hvx200a with dvx100b workflow

slimchrisp

slimchrisp

Well-known member
i've pieced together the information i can find from different threads, but still need a good once over. i get my hvx200a this week, and i'm looking for the best approach to mixing dvx and hvx footage. my plan is to shoot the dvx at 24pa letterbox, and the hvx at 720pn 24p, 16x9 (since that's automatic). i don't have the hvx yet, so this is just based off the look i want, threads i've read and noah's dvd. i also read it would be best to use the dvx for closeups vs wide angle shots for the best detail i can get with the dvx to match with the hvx.

once i've shot, am i cool to just drop the footage into final cut studio 2 and edit like normal? like i said, i don't have the hvx yet so i haven't been able to try anything out on my own, just looking for tips to jump in as fast as i can.

thanks for any advice.

chris
 
I would never ever dare to mix the HVX with DVX footage. You can't mix hd and sd. It's still night and day. Just unheard of for me. Buy a hv30 if you really need a second cam if your budget is low. But fcs2 is super user friendly, you'll feel stupid for asking that question on here in about two weeks after you get into the workflow. hope i could help. Michael
 
Are you planning on delivering your product in HD on Blu-ray disc? If not just use both cameras in SD mode, they will look good together and that will be the easiest workflow.

If you need to edit in HD, don't set your DVX100b to letterbox mode, you would be shooting in 4:3 then. Instead set it to 16:9 anamorphic 24pa. Im not a FCP user, but you may need to transcode your SD footage to work with 720/24pn. Again, unless your delivering on BD-R, I would just go SD. If you do go HD, then yes, use the DVX100b for close ups, and increase the shutter slightly. good luck!
 
i'll be delivering on standard dvd. i had wanted to go 720pn to take advantage of variable frame rates. this is event work, so i may not necessarily need to do that. over all, matching is most important.

as far as letterbox goes, i've always gone that route instead of relying on the camera's electronics and using squeeze mode. of course, everything was shot with dvx cameras before. to throw another wrench into everything, i'm hoping to pick up a cheap hv20. but i'll take a look at going sd with the dvx and hvx. would i downrez the hv20 footage? hd is all new to me. :)

thanks eric!
 
You can still take advantage of the variable frame rates. If that is your goal, then shoot the DVX100b in 24p mode (60i) and shoot the HVX200 in 720/24pn. Downloading P2 is not really an option here. You will need to keep all the P2 cards and then record the data to miniDV tape, using the cameras internal down convert feature, which puts your footage to tape over 60i (will still have progressive look).

Don't do 4:3 letterbox. 1. you are loosing resolution, 2. Not sure how you would cut together 4:3 letterboxed footage with 16:9 footage. The squeeze option delivers good results.

I have an HV20 and its a great cam. If you were in Avid, all formats mix as long as the framerate is the same. Don't know abut FCP, but it might too. Therefore you wouldn't have to down convert HV20 footage, it would do it.
 
thanks again eric. i get my hvx200a on thursday, so i'll be doing lots of playing. :)

plus, i have about 4 weeks before a shoot where i'll need both cams. so plenty of time to test all of this out. thanks again! i completely forgot about dubbing to dv tape in the hvx if i need to. i'll definitely keep that in mind.
 
its super easy...my last project we used 3 HVX's and then two dvxs for B cams

shoot squeeze 24PA then use Instant HD to uprezz to 720p and your all set....
also lower your detail settings on your dvx and set the master ped a bit lower...

its important to have progressive footage for the upconvert... if you have interlaced footage it will take alittle more work and not get the best result from my experience
 
DXV and HVX mix beautifully. Done it a bunch. If you're going for SD then I'd shoot in SD for most of my stuff and only shoot HD for the variable frame rate stuff. Saves a ton of hard drive space.

