COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

M

Mimik

Well-known member
Hi guys,
we have a shoot coming up and have a chance to use anamorphic on one dvx and regular 4:3 on another one. Is it ok to shoot, ES MS and whatever I need with anamorphic and CUs with regular 4:3 and they just crop it in post to match it?? Or should I just go 16:9 all the way?? The movie is going out to film.

Thanks in advance,

Michal
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3


barry green is the expert by far, but i have been wondering about this myself...

i would say shoot one anamorphic and the other with squeeze

this assumes you have at least one that is a dvx-100a because the 100 doesn't have squeeze.

matthew
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

hopefully somebody experienced can give us better insight :) :)
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

I'd recommend staying with one format throughout. Shoot it all on the anamorphic and it'll be a lot more consistent.
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

Single camera set-ups can be easier to manage anyways...and for most sequences, two cameras can get in the way!

I'd say shoot anamorphic all the way, and rent and extra adaptor if you absolutely need a second camera for a day or two.
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

all I wanted to use letterboxed 4:3 in combination with anam.16:9 was for dialogues which as you know is easier to shoot with 2 or 3cams. That's the only true reason. I appreciate you comments guys. :)

M.
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

Well, contrary to what you said, shooting dialogue scenes is normally more difficult with multiple cameras. You have to worry about setting up your lights in such a way that they work for all camera angles, and you can never do true point of view shooting, because the other cameras will get in the way
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

If you can't do both anamorphic, and you absolutely have to have two cameras, put a letterbox mask on the EVF display so it's easier to frame (just turn to letterbox temporarily to see where you should put a piece of paper or camera tape over the display), but shoot normal 4:3. Crop to 16:9 in post.

I've read about it somewhere else (don't remember where) - I tried it and it's better than either squeeze or letterbox, because you get the whole picture and can adjust framing in post.

But as others said, do it as a last resort - the anamorphic has a different look because of two different focus planes, so it might be tricky intercutting the footage.
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

Oh, I just re-read the original post.

I think if you are talking ES and MS with anamorphic and only CU using this technique you should be fine. I've been actually thinking about doing the same, because CU and ECU are pain in the @$$ with anamorphic.
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

exactly Jerry,
all I want to use 4:3 is for CU or ECU. and then rest 16:9.
as far as my two camera dialog setup I want to have something like this.
most of it is going to be CU and ECU so I don't think there will be too much of a problem..rest of the shoot will be one camera only.

setup.jpg



Also if I use telephoto for CU & ECU I should be fine right?? Is the picture difference between anamor and regular lens and telephoto going to be that different?  I haven't got a chance to try out neither of of those lens on dvx but I kinda know the effect and the look it will have. Any advise before I make my purchase is greatly appreciated :)

M.
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

i'd watch that second camera set up, it might look a bit disorienting cutting together where you have one camera on either side of the conversation. both subjects will be "facing" frame right so it may be hard to convince your audience that they are having a conversation. i think it's called "crossing the line."
 
Re: COMBINING ANAMORPHIC AND 4:3

It is called "crossing the line" or the "axis of action".
The problem will come because both characters will appear to be looking the same way - in this particular set-up they'd be both looking to the right of the screen. You generally want to make the actors appear to be looking at each other - if one is looking to the right in his shot, the other is looking to the left. It makes the cutting between shots *much* smoother, because the audience doesn't have to concentrate as much to figure out the positioning of the characters in the scene as a whole.

It can be used to great effect if you're *wanting* to cause unrest in the audience, but generally it's not wanted.
 
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