double check for a crisp focus. Then, in post, increase the contrast and saturation within reasonable limits and apply a frost or mist filter. This would probably give a better wedding look than you are getting now. Best solution though is to shoot 24p and pan judiciously slow when you need to.

Aside from these considerations, mixed frame rates need some extra attention in order to be handled comfortably within FCP X. Playback of 30p in a 24p timeline and vice versa isn't smooth.

bradywurtz wrote: ... but if there was a way to edit a final video in 30fps like i've been doing, and doing some kinda algorithm to convert that 30fps project into 24fps for a final look, that would be amazing.

30p (recorded with 1/60 shutter) with 20% slomo usually looks very cinematic, it doesn't look like a slomo, just more important, heavy, ominous. Tip 1: Assign a shortcut for Automatic Speed (every frame is played back at the speed of the timeline, pitch is automatically corrected). For 30p @24p that conveniently means the aforementioned 20% slomo. So that's the kind of very easy "algorithm" you are looking for. Tip 2: use 30p for smoother gimbal shots (the bride walks to the altar) and for moments of importance with sound (nobody notices the slower speech in my experience). Use 60p for dreamlike shots (the "first" kiss), but then without sound (resp. underlay realtime atmo if it fits well).

24p @30p is generally not advisable. It's only *tolerable* (somewhat) with optical flow retiming quality. Tip 3: assign a shortcut for this as well. Automatic speed with 24p @30p will speed up the motion noticeably, slapstick-like (we are used to see 16p recorded silent movies @ 24p, that's probably the reason). Sometimes it works with fight cenes, but that's a rare exception.

Tip 4: If you prefer list view in Browser, drag the frame rate info to the left side of the columns. If you use to work with clip view, go to >top menu >Modify >Apply Custom Name > New >(name the preset "Frame Rate")> drag Video Frame Rate button ahead of "Current Name" button, then select all (cmd+a) clips in Browser, go to info, bottom right "Apply Custom Name", there "Frame Rate", of course. That way you can easily identify which frame rate the clip has you are just about to copy to the timeline. Smart collections are not so helpful for this particular task. Could one assign a new video role with a distinctive color for the 30p-shots? Didn't try this yet, but I find my method sufficient.

Premiere allows to interpret footage (make the frame rate conversion in the browser). It seems there is no way to do this in FCP. But ctrl+cmd+r (my shortcut) is just as good.

I didn't know this renaming method, can be usefull in some cases, but personnally, I like to keep my footage original names...

I personnally use Smart Collections for that.
I've created one smart collection for each framerate, with the attribute:
"All the attributes:
Format: Framerate, including "24"
Type: Isn't project"

Change 24 by 29, 59, 120 etc

I've made this in an empty library, and also set all the roles and sub-roles structure I usually use, as well as the events and the folder structure to import the medias.
Then I've packed this library into a .zip file, and now I have a template that I can open for each project and just have to change the name (and relocate the media file) and I'm ready to go