Re: 25i / 24p problem

I am editing a film that was shot in 24p modus (24 fps - progressive).
Now I have to add a music clip that comes from a different source and it was shot in 25i modus (25fps - interlaced). Adding it to my 24p storyline, the song plays quite a bit slower, it really molests and sounds very strange. Is there any way to change this, to having it played at normal speed / tone?

In FCP X all you need to do is select the music clip, press the Retime button and select Automatic Speed (see screenshot).
Now your clip will play at its original speed.

Best wishes,

Ronny

Thanks Ronny for the advice. With Automatic Speed the clip became even slower. So I selected custom speed and put it to 104%, 110% and 115%. 110% seems to be more or less the same speed of the music (what would be the precise percentage to choose?) But anyway the musical tone is still lower than the original.

Is this audio from a video clip?

The difference between 24fps and 25fps is exactly 4%. When you put a 25fps video clip with audio on a 24fps timeline the video clip is conformed to 24fps and it plays 4% faster (not slower). When you apply Automatic Speed (which is actually Film Tools inside FCP X) the clip will be slowed down to 96% and it will play at normal speed. So none of what you see is normal.

Maybe the issue comes from the fact that the clip is interlaced. So this is what you can do:

Create a new Project and let FCP X set the Project settings "based on first video clip". Then drop that 25i clip on the Project timeline. It is logical that it should play at the correct speed and musical tone now. Select the Project and export the Project as Audio Only. Then import the resulting audio file in FCP X and drop it onto the 24p timeline. Standalone audio does not have a frame rate (only a sample rate), so this should work.

Best wishes,

Ronny