Dark areas. Different cameras. A couple questions.

C

CrackerJap

Active member
I'm shooting for the first time soon. For the first thing we're shooting, we're using a DVX-100a in 24p.....we're also using another camera shooting in 60i...I'm planning to edit them both in Sony Vegas 5.0 on a 24p timeline. What problems might I have and how should I deal with them?

Next, I'm doing a documentary...I need to shoot in dark rooms and will be unable to bring in lights. Is there any other way I could deal with the noise (grain)? Or is there any free grain reduction tool available for Vegas 5.0?

I'm now on a $0 budget.
 
I think that the DVX is hard to use in conjunction with cheaper 60i cameras but if you do a lot in post to the other camera you can make it look somewhat smooth. You should think about if you really need 24p. Personally I love it but if your other camera shoots only 60i it might be worth shooting both at the same framerate. The other option is to not even try to make the 60i footage look anything like the DVX...just make 2 seperate looks and try to artistically switch from one to the other.

About having no lights this could be a problem, lighting in my oppinion is a huge part of film and video. Without proper lighting your video will never look as good as it could. This being said you don't necisarrily need thousand dollar light sets to get the job done. Try going the hardware store approach and if thats still to expensive look around your house for lighting you can use. I've ended up using lamps and those big flashlight/floodlight things for lighting when I didnt have anything else.
 
The look i'm going for, for my first film, is for the two cameras to have a completely different look so one person can easily tell the difference between the two cameras. I was just wondering if i'd have any trouble editing it or getting the footage to play properly on a DVD player if one part is 24p and another is 60i, both of which I plan to edit on a 24p timeline in Vegas 5.0.

For the second film, which will be a documentary about Ohio's hardcore scene (including metalcore/indie-hardcore/emocore/etc.), my main problem will be to film in dark or dimly lit rooms (where shows are performed).
 
For very low light situations, you may want to consider a Sony PD150/PD170, especially the PD170. It is without question the best low light 3CCD camera on the market. The PD170 provides good color saturation and has no noise up to a gain of 12 db. Even 18 db has only a small amount of noise. For more info, do some searches here and at www.dvinfo.net/conf/ on "PD170 AND DVX100".

Perhaps you could rent or borrow one for your low light scenes if you have just a few of them. If you have another means of recording audio, you could also use a Sony VX2100 which has nearly identical video capability as the PD170.
 
On a doc, story is key... just get the image to tape and deal with how it looks later. Just frame it right and get creative with whatever light you have available. I just shot a doc in very dark situations, sometimes with almost no light. I had to use an XL1s with 30dB gain which got NASTY looking so I made the most of it and went B&W and soften the digital noise with the in camera controls to make it look more like film grain.

ash =o)

You can check out some grabs, these are all RAW video, no CC:

http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio24.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio58.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio46.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio53.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio54.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio4.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio19.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio20.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/joe15.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/joe16.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/studio11.jpg
http://members.aol.com/ashVID/Grabs/ystudio48.jpg
 
Way to go Ash those look good. I think people are starting to adjust to like digital grain just as they came to like film grain. Those shots look pretty nice to me.

-Edalgo
 
Thanks guys. Unfortunately, I cannot get another camera (I have an ag-dvx100a and $0 to spend if I want to drive anywhere ever again), but I do believe I've gotten some good answers to the low light question.

But will I be able to edit footage filmed in 24p and 60i together on a 24p timeline without any trouble (I would normally just experiment myself but I don't want to waste tape until I get some money, and I have some time constraints)?
 
You can mix 24P and 60i stuff pretty easy... it would be even easier if you shot it in normal 24P, not 24PA as the conversion would be in camera... and edited in a 60i timeline... there will be a million othe opinions on this though =o)


ash =o)
 
** edit on a 29.97 timeline with the 24P (not 24PA) footage. ** Less time spent on telecine in your NLE.
 
What if I just put it all on a 24p timeline so that I could fit a longer movie onto a DVD? What problems would I encounter?
 
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