adam berk

I assume you're doing the videotap that takes over the viewfinder. Is this correct?

Damn, that sold quick. I would've bought it right away if I had only paid a bit more attention to the boards here! Bah....

Hey Isaac, if you do get the chance to look at both on the telecine, would you mind posting back here with your findings? It would be interesting to hear how it works out for you.

i'll be looking forward to these!

So, are we saying that Spectra uses fresh stock, and Pro8 uses re-cans, etc?

The workflow I usually use, if I have to master a DV project directly out of FCP is this: 1. Finish work 2. Go to sequence settings 3. Set compressor to "None" - this is RGB, which is compatible with all systems, including Quicktime for Windows, and very old versions of Quicktime. If you're just going to another Final Cut Pro for the layoff to digibeta, you can use "Uncompressed 8bit 4:2:2" to avoid the YUV to RGB conversion if you wish. If the FCP you're going to has a Blackmagic card, you can download those codecs for free and use those accordingly, etc....... The idea here is to render all your effects, color corrections, etc in an uncompressed manner, without re-passing the image with any more compression. 4. Render 5. Export self-contained Quicktime as is, with "recompress all frames" un-checked - this is not necessary since you've already re-rendered as uncompressed in step 4 You should be using the "Export to Quicktime" in the export menu - not compressor, and not With Quicktime Conversion - you want to be exporting the file with the compressor setting you set in step 3. If anyone else would like to chime in with another workflow, please do!

If you're editing in native DV, which I assume you are, and you've applied any sort of effect - even a dissolve....I would NOT print to tape. I would set your finished sequence compressor setting to an uncompressed format, render, then export an uncompressed quicktime file or an uncompressed frame sequence. Take that uncompressed master to your post house and lay off to digibeta from that. Anytime you render anything in DV, you are applying a 2nd pass of the DV 5:1 compression. DV was never designed for that. It was designed to be an acquisition format only, thus only designed to withstand one pass without significant image quality degradation. Hope this helps. PS: Here's a JPG of first generation DVCAM telecine, next to the same frame with 4 more passes of DV compression.

Keep in mind that when viewing video inside FCP, you are looking at the image with an adjusted gamma. FCP adjusts the gamma of the image to closer approximate what it will look like on a video monitor. This is why the image looks different when viewing it in other applications like QT Player, etc. The gamma adjustment in FCP is only for viewing, it's not rendered into the image. This isn't the first time this confusion has come up. It's actually been a big source of confusion for quite some time and has gotten the best of a lot of us, so don't feel bad! Try viewing the same source clip in QT player and FCP at the same time, you'll see what I mean. Check this out....... http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93794

thanks a bunch for the quick replies

Has anyone purchased gear from this guy before? Should I feel safe sending him a wire transfer? Here is an item of his.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...s_promot_widget Thanks so much everyone, adam

Any newer machine, AKA, anything capable of doing a multistream DV edit should be able to edit the DVCPROHD natively without a problem. I've cut DVCPROHD on my 1.67ghz G4 powerbook from the internal HDD several times in FCP- captured from the panasonic deck via firewire. Dubbing down to digibeta for offline editing purposes is the biggest waste of time and money you could possibly undertake.

We own an HDX900. To put it simply, I couldn't even imagine thinking about, thinking about getting an XDCAM instead.

Does anyone in Las Vegas sell film?

Curious if anyone knows what the camera kit is like for Discovery HD's new series "Planet Earth"....

I'm shooting mostly my Bolex EBM with a 170 degree shutter.....so I set my D70 for 1/50 shutter. The only time I have to start compensating around is when I'm using 50D, 100T, or 7285 since the D70 ISO setting only goes down to ISO200. Otherwise...it's always close enough. When it comes to 1/50 being to slow to get sharp pics handheld....it doesn't really matter. I can usually get sharp pics at that speed, but even if don't for some reason, it doesn't really matter since I'm really only using it to test exposure and color balance. And like I said, the latitude of the Vision2 negative film stocks are pretty far beyond the D70 anyways so as long as I get things looking close to where I want them to be, I feel safe knowing that I will have plenty of information to work with in telecine.

What type of camera is this?

Something I've found extremely helpful, although I realize a bit off-topic, is having a DSLR on set. I use a Nikon D70. I will simply set the ISO and shutterspeed to be as close as possible to what my motion picture camera is running. This allows me to test exposure. Something else a bit off-topic, but totally worth mentioning, is how this practice has really shown me the latitude advantages of film. I've had plenty of exposures on the DSLR that just couldn't handle the contrast in my scenes, yet when I get to telecine, ALL of the detail is there on the actual film. Maybe the DSLR idea helps you, maybe not....thought I'd mention it. thanks, adam

In my opinion....if you can afford the maintenance...HELL YES. Buy the gear. At the end of the production(s), you can sell and before you know it, you may realize that the camera use may have cost you only a few hundred bucks. When we're talking specifically about an investment of only a few k (up to 10k) to buy, with a minimum of several months of use, I think renting is just absurd, especially for indie prod.

I'll be there, as always. Maybe we could setup a get-together? I'm sure we've all got plenty already. It's always such a busy few days.... but maybe lunch or cocktails or something one day could be cool.

Does anyone know the shutter angle on the nizo 4056? I'm thinking of picking one up for a project I've got to shoot soon and I do not want to be stuck using the internal light meter.

ha, interesting comment...

I've actually used a D70 for a spot meter with much success. It saved a shoot just a few weeks ago.

I can say the same. Using my nikons wide open (usually either f2 or f1.4) and 7218, I've found that there is usually enough light polution in downtown san francisco at night to get a good and solid exposure that just looks right.

I shot this on a cyc in one of our school buildings. I really really really wish I had a spot meter. That will definitely be my next cine equipment purchase without a doubt. It was great to have the DSLR on set though in order to test expsure. I simply set the ISO to 200 (we were shooting v2 200t), the colour balance to tungsten, and fixed the shutter speed....this allowed us to get a general idea in an instant of a ballpark exposure. I pick up from the lab monday morning, then go straight into TK, so we'll see what happens. PS: Minigolf rules, I'm working the audio right now for Brian. thanks, adam

Yes. The guy writing on the glass is in the shot. Along with with c-stands holding up the glass, some lights, other grip equipment, speakers, etc.. This is just one of several sections of this video. There is probably somewhere between 20 and 30 locations in total. I'm really excited to get into telecine on monday!