Downconversion With BR-HD50 + Colors

[adamr316]

I'm in the middle of shooting an independent film...first time using the HD100 (I did test shooting before the real shoot.) I'm using Tim Dashwood's DVX100 match scene files because it looked real good in my tests.

Although FCP 5 doesn't support HDV 24p yet, for future-proofing I decided to shoot in HDV720-24p mode with motion smoothing on. To my eyes, this gave me a filmlook in-camera that wouldn't require much color correction with minimal strobing that I hate with 24p. The only problem I have now is getting it into the Mac.

My question is, does the BR-H50 deck output good enough video quality through the S-video out? For that matter, how does it handle 24p and what settings should I use in Final Cut Pro 5 (24p, 60i)? I would be running the H50 into another JVC deck to firewire in for FCP because I don't have Lumiere HD.

Another question I have about the camera itself is, I've been using the 5600K preset for my indoor footage. The house I'm shooting in is so well lit that I have yet to use any production lights. I like the warm-orange look that I'm getting but I bought warmcards awhile back and was getting bland colors when whitebalancing, even to Warm 3 (the warmest card) with the DVX scene file settings. I'll test the camera again before today's shoot with the JVC default settings but I don't understand why the colors look the way they do...too "cold". My viewfinder and LCD screens are calibrated properly to the color bars.

I'm loving this camera! I can't wait to see it on a TV!

 

[jlames]

[SIZE=+0]I don't know whay the type got so large. Sorry.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]Let me address your last issue first because it's one everyone here gets asked alot. You can't trust either the viewfinder or the flip out screen relative to your end result. First, get a professional, IMO CRT, monitor like a Sony Trinitron or JVC 1000 series. Balance it, calibrate it and then, using this as a benchmark standard from which you can judge the output of your efforts, calibrate your camera or cameras if you're on a multi-cam shoot using DV Rack or a similar solution. Remember also that you're going to want to do that calibration of both monitor and camera in the environment in which your audience will be viewing your work. Cinema or "movie" events require you to calibrate in a very dark environment because that's where your audience will be viewing it. Television will require you to calibrate in a lightened environment because people watch television in a lighted room. And the same thing goes for editing atmospheres. Yes, you can get "close enough" if that's all you need but, well, that just doesn't work for us and it shouldn't for you either who just plunked down $6000 for a camera and are expecting professional results.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]As to output of the camera, firewire out has limitations and s-video has even more limitations relative to quality. The BR-50 is a standard deck we and many in the industry use for output when we're shooting tape and need to get the tape content into the NLE. Thus, it's not a question if the BR-50 is good enough but rather if the low quality inherent to s-video is good enough. We don't use FCP so someone here should chime in and there are a number of really experienced people who know Mac here.[/SIZE]

 

[jdv]

I have a couple of thoughts here....

First, Johnathan is absolutely correct in pointing out that the viewfinder/flipout screen are simply not capable of showing you exactly what the camera is 'seeing' - don't get me wrong, the focus assist feature is very helpfull and can be used alone in a pinch, but a large HD monitor is, for narrative work, a must.

Now as to how to go about doing this, I have a slightly different take than Jonathan, mainly, I think, because I have the relative luxury of shooting when and where I want (which is either in studio or close to it).

I didn't have a lot of money to spend, so I killed 2 birds by buying a 50" consummer HD plasma screen. Part of the reasons for doing this were to 'wow' potential inverstors, actors, and crew ( and it definately does wow people at first).

The other reason was to check to see how the JVC would look on what type of television most consumers will probably be watching my movie on in the next 10 years (with luck!). Right off the bat we saw a dead pixel that we didn't see throught the viewfinder, so I'm already happy w/ the purchase.

I did, however, try to calibrate the television in as best as I could, just a Jonathan recomended to do with the pro monitor. Not perfect, but so far it's in the ballpark. The monitor's not portable, and there are other problems - but it was on sale and did solve - at least for production shooting - many problems associated w/ shooting in HD.

My second big point was to warn about using S-video as in/out put manner of transmitting the footage. My second film, WITCHUNTER, was edited on an older media 100 system that did not have firewire (and thus could not injest my footage shot on the Canon XL-1 we used to shoot the film).

So we used S-video. The results were acceptable at the time - but in reality we had no other options available to us - we simply couldn't afford to upgrade the system.

But I would never recomend anyone doing it this way unless they too had no other way to edit their footage. We definately lost image quality - quality that you never can really get back. No regrets, but I wouldn't do it now because there are so many more options editing wise. Hope this helps....

John

 

[jlames]

John's correct. We have a 48 or somewhere in that neighborhood in-studio and another one in the screening room simply because there's no other single piece of equipment that can have such a dtamatic impact on your client. Good or bad. And nothing beats size for seeing and accurately assessing the quality of your work and equipment. On location, it's simply not an option. That's one of the great things about a switched show and a truck. The downside is the number of zeros that precede the decimal point in the price of a switched show.