Holy Squeeze Batman!! What am I doing?

rfrink

rfrink

Member
Hi All,

First things first....I am a new dude here and just bought a DVX100b. This is a next step up in my video making hobby where I've been using a Panasonic 500GS...and really liking it.

The problem was that when I arrived to shot, everyone is very excited until I pulled out the GS-500...then you could hear the excitment deflat like the Hindenburg...... Nothing to do with the performance of the GS-500...but it's lack of "professional" looking stature. So I bought a DVX, not only to look more professional and make a more impressive first impression, but to also create better work....and to add a second camcorder to my arsenal.

Intro the DVX: ...yikes! where to start with all these switches and buttons, and menus...and sockets..and ...stuff?


Basically, to start with, I'm planning to use the DVX along with the GS-500. I want the DVX footage to be as similair to the GS-500 as I can. The GS-500 offers 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios... I like to do everything in 16:9...but what would that be from the DVX? letter box or squeeze.

OK, so if that's not confusing enough right now.....What about the Scene File F1- F6? 24p, 24pa, 30i, ....... Holy crap! The learning curve is very steep right now!

I just wanna shoot stuff...hee hee.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello to all.....and ask for some mentoring during this diffcult initial learning phase.

Sincerely,
Rob
 
Hi Rob,

First of all , welcome to the wonderful world of the DVX100b!

To get 16:9 from the DVX100 you need to shoot in squeeze mode. I know, I know... it's not 'true' 16:9 but it does end up as 16:9 in the end, which you can output as 16:9 DVD or web movie or 4:3 DVD with letterboxing added.

Make sure when you shoot you have the menu option for viewfinder on AUTO to view unsqueezed.

I think it does a decent job, considering it squeezes and then unsqueezes the image.

example here:
http://www.gregorybennett.com/informational/FLICKO.mov

The DVX scene files are just places for you to store your settings. You can change any of the settings in any of those files. The DVX comes with those settings preset to various settings. F5, for instance, is set for 24p.

Try the various settings out and see what you like! And good luck!
 
Congrats on the new toy... did you buy new or used?

The best advice anyone could give you at this point is to read Barry Green's book and watch the DVD.

This should clear up just about everything you could ask for, and get you on your way to shooting with a purpose.

While you wait, assuming your scene file's (f1-f6) are still set to default, stick it on f5 and squeeze mode, and go shoot and edit just like you would the gs-500.

-brown
 
OK...making notes:

F5, squeeze, Barry Green...got it!



Thanks for the responses Ryan and Gregory! I bought my DVX in the used market from a local guy. It had 9 hours, in new condition...and came with a bunch of stuff....mic, external LCD monitor, lenses, a matt box and filters...and stuff. I was mainly looking for a "like New" DVX with a good mic. This one came with a ATR-55 which hasn't impressed me yet. But that's a minor issue at this point..I have so much other stuff to learn...and I have a Rode VM that I can use in the meantime.

-Rob
 
So, Rob, how much do really want the cameras to match?

The reason I ask is that the GS500 is interlaced, it shoots 60i. I seem to remember it has a PROCINEMA or FRAME mode, which is pseudo-progressive and looks really good, and gives you basically 30p footage.

The main feature of the DVX si the 24p modes, but the GS500 won't be able to do that. It'll look strange if you try to intercut 60i with 24p, especially.

The DVX will do 60i, but the combination of 60i and SQUEEZE mode produces really bad quality, so I would recommend avoiding that.

So, as far as I see, assuming we stick with 16:9, and I'm with you on that, there are two possibilities to look at:

Option 1 - 30p
GS500 16:9 with FRAME/PROCINEMA mode
DVX SQUEEZE 30p mode (you'll need to customize your scene file settings)
Edit in a 60i/30p timeline

Option 2 - 24p
GS500 16:9 NORMAL mode (convert to 24p in post using any one of a number of available tools)
DVX SQUEEZE scene file 6 (24pA mode)
Edit in a pure 24p timeline
 
Joshua Provost said:
So, Rob, how much do really want the cameras to match?

..........
Click to expand...

Great material Joshua! My plan is do do a series of information "tube" videos for my business. For those, they will be compressed into some "youtube" FLV and I can't imagine that many will be able to tell the difference between the 2 camcorders.

On the other hand, I also so some music performances of school aged students which gets distributed on a DVD. For that I would like to set up 2 static cameras to record the performances...then in post: fade, pan and zoom to create unique scenes that follow the melody of the performance. So, I think the viewer really doesn't notice a different "look" from a different view.... or camera in this case. Even differences in white balance seem slip by without a second thought. I mean, first your watching Stacy play the violin in a portrait view, then the scene disolves into a profile view.... 2 views, 2 perspectives, 2 light changes, .... yes the look and feel should also change I think. So with that in mind, they don't need to match very closely.

However, what I need is for both cameras to create footage that is easy and effortless to work with in post without additional processing. To the untrained eye of a proud parent, the DVD should be played from beginning to end without them even realizing that 2 cameras were used to start with.



So, I really don't know how close they need to match. At this point, perhaps just enough that there are no technical issues in post editing when they are combined. ...such as different aspect ratios.


I think I'll shoot your options...put them on the time line...burn a DVD, and see what they look like. It's a starting point which will give me a basis to ask more reasonable questions.

This is so much fun!!

-Rob
 
I found that the GS line and the DVX match pretty well in terms of color by default. If you manually white balance them both properly, they look really close. The GS500 doesn't have any PICTURE ADJUSTMENTS (like the GS400 had), so if you need to tweak something, you'll need to tweak the DVX to match the GS500.
 
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