Any HVX films going to Sundance or Slamdance?

B

Barry_Green

Moderator
Just throwin' it out there, trying to make a list. Anybody been accepted to either one, with a film shot on the HVX? Represent... :)
 
well...maybe not this year. However, next year is a different story!

"Blood of My Blood"

Written & Directed by Ryan Domis
Cinematography by Vincent Pascoe

Production starts May of 2008

All HVX200s

Don't worry, Barry. We will definately keep you posted!
 
Sundance is now accepting low cost high definition delivery methods. Before only expensive solutions like HDCAM existed but now all you need to do it turn in a HD-DVD compatible disc. To do this you do not need a HD-DVD burner but all that is required is the software to burn a HD-DVD compatible disc using regular DVD media. This disc will play at the Sundance festival in full high definition quality . So far as I know Sundance has not yet accepted the Blu-Ray format.
 
Great news, Barry, Jack and Gang. I'll do my best to catch it while I'm there. (20 min away ;) )
 
We're still crossing our fingers for our feature, American Cartel.
Shot this past summer on the 200A.

Congrats, gentlemen.
 
this is from '06 so it might have changed but I doubt it, HDcam is higher quality and more durable in the short term than blueray DVD, you can get your video duped to it out of your FCP project or QT master for $200 or less if you shop around so most majors ask for it as the digital screening format of choice.

"At this year's festival, which runs through Jan. 29, 52 percent of the films will be shown on Sony HDcam, the only video format the festival uses, said Mike Plante, the festival's presentation manager. With the exception of two 16mm films, the rest will screen on 35mm projectors, he said. Just more than 30 percent of the films were actually made using a digital format, Plante added. The rest were shot on 35mm or 16mm film, save a few that used other formats."

full article
 
Yes, if you care to read through the whole PDF you will find the following comment as well:

http://www.sundance.org/submissions/2009_FAQ.pdf

"As a reference point only, our preferred digital projection format is HD CAM, non anamorphic, NTSC, and 1080i/16:9 60i, with mono/stereo/LTRT audio on tracks one and two. We have played many films that were shot on DV CAM, and you will
have no issues making a transfer from that to one of our preferred formats."

It also leaves room that they may adopt new formats for projection, after films have been accepted for '09.

HDcam is the standard qualifying digital medium for Academy Award qualification. I would imagine they would stick exactly to that.



Jack Daniel Stanley said:
But that's submission. Not screening.
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Trust me, you can send your submission on a DVD SD and if you are selected, which is an incredible possibility since over 4,000 films are submitted every year, you should have no problems upresing or mastering in HDCAM. That will cost you about $2K or so and it will be the least of your concerns.
If you are at Sundance in competition you should be thinking about promoting your film, getting reviews, probably hiring an agent, anything for visibility and so forth and so on.
 
Is it possible to shoot a feature in 720p and have it be screened at a major festival such as sundance? Does anyone know if the difference between an upresed 720p movie and a 1080p movie would play a factor into whether a movie was accepted? The HPX170 can only be overcranked at 720p, not 1080p, right? So besides just the storage ergonomics advantages of 720p, if you want that nice looking slo-mo by overcranking as opposed to slowing in post, 720p is your only choice.

If you did decide it is better to shoot at 1080p, is it better to shoot slow motion scenes at 720p and then upres to 1080p or would it be better to shoot 1080p and slow it down in post?

Basically, it come down to this quesion: What should a person shooting with a HPX170 do if they want to shoot a film that will have slow motion scenes, and they hope to get their movie shown at a major festival?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Jon
www.philadelphiaphilms.com
 
jdkhanlian said:
Is it possible to shoot a feature in 720p and have it be screened at a major festival such as sundance? Does anyone know if the difference between an upresed 720p movie and a 1080p movie would play a factor into whether a movie was accepted?
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Absolutely. Uncategorically. No. A film festival will not care whether your movie was shot on 720p or 1080 and they won't know unless you tell them. They care about content. If they are considering unkown films with no stars or names, then the format or resolution of your submission is the very last thing on their list after what brand of tripod you own. MAYBE there could be a film vs. video issue depending on the screening resources of the festival or whether they're one of teh few that's decided to be only film or only video, but not ver likely.

HD tech was not as acccessible in 2004, but the film which won best Cinematography at Sundance 2004 was shot on a DVX100.

jdkhanlian said:
The HPX170 can only be overcranked at 720p, not 1080p, right? So besides just the storage ergonomics advantages of 720p, if you want that nice looking slo-mo by overcranking as opposed to slowing in post, 720p is your only choice.

If you did decide it is better to shoot at 1080p, is it better to shoot slow motion scenes at 720p and then upres to 1080p or would it be better to shoot 1080p and slow it down in post?
Click to expand...
Well you're leaving the 3rd option out which is what we did for both the films we submitted to both Slamdance and Sundance.
- shoot your slomo scenes at 720 and the rest at 1080. 720 will look better uprezzed to 1080 for a few shots than fake slomo from 1080. Unless you shoot 60i in 1080 and do that conversion trick. But while 1080 does give a significantly sharper feel to the movie as a whole, there is just not enough difference between 720 and 1080 for the 720 shots to stick out, especially since your eye will be distracted by the slomo visual gag and softer probably feels more right for 720 than sharper would be.

jdkhanlian said:
Basically, it come down to this quesion: What should a person shooting with a HPX170 do if they want to shoot a film that will have slow motion scenes, and they hope to get their movie shown at a major festival?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Jon
www.philadelphiaphilms.com
Click to expand...
Shoot 1080. Shoot your slomo scenes in 720. Throw them all ona 1080 timeline. Be happy.
Their gonna make a decision whether to screen your movie or not based on a Standard def DVD anyway. So by the time you are accepted it will be too late to notice (which no one ever will) that your slow mo scenes are 10% softer than your regular action scenes.
 
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