Coloring P2 footage - via Digibeta/HD cam tape?

E

evamidgley

Member
Shot: Panasonic HVX200 at 24p on P2 card
Edited: FCP5.1

I have a great colorist in London who colors my work for no charge. But he cannot work from the original files, he needs it on Digibeta or HD cam tape. Has anyone gone this route?

Questions:
1. any recommendations for places who could do a transfer to Digibeta in New York?
2. Do I transfer the original P2 footage to be colored or the edit (.mov format)?
3. Does this involve a loss of quality? i gotta say it really ticks me off that I have to go to tape at this point - I am into my G-Raid.
4. If I print to video from FCP onto the Panasonic, using the tape - am I still in HD format? That tape looks like a miniDV to me and surely is inferior?
5. Should I just try to color in FCP? That would mean passing up on the opportunity ta have a very serious talent working on my project.....
6. Anybody know of any books that cover the entire workflow for HD?

Any input appreciated.
 
4. No, tape on the HVX is SD only.
5. Get this book and try your hand at coloring yourself. Do ALL of the coloring chapters. "Apple Pro Training Seriese, Advanced Color Correction and Effects in Final Cut Pro 5"
 
As stated,
...he can not work on the original files, he needs either Digibeta or HD cam tape.

And when a good colorist works for free, you don't make demands, you just thank him a LOT.
 
I actually did this in two separate post production houses, for 2 different spots: The first one was capable of working with the MXF files. The other one went with a Downconversion to Digibeta. How did they do this? We tried to do Camera to DVCPRO HD deck via Firewire, and then HD SDI from the deck to DIgibeta. We had some problems. It seems like you need to record the firewire signal from the camera to dvcpro HD tape on the deck first, and then stream via HD- SDI. You can't pass trough. The footage looked fine. The other process we did was actually using the component out of the camera and connect it to the Digibeta deck component inputs. You can do this by yourself. Just bring the camera to a Post-house with a digibeta deck and tell them you want to master footage trough a component out device. The HVX can dowconvert the HD signal to SD no problem.

I would suggest the Camera-firewire to DVCPRO HD tape and then HD SDI to HD CAM as the best route, tough. You keep a DVCPRO HD master in tape of your footage, a HDCAM Master, and you work with the commercial/short/feature in HD natively. You can have a native HD copy of the product for future use.
 
A great colourist who works for free is a rare asset, but maybe you should subtly recommend to him that he update his systems and workflow to accomodate digital files. Soon it will be the only way to work and he does not want to be left behind.

"Be not the first by whom the new are tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside."
Alexander Pope
 
evamidgley said:
SPZ,
what is the name of the post-production house that was able to work with your MXF files? Where are they based?
Click to expand...

Unfortnatelly, that was in Hong-Kong. It's called Post Office. They actually bought an HVX themselves to tune up the workflow (and do some variable frame rate shooting.)
 
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