Shooting!

biggip · December 1, 2004

Hi I have been looking and doing some reasearch of the video formats avalible to shoot my short film in february. I have been thinking about Canon XL2 or a HDV camera. I have few questions and if somebody could answer them that would be great :)

1) I understand the quality of HDV is much better the DV. Would it be possible to shoot the film in HDV and show it in ordinary television, projectors, burn it on a dvd for regular dvd system (In regular tv resulution) or is the image going to be crazy´d up.

2) I also read that HDV would be expensive to shoot? Why is that isin´t it just the HDV tapes you have to buy and your good to go or is there something extra.

So the bottom line is I want to be able to show my film at as many possible places I can. TV, Film Festivals and distribute ot dvd´s. Can I use HD or should I go DV?

best regards

Birgir Pétur Þorsteinsson

biggip · December 1, 2004

And does HDV divide in to NTSC and PAL?

Rob Belics · December 1, 2004

First, neither HDV or DV use film.

Second, your most flexible medium is film not dv or hdv.

biggip · December 1, 2004

First, neither HDV or DV use film.

I would of course use Tapes not a film. I just said Short Film cause usally that´s the word you use for a short movie. :o

David Mullen ASC · December 1, 2004

HDV is too new for most of us to answer your question, but you'd have to downconvert it to NTSC or PAL for any DVD copies -- or bump it up to HDCAM or some other HD format for HD projection. It's sort of in a limbo area between pro HD and consumer DV. And the Sony FX1 doesn't shoot progressive scan -- for those multi-format conversion issues, you may be better off shooting 24P-to-NTSC or 25P-to-PAL using a XL2 or DVX100A, until all the post issues of HDV are resolved. Or shoot film and telecine it to all those formats!

Mark Allen · December 2, 2004

Start with something you know first - the budget.

If you have the budget to rent an HD camera - you might also consider

Super 16mm scanned to digital intermediate back to 35mm

or

Super 16mm scanned to HD back to 35mm

The rental on the camera is a lot less - if you're careful with film - it MIGHT be as good an option as HD. (read more at www.primermovie.com or watch City of God - both done this way)

or shoot HD with film lenses (if you can afford those). I don't know which of those is better yet.

If you don't have that much money - then you need to find options...

before jumping down to HDV, consider the Panasonic SDX900 - I hear some very happy things about that as a low budget solution (DVCPRO50).

Then... after that you're probably going to use the Sony HVR-Z1U - look into that (it's brand spanking new).

Now can you distribute a DV movie? hmmm... maaaaybe. If it stars Katie Holmes and some other great actors and is a great movie - Sure! (Pieces of April). If it stars your buddy Charlie and sister's cousin Amy - then it had really be something special and you'd better be very lucky. Distributors don't love DV movies - in fact, right now there is a definite preference towards film - because it seems more valuable and classier - but a super unique movie plot will overcome this. Festivals btw seem to be totally cool with the whole DV thing.

As far as everything else - you just have to do a bunch of conversions to get things to DVD. If this is your very first film and you have no budget (as in zero) - then maybe DV is the safest, simplest, most straight forward way to go and you can learn some of the other more complex media handling later. But... just make something really unique if you want people to see it. Not a story about two guys in the desert fighting over a gun and a girl.

Phil Rhodes · December 2, 2004

Hi,

The FX-1 is cheaper than the XL1. How good are the pictures ever going to be?

Phil

Elhanan Matos · December 2, 2004

I understand the quality of HDV is much better the DV. Would it be possible to shoot the film in HDV and show it in ordinary television, projectors, burn it on a dvd for regular dvd system (In regular tv resulution) or is the image going to be crazy´d up.

The FX-1 will output in HD and SD. I'm not sure what you mean by "crazy'd up" but when you shoot in HDV mode and you play it back on an SD television it looks great!

I also read that HDV would be expensive to shoot? Why is that isin´t it just the HDV tapes you have to buy and your good to go or is there something extra.

Shooting HDV will cost the same as shooting DV, The FX-1 uses regular Mini-DV tapes, and you get 60 minutes shooting in HDV mode per 60 minute mini-dv tape.

Phil Rhodes · December 2, 2004

Hi,

Sure, but what're you going to post it on? The only HDV VTR that Sony make is welded to the back of the FX1, and the only output it has for hi-def is firewire. What kind of software support is there?

Phil

Mark Allen · December 3, 2004

Hi,

Sure, but what're you going to post it on? The only HDV VTR that Sony make is welded to the back of the FX1, and the only output it has for hi-def is firewire. What kind of software support is there?

Phil

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why can't one just capture the footage into FCP and post directly in the program? Isn't that supported?

December 3, 2004

Sounds like film is out of the question budget wise on this project.

I think it's still too early to get much display use out of HDV.

Use a Canon XL1, buy one on ebay cheap, then sell it off on ebay when you're done.

Easy.

DC

biggip · December 3, 2004

So are you saying I can get the same quality for SD with the FX1 as the XL2? Will I be able to blow it up to film?

Phil Rhodes · December 3, 2004

Hi,

> Why can't one just capture the footage into FCP and post directly in the program? Isn't that \

> supported?

That's kind of the big question, isn't it. You'd certainly want some seriously upscale hard drives, since you'd want to capture it then work uncompressed from that point on.

Phil