60p or 30p - Not Sure What I Should Shoot My Film With??

V

Vince27

Member
Hi -

Just thought I'd post this to see what you guys think...

I'm getting ready to make a feature film with this camera (HMC150) & will be using FCPX to cut the film -
machine specs: 27" iMac, 16g Ram, i7 (3.4)

I did alot of testing with the HMC150 to see what I felt would look best for this film...

I settled in on 720/60p - Spark

I felt this look was pretty crisp, and decided to shoot my first sequences with this mode...

**another reason i settled on this mode was because of the blurriness in movement i see in 30p - I will get to this in a minute...


But now i have some concerns as to whether 60p is smart to use for a whole film?

I ran into some glitchyness problems with playback of the footage in fcpx (which i was told might be because its 60p footage) - but then i upgraded my ram which seemed to help some) - but here are some of the questions I have...

60p Questions:

1. is it tougher for the editing system to work with 60p?

2. if so, will this affect my final rendering/export (overall film product) - etc?

**i know alot of you talk about using 60p for slow motion & stuff, but 60p also gives you a clearer look (which i felt suited this film better) - but is this unwise to do? - unwise to shoot a film in this mode? - will it cause me editing problems?


30p Questions:

I know alot of people say they like 30p because of its "film look" & I am also aware that you can't pan fast because it will blur, etc... but here is what I have found with using 30p on this camera...

- it seems to blur too easily - even if you don't really pan that fast, or even if a subject moves fast within a still frame/shot, i see this blur effect happen... its not major, but i see it, and I'm not sure if it should be blurring this easily? also, as soon as you switch to 30p or 24p, the LCD shows extremely staggered movement when you move the camera... is that normal?

- my first camera was a simple Sony DSR-SR80 camcorder (which shoots 30p (29.97) interlaced, recording mpeg2 - i believe) - I used this thing to make 2 short films, & a ton of other stuff, & I do not recall (at all) this blur effect happening with the footage from this simple little camera...

- so why would the HMC150 "a professional level camera" cause this blur effect in 30p (as opposed to a simple camcorder shooting in 30p?) - and I used to swing that little camera fast sometimes... and the picture always looked solid -

- maybe because the Sony camera was using interlace? (i'm not positive about the specs on the Sony camcorder, or that its definitely interlace, but thats what i read about its specs in a post somewhere)

1. is it possible my settings are off on this camera (HMC150) in some way for 30p/24p?
2. is it possible that something is wrong with the camera? (or is this normal for 30p/24p on this camera) - ?

the shutter speeds read as follows when i set the different modes...
- 720/60p -> shutter speed reads: 1/60
- 720/30p -> shutter speed reads: 1/30
- 720/24p -> shutter speed reads: 1/48

**should i be changing this speed? I read in Barry Green's book that it can be unwise to change the shutter speed - ?

3. is 30p better to edit with (better for the system to handle?) - or does it really matter if you shoot (and edit) with 60p?



I just wanted to gather some of your thoughts before I dive into (& commit to a mode) before shooting this big film...

Any help, guidance, thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Use whatever you think serves your artistic intent best. Really, that's your first and last concern when making this decision. Don't think like an engineer. Think like an artist.

As for the blur in 30p, try a shutter of 1/60.
 
Hi Dave - thanks for responding...

You're right, I do tend to think like an engineer sometimes with filmmaking - but it almost feels like I don't have a choice - lol
(I'm just built that way, & it drives me crazy sometimes) - but you're right in a lot of ways...

I'll try the 1/60 shutter speed -
is there a risk of any side effects by changing the shutter speed? I remember Barry Green mentioning in his book that you have to be careful when you adjust the shutter speeds...

Just curious, if you change the shutter speed to 1/60 (does this mean you're changing the 30fps?)

thanks again...

- Vince
 
You don't change the frame rate by changing the shutter speed.

The higher the shutter speed, the less blur there will be. Of course, that means the more staccato the movement will be; you need to find the middle ground you want.
 
60p does take a bit more of a toll on your system for playback. This has been my experience with 1080p60p material from my Sony HX9V on a standard Seagate 750gb drive that came with my Mac Pro. I would have thought 720p60p would be better but if you're getting jitter, then my bet is on that. If you have a RAID array of some kind, things would be smoother for sure. 60p would be a nice choice as that at least gives you options later for slow-mo, 30p and even 24p delivery. Also, be sure that you're not using 60i, big difference there.
 
Jack_Felis said:
60p would be a nice choice as that at least gives you options later for slow-mo, 30p and even 24p delivery.
Click to expand...

Something as fundamental as your frame rate should be chosen very, very early in the process, certainly well before you shoot a single frame. Of all the things you could put off 'til later, that's really not one. You simply don't shoot the same way using one frame rate as opposed to another, and what's appropriate for one may well not be appropriate for others -- which can lead to nasty surprises if you decide to leave the decision for later.
 
True, I should have added that it depends on shooting style (tripod? Handheld?), film type (narrative or documentary?), and where this film is going distribution wise (even though that's fading as digital projection has taken over most major theatres). Overall, if choosing between 30p and 60p, I'd go 60p.
 
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