filming skateboarding in 24P

mehnkle

mehnkle

Well-known member
I will be purchasing a DVX100A soon and as well as shoting our first short (a zombie horror), a large portion of footage I will be shooting will be skateboarding. I have seen a few small skate clips in 24p, but a sales rep at Camera World in Portland told me that filming skateboarding in 24p is pretty much impossible. I was looking at the VX2100 but I just love the 24p look and the flexibility the DVX provides (and the VX seems too prosumer-ish.) Does anyone on this forum have any 24p skate clips and can you tell me how hard it is to film skateboarding with the DVX. I might just have to shoot skating at 60i otherwise, and the film look looks way better. If there is anyway around this please help. Thanks!

- Johnny
 
I have not shot skateboarding in 24p yet (I will in a couple days), however, the DVX can shoot in 60i too, and you still get the DVX's great looking gamma curves. I wouldn't get a VX2100 over a DVX for any reason, no matter what you're shooting. The DVX is just so much more flexible. Peace.
 
I would recommend the DVX. I have shot a bit of skateboarding and have friends that use nothing else, 24p all the way. One thing about the DVX is that it takes some time getting use to. Needless to say i am curious about that sales reps experience with a DVX... It is not impossible although i have ruined a lot of footage thinking i could use it like other video cameras that shoot 60i. It is a camera you can not just "run and gun" with unless you have a bit of practice. When shooting skating or anything make sure you don't pan too fast and if you need to crank the shutter up. If you are doing a lot of pans without a wideangle or fisheye and need to pan REAL FAST you might want to widen your shot or go with 30p or 60i if it looks bad. If you are going to shoot 60i with a DVX you might as well buy a 2100 and drop some filters in post. Not really, it will not look the same but it was made for 24p and it looks dam good if you know what you are doing.
 
If you have a chance check out the skate video "Way out East" by Stereo. 99% is filmed in 16mm, even the lines. It looks truly incredible. All skate videos should be made that way. Well I defidently wouldnt think of filming all skate footage in 24p, mainly because the autofocus is really slow, so yes a majority will be 60i. But I still want to shoot on 24p for some of the more cinematic montages we have lined up for the skate video. Another question along with the one about skating in 24p; how does the DVX 60i footage look compared against a VX2000 or GL2 in 60i? I know the colors would probably be much better, but would the footage be sharper or anything of that sort, or does all 60i look pretty similar? Thanks!

- Johnny
 
yeah we have a Panasonic GS400 right now we have been using, so after what Z said I might just go with shooting skating in 24p if it isnt too hard to do. The only problem I really thougt I would encounter would be slow AF or strobing from the 24p. Since most of the DVX shots of skating will be meant to be more cinematic, they'lll probably be shot on a tripod. So does anyone have any 24p skate footage they can show me? I am really anxious to see what it looks like.
 
mehnkle, you are right about the auto focus not being fast enough but dont let that deter you from shooting 24p. If you are going for the cinematic look scratch the idea of zooming, use the manual focus, don't pan fast, and shoot 24p. If you are staying on video and not projecting film i wouldn't worry too much about the speed of the focus with the DVX (someone correct me if i am wrong). As you know auto focus is not an option in 24p mode. The manual focus range control is very good however if you plan on leaving the camera at the bottom of a hand rail on a tripod be sure you know how much of that shot you will use. I prefer 60i on a dvx although i rarely use it. It has all the same color / gamma controls i believe as 24p.
 
i've been filming a lot of bmx, which is pretty much the same as skateboarding in 24p the last few months, you can check www.carolinabmx.com/videos/phil.mov but i do see the autofocus issues sometimes but other than that it looks real good. i just want to do some more trial and errorness to see how some different ideas will work. and some guys on skateperception.com have given me some ideas too.
 
I also filmed alot of mountain biking with the DVX. I deffinetly recommend it over a VX-2100. MUCH better look, even with the 24p. What I do is set 2 identical scene file settings, one with 24p and one with 60i, that way I just flick the dial and I have the same look, just different frame rates. As long as you stay with a 1/48 shutter you should be good..... Here's a clip of some mountain bike stuff I shot....

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=Short-TeaserGood003

http://www.paperstarsdesign.com/BrokeGood001.mov
 
When shooting moving targets in 24p if you keep on the subject while panning so the subject is relatively stationary in the frame then how fast you pan doesn't matter. Filmmakers have used this for years to get around the panning speed issue. Its when you pan the camera in general that you have to slow your pans down to a crawl.

The only way to become a master at something is to practice, practice, practice. Get the DVX100A and shoot the boarders at 24p until your shots are fluid.

"Then you will have learned grasshopper". (Sound of large gong. Fade to black..)
 
wow PDX - that is some great footage. I really liked the 2nd one alot...it had a good flow to it. I guess Ill have to see what I can some up with when I get the camera then. but please...if anyone has anymore sports clips like PDX has shown - especially skateboarding - please post them. Thanks a ton!
 
Check out the two Z-Boys and Dogtown movies - the documentary on DVD and the movie now in theaters.

Michael
 
That is one of the best documentaries I have seen. The new movie is pretty good also...I defidently reccomend it. The z-boys documentary was shot on 16mm if I'm not mistaken.
 
the z-boys are my heros....they are so flippin awesome!...i too recommend to see the movie..its awesome.
 
You should definately ignore the sales rep's advice.

Do you want your footage to look like all the other skate videos out there? No.

The DVX will give you beautiful and unique shots. As an example, here are some grabs from a shoot I did of a skater:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=2885

Note the point about the skater looking at the footage afterwards and commenting on how it looked great and like film.

Here some more footage and grabs from a snowboard session:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V3/showthread.php?t=23172

Filming action and on a bright day with snow can be tricky. The DVX handled it well.

Buy it and you will love it.
 
Hey
Im not sure if you have read this elsewhere or seen it somewhere even on this thread but you get better looking slow motion when you shoot in 60i. I would do alot with the 24p and if there is a certain trick which is really difficult than you might want to switch to 60i to show it in slow motion. You could do alot of the cinematic stuff as intros or things inbetween the skating. If you are filming someone like rodney mullen than you would want to get alot of both. You would definitely want the slow motion for some of his tricks and at the same time that kind of footage is golden and would look superb in 24p especially with the shutter cranked up. You can shoot in both formats and when you are editing you can decide which one to use. Dang this makes me want to go grab my board and skate. I dont think the 24p would be too jittery or strobe like if you were following the skater on a board. I can see how if you were halfway down a set of stairs and you tried to follow the guy from top to bottom that it would be a bit strobey. I can be certain about one thing, you wont be upset at all if you get the dvx. Just get one and try the different speeds for different set ups and tricks.
Brian
 
Another option would be to shoot 30p, which will smooth out some of the stutter and let you slow it down to 24p in post for some nice slo-mo effects.
 
Dolby, thats a pretty sweet video. Seldom do I get to do much trail riding like that :( Right now my bike isn't really set up for it, and I dont have enough $$ to get a nice full suspension. Let me tell you, riding singletrack with 1.95 tires isnt fun.....If you get a chance, check out the 05' Giant product catalog, my friend Paul made the cover!
 
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