[ This article was first published in the June, 2009, issue of
Larry's Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. ]

Ben Balser and I got into a discussion this last month on laying back to video tape. During which, I realized that many new editors have not had the experience of work with tape. So, just to put this into writing before it becomes as archaic as how to churn butter, here it is.

Most final deliveries for high-end productions are output to video tape, either HDCAM or HDCAM SR and not delivered as a file. When outputting to tape, you need to allow room for leader material which the engineering types use to make sure the tape playback matches the spec of when the tape was recorded.

Traditionally, this leader material is:

Timecode	Content
00:58:30:00	Bars and tone
00:59:30:00	Black audio and video
00:59:40:00	Program slate
00:59:50:00	Black audio and video
01:00:00:00	Program start

A program slate consists of:

• Program Title Producer / Director / Agency responsible
• Date output to tape
• Running time (Never include frames and always round up)
• Audio mix format (stereo, mono, multi-track)
• Timecode format (Drop-frame or non-drop-frame)

To create these leader materials in Final Cut you can either use File > Print to Video, or build them yourself in the Timeline. If you create them in the Timeline, go to Sequence > Settings > Timeline tab and change the sequence timecode to 58:30.

That way, the timecode of your sequence will match the timecode on your tape. Note, to make sure all your program times are correct, use File > Edit to Tape to record to video tape.

Larry Jordan is a post-production consultant and an Apple-Certified Trainer in Digital Media with over 25 years experience as producer, director and editor with network, local and corporate credits. Based in Los Angeles, he's a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

The information in this article is believed to be accurate at the time of publication. However, the author assumes no liability in case things go wrong. Please use your best judgment in applying these suggestions.

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