Elhanan Matos

Transferring HDV to HDCAM is very simple: First make sure that your F500 is adjusted to the correct frame rate, I'm assuming you know how to use an HDW-F500 deck. After adjusting your frame rate take the FX1 with its component out connectors and get an AJA HD10A (YPbPr to HDSDI converter). Connect the component cables using some RCA to BNC converters and barrels to the AJA. Now connect the HDSDI cable to the F500 in "HDSDI INPUT." Now your all connected and you can start to dub from the DV tape to the HDCAM tape. Hit play on your camera and record on the deck. I've done this once before but at 59.94 not 25P, test it out at different frame rates and see what will work.

Try calling Pace Technologies, ask for the Mark 2 HDW or Mark 4 HDW Pace Technologies 10755 Sherman Way #1 Sun Valley, CA 91352 USA Tel: 818 759-7322 fax: 818 759-7323

I've been working with slow motion with the Cine Speedcam on features, music videos, and commercials for the past 8 months. The biggest problem I have come across has been light. You will need a lot of light to get your shot. Last Monday I was shooting tests with several DP's and Visual Effects guys, one of them, Greg McMurry, wanted to shoot a glass of wine being shot by an air rifle, we did tests at 1,000 fps at HD resolution, and then tests at 4,000 fps at SD resolution with a 360 degree shutter (1/4000 sec). The latter seemed to have worked the best. Working with high speed cameras isn't cheap though, to get a proper exposure at 1/4000 of a sec you need a lot of light! We used two 4k HMI's on that shot, and that was for a close up shot of the glass with a backdrop behind it. If you are planning on lighting an entire laboratory for the shot you decribed you will probably need something like a 12k HMI or a 50k Softsun.

What do you mean?

I just saw the movie and I thought it looked great! The cinematography was absolutely gorgeous!

The Genesis has a single 35mm sized sensor.

Focus? What ever happend to tape measures? ;)

A pretty big one, the Viper is not an ENG style camera, and requires a lot of equipment to go with it on set. I don't believe Collateral looked all that ugly, sure it wasn't great, but it sure was different and refreshing. I loved the scenes in the taxi cab that looked out at the LA sky. No. You can't learn linux in a few days, linux is not a format, it's an operating system. And on the D.Mag its all command line operations. Plus, I don't believe it's the DP's job to operate the D.Mag or the Viper, that is the DIT's job. What does this have to do with my last post? I have not once bashed film on this thread or forum! I think film is a beautiful format, there is no reason for me not to like it, but just because I like HD doesn't mean I don't like film, I have worked with both formats, I know how to shoot with both formats. Just a word of advice to everyone out there; bashing any format out there whether it's film, digital, or video will not help you further your career.

contact me off list, elhanan@bandpro.com and I will try and help you out.

You should check out the XDCAM, It's not HD, but it does have a 24p option board, and interchangeable lenses, and it's a much better camera than the DVX100, more expensive ofcourse, but also cheaper than the 700.

Sorta nice to have a place like that right in my neighborhood, but uh... has anyone here actually seen any images out of that camera? I can't wait for this camera to be available, but I will be incredibly skeptical about it until I have seen it. Also HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO STORE THOSE FILES!?!?!?! ;)

I'll guarantee you that you won't. Learning the menus in the Viper is the easiest part about the viper. Now capturing your material onto hard disks... thats not so easy, I spent about an hour today learning about the S.Two D.Mag hard disk recorder with a tech from "The Camera House" and I barely even skimmed the surface of what that machine can do. PS. If you believe you can use the Viper in Filmstream mode you better brush up on your Linux command line (I'm not kidding, the S.Two is a Linux box) :)

I would recommend going to the nearest rental house with HD cameras and asking them if you can take a look at one of their cameras and shoot some tests with some color charts. Also get the manual, I think there is a link for it somewhere on this website.

The airport scene was shot on 35mm. Michael Mann was going for that super grainy super "video" look. He wanted to be able to "see the los angeles sky." The majority of the movie that was shot on HD was shot with +6 or +12db of Gain, and sometimes even +18db gain (usually you would be shooting at either 0db or -3db!). If you want to know more about collateral read the ASC magazine article about it, http://www.theasc.com/magazine/aug04/collateral/page1.html

The XDCAM is not an HD camera, its a Standard Def camera. It records in either DVCAM or MPEG IMX. Here is some more info on the XDCAM . . . XDCAM Information

We (bandpro) will be releasing a 3.9 mm Digiprime HD lens (so thats equal to a 9.75mm lens in 35) which will have absolutely no distortion.

David, What differences do you think you would have had in sharpness if you were using a better lense on the HD camera (like a digiprime)?

Are you sure? Going from HDCAM to HDCAM won't add any noise at all no matter how many transfers you do. HD is a digital signal, its all 1's and 0's there is nothing analog about it. You won't see any change in the quality of the image.

Check out 16x9 when you have a chance. www.16x9inc.com

What do you mean, "a much more pleasant fashion" was there less strobing, was it more life like? Markus, If you are having a lot of issues with backfocus you should see if your rental house will give you a back focus alignment device of some sort, we sell the Zeiss Sharpmax, and a lot of rental houses all over the world carry them. The sharpmax makes checking back focus very very simple, you just attach it to the lens, set the focus to infinity, and then turn the back focus knob until the image is sharp. The whole process takes less than a minute.

I saw the cremaster exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York about two or three years ago, and I thought it was absolutely amazing. I think Cremaster 2 and 3 were shot in HD.

If your planning on a film out then I would say SDX-900. If your planning on going out to DVD's and your on a tight budget get the FX-1 and put more money into the rest of your production. The SDX will give you much sharper and cleaner pictures. The FX-1 will give you a large image with a lot of detail, but it will have a lot of mpeg artifacts and noise.

There are a few ways you can capture HD. You can go directly into your computer through HD-SDI. You can do that with some kind of capture card, an AJA Kona card, or a Blackmagic Decklink for example. Another way is by using a downcoverter to downconvert your HD into something like DV so that it is easier to edit on a PC at home, after your work is edited you can take that with your HD tapes over to a post house that will do your online. You can use a Miranda DVC-800 to downconvert everything, the Miranda also has a Firewire. The best way (in my opinion) is to use a J-H3 player, the J-H3 is a HDCAM player ONLY, it does not record, it's small and portable and has a Firewire out option board.

If you want a look that resembles something from the 1700's take a look at a style of art from the 1700's, For example you can look at Rococo, which had a very soft and light feel to it, and used alot of pastel colors, lots of light blues and light pinks. A good painting to look at is "The Swing" by Jean Honore Fragonard. The Swing Well said David!! Now if only more cinematographers were comfortable doing that with HD cameras...

A few months ago I worked a few days operating a slow motion HD camera (cine speed cam) on one of ILM's visual effects shoots, and with me in the video tent was Bob Fry from ILM working the F950. He gave me a tour of one of the stages with the motion control system and showed me the EXTRA extended exposure on the F950's.