what's the difference?

[Ashley Barron]

Hi there,

I'm about to shoot on a Panasonic DVX100 for the first time and am unsure about what the difference between the shooting mode of 24p and 24p advanced is. I understand that people describe the 24p to have the so-called 'film look', and the advanced can't be compressed or?

Would be greatly appreciate it if someone could give me hint :)

Cheers,

Ashley.

[Michael Nash]

I'm quite sure this has been discussed here, and elsewhere, at length. But here goes:

 

24P records 24fps onto 60i with an alternating 3:2 field pattern. This is the way that 24fps film is transferred to 60i video, and how you view it on your standard def TV.

 

24P"A" records onto 60i with a 3:2:2:3 field pattern, for the express purpose of creating a true 24P stream upon ingest into an NLE. That's the only reason 24P "A" exists, and the only time you really need to use it.

 

If you're posting with a 60i timeline, shoot 24P. If you're posting with a 24P timeline, use 24P"A" and tell the NLE to remove the pulldown on ingest.

 

Both offer a "film look" as far as motion rendering, but the extra fields in the 24P"A" pattern make the footage look a little stuttery (again, the extra fields are there only so that they can be more easily removed; it's not meant to be viewed with the extra fields left in). Compression has nothing to do with it.

[Michael McIntyre]

I'm more than a little late to this question but anyway......

 

To totally oversimplify things, where's your footage going to end up?

 

Broadcast TV? 24p

Film or straight-to-DVD? 24pA

 

Many workflow issues and specifics but your deliverables ultimately determine the path. I'm certain people may jump all over this truncated response but it's a start for determining your footage acquisition.

[Michael Nash]

Many workflow issues and specifics but your deliverables ultimately determine the path. I'm certain people may jump all over this truncated response but it's a start for determining your footage acquisition.

 

Well, not to jump all over it, but one caveat: simple DVD burning applications like iMovie will only burn 60i (in the NTSC world), so you would follow the same 24p path as for broadcast. You did qualify your statement, but that's one detail that does trip people up.

[Michael McIntyre]

Well, not to jump all over it, but one caveat: simple DVD burning applications like iMovie will only burn 60i (in the NTSC world), so you would follow the same 24p path as for broadcast. You did qualify your statement, but that's one detail that does trip people up.

Roger that and good to know. Can't say that I've ever used iMovie but DVD StudioPro does a fine job w/ 24p material. That 1st DVD burn was one of those light-bulb ah-ha moments that any dork can truly appreciate.

[Michael Nash]

Roger that and good to know. Can't say that I've ever used iMovie but DVD StudioPro does a fine job w/ 24p material. That 1st DVD burn was one of those light-bulb ah-ha moments that any dork can truly appreciate.

 

I mis-spoke; I meant iDVD, not iMovie. In any case, I learned the hard way by trying to burn a true 24p timeline to DVD and kept ending up with a stuttery mess. I ended up using DVD Studio Pro, but had to teach myself the app first. Yes DVD Studio Pro is a much better app for DVD's, but 24P>60i>iDVD is ridiculously easy. Just choices.