Importing, transferring, capturing, and digitizing

Working with timecode

About timecode

Many camcorders and high-end video decks record timecode, which marks specific frames with unique addresses. Timecode is important whenever you want to capture exactly the same frames that were identified or captured previously, as in the following tasks:

•You want to log clips before you capture them.

•You plan to capture clips using batch (automated) capture.

•You want to recapture clips because the original files became corrupted or were deleted.

•You plan to export sequences to another system by using EDL.

•You’re using a system in which you edit quickly with low-resolution captures, and later recapture the clips at full resolution and quality for the final version.

•You plan to synchronize captured video with audio recorded separately.

Unlike the numbers on time counters found in home VCRs, timecode is recorded onto videotape as part of the video signal. If footage lacks timecode, you can add it by copying it with a camera or deck that writes timecode. You can then log or capture the video from that device.

For best results, timecode should run continuously from the beginning to the end of the tape; it shouldn’t restart from zero anywhere in the middle. In editing, if you log a capture In point such as 00:00:01:09 but that number occurs on the tape two or three times because of timecode restarts, Premiere Pro can’t be certain which 00:00:01:09 is the place to start its capture. It can easily capture the wrong clips from tapes with discontinuous timecode.

To ensure unbroken timecode, you need to either shoot it continuously or stripe your tape with it before shooting.

To ensure that you always shoot continuous timecode, record at least 5 seconds of extra video past the end of the action in any shot. If you review a clip in the camera, be sure to rewind the tape back into that 5-second margin before recording again. Your camcorder reads the timecode from the frame on which you stop and begins recording timecode with the very next frame number when you start your next shot. Be careful; if you leave a gap between the last frame of the previous shot and the first frame of the next, the camcorder begins writing timecode at 00:00:00:00 again.

Choose timecode display format

By default, Premiere Pro displays the timecode for any clip that was originally written to the source medium. If a frame has timecode 00:00:10:00 on tape, the timecode displayed for it after it has been captured is 00:00:10:00. Source timecode often makes logging clips easy. Source timecode is shown for a clip regardless of the timebase of the sequences in which it is used. When the timebase of the clip differs from the timebase of the sequence, source timecode can make logging footage easier. For example, a clip shot in 24p has a timebase of 30 fps and 30 fps timecode. Premiere Pro shows the original 30 fps timecode for that clip, even though it is used in a sequence with a timebase of 23.976. However, you can change this default to instead show the timecode for every clip starting at 00:00:00:00.

Also, you can determine how Premiere Pro displays the frame count when a Frames or Feet And Frames display is chosen for a panel. You can make the frame count for every clip start at 0 or at 1, or you can have it converted from the source timecode. If a frame in a 30 fps clip has a source timecode of 00:00:10:00 the Timecode Conversion option gives this frame number 300. Premiere Pro converts 10 seconds at the 30 fps frame rate to 300 frames.

1Select Edit > Preferences > Media (Windows) or Premiere Pro > Preferences > Media (Mac OS).

2In the Timecode menu, choose one of the following:

Use Media Source Shows the timecode recorded to the source.

Last updated 1/16/2012