Down-converting 1080p footage in order to re-frame

T

ThisHideousReplica

Active member
I just shot something with my T2i (1080p) and I wish I'd gotten more coverage. I've heard about down-converting 1080 clips to 720 in order to "zoom" in and effectively grab a close-up from a medium shot, a medium from a wide, etc. etc. Two questions, though:

1)How do I do this? Is it enough to export the project from my NLE (Premiere CS5) as a 720 movie? Or do I need to do some kind of transcode? I've already started cutting, so if there was a way to leave MPEG streamclip out of this, that would be great.

2)How much can I "zoom" in--I'm thinking 152% as that is how enlarged 1080 footage shows up in a 720p sequence.

Thanks a lot, and please correct any misinformation above!
 
Set sequence settings to the 720 settings and if needed reduce footage to 67% on the timeline. That's all you should need to do. That gives you a safe 33% zoom, and I'd say no more than maybe 10% more from there if needed.
 
You can definetly get away with this in terms of web viewing. A website I used to work for would sometimes get awful footage in from freelancers and this method saved a few edits. When viewed in HD, or on a TV screen you can tell that something has been blown up...but maybe the cut will work well enough that no one would notice. Like Chris said, don't go more than 10% once you have it re-sized.
 
I tend to edit a lot of projects in 720, since much of my work has plenty of graphics floating around the footage and it saves a lot of render time in After Effects - I mean, a LOT. That said, I always shoot 1080 and keep a 1080 folder. There have been plenty of times I needed to close in, or just have a different "sense" of a shot (like when an interviewee uses "ummmm" between every thought; cut it out, but cut to a tighter shot to hide the edit).

When I edit 720, I do transcode copies of everything down to 720 vs. having the NLE do it. But I keep the original 1080's safe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top