HVX200 4:3 shooting

[mrbrycel]

I have a few questions about shooting 4:3 on the HVX200/200a.

1. The skate video "fully flared" by Lakai footware, was filmed a lot on Sony VX1000's. However, some shots, and the entire intro were shot on an HVX. The intro was definitely shot in 720p, because it is 60p footage. But the footage is 4:3. I know that the HVX can transfer 720p to DV 480i, and downconverting is an option in post, but doesn't 720p only allow 16:9 shooting? How did they get 16:9 720p footage to be 4:3 SD footage? Or is there a way to shoot 4:3 in 720p mode?

2. Since the HVX's CCD's are native 16:9, what method is used to shoot 4:3? Does it just crop the sides of the 16:9 ratio to fit 4:3? Or is there a way to shoot 4:3 without losing any horizontal width?

3. DVX vs. HVX 4:3 SD - I know that the HVX is a better overall camera than the DVX, but HD and variable frame rates aside, is there any comparison between 4:3 SD DV on the HVX (DV, not DVCPRO-50) and 4:3 SD DV on the DVX? As far as the angle of view, etc. If you for some reason HAD to shoot a project on miniDV, and you had an HVX and a DVX to choose from, which would you choose and why?

Thanks ahead for the information and feedback!

[Moog]

hey there :)

1) you CAN shoot 4:3 - but only in SD mode.

2) yes - 4:3 just chomps the relevant section out of the working frame.

3) There's not much between the two when shooting SD. I'd still go for HVX, because, well. I've got one. Also, you can record a whole crap load of SD to p2 cards, and avoid nasty tape. oh - plus, the HXV has a longer lense on it. SO that's nice too.

[David Jimerson]

3) If you're shooting 60i, use the DVX. Otherwise, use the HVX.

[mrbrycel]

3) If you're shooting 60i, use the DVX. Otherwise, use the HVX.

Is 480i/60i on the HVX not good? Does the DVX's 480i/60i look noticeably better?

[David Jimerson]

The DVX's is better. It's a known issue on the HVX.

[Barry_Green]

Clarification, it's a known issue on the HVX200. It's improved on the HVX200A. So when we say "the HVX", we have to differentiate them out.

[mrbrycel]

Clarification, it's a known issue on the HVX200. It's improved on the HVX200A. So when we say "the HVX", we have to differentiate them out.

Barry, I was referring to the HVX200A, how is the 480i/60i compared to a DVX?

[Barry_Green]

Well, with the 200A, that's a pretty good question actually. The DVX is still going to be a stop faster. The HVX200A fixed some of the aliasing issues that the original HVX200 had. In 16:9 the HVX200A is going to be shockingly sharper than the DVX in squeeze mode. In 4:3, I suspect that they'll be pretty evenly matched. Even so, I might still go for the DVX because of the extra stop of sensitivity. So, 4:3 60i, DVX = winner (but this is partly assumed, since I don't have a 200A to do a direct test with). But for any other kind of SD (24P, or 16:9, etc) I'd take the 200A.

[stndptflmr]

I have a few questions about shooting 4:3 on the HVX200/200a.

1. The skate video "fully flared" by Lakai footware, was filmed a lot on Sony VX1000's. However, some shots, and the entire intro were shot on an HVX. The intro was definitely shot in 720p, because it is 60p footage. But the footage is 4:3. I know that the HVX can transfer 720p to DV 480i, and downconverting is an option in post, but doesn't 720p only allow 16:9 shooting? How did they get 16:9 720p footage to be 4:3 SD footage? Or is there a way to shoot 4:3 in 720p mode?

2. Since the HVX's CCD's are native 16:9, what method is used to shoot 4:3? Does it just crop the sides of the 16:9 ratio to fit 4:3? Or is there a way to shoot 4:3 without losing any horizontal width?

3. DVX vs. HVX 4:3 SD - I know that the HVX is a better overall camera than the DVX, but HD and variable frame rates aside, is there any comparison between 4:3 SD DV on the HVX (DV, not DVCPRO-50) and 4:3 SD DV on the DVX? As far as the angle of view, etc. If you for some reason HAD to shoot a project on miniDV, and you had an HVX and a DVX to choose from, which would you choose and why?

Thanks ahead for the information and feedback!

1) Actually the intro to fully flared was shot entirely on 35mm film and it was shot on a camera capable of shooting something like 1000fps, much like the camera that was used in the intro to Yeah Right!

2) The HVX has 4x3 guides that you can turn on when shooting in 16x9, so all the HD footage in Fully Flared was actually shot in 16x9 but kept within the guides, then cropped to 4x3 in post. It's actually really simple to do and I've done it a bunch myself.

[mrbrycel]

1) Actually the intro to fully flared was shot entirely on 35mm film and it was shot on a camera capable of shooting something like 1000fps, much like the camera that was used in the intro to Yeah Right!

2) The HVX has 4x3 guides that you can turn on when shooting in 16x9, so all the HD footage in Fully Flared was actually shot in 16x9 but kept within the guides, then cropped to 4x3 in post. It's actually really simple to do and I've done it a bunch myself.

Really? I had no idea that the Fully Flared or Yeah Right intros were shot on 35mm. You said the camera was capable of shooting 1000fps, but was that intro shot in 1000fps? I can imagine that short intro at 1000fps would be equivalent to shooting a feature at 24fps. I didn't know skateboard/skateboard footware companies had that kind of money in their budgets (I might have expected a high budget from Nike SB, but not Girl or Lakai).

When you shoot 16:9 with the 4:3 guides, are the guides only there for viewing? Or do they show up on the footage as well? Like if you shot 16:9 footage with 4:3 guides, then later on decided you wanted to use the footage as 16:9 after all, would it be too late?

[stndptflmr]

The guides don't show up in the footage, just on the lcd/viewfinder. And yeah companies like Lakai definintely do have that kind of money. Sorry I meant 100fps, not 1000...add a zero and things look a little crazy. But yeah in the credts of Yeah Right! you can actually see Spike Jonze filming with the camera and hear the crazy noise it makes when shooting at that speed. I'm not sure that Lakai's intro was shot with the same camera but it was definetly shot on 35mm and the frame rate is greater than 60fps.