First real project with DVX100B - Questions

[crazyhamster411]

Tomorrow night I will be shooting my first real project for a friend. She has a project due soon that she must have a short documentary style video on the subject of music.

So, tomorrow night I am going to a popular hangout spot where a local band will be performing. We are going to interview the band, guests at the show, and workers at the venue, mixed with bits of the band playing live.
So basicaly, I'll have two different types of shots. Interview shots, and live band shots.

I am pretty new to this all and I was wondering if anyone could give suggestions on good settings to use.

The live performance will be shot in a low light environment. Any suggestions on dvx settings to use for lowlight situations? Also, I don't know at what speed to shoot. 60i, or 24p?

During the interview parts, I will be using a tripod shooting the subject from about mid-chest up. Should I use 60i for the interviews? Would 24p look more appropriate for an interview setup like this one?

I'm sure I may have a few more questions as I get replies. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks in advance, and sorry for the short notice, I should have asked about this stuff a little more in advance.

EDIT: Also, if it helps, I am capturing and editing in Adobe Primeire Pro.

[art metal art]

I would shoot everything 24p advanced. I had shot allot of my early stuff 60i because of low light situations but have found the dvx100 is much better than had imagined it would be. 24pa is perfect for all that you have to shoot and it just looks great. I use Premiere also.

[crazyhamster411]

I've never ever had success shooting good looking 24p. I know I am doing something wrong... but I don't know what. Everything is always EXTREMELY flickery and I don't know how to fix it. Also, if i barely move in 24p, the motion blur is just too much. I don't know whats going on, but I've heard that thats all normal.

If I do shoot in 24p advanced, how should I edit in Premier? Under the 24p setting or what? I've had people tell me not to do that but edit it like it was 60i footage. I'm sorry I'm such a newb, but that is why I value everyones input here so greatly.

[Joshua Provost]

For whatever reason, 24p seems very stuttery on the LCD, but not as much once you edit and view. Hey, it is more stuttery, yes, you have to use a softer hand on camera movements, but it's not as bad as it looks on the LCD.

Hey, frame rate and shutter speed work hand in hand. In 24p mode, the shutter should be 1/48. It's a little more motion blur, but that works to smooth out the stutter. So, it's a little confusing, because you can't say that it is both "too stuttery" and has "too much motion blur."

For this project, anyway, since it's a doco, it wouldn't be unusual to just shoot 60i. If you want to get creative, it might be an interesting look to have the live performance 60i, and shoot the interviews with a little more polished lighting look and in 24p (Standard pulldown, so you can edit it with the 60i live perf. in a 60i timeline). Might be an interesting combination, I have seen this from time to time on TV. Or shoot the whole thing 24pA, which seems to be the way to go these days. You've just got to be comfortable with the look, which most people seem to be. For tripod shot talking head interviews, stutter or motion blur shouldn't be problems anyway.

[crazyhamster411]

The gigs in a few hours.

When you say "in 24p (Standard pulldown, so you can edit it with the 60i live perf. in a 60i timeline)" - what exactly is "Standard pulldown"? Does that just mean, not 24p Advanced? And when you say "60i timeline" you mean ... edit with regular 60i project settings in premiere?

Oh, and thanks for all the help. It's really appreciated.

[William_Robinette]

If you are mixing 24p and 60i footage, shoot 24p (non pA) and edit in a standard 60i timeline.

If you want it all 24p, shoot 24pA and edit in a 24p timeline.

I would suggest 30p for your needs, as it will look more polished then 60i, but help you out if you aren't used to shooting 24p yet. It is more forgiving with camera movements.