Film Out

[BenS0724]

I'm sure this topic has been handled before, so I apologize if everyone is already sick to death of it.

I am looking for a video cam that will enable me to acquire the most film-like footage, and (if the movie gods smile down upon my humble efforts) could one day actually be transferred to film for theatrical distribution. I know this is a long-shot, but I have to dream, you know?! I definitely do NOT want a 60i camera that would result in odd motion blur during such a transfer (I'm talking about you, Sony HDV).

So, what are my best options? I know that everyone is crazy about the HVX, and I really like it too. I personally do not like the image obtained with the JVC 24p HDV camera. (No flames please. I am not arguing with the quality of this camera in any way. I simply do not personally like the imagery, but I am sure that others feel it is a superb camera.)

So what about the Canon HDV cameras? I love the way the XL H1 footage looks, so I am very eager for it's lower priced cousins. But do the 24F modes create 24 truly discreet frames of information that can be transferred to film without the motion blur of transferring 60i footage? Or is Canon's 24f just a better-executed video trick like the Sony HDV cam's frame modes (i.e., it is recording a 60i image, but it just tries to give a film-like appearance.)

By the way, I understand that all footage from any NTSC video cam will be "cradled" in some way in a 60i stream, and that editors have to remove 3:2 pulldown, etc. I just want to know if the Canon will truly capture 24 frames per second and provide me a way of maintaining these 24 individual frames. (I also know that the Canon scans at 48i and presumably de-interlaces to give the 24f effect.)

Thanks in advance,
Ben

[donatello]

a opinion !!
choose any camera that you like the image .. even if it is 60i or SD... just don't shoot 30p ..
shoot 60i if it doesn't have TRUE 24p ... tape to film houses have it down converting 60i to 24p for film out = trust them - look at their work ....

IMO the sony FX1 60i looks good transferred out = IMO beats any hand size SD camera shooting 24p/60i ....
check with tape to film houses ..most recommended camera settings for many different camera's ...
call them - talk to them ...
unless we've seen a film out using a specific camera it's a bit hard to give details .. but in general (IMO) any of the hand size HD/HDV camera's will have a good film out ( again 60i if they do not have a real 24p) ...

from what i remember on the canon HD on BOTH shoot outs - in 24 f mode the vertical resolution went to 540 ? ( or was that horizontal) where as in interlace mode i believe both H & V resolution was near 800 lines ... which makes me think you are loosing something in their 24f mode ... BUT the question then what is the h& V resolution from a 60i to 24p convert ? perhaps a tape to film house can tell you ?

[Elton]

So what about the Canon HDV cameras? I love the way the XL H1 footage looks, so I am very eager for it's lower priced cousins. But do the 24F modes create 24 truly discreet frames of information that can be transferred to film without the motion blur of transferring 60i footage?

Canon HDV 24F recorded to tape is a true 24p recording with zero interlace artifacts or pulldown issues. It's very simple to use an MPEG2 capture utility (DVHS Cap, HDVxDV) and export true 24p clips from MPEG Streamclip. And --hopefully--soon FCP will have full 24F support. The live SDI signal (or HDV tape playback through SDI) has 24p embedded in a 1080 60i stream which needs to be inverse telecine'd in order to work with the footage in a true 24p timeline.

A person I've helped with some XL-H1 technical questions recently did a 5 min. 35mm film-out at EFilm in Hollywood....nothin' but raves! He said it looked like a very good S16 blow-up/bordering on older 35mm. It was transferred from his QT intermediate codec (I believe he used DVCPRO HD 1080 24p) without any need to interpolate anything.

HTH,

E

[BenS0724]

Thanks for the feedback.