Question re:16:9 requirement

[LMGvideo]

Was wondering if a letterboxed 4:3 would be acceptable for entry into this fest. Seeing how the DVX is not native 16:9, I'm assuming I either have to go to squeeze mode or buy an anamorphic adapter (ummm, not gonna happen, not on my salary at least...).

Am I missing other options? Please advise.

[Ted Arabian]

HEY LMGvideo, I cannot answer your question but I shot Horrofest on SQUEEZE with great results. No adapter needed.

BTW, I did use the dvx100b and that made squeeze mode much more easy to shoot since it is corrected in the LCD and EVF.

Oh! Other options.... shoot in 4:3 and crop in post. There are many fans of this method. Both Squeeze and Cropping lose resolution but squeeze frees you of the extra step in post... BUT cropping could save a shot if you hated the framing.

ALSO.... A BIG 'ALSO!' The DVX100B's LCD display of SQUEEZE is a 10% overscan. So, if you go this route, make sure that you check the EVF for framing..... don't rely on the LCD. (I found out the hard way!) (There are other options for framing squeeze mode on the dvx100b.... pm me if you want advice.)

Good luck!

Ted

[LMGvideo]

Thanks ted. I was wondering about cropping as well. I suppose it depends on what the final deliverable spec will be. I can just crop the letterbox on export and not lose any resolution, but I'm not sure if that will satisfy the size requirements. If you have to reduce the overall size for Web viewing anyway, it shouldn't be a problem.

Barry, you out there?

[Beat Takeshi]

I shot 4x3 and just letterboxed then used sorenson squeeze to cut off the black area when compressing for web.

[Barry_S]

Yeah, letterboxed 4:3 is fine, just crop to 16:9 for web output, as Aram mentioned.

[LMGvideo]

Cool, thanks Barry.

[Ted Arabian]

...I can just crop the letterbox on export and not lose any resolution...
From what I understand, just to clarify, YOU WILL lose resolution. Anything "cropped" is throwing away potential resolution.

[235 Studios]

From what I understand, just to clarify, YOU WILL lose resolution. Anything "cropped" is throwing away potential resolution.

Yep - you are both correct in a sense-

When you crop you will loose resolution, as you are getting rid of the image area where you are cropping. But if you already have your image letterboxed, then all you are loosing is the black bars which isn't really loosing anything additional as you have already lost the additional image through the letterboxing.

[Ted Arabian]

But aren't you losing resolution by shooting letterbox? It seems like in either case, there are going to be "unused" pixels.

[Ted Arabian]

Oh! Wait! I just re-read your post...


......as you have already lost the additional image through the letterboxing.

So, it seems like you can either lose it now or lose it later (in post!)

We just need to all get an hvx and have native 16:9 chips!!!

[Brandon Rice]

But aren't you losing resolution by shooting letterbox? It seems like in either case, there are going to be "unused" pixels.

The only time you'll see a SLIGHT resolution loss is when you create an anamorphic 16:9 DVD file... this will change the pixel size, and you'll love a bit of resolution... when you crop for the web however, you don't lose anything, as you're simply chopping the black bars off the top and bottom.

[Ted Arabian]

But aren't the black bars "covering" potential resolution?

[Brandon Rice]

I guess... they're covering image... which I suppose COULD BE potential resolution, but only if you're going to be having a 4:3 final product...

[Ted Arabian]

I guess I am not understanding what "resolution" is. I thought that anything that is not used on the 4:3 chip counted as lost resolution.

From what I understood....

"squeeze" losses resolution because of the nature of "stretching" the picture

and

"croppin" losses resolution because of the "unused" pixels.

I didn't mean to confuse the topic.

SO, to threadjack.... Brandon, did I hear that you are a fan of "Heros?"

I JUST saw this show last night! Wow! I loved it.

Is there a thread about this show?

Ted

Threadjack done!

[Barry_Green]

Think of resolution in terms of pixels per inch, or dots per inch. More dots per inch = higher resolution.

In letterbox mode you don't have any fewer dots per inch, you have exactly the same. What you have is fewer inches (because the top and bottom are covered up in black, so they're not really part of your image anymore). So you have the same resolution, but less actual image.

In Squeeze mode, you have the same number of inches, but 360 dots are spread across the full frame, whereas in normal 4:3 mode you have 480 dots spread across the full frame.

[Ted Arabian]

Think of resolution in terms of pixels per inch, or dots per inch. More dots per inch = higher resolution.

In letterbox mode you don't have any fewer dots per inch, you have exactly the same. What you have is fewer inches (because the top and bottom are covered up in black, so they're not really part of your image anymore). So you have the same resolution, but less actual image.

In Squeeze mode, you have the same number of inches, but 360 dots are spread across the full frame, whereas in normal 4:3 mode you have 480 dots spread across the full frame.
Wow! Thanks Barry for making that so clear!

You da man! :thumbsup:

[Ted Arabian]

Uh oh! Now I have to reconsider how I shoot!

To squeeze or not to squeeze?

[Kyle Stebbins]

Think of resolution in terms of pixels per inch, or dots per inch. More dots per inch = higher resolution.

In letterbox mode you don't have any fewer dots per inch, you have exactly the same. What you have is fewer inches (because the top and bottom are covered up in black, so they're not really part of your image anymore). So you have the same resolution, but less actual image.


Not to take Barry's thunder, but I was just about to type this after I read a few posts on this thread. I'm glad to see Barry beat me to it! =)
He deserves the credit more than I do!!
-Kyle

[Brandon Rice]

Yeah, you do lose RES in that sense :) But it's not visible resolution (since you're cropping to only see a part of the image)

I am a fan of Heroes... and they shot it several times near my house... I am getting frustrated at the show however... it's taking so long for questions to be answered!

[Ted Arabian]

I hate to cont. to threadjack... so if there is a thread where HEROES is discussed.... How old id this show? I just saw episodes 3-5 1/2 (I feel asleep at 11:30) on a Sci-Fi channel marathon. After I got hooked on it, I was so bummed to see that I missed the Pilot and episode 2, which had just been shown.

Is it still in its' first season?

Ted

[Brandon Rice]

Yep, it's still in it's first season... I think there's been 7 or 8 episodes... you can also get them on Itunes I think... anyways, I think there's a discussion in film discussions area...

[Kyle Stebbins]

A group of my friends are TOTALLY devoted to the show and encouraged me to watch the marathon... needless to say, i completely forgot about it. I've been told that the most recent episode answered a lot of questions. (unlike Lost)

Ah... threadjacking.
-Kyle