Scene File - Rule of thumb?

B

briones1

Active member
I recently got the DVX100B and am starting to shoot a couple of types of projects. The first is a documentary on local agriculture, the other is an experimental film. I need to figure out the right settings for each project. Is there a general rule of thumb or is it purely what feels right? In particular, I'm thinking 24P or 24Pa? 16:9 or 3:4? Letterbox or squeeze?

Thanks!
 
When deciding between 24p and 24pA, ask yourself how you're going to be editing the footage. If editing on a 24p timeline, shoot 24pA. If editing on a 60i timeline, shoot 24p.

16:9 or 4:3 is a matter of preference.

Letterbox will give a 4:3 image with black bars to simulate a 16:9 shape. Squeeze will actually give you a 16:9 image (with a slight loss of resolution).
 
Thanks for the response - in terms of the loss of resolution, how bad is this? In your experience, is it worth going to squeeze mode to get the 16:9 while losing some resolution?
 
according to Barry's book, the loss of resolution is about 25 percent if I remember correct. thats a lot in my book.

I just recently shoot a music video and decided to shoot in letterbox, even though initially I planned on shooting squeeze, but losing 25 percent???
 
I have a camcorder that shoots squeeze too. I always like it, its easy and somewhat real 16:9 when editing it. just the loss of resolution bothers me a bit.... but if you say you have been getting great results with the squeeze then I will certainly give it a try myself
 
I'd definitely recommend doing some tests and seeing what you think. Maybe you'll hate it, but who knows?
 
so the sacrifice for squeeze is resolution loss - is there a similar sacrifice when choosing 4:3 letterbox mode?

Also, am I right to assume that once I choose the format, I need to stick with it for the duration of the film?
 
it *is* a loss of resolution, but I thought it didn't make any difference anyway, since 25% of the letterbox mode's resolution is going to the black bars, thus making the two modes the same as far as quality goes.
 
Yes, stick with whatever format you choose for the entire piece. Unless mixing up letterbox and 4:3 is an aesthetic choice. Or if you shoot something 4:3 so you can reframe it for 16:9 in post.

I also like shooting 16:9 and have not been bothered by the resolution loss. But hey, if I were that concerned about resolution, I would've upgraded to an HVX already.
 
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