Z1 - PAL or NTSC

[Rich Potter]

I'm about to shoot a mid-length project (50 min). I want it to have maximum success on the festival circuit, and the "dream" goal is to sell it to Latin American cable channels. (Lat Am is NTSC, except for Argentina, which is PAL)

 

I have three different looks that I want to create: A) a video diary (as if) shot on a 1 CCD consumer camera B) scenes from the diarist`s "reality" C) scenes from the diarist's fantasies

 

Even though look A should look like a consumer camera, I plan to shoot it on DVCAM. I can play with the texture in post.

 

Look C should be the "film look," and I originally wanted to shoot it in 24p. But it appears that the Z1U's cineframe mode can be done better in post, so I now plan to shoot both looks B and C in normal interlaced, creating the different looks with lighting, mis en scene, and maybe a post "film look."

 

For looks B and C I will shoot in 16:9. I want to shoot look C in 4:3. Can I shoot DVCAM in 4:3 with the Z1U? If I do, this means that on an SD television I will have B and C letterboxed (true 16:9 fit into the 4:3 screen) and look A will fill the frame, correct? And on a HD television looks B and C will fill the frame and look A will be cropped on either side, right? What kind of post problems can the mix of 16:9 and 4:3 give me?

 

Should I shoot on PAL at 50i or on NTSC at 60i, considering the majority of my audience will be watching on NTSC SD sets, but that I do want to place this movie in as many festivals as possible, and might, just might be able to do a blow up... Does the PAL to NTSC conversion cost quality?

 

Finally, given the motion artefacting that can be caused by the Z1U, is there anyone who would suggest using the DVX100, forgetting the 16:9 and high-res, using the 24p mode to distinguish between look B and C, and shooting look A in DV as opposed to DVCAM?

 

Thanks for any advice,

Rich

Republic of Panama