Workaround for fast videos using Premiere Pro

[PaddyMac]

I've noticed recently that some videos are downloading at 12,800 fps. Audio seems normal but the video goes very fast and lasts just a few seconds.

I'm on Mac and have found one workaround if you need to fix the video. This uses Adobe Premiere, any version should do:

1. Download the Video (notice it has a fps of 12,800 in QuickTime Player info). On Mac I tend to Download & Convert to MP4 (or Mov).

2. Download the Audio separately as an MP3 file.

3. Open Adobe Premiere Pro, Import the funky video and audio. 

4. Right-click on the video source. Choose Modify > Interpret Footage and in the dialog that opens, enter the correct frame rate in "Assume this frame rate" field.  (25 fps for Zoom recordings, probably 23.976 for TV.) Click OK.

5. Right click on video and select "New Sequence from Clip". This adds the corrected video to a new sequence and makes the sequence the same duration as the fixed clip. 

6. MUTE Audio for A1 (or Unlink it from the clip and delete the bad audio). 

7. Add the separate Audio file to V2. It should be the same length as the video with a healthy waveform. Check that all looks correct by previewing portions.

8. Because Premiere is so inefficient at rendering, I render the sequence initially as Apple ProRes 422 (this makes a high-quality large movie, but you will delete it shortly!).

9. Using the free app Handbrake, I import the ProRes 422 movie and export it. I use h264 @ 18 - 20 quality, being careful to check all the settings (Dimensions > Resolution Limit = None being the most important so it doesn’t resize the video). Save a Preset once you dial it in. I usually end up with a movie that is a bit larger than the DWH video/audio combined, because I don't want to add too much additional compression. 

10. Check the Handbraked file and if all looks good, delete the separate video and audio files and especially the huge ProRes422 temp file that PrPro produced. You can delete the project file too, unless you need it as a reference. 

Note: The Interpret Footage “assume frame rate" is a feature probably found in other video apps under different names. It basically strips the FPS header from a movie and forces each frame to have an exact portion of time (1/25th of a second for 25fps etc.), even if the source is a bit variable. It can also be used for speeding up or slowing down normal footage (i.e., set the frame rate to twice the regular rate will skip every other frame). 

Hope this helps someone. 

[Wild Willy]

This sounds like it could be another tool in the kit we've been accumulating over here:

https://groups.google.com/g/video-downloadhelper-q-and-a/c/sNfTCMYfiTU