… for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Tip #1154: Options for Converting Frame Rate

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Try letting Premiere convert frame rates first. If playback is smooth, you’re all set.

During a recent webinar, Ian asked:

I shoot/edit in the UK at 25/50 fps with images up to 4k. At times I have B-roll either from an iPhone or GoPro 8 shot at 30 fps 4K. Should I retime these to 25/50 fps before importing or let Premiere do the job?

My answer is that, in general, go with the simplest solution first: let Premiere handle the frame rate conversion.

Because all video is just a string of still images, changing the frame rate while still maintaining the same apparent speed during playback requires dropping or duplicating frames.

Whenever you drop or duplicate a frame, there’s the potential for stutter in the video playback. The more drastic the frame rate conversion, the more potential for obvious stuttering.

However, you’ll find that Premiere does a good job dropping frames to convert the frame rate for most movement. (You won’t notice the impact of changing frames on stationary images with a locked down camera.)

If Premiere doesn’t do a good job, try converting your footage using Adobe Media Encoder. This uses a different process for frame rate conversion that may look better to you.

Every movie is different. Experiment with different tools until you get the results you want.