Another good reason to shoot HDV

farss wrote on 12/1/2004, 11:42 PM
One of the eternal profundities of video these days is to shoot 16:9 or 4:3. Down here for commercial release you'd better be shooting 16:9 or it's hard to make a sale. But a lot of the corporates still what 4:3, well maybe for now until they wake up a bit more.
Now with SD cameras no matter which format you shoot to go the other way you're going to take a quality hit and have potential framing problems if you're going from 16:9 to 4:3.
Well from what I can see if you shoot HDV you've got all the bases covered, for 16:9 you can simply downscale and job done. But better still you can crop to 4:3 and then downscale and still not take a quality hit and you can pan within the frame so even framing issues aren't that tight.
Bob.

Comments

Grazie wrote on 12/2/2004, 12:36 AM
Bob - excellent,brief and to the point .. great! THIS is the type of "signposting" I appreciate. For me, needing to get stuff to Corporations who yet haven't scaled the dizzy heights of having DVD players . . happy enough to rely on native VHS decks and . .BIG LEAP here . . OR their WMP Player .. OR RP . .. so, 4:3 is good . .you say 16:9 and their "budgetting" eyes glaze over . . and yes 16:9 is a format for those who are up to speed to hire me . . maybe I need to rethink the work I take on board and start wise-ing up to recognising that I could be being "lead" by an innocent client base, into a 4:3 Cul-De-Sac . .. hmmm . . interesting ..

.. However this IS sometime off for my level of "influence" . . . . but, as usual Bob, you HAVE made me think on . . .

Grazie
PeterWright wrote on 12/2/2004, 1:02 AM
Good stuff Bob.
I don't have an urgent need for HDV, except I do have an urgent need for a new camera - I'm using 2 part Araldite (an Aussie glue) to hold my 7 year old 3CCD cam together.

So, I've told the local Sony man I'll have a ZU1 off the first truck - I'll continue putting out 4:3 DV, but start shooting HDV and learn all the HDV tricks ready for some upcoming creative productions ...
Grazie wrote on 12/2/2004, 1:28 AM
. .think this'll be my approach too Peter! But, I think I'll wait for the third or fourth van though! Ahah!

Grazie ..

ps Araldite is over here too! Don't be so . .er . .. stuck-up!
farss wrote on 12/2/2004, 3:03 AM
Peter,
common cobber, if it can't be fixed with baling wire it can't be fixed.

It's no laughing matter though, I've come across a few pros who've had cameras held together with gaffer tape and I don't expect you to believe this but there's still guys being paid good money to shoot weddings on VHS-C.

Bob.
mark2929 wrote on 12/2/2004, 4:55 AM
I just edited some of dreamlx Footage in Vegas... I tried to add MB But resoltion Exceeded... so I used ColoUr Curves for a Makeshift Film Look... Tried Various Looks and Boy was I rewarded ! I have never Seen such High Quality before On Video Looks like real Film Footage AWESOME.....
Simon Page wrote on 12/2/2004, 6:48 PM
Ahh. This reminds me of a booklet thats still around from the late 70's on "How to be a successful StediCam Operator." It has some great pics of a "spaced out dude" with beard, scruffy clothes, sweat, and a kit that's held together with Gaffer tape and super glue. Next to him is his opposite, clean, in a suite with his kit neatly packaged in a case.

Of course, the spaced out dude always gets the work and the women based on the fact that he looked the part, looked as if he'd seen war and looked as if he knew what hard work was!

There you go, gaffer tape CAN improve your sex life :)

Simon
Grazie wrote on 12/2/2004, 7:08 PM
" There you go, gaffer tape CAN improve your sex life :) " LOL - BIG TIME! ! ! !
busterkeaton wrote on 12/2/2004, 9:06 PM
I know a guy who tried to build his own steadicam, but I don't think he ever quite got the balance correct. Behind his back, his friends called it the "cripple-cam."
farss wrote on 12/2/2004, 11:01 PM
Even if you spend $5K on the real McCoy getting the balance right is the absolutely critical as is knowing how to use it. There aren't people whose career is steadicam operator for nothing..
Bob.