11.7

Logging Film Information
177
Determining the Pulldown Phase
It is easiest to determine the pulldown of a sync point (or pulldown phase)
if you ask your film lab to keypunch (cut a small hole in) the sync frame at
the zero frame in the original film footage before transferring the film to
video. Many film labs or transfer houses can also provide a pulldown
frame indicator displayed at the far right of the burn-in key numbers,
depending on the equipment available. Ideally, the A-frame pulldown
coincides with timecode ending in 0 and 5 (:00, :05, :10, and so on).
If the footage has not been keypunched, you can determine pulldown
according to clapsticks or any other distinctive frame at the beginning of
the clip. Determining the pulldown is easier if the frames depict motion.
To determine the pulldown phase:
1. While viewing the video transfer on a monitor, go to the keypunched
(or clapsticks) sync point for the beginning frame of the clip you’re
logging.
2. Use the Step wheel on the tape deck to Step (jog) past the sync point
frame field-by-field. You will see either two or three keypunched
fields. If the footage is not keypunched, look for two or three fields
with little or no motion.
3. If there are two keypunched fields, the pulldown is either A or C. Step
through the fields again and note where the timecode changes:
- If the timecode does not change from the first to the second fields,
the fields came from an A frame.
- If the timecode changes from the first to the second fields, the
fields came from a C frame.
The following illustration shows a keypunch on the A frame. Notice
where the timecode changes.