TOPIC:

Hi,
First post here, read some good articles so far.
Im still on the trial of FCP (10.6.2), cant see an X anywhere (maybe FCPX is a different version?)

Ive dabbled in the past with video editing (iMovie basic user). But now want to progress.
Ive tried Davinci, spent a couple of weeks with it, now spent a couple of weeks with FCP, similar prices. I think im leaning towards FCP (I use a MacBook 13inch 16Gb M1 2020 + external screen)
I think I prefer the simpler feel and look of FCP (as a novice) although I did find the 'optical flow' feature (which I particularly liked) was a little bit better in Davinci.

Anyway, sorry , getting carried away...

Im in the UK. I understand UK(Europe)=PAL=24fps, other places (NTSC) = 30fps due to the power supply and flickering.
Ive had a couple of test exports that didn't look as smooth as the original clip, when comparing.
Ive been recording (tests only) in different formats (1080p, 4k, slowmo 120fps, 25 and 30 fps, and 59.94fps) and ive probably messed up.

Somethings I need to clear up in my head:-

1.Even though im in the UK, Can I still record in 30fps and edit in 30fps and export in 25fps? or should I stick to 25fps recording?
I ask as my slowmo options record in 60fps and 120fps, and working timeline at 30fps nicely computes with those slowmo frame rates

or should I be converting the 120fps, down to a multiple of 25, even if its not a nice number, ie 20.833333%

2. If ive accidentally recorded a clip in 30fps, and my timeline is 25, can I still use the clip without causing any juddering? Do I have to do anything to the 30fps clip?

Thanks for any help. I know, super basic stuff.

Unless you are targeting a specific platform that requires 25 fps (PAL DVD or broadcast TV, etc) you are much better off editing and exporting in the same frame rate as the recorded material (30 fps). Going from 30 to 25 fps will almost never be perfectly smooth, and there is no gain from exporting to 25 fps. 30 fps will play back just fine on any computer or mobile device, no matter where in the world you happen to be.

Great questions. Firstly, FCP dropped the X.
Your first question: Yes you can record in 30 and edit in 30 no problems, but if that's what you are doing, dont esport in 25, just export in 30. All will look great.

If you've accidentally recorded in 30 and your timeline is 25, first I would ask, is there anything else on the timeline that is also 25 or 30. If it is all 30, just change your timeline to 30. If there is a mix, you can get away with 30fps in a 25 timeline in a few instances... if you dont mind it being slightly slow motion, then 30 in 25 is great. If you want it to appear in 'real time', try playing with the video quality options (right click on the clip in the timeline, scroll down to video options, there are 3. Normal. Frame blending and optical flow. I get great results from optical flow.

Thanks thats reply helpful, can you explain this too? (ive just done some recordings...)

Using the DJI pocket 2, the specs are

Video Resolution
4K Ultra HD: 3840×2160 @ 24/25/30/48/50/60fps
2.7K: 2720×1530 @ 24/25/30/48/50/60fps
FHD: 1920×1080 @ 24/25/30/48/50/60fps
Slow Motion
1080p/120fps (for 4x)
1080p/240fps (for 8x)

So when I recorded in 4k at 60fps and played back the video, it ran at 'normal' speed. (not slow, not fast) and the QT inspector indeed says its encoded at 59.94fps, so im slightly surprised the playback wasn't half speed. I guess its handy because I can now slow that clip down by 50% and it will still look smooth (ie 30FPS)

When I recorded slow mo (1080p/120fps) and played the video back it was very slowmo. and QT inspector says its encoded fps is 29.98fps
So this isn't actually recording 120FPS?

Blowing my mind!!

Playing back 120 fps material at 30 fps is what causes the slow motion; it takes 4 times as long to play back as it did to record. Playing it back at 120 fps would play it back at regular speed.
So, while the recording is 120 fps, the playback is 30 fps because the point is to create slow motion.

The QuickTime player does tricks to play back 120 as slomo, but it isn’t actually slomo per se. It’s just high frame rate. A second is a second whether it’s cut into 24 slices or 120 slices.

When done properly, the recording device will write metadata to the video file which tells the playback software how to handle it. Sometimes it does what you expect, sometimes not.

In any case, you can override the playback speed. For instance, if you want every frame of recorded video to play in your timeline (at your timeline's frame rate), highlight the clip and select "Automatic Speed" in the timing menu.