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Convert DV footage from PAL to NTSC using pulldown

Because After Effects can easily convert film (24 fps) to video (29.97 fps) using 3:2 pulldown, you can perform a clean PAL-to-NTSC transfer by setting up 25-fps PAL video to act like 24-fps film. This lets you apply 3:2 pulldown to the footage when converting to 29.97 fps. This technique works especially well for progressive (noninterlaced) PAL video.

  1. Create a new composition with the DV NTSC or DV NTSC Widescreen preset.
  2. Import your DV PAL footage into the new composition.
  3. Select the layer with the DV PAL footage, and choose Layer > Transform > Fit To Comp Width (or Fit To Comp Height).
  4. Do one of the following:

    • To preserve audio synchronization but slightly lower the pitch, choose Layer > Time > Time Stretch, and then enter 95.904 in the Stretch Factor box.

    • To preserve audio pitch but not synchronization, or for clips without audio, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the footage item in the Project panel, select Interpret Footage > Main, select Conform To Frame Rate, and then enter 23.976 in the Conform To Frame Rate box.

  5. Choose Composition > Add To Render Queue.
  6. Choose Custom from the Render Settings menu.
  7. In the Render Settings pane, enable Field Rendering (choose the field order required by your output type), select any option from the 3:2 Pulldown menu, and then click OK.
  8. Choose the output type from the Render Queue Output Module menu (for example, Microsoft DV NTSC 32 kHz).
  9. Specify a name and destination for the output file using the controls to the right of the Output To heading in the Render Queue panel. (See Specify filenames and locations for rendered output.)
  10. Click the Render button to render your movie.