New Doc Format

D

dpryke

Active member
Well a new documentary project has just landed into my lap making it the ideal time to finally get an EX3. I have shot docs for this client before on both my DVX 100A and a Panasonic Varicam. The Varicam proved to be a budget buster. I convinced them that they need to keep shooting in HD, hence the EX3. I can't believe I am buying Sony again. After the strides Panasonic has made in the last several years I never thought I would go back to Sony. However, for the money, this camera is amazing.

We have shot in 24P before with both cameras, but I was unhappy how "jerky" the pans were on the stills we shot. We were thinking of shooting in 720/60P. From what I have read it gives a nice film look but without the "jerky" feel.

Any thoughts....


Thanks for you help.

Dave
 
I shoot 1080/30p and I don't get jerky pans. When I'm shooting 24fps I do see stutter. I just don't like 24 at all.
 
Ditto to what Buck said. (hi Buck!)

I've been playing with turning Detail on/off and that seems to help with a similar stutter as well.
 
dpryke,

I would take the time to read up on all the various HD formats and how they affect your image. But here's my personal take:

If your documentary has a lot of action scenes (verite stuff like Reality TV) I would shoot 60p or 60i. 24p in reality shows (like Survivor) makes me dizzy. 24p was not designed for handheld work and I really wish TV producers or whoever makes these technical decisions would get it through their heads.

However if your documentary doesn't contain a lot of motion I would definitely shoot with that format as a lot of people consider the look "high-end" because it's the rate film is shot at.

30p is fine for American TV and is ideal for internet distribution. It does not convert well for our friends on the other side of the pond (PAL land).

60p is ideal for motion-intensive work. The trade-off is lower quality vs. 1080/60i. However with 60i you get interlacing issues (sharp edges twitter, graphics especially if you aren't careful) but 1080/60i is my preference for reality TV/documentaries with lots of handheld work as everything looks smooth and lively. If I want to convert to 720/60p or 720/30p for internet distribution it looks fine...the opposite (converting 720/60p to 1080/60i) is not so good. At least on my 57" TV I can see a difference, albeit my family members wouldn't notice as much.
 
Thanks for all the input.

The doc is for the 20th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down. Hard to believe it has been 20 years already. The doc will consist of interviews and location b-roll, and we want to give it as much of a "film look" as possible. I know a lot of Varicam ops that shoot 720/60P to get that look.
 
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