Image Sequence Frame Rate in Premiere Pro CS6

[carolgunn]

As a workaround to rendering to video a 3D animation I created in Photoshop CS6 (delete rant here, but if you want to know why I am doing this I will be happy to tell you!) I have rendered the animation as a Photoshop Image Sequence at the document frame rate of 24 fps. When I import the image sequence into Premiere Pro CS6, it comes in a a video clip with a frame rate of 29.97, even tho both the document and sequence settings are 23.97 fps. That makes my clip about 4 seconds instead of 6 seconds as I created it. In Preferences, i have Still Image Default Duration set to 1 frame, if that makes any difference--the frames come in as a video clip, not as individual frames.

I'd like to change the frame rate to be the same as the rate at which I created it. (just seems like the thing to do?)

So, two questions:

1. I cannot see how to change that frame rate, but even if I could, is that advisable? Is there some reason it should stay at the rate Premiere gave it?

2. If i accept the frame rate of 29.97, and then change the duration to 6:00, will that cause any problems?

I am on an iMac, OSX.7.4, with latest versions of all software. Experience level in Pr Pro = Newbie, otherwise very experienced in Adobe Creative Suite for Design.

Thanks!

--Carol Gunn

Gunn Graphics

[Jim_Simon]

Image Sequences don't have a "frame rate".  They're just a series of still images.  There's no header or other file information which can tell a program what frame rate they're supposed to be played back at.  As Adobe is an American company, and as the most common NTSC frame rate is 29.97, PP simply assumes that of all Image Sequences.

You can change that in two ways.

1.  Right click on the clip and select Modify>Interpret Footage... and set it for the correct frame rate.

2.  Go to Edit>Preferences>Media... and change the Intermediate Time Base to what you want.

[Steve_Hoeg]

We do not defaul all image sequences to 29.97 fps, the intermediate timebase is set based on your locale. For PAL countries it will default to 25 fps, but of course may be later set to other values. Interpret footage on the frame rate of image sequences is the wrong way to change this and will unfortunately may result in losing frames from the sequence. The only proper way to do this is to change the intermediate timebase in the preferences to match the desired image sequence framerate before import.

[carolgunn]

Thanks, Jim and Steve! Changed the Intermediate Time Base pref to 30 and now the clips are the length they are supposed to be. I appreciate your quick response, especially on a Saturday afternnon, as I might've had to waste hours in the help files! I'd forgotten how frustrating it is to be a newbie--after 4-6 weeks of help files, tutorials and experiments (including days trying to solve a problem that turned out to be a BUG in PS CS6 (see, I knew I could not hold that rant in)), my head is like a blender!

thanks so much!

--Carol.

[Jim_Simon]

Interpret footage on the frame rate of image sequences is the wrong way to change this

I'm curios as to why.  Assuming the new value matches the sequence (the only way you should be doing it), how is this not effective?

[Steve_Hoeg]

For still sequences the intermediate timebase unfortunately gets baked in at a layer below interpret footage and isn't overridden by it.

[Jim_Simon]

Good to know.  Thanks, Steve.

So...does that setting affect all current image sequences, or like the Still Duration, only those imported after the change.  Meaning, if an editor wanted to use two image sequences in the same project, but at different frame rates, will one of them be messed up because it doesn't match that setting, or will both be correct assuming the setting was correct at the time of import?

[Steve_Hoeg]

The setting is applied at time of import. If you want two image sequences at different framerates changing the intermediate media timebase between the imports will do what you want.

[the_wine_snob]

Steve,

Interesting info, and greatly appreciated. I was thinking along the lines that Jim was, so learned something new.

Thanks,

Hunt

[daxmacrog]

Thanks for this. It helped me out with a recent time-lapse video. I just wanted to note that it's actually the Indeterminate Media Timebase setting, as opposed to intermediate.

It would be nice to be able to choose the timebase during the import process or be able to truly change the timebase on an existing clip, as others have suggested. I've submitted feature requests.

[emily_g]

Thank you for your help.

But I am still caught up with the same problem. The footage(image sequence- 1920x1080 at 24 fps from After Effects) imported into Premiere Pro has the frame rate of 29.97. And changing the Intermediate Media Timebase to 24 doesn't do any help.

Here is what I do:

1. New Premiere Pro project.

2. New Sequence: 1920x1080 with Frame rate: 23.967 , Square Pixel., Progressive Scan.

3. Changing the Intermediate Media Timebase to 24(because my footage was rendered at 24 fps)

4. Import the footage

5. Check the properties of that footage -> It is at 29.97 instead of 24.

Where am I going wrong?

If I click on interpret footage and change the frame rate manually to 24, it fits fine with the audio. (with a yellow bar for render)

I have CS3 version of all the Adobe softwares.

Thanks!