Cutting HVX with XL2

[RamseyFilms]

I have a very low budget 16:9 SD project (2 cam shoot) next weekend and I have a problem. I'm in Philly and my local rental house now has one hvx, one xl2 and 3 dvx (letterbox only). Tried to find a second XL2 w/o any luck. Then I thought I would go w/ the dvx and rent two adapters out of NYC. Now I'm having trouble w/ the NYC rental house.

So, I may be forced to cut an HVX with the XL2. I'm excited about using the HVX, but am concerned about the combined results.

Has any one had a similar shoot? Any ideas on settings to try and match. I've heard the dvx100b cuts very well with the XL2 in 4:3. So I'm hoping the HVX would have similar results in 16:9

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[evinsky]

If your shooting 16:9 DV then they should cut better than a DVX and XL2. Because the res of the HVX will be the same or better than the XL2. Shouldn't be a problem, still, you should try to get them both a day ahead of shooting and try to match settings using a good CRT production monitor.

[doolahrock]

I shoot a fair amount of weddings with the XL2 in 16:9 and a DVX with ana adaptor. I've not had the chance to see an HVX in action so cant comment too much but would presume in SD the HXV and DVX are fairly comparable.

It will probably depend on lighting quite a lot. I find in daylight I can match the pictures next to perfectly in post. The DVX will need desaturated to match the XL2. Tried bumping up the gamma on the XL2 to match the DVX but the results were not as good and a lot harder to achieve.

Also, you will find the difference more noticeable when both cams are on a wide shot. I recently filmed a corporate with the same set up and found with one cam on a wide and the other on a close up the difference was barely noticeable (XL2 still desaturated in post). However, with both on a wide shot it was a little more tricky as walls etc tended to have a slightly different colour balance which still weren't 100% after much tweaking. However, the client didn't notice and loved the final results.

Slightly left field, but I was watching a doc recently and the main cam (I'm guessing) was a Sony DSR400 and the second cam a PD170. I could easily spot the difference but my wife thought I was going mad as she couldn't see it. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would doubt you will get an exact match but your average viewer is unlikely to notice as long as both pictures are in the ballpark.

Cheers

Jon

[PANA-MAN]

Doolahrock pretty much got to the truth of what really matters. The client. And most clients are "average joes" when it comes to the more techno-specific details. These people do not generally whip out rez charts or meticulously scrutinize if the the color reproduction of one camera matches another. If it looks right to them, then it is right. :)

[AshG]

The XL2 resolution wise cuts VERY good with the HVX, I did some stuff just the last 2 days. I had some older b-roll shot in 30P on the XL2 and it cut right into the HVX interview stuff. That is with 720P 30N by the way. With the HVX really only resolving 540 - 600 lines and the XL2 a solid 480, they cut very well together.


ash =o)

[RamseyFilms]

Hey guys. Thanks for the advice.