Help - I'm confused

[bigbigblue]

I am very new to Cinematography, and despite having Googled and read this (and other) forums for many hours, I am still totally confused as to which frame rate I should be using for my particular circumstances, so any help you can offer would be very much appreciated.

I am filming low flying jets, which absolutely requires me to commit the cardinal sin of cinematography - using fast pans. An example of the kind of thing I am filming can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyTts-CpvIQ

That footage was filmed in 1080i/60i mode on my Panasonic HPX-171E, however I am not sure if that is the best mode to use (as there is also a 720p/60p mode on the camera).

I am looking to release a DVD both in the UK and the US and potentially, if there is demand, a Blu-Ray disk of the same footage too.

1080i/60i was chosen initially as this gives reasonably stutter free footage even given the quick panning required, however because it is interlaced, the freeze frame and slow motion performance of the footage is poor, so I would LIKE to use 60p instead, which I presume will give me the smoothness needed AND allow decent freeze frame and slow motion performance.

Confusion reins however when it comes to considering conversion of 60p footage to DVD and Blu-Ray. In creating a DVD for example, I presume the conversion software (I use FCP) will simply drop every other frame, and I suspect I will get back to having a bad stutter in my footage. I know insufficient about Blu-Ray to know whether such a conversion is required.


So, anyway, my question is whether I should stick with 1080i/60i or switch to shooting 720p/60p, and whether (if the answer is to go with 60p) I will be able to get smooth footage on DVD and Blu-Ray from it.

Thanks

 

[Steve Laramie]

if you dont need audio i would do 720/60p on a high shutter. It will import as slow motion but if you speed it up you can get it normal and will look very clean.

 

[bigbigblue]

if you dont need audio i would do 720/60p on a high shutter. It will import as slow motion but if you speed it up you can get it normal and will look very clean.

Hi lairhair,
Thanks for the response. I'm confused by the statement "It will import as slow motion" though. I just shot a few seconds of 720p/60p and it imported into FCP at normal speed! Also, I really do need the audio.

Messing about in FCP, exporting 60p footage to PAL produces a video of the correct length, but it DOES judder - unless of course I am doing something wrong (which is not only possible, it is highly probable too).

 

[DM_rider]

Hi lairhair,
Thanks for the response. I'm confused by the statement "It will import as slow motion" though. I just shot a few seconds of 720p/60p and it imported into FCP at normal speed! Also, I really do need the audio.

Messing about in FCP, exporting 60p footage to PAL produces a video of the correct length, but it DOES judder - unless of course I am doing something wrong (which is not only possible, it is highly probable too).

If you want to shoot in cam slowmotion, you have to shoot 720p/24pn or 30pn and then over crank (no sound though). 720p/60p will not give you slow motion alone, unless you slow it down in post.

 

[Marc Villafan]

If you want to shoot in cam slowmotion, you have to shoot 720p/24pn or 30pn and then over crank (no sound though). 720p/60p will not give you slow motion alone, unless you slow it down in post.

Well can't he capture in 60p, and playback at say 30fps? I'm pretty sure that would give him a 50% speed decrease.

 

[bigbigblue]

I'm not actually trying to do slow motion (although I may well in the future) - my original question was about how to get the smoothest fast pans possible, whilst being able to transfer to PAL and NTSC DVD (and later possibly Blu-Ray) - I believe my choice is between 1080/60i and 720/60P - and my natural inclination is to go for 720/60p and a 1/120 shutter speed. But I am still confused - will 60i give me a smoother pan than 60p when the footage is moved to DVD, and if so, why?

Thanks for all the help, it really is appreciated.

Cheers
Pete

 

[DM_rider]

Well can't he capture in 60p, and playback at say 30fps? I'm pretty sure that would give him a 50% speed decrease.

Like I said, he can slow it down in post if he wants.

To the OP, go out and do some tests! Go to a highway and track some fast moving cars. See how 24p, 30p, and 60p look and pick whichever you like best.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

I'm not actually trying to do slow motion (although I may well in the future) - my original question was about how to get the smoothest fast pans possible, whilst being able to transfer to PAL and NTSC DVD (and later possibly Blu-Ray) - I believe my choice is between 1080/60i and 720/60P - and my natural inclination is to go for 720/60p and a 1/120 shutter speed. But I am still confused - will 60i give me a smoother pan than 60p when the footage is moved to DVD, and if so, why?

Thanks for all the help, it really is appreciated.

Cheers
Pete

Too bad you couldn't shoot at 150 fps... then you could divide down by 6 and 5, for 25 and 30, respectively...

But in any case, the 'shutter speed' should be high enough to produce 'sharp' images, which may be way above the frame rate that the camera is running at. I would also use any 'p' mode rather than interlaced, to avoid the field artifacts.

I almost think doing 50p would be better in that one could go to 25 (PAL standard) directly, or cheat a 24 fps and use a 3:2 pull down to get back up to 30 (ish...).

 

[Barry_Green]

To the OP:
You want 720/60p mode. That will give you the smoothest footage, the best still frames, and the easiest conversions to DVD and/or blu-ray.

 

[bigbigblue]

To the OP:
You want 720/60p mode. That will give you the smoothest footage, the best still frames, and the easiest conversions to DVD and/or blu-ray.

Thanks Barry. I'm off out shooting at the end of this week - I'll use 720/60p mode and have a look at the results. What do you suggest re shutter speed? Should I stick to 1/120 (which gives me a 180 degree shutter but due to the speed of my subjects will still give significant motion blur on still frames), or am I better off going with a higher shutter speed?

Thanks
Pete