HDV to film workflow

[Marty Hamrick]

I've been recently contacted for some possible work,originating on HDV and distributing to 35mm release print.The camera of choice (not my personal choice,but that of the production company)is the Canon XL-HG-1(I think that's it,anyway,I can't keep up with all the model numbers).

 

I have no experience with HDV to film and I want to know what the workflow is.I'm assuming you end up with a DI that you use to strike an interpositive?Someone walk me through this as the last time I worked with any workflow resembling this was around 1993,and that was 16mm to 35mm.

[Phil Rhodes]

You normally make a negative element on whatever recorder, then print from that. Specifics of getting to said recorder will involve taking your HDV and turning it into, almost invariably, a DPX sequence. Whether you do that or the facilities place doesn't make much odds other than the fact that depending on the facility they may LUT it at that stage or later. You'll deliver either a tape (probably they won't take HDV, so you'll spend getting it up to HDCAM or whatever) or a hard disk.

 

Any more specifics than that will depend on the place you use.

 

Phil

[Guest will griffith]

I have no experience with HDV to film and I want to know what the workflow is.

It would really help to know a little more. Unless it's a documentary I would not shoot

HDV. I would try and capture to some other format even if using the Canon H1.

 

If you must shoot HDV then this looks like a good option.

FireWire HDV to SDI Converter

You can ingest all your tapes as ProRes (in FCP), or whatever format you want

to get away from HDV. You will also need a Kona or Decklink card to capture HDSDI.

[Peter Moretti]

Will, I'm not sure I follow you. In cases where Marty needs to shoot HDV, e.g. can't be tethered to a capture device, shouldn't he just record to tape and capture the HDV tape over firewire port into his NLE? He can get out of HDV by transcoding in his NLE, but depending on the NLE and how it handles HDV, that may not be necessary. Avid, for example, seems to handle HDV quite well IMHO. Unfortunately Avid does not capture Canon's 24F format, so you have to use some third party capture app if not shooting 60i.

 

If he wants to capture HD-SDI, the G1 has HD-SDI out, so he can capture out of that into a computer with a Kona or Declink card. He could also get an HD-SDI to HDMI converter and use an Intensity card, but he'd lose timecode.

 

I just don't see the purpose for the HDV to HD-SDI converter, as it isn't going to make HDV look like HD-SDI. And he if he doesn't want to edit in HDV, he transcode in his NLE. But perhaps I'm missing something, it happens oftern ;).

[Guest will griffith]

There is a device by Convergent Designs which might solve everything,

but it is not cheap.

 

Flash XDR

 

It's called the "Flash XDR" and gives you 2.5 hours recording on a

much less compressed format than HDV.

 

Maybe worth a look, and might be able to be rented soon?

 

-will