how best to make 1.85

I

IsraelHoudini

Well-known member
okay...i've done seaches and havent found exactly what i'm looking for. and i don't have the camera in my hands until shooting to play around with things.


i want to mask in post to 1.85. i know i know, resolution loss etc. but im going for it. do you find that using the letterbox works best or squeeze and then masking?

what is the best way to find the proper upper and lower limits on the lcd (100a) and for an external monitor (16x9) so i can properly frame my shots?

i want the dvd to work like a widescreen, fill the screen except for small bars on a 16x9 tv and letterboxed on a standard tv. do i need to alter my workflow specially for this?

thanks
 
First off, doing a simple search for "aspect ratio" gave me quite a few helpful threads. For masking your LCD, stick this http://www.twodogfilms.com/crops/4x3---1.85-full.gif in your NLE, hook up the cam, play the image to your camera, then place your scotch tape over the designated area. Definitely shoot 4:3 with no letterbox, that way you have the ability to move the image accordingly in post.

OR

go to www.aspectcorrect.com and order a widescreen overlay, which fits over the LCD and gives you the desired ratio. In post, bring up your 1:85 picture (linked above) and place your black bars in line with the pic. This should give you a perfect 1:85 ratio, with 0% resolution loss.
 
InvisionProductions said:
This should give you a perfect 1:85 ratio, with 0% resolution loss.
Click to expand...

Just so you are clear, there will be resolution loss because the DVX has 4:3 chips. Unless you use the anamorphic adaptor, you will loose resolution, period.

IMHO, it doesn't really matter that much. No average person will say that your video looked like it "lost resolution" when watching on a TV, especially a 4:3 set.
 
How will a 4:3 video with black bars layed over the top reduce resolution!? Its not like your digitally stretching/resizing the footage.
 
InvisionProductions said:
How will a 4:3 video with black bars layed over the top reduce resolution!? Its not like your digitally stretching/resizing the footage.
Click to expand...

I guess technically you are 'losing' the cropped portion of the image, and the resolution that goes with it. But the resolution of the visible portion is not affected.
 
Yeah, that's exactly what it means.

And if you use the anamorphic adapter, it uses the full 4x3 chip to make a 16x9 image, so you don't lose resolution where you would have normally cropped. Therefore, cropping from footage that used the anamorphic adapter means that you lose less resolution than you would if you were shooting 4x3.
 
I took a Mini DV tape and recorded every possible apect ratio with a title of the specific ratio layed over. I keep the tape in my camera bag, so when ever i am shooting i can justy pop the tape in, play it and put some scotch tape over my lcd to properly frame up shots.

I posted a short in the clips and grabs with a 2:35 matte over it. I played it on a 18 foot screen using a projector at my school. Yes, it was a little grainy, but nothing worse than sitting through 16mm blowups at any film festival. I actually thought it was cleaner.
 
I have had the same experience. I really don't think that 2.35:1 from mini DV (DVX of course) is really that bad at all. Obviously it doesn't look like 35mm, but it isn't unwatchable by any stretch of the imagination.
 
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