Shooting on film or HD

June 2, 2004

I have a question about shooting on film and HD for music videos. I was informed this past weekend that when you shoot on the panasonic DVX100 that it actually turns out to be 30 frames because NTSC only plays 29.97 frames per second. I was also told that the varicam works differently in that it actually shoots 24 frames.

My question is that if i shoot film at 24 fps and telecine it to digibeta and DVcam for online offline editing does it perform some type of pulldown so that it is converted to NTSC 29.97 fps? or does it stay 24 frames and then get converted when you output it to the master?

Also if i shoot on the panasonic varicam at 24 fps and have it dubbed to digibeta and DVcam for online offline editing does it perform some type of pulldown to put it to NTSC 29.97 fps? or does it stay 24 frames and then get converted when you output it to the master?

If that is the case then why even bother shooting 24fps if you know you are going to video?

Jarin Blaschke · June 2, 2004

24 fps is standard in order to get a more "filmic" look to the motion.

The DVX100 is a standard def DV camera, which can also run at 24 fps progressive, certainly not to be confused with HD.

Film shot at 24 fps that goes through telecine will indeed be converted to 29.97 material.

Michael Nash · June 2, 2004

There are more options now than there used to be for shooting, posting, and mastering.

First off, The Panasonic DVX-100 (MiniDV, SD) does add a 3:2 pulldown to material captured at 24fps. It actually has a choice of two pulldown options; 3:2:3:2 (24P) or 3:2:2:3 (24P"A"). The second is designed so that some NLE's can easily pull out complete frames to restore a 24P signal from 30i NTSC.

The Panasonic Varicam (720P HD) actually records 60 progressive frames per second, adding a 3:2 pulldown to material captured at 24fps. When you downconvert this 60P image down to NTSC video, each frame goes 1:1 to each video field, showing you the same pulldown and frame rate (and speed).

Film shot at 24fps typically gets transferred to SD video at 24fps (actually 23.976), with a 3:2 pulldown added during the transfer to maintain a normal speed of motion. If you want to transfer 24fps film to video at 24 frames progressively, currently the only option is to go to 24P HD (either HDCAM or D5). I don't know of any SD tape format that records 24P (maybe SD D5?).

So for your workflow, your digibeta transfer and DVCAM dubs are NTSC 60i, regardless of the source material. If the footage was captured at 24fps it was given a 3:2 pulldown either in camera (video) or in telecine transfer (film).

Many NLE systems will now allow you to work in either 60i or 24P, if your source material was 24P to begin with (if you input 60i footage, the computer has to convert to 24P by extracting the appropriate fields before you can edit in 24P). But if you're outputting an NTSC master, all the material has to get a 3:2 pulldown reapplied to it to make it 60i. If you're outputting to an HD master, can turn your 24P material into 24P, 25P, 30P, 50i, 60i or 60P depending on the tape format and machine you're using.

The reason people shoot film or video at 24fps instead of 30 for a video finish is for the motion rendering. 24fps is part of what visually defines the film "look" (compared to video), and most people like it! Film sometimes is shot and transferred at 30fps, usually for the purpose of smoother motion rendering or capturing fine detail in motion. But it compromises the familiar look of film and makes it "feel" a little more like video. Some people think 30fps makes 16mm film look a little "sharper" as it blurs grain a little more, but the difference is almost negligible. Your film costs go up a little bit as well, and usually isn't worth it. And even the highest-end HD cameras still have an electronic look about them that's different from film, so shooting 24fps helps match the familiar appearance of film much better.

Another advantage to NLE editing in 24P is that it requires less processing and storage, since there are fewer frames. And preserving a 24P master is essential for projects that will be blown up to film for projection.