HELP!!! Vegas 6 render workflow for transfers

A.J. wrote on 2/17/2008, 5:55 PM
Thanks for any info, as I'm in a pinch for time, and no money...

I have a feature length film that will be screening at small film fests.
The film was shot on a sony Z1 and FX1 in hdv. I have captured as CFCD and edited 1440x1080 on 24p timeline. The film was rendered as 24p widescreen for DVDA for film submissions...So far, so good.
I now need to provide the film in projection formats as DVCAM and DIGIBETA.
Good news is, I have a friend who works at a small cable network and he has access to the DVCAM and DIGIBETA decks.

He suggested that in FX1 cam, I print the movie to tape, and we transfer to DVCAM and DIGI...When I asked him about how it would project, he didn't know, as all of his work is at the broadcast level.
I then asked if it would be better as an uncompressed file from external drive, for projection. He said "it might be, he's just never really done to much transfering as he's mostly a graphics guy".
At any rate, I've got no money for post and he's the best friend I've got.
We could really use some help!!!

My questions are:

1) Which transfer is better for theatrical screening-- From FX1 to tape to deck...OR file from external hard-drive to deck?

2) Being that film is native HDV 16:9, should I render CF CD's to SD as an AVI?.
If so, what settings for proper down-conversion and aspect ratio for DVCAM and for DIGIBETA...

Which brings up another question--

3) Can I use the same AVI file for both DVCAM and DIGI? or would I have to make separate files?

4) My friend also has access to an HDCAM deck, would it be best just to do an HDCAM master and make dubs off that out to DVCAM and DIGI?

Thanks, AJ


Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 2/17/2008, 7:49 PM
For DVCAM, rendering to 16:9 DV-AVI with 16/48 stereo PCM audio should work seamlessly because that's what DVCAM essentially is, just with a higher tape speed.

For the DIGI-BETA, I've had no experience, but possibly the best approach is to render your movie to the same format you captured in, which hopefully would not require recompression in the main segments, then take it to a production house on a hard drive (or tape, makes no difference except for the media length), where they can get the levels just right for that format.
TheHappyFriar wrote on 2/17/2008, 8:25 PM
Why do you need to put it on tape to use for projection? Is this a requirement of the film fest? Wondering because I saw a compilation of ~10 short films in a movie theature. I found out three months later it was a SDDVD. I could of sworn it was HD, but it wasn't. It looked awesome.

Anyway... if he's just the graphics guy, have him ask his AV guy. he'll know best (hopefully!).
A.J. wrote on 2/18/2008, 8:32 PM
Hey thanks for replies,

Yeah I'll try the straight render for DVCAM, I'm curious to know if I print to tape, will I lose a sharpness due to compression in doing so?

Also, Yes, tape for projection Is a requirement of the film fest...
Thanks again-- AJ
musicvid10 wrote on 2/18/2008, 9:25 PM
No.

As I said, DV-AVI, HDV, etc. is the same whether it goes on a drive, tape, disc, or other media.
Printing directly to tape from the timeline introduces no losses that I am aware of (it will prerender titles, transitions, and effects for you).
The ONLY difference is the media capacity, for instance one hour per tape in Mini-DV format.
The DV codec is called DV25, and the compression is 5:1 always.

You can find lots of technical and comparison information here:
http://www.adamwilt.com/