DXV100 aspect ratio dilema

[Guest]

I am going to shoot a digital feature and I own a DVX100 with the anamorphic adapter. Because of the style we are going to shoot in the adapter would hinder the shoot with its flaws. Ideally it would be nice to get the DVX100A and do a 16x9 electronic squeeze but the budget might not be up for that. Given that scenario would people use the 16x9 mode on the DVX100 which basically letterboxes the 4x3 image or shoot 4x3 and protect for 16x9 then drop the matte in post. What would give me the best resolution since it might go to print. I am leaning toward shooting 4x3 and protecting for 16x9 since I have read this has been done before.

Brian Fass
brifast@aol.com
:-/

 

[Mike_Donis]

Re: DXV100 aspect ratio dilema

Almost all Hollywood productions expose the full 4:3 negative (on film) and compose for the widescreen, when shooting in 1.85 (which is close enough to 16:9).

Apparently there's a slightly higher quality when shooting in letterboxed mode vs adding the mattes in post - but I haven't seen any noticeable difference myself.

If you're getting a blow-up to film, its probably best to expose the full frame - in case a projectionist misaligns the frame a bit, you won't have a black band at the top or bottom of the screen.