••DVX straight to movie theater screen••

Coco Bermudez

Coco Bermudez

Well-known member
Hey gang:

I was wondering if any of you have any words of wisdom when it comes to shooting a short that will be shown on the big screen. I am entering a crew for our 48hour film festival, and all entries will be shown on the cinema screen. I want it to look as good possible. All my work goes straight to the small screen so I have no experience from small screen to big screen. I was wondering if there are some traps awaiting for me. Will it end up looking like crap? Also, where could i find some good & quick advice on shooting slow motion?
 
Check with the challenge organizers to find out exactly how they will be projecting the final works, from miniDV deck, or from DVD, and what the optimum format would be (24p, 24pA, 16:9, 4:3 with letterbox, etc.). Give them the best format that they won't have to resize/mess with when you submit. That may avoid a crticial quality hit if you have to mess with it.

Other than that, just make the best film you can. Lighting, moves, etc. The big screen will expose any weaknesses, but it'll expose other people's films as well, so it's an even playing field. Avoid wide shots where the low res will be obvious. Get in tight. Make sure you nail your focus, since everything will be a little soft on the big screen anyway. Projection is usually pretty weak, so a nice sharp high-contrast image is usually necessary or things start looking like mush.
 
we just screened a feature we shot on 100a projected from dvd in a local theater and i have to say i was very surprised of the quality of the projection considering the blowup from the SD dvd so i beleive it also has to do with the quality of the projection system as well. I have also projected straight from the dvx into your basic computer projector used by the IT dept. @ work and it held up pretty well but no where near the quality of the theater.
 
Ditto Josh Provost here:

You really need to get the projection info from the festival organizers.

I've tested projections from laptops, HDCam, DVD's and a BluRay (HD) DVD and it alll boils down to the projector set-up.

{If} they get it right, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how amazing it can look. Granted, you need to do all those things Josh mentioned, making it "the best film you can".
 
Ditto on all the above and as far as shooting is concerned, I would avoid any keys, or special effects (like artifical snow) and do as little in post as possible.
 
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