Multiple frame sizes in both FCP7 and Premiere ProCS5.5

[musique]

I am looking for clarification on different video frame sizes and how they should be edited. I've been using FCS, but I'm learning Premiere Pro CS5.5. I have nearly 50 clips in three different frame sizes and fps:

1920x1280 23.98fps
1280x720 59.98fps
1280x720 29.98fps

They're all Apple ProRes 422 (.mov) files. When I create a new project in FCS7 and import them, they all seem to display the same on my workstation. However, when I create a new project in PP and import the same clips, the 1920x1280 display "full-screen" in my sequence, but the 1280x720 clips are shrunk with black borders around them.

I think I understand why this is so: the smaller number of pixels across and down the screen are simply doing what they're told and using the number of pixels of information for each frame (or something to that effect).

So, why doesn't this happen in FCP7? Is it displaying only part of the larger frame sizes or is it blowing up the smaller frame sizes? And, perhaps more importantly, what are the best practices for handling different frame sizes (and fps) in the two programs?

Thanks for any help.

 

[VideoCave]

re

The FCP sequence autoconforms to the very first thing dropped in the time line. So if you dropped the 1920x1280 in first thats is now your size. So if anything else after is smaller in pixel size you will see the black background and you will have to scale it up to fit the screen size border to border. FCP is probably autosizing the video to fit the screen (scaling up) which is something you never want to do with video. You can get away with a small amount of scaleing up but if to much is done you will start to aliasing on the edges.

So to answer your question it is better to scale down never up.

Premier probably doesnt autoscale like FCP is.

For the fps it will just play at what ever the sequence originally was set up as.

If you want to pre set up everything so it is all the same, you can always reExport everything so the size and fps all match. And then drop the files in your timeline.

I my self have been learning premier because FCPX is totally unusable for me and FCP will eventually be outdated and no longer supported. There are things I like in Premier but FCP has better shortcuts to work much faster.

 

[musique]

VideoCave, thanks. That helps me to better grasp the concepts.

And, though I'd like to explore FCPX, right now FCP7 is my principal editing tool. I want to learn PP so I'm as comfortable with it as I am (in my feeble way) with FCP7.

(Though it's easy for me to get caught up in the hype, features, and coolness of these tools, when the day's over I have to look at the work I accomplished and its quality. Whatever tool (at a price I can afford) can make me feel that my work is the best I can at my skill level, that's the one I want to use.)