If you are on Final Cut just drop footage into a DV timeline and size accordingly - it's SUPER easy. Just remember to frame your stuff accordingly (4:3 or 16:9)
 
thanks jason and wilson. again, i appreciate all the input. i'm getting my 200a tomorrow and then i'll start playing.

the biggest thing i'm trying to figure out is the best way to get widescreen in camera. everyone seems to be saying squeeze on the dvx. what would i shoot in the hvx if i shoot sd with that camera? sorry, it may be obvious once i have some time to spend with the 200.
 
The HVX is widescreen natively. So if you hooked it up to a plasma, it would fill the screen correctly. Likewise, if you shoot the DVX100b in squeeze mode, it will also fill the screen correctly - it just squeezes it onto the 4:3 chip in the camera
 
I have mixed SD and HD with decent results. It is not ideal, but will work in a pinch. In fact, I did a multicam shoot with and HVX and a couple of SD cams and it looks decent on both the web and SD DVD.

Best results for a multi-cam shoot (from my experience) is to Up-rezz the SD footage to HD using a 4;1:1 to 4:2:2 plugin to blur the color based compression, sync in points and use the multiclip function for.

As for your wide screen question, the HVX has a 16:9 chip and always shoots wide screen in HD. In SD, you can shoot 16:9 squeeze (my preferred if shooting DVCPRO50 SD), 16:9 letterbox (plays well in a 4:3 aspect ratio) and 4:3. If it were me, I would shoot 720 24PN HD with the HVX (which is automatically 16:9 'squeeze') and 480 24p SD 16:9 squeeze. Then you have the option to up-rezz to HD later.

Remember, up-rezzing will not increase resolution (its like pouring a thimble of water into a big gulp cup, bigger container, same amount of information). but up-rezzing with some interpolation can smooth things out and almost fool the uneducated.

If you are interested in seeing some footage from a basic SD/HD multicam shoot, try this: http://6c7video.awakenedfilms.com/
 
Eric Papa said:
The HVX is widescreen natively.
Click to expand...

is this only the case in hd? i thought i read that was so.

just got my camera yesterday, but of course the short time i had was spent putting on a protective filter and pulling pick n' pluck foam out of my pelican case. it's killing me!!! hoping tomorrow i'll actually get to do some shooting.
 
AwakenedFilms said:
I have mixed SD and HD with decent results. It is not ideal, but will work in a pinch. In fact, I did a multicam shoot with and HVX and a couple of SD cams and it looks decent on both the web and SD DVD.

Best results for a multi-cam shoot (from my experience) is to Up-rezz the SD footage to HD using a 4;1:1 to 4:2:2 plugin to blur the color based compression, sync in points and use the multiclip function for.

As for your wide screen question, the HVX has a 16:9 chip and always shoots wide screen in HD. In SD, you can shoot 16:9 squeeze (my preferred if shooting DVCPRO50 SD), 16:9 letterbox (plays well in a 4:3 aspect ratio) and 4:3. If it were me, I would shoot 720 24PN HD with the HVX (which is automatically 16:9 'squeeze') and 480 24p SD 16:9 squeeze. Then you have the option to up-rezz to HD later.

Remember, up-rezzing will not increase resolution (its like pouring a thimble of water into a big gulp cup, bigger container, same amount of information). but up-rezzing with some interpolation can smooth things out and almost fool the uneducated.

If you are interested in seeing some footage from a basic SD/HD multicam shoot, try this: http://6c7video.awakenedfilms.com/
Click to expand...

thanks for that AF. lots of details there. i will definitely be going to sd dvd, so this may be a good option. i'm going to download the instant hd demo and see how that works with your solution. i've got almost a month before my next shoot, so i should have plenty of time to try this out.

thanks again everyone for your help. i've found a few posts with recommended settings for the two cameras to get the best match, but still curious if anyone else can offer any more suggestions in that area. please share if you can.

once i get some test shots done and i'm to a point where i'm happy with the results, i'll post some split screen shots and hopefully others can use this information as well.
 
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