Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1673)

Stage 5: Selecting Edit to Tape and Print to Video Preferences
If you like, turn on two preferences relating to tape and playback operations.
• Abort ETT/PTV on dropped frames: If you select this option, a message appears when
any frames are dropped during playback when outputting, and Final Cut Pro immediately
stops the operation. You can choose to redo the entire output, or you can attempt a
match frame edit to output the remaining video from where the dropped frame
occurred.
Playback drops are almost always caused by a hardware setup problem. When properly
configured, Final Cut Pro should not drop frames. For information on what you can do
if Final Cut Pro reports dropped frames, see
“Problems During Playback.”
• Report dropped frames during playback: If you select this option, a message appears
when any frames are dropped when outputting so you can correct the problem.
Playback drops are almost always caused by a hardware setup problem. When properly
configured, Final Cut Pro should not drop frames. For information on what you can do
if Final Cut Pro reports dropped frames, see
“Problems During Playback.”
Stage 6: Preparing Your Videotape with Black and Timecode
If you plan to do insert editing and your tape is blank, your tape needs to have a signal
already recorded on it. You can prepare a tape for insert editing by blacking the tape,
which means recording control track, timecode, and a black video signal. You can also
perform insert edits on any tape with an existing control track. Having timecode on the
tape is also necessary to set In and Out points for the edit.
Most blacked tapes start at 00:58:00:00 to allow two minutes of header elements before
your program. The movie itself usually starts at 01:00:00:00. This is set in the Initialize Tape
dialog. You will see it only if your deck has a settable timecode generator. You may want
to black several tapes in advance so they are available when needed.
Note: Most consumer DV camcorders are limited to start recording at 00:00:00:00.
If you plan to do a series of insert edits to output your whole program onto tape, you
must use a tape that’s blacked from beginning to end. If you’re assemble-editing a long
program to a new tape, you don’t have to black the entire tape, but it’s a good idea to
black at least 30 seconds of the tape so there is enough timecode so you can set an In
point as well as allow for pre-roll before the In point.
To prepare a tape with black and timecode
1 Insert a videotape into your camcorder or deck.
2 Choose File > Edit to Tape.
1673 Chapter 100 Preparing to Output to Tape