Detail Level for PAL DVD

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novicemonk

Member
I'm a complete novice so apologise if this post seems dumb. I've searched, but no post seems to answer my query.

Next week I'll be directing a shoot with two PAL DVX100A shooting in progressive stretch mode (sadly no 16.9 adaptors). I'm aiming to get as much detail and film like quality from the images as possible.

My question refers to Detail Level. I've read things like "Thin for film blow ups. Thick for video". My project will ultimately be a "bonus feature" on a commercially distributed anamorphic PAL DVD. Might things like mpeg encoding and less-than-generous bitrates (the main feature gets the lion's share of bits) soften the image/diminish detail? So might in my case Thin be the way to go?

Hope this makes sense, and many thanks.
 
Re: Detail Level for PAL DVD

[quote author=novicemonk link=board=news;num=1096617223;start=0#0 date=10/01/04 at 00:53:43]I'm a complete novice so apologise if this post seems dumb. I've searched, but no post seems to answer my query.

Next week I'll be directing a shoot with two PAL DVX100A shooting in progressive stretch mode (sadly no 16.9 adaptors). I'm aiming to get as much detail and film like quality from the images as possible.

My question refers to Detail Level. I've read things like "Thin for film blow ups. Thick for video". My project will ultimately be a "bonus feature" on a commercially distributed anamorphic PAL DVD. Might things like mpeg encoding and less-than-generous bitrates (the main feature gets the lion's share of bits) soften the image/diminish detail? So might in my case Thin be the way to go?[/quote]

Hi novicemonk,

The film look isn't just dependent on the detail you set. It is a combination of all the settings in the scene file.

Here are the settings I normally use:

DETAIL LEVEL = -3
CHROMA LEVEL = 0
CHROMA PHASE = 0
COLOR TEMP = 0
MASTER PED = -6
A. IRIS LEVEL = -1
GAMMA = CINE-LIKE-V
SKIN TONE DTL = OFF
MATRIX = NORMAL (or CINELIKE)
V DETAIL FREQ = THIN
PROGRESSIVE = 25P

The V DETAIL FREQ should be set to THIN if you are planning to blow up to 35mm, and THICK if it is for TV.
I have read before that THIN will flicker when played on a TV, but I didn't have this problem. I don't know if it is a NTSC problem, or if it happens sometimes. Someone more experienced would be able to clarify this.
Since I don't get the flickering problem, I just shoot THIN because I think it looks better than THICK.

You may want to play with COLOUR LEVEL and COLOUR TEMP as well.

Just play around with the settings until you like the image you are getting.

Hope that helps

All the best

Fidel.
 
Re: Detail Level for PAL DVD

Thank you Fidel, I was afraid noone was going to help!

Your detailed settings are appreciated. I understand the "film look" is subjective and al€so a combination of things...I just wondered what detail€ setting best suited this PAL-DVD-based project. If you think THIN won't flicker, I guess it'l€l€ be safe to shoot that way. MPEG encoding will€ probabl€y "thicken" things slightly.

Anyone else have related experience/opinions?
Thanks Again.
 
Re: Detail Level for PAL DVD

The flicker comes about when you have a high-contrast transition between horizontal lines. Alternating black & white lines will show the flicker at its worst. And it'll happen on PAL as easily as it will on NTSC.

The less contrast there is between the lines, the less noticeable the flicker will be.
 
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