saving a feature?

Dimeworth wrote on 2/6/2003, 7:18 PM
Hi guys.

Here's a noob question i bet. I'm about to shoot a loq-budget feature film on mini-dv. When It's all done and edited it'll be about 90 minutes long. I was planning on just spitting it out on to a mini-dv. But as far as I know.. the tapes are max. 60 mins. How do i go about having a master copy of the film to show on tape? I'm considering a DVD burner now.. but i'd rather just have it on mini-dv.

Oh one more thing... How much disk-space do you think I would need to be able to edit about 100 mins worth of footage. I'm only intending to capture what I need. I'm really new to NLE's and such, so I'd appreciate any help. I've got about 30 gigs right now, which i know is nothing. So i'm planning on getting more diskspace... anything I should know about what kind of hard-drive to get.. or to avoid?

I'm pretty confused right now. So i hope someone can help.

Thanks either way guys,

-Ayz





Comments

MBerger wrote on 2/6/2003, 7:32 PM
If you are using Mini DV format, the only tapes I've seen would be @60min in length - nothing you can really do about this due to format limitations. About editing this project, ideally you'd like to have at least 2x the amount of space needed for your project (as to figure in free disk space for your final render). A rule of thumb would be 15min/DV = @4GB. If you are planning on a project that's 90min in length, it comes out to @24GB for just the initial capture alone. With the current prices of hard drives, you can pick up a Internal 120GB drive for <$120. Check Pricewatch for the a good listing of these prices.
soundguy63 wrote on 2/6/2003, 7:33 PM
If you want to go out to digital tape via firewire for a 90-minute project, you'll need to obtain a recorder that can use the full-size cassettes. These can go (I dont remember exactly) something like 184 minutes in DVCam and about 4 hours in regular DV.
80gig drives are pretty cost effective right now and 120's are coming down too.
I hate to recommend drive brands because while most all are fairly reliable, invariably all brands seem to put out lemons too.
pb wrote on 2/6/2003, 9:02 PM
Don't Canon and Panasonic camcorders offer LP mode (90 minutes on a tape)? Yes that is useless for editing but for digital playback the only consideration is dropouts and with Sony 40 minute (60 minute miniDV) that is not going to happen. Our XL1 is rented out so I can't check but I am sure it has that option.

Peter
Dimeworth wrote on 2/6/2003, 9:31 PM
thanks for the replies guys. I'm shooting on a panasonic. I don't have it yet, but i will soon. If there's an LP option, won't there be a loss in quality? Otherwise why wouldn't everyone just use the LP option? Or am i just figuring this wrong...? Well you mentioned drop outs.. but I'm not quite sure what you meant "with sony 40 minute (60 minute minidv) that is not going to happen." Hmm? I'm probably just slow... lol.

Could you explain that for me though?

Thanks again for the replies.. I pretty much got what I wanted. Any more suggestions would still be appreciated of course..

-Ayz

wcoxe1 wrote on 2/6/2003, 9:32 PM
Just about everyone who makes Mini-DV tapes markets some that are longer than 60 minutes. Sony and others make 80 minute tapes. Panasonic makes 63 and 83 minute Professional and Master Quality tapes, as well as 80 minute consumer grade tapes.

The 60s, if recorded in LP run 90 minute. The 80 minute tapes run 120 minutes. The 83 minute tapes run about 124-125 minutes. These tapes are a tad hard to find, but the certainly exist, I use them frequently. You can find them on eBay. Just do a search for AY-DVM63MQ, AY-DVM63PQ, AY-DVM83MQ, or AY-DVM83PQ, or AY-DVM83XB, for instance, to find Panasonic's versions of Professional and Master Quality tapes. They are quite good.
pb wrote on 2/6/2003, 9:40 PM
Sony DVCAM 40s record 40 minutes in DVCAM mode and 60 minutes in the miniDV Canon XL1. I have never used any brand other than Sony Broadcast so follow the directions given by the previous poster for likely cheaper Panasonic (which we don't have access to here in Northern Alberta). You can't lose quality in LP mode because digital is a series of 0s and 1s. Consider this: BetaSX recorded on to a 30 minute BetaSP tape = 60 minutes. Half the speed as analog and 500 lines rather than 400. Buy the Panasonic Broadcast and do your transfer.

Peter
GaryKleiner wrote on 2/7/2003, 1:25 AM
LP mode is not a reliable way to go.

There is a great likelyhood that it will only play well in the device it was recorded on.

Gary
Dimeworth wrote on 2/7/2003, 12:39 PM
I didn't know you could use tapes other than mini-dv in mini-dv camera's. So i can use DVcam tapes? how exactly does this work...?

thanks for all the replies again. This is really helping me out.

Ayz

nlamartina wrote on 2/7/2003, 12:53 PM
Dime and everyone else, you're making this way too difficult.

Click here.

120 minutes in SP, 180 in LP. No need for extra equipment or special settings. Just load it and dump the project to the cassette.

Hope this helps,
Nick
Dimeworth wrote on 2/7/2003, 1:07 PM
Thanks a lot. That's exactly what I was looking for. Now this'll work in a mini-dv cam? I'm only asking because It doesn't say anywhere.

Thanks again Nick. This is great.

Ayz

soundguy63 wrote on 2/7/2003, 1:08 PM
That is exactly correct. While there is no quality difference in the signal as long as everything is working perfectly, LP mode is much more susceptible to dropouts and interchange problems. I wouldnt recommend LP mode for anything important, especially if you will need to play the tape in a different machine.
There is also a risk in using the longer length tapes because generally the tape is more fragile. If you go that route i'd make several copies to have a backup.
wcoxe1 wrote on 2/7/2003, 1:13 PM
Interesting. But pricy. 2.5 times the list of the equivalent 60 minute tapes for 2 times the length. However, it is about 5 times the street price of the 60 minute tapes. Obviously for special projects, only.

Looking around, it shows that it is for Mini-DV.
nlamartina wrote on 2/7/2003, 2:02 PM
Azy,

Yes, it's a MiniDV cassette, so it will work just fine with your camcorder.

- Nick