Please Help SD professional prepare for HD!!!

H

HAWLEYJ

New member
Hello!

I just bought a HVX200A and LOVE it!!! Much cooler than my Sony DCR-VX2100!

Just a quick question. I bought it because I got a bid for a corporate piece for a Catholic church that needs to be done in HD. I'm going all out on this one, getting track and dolly and plan on shooting interviews and even some fast/slow footage through the variable frame rate features.

Here is my question: This is destined for DVD and to be shown for people via projectors as well.

I am looking at shooting in 720pN/30 right now. Is this the correct choice?? I hear Barry talk about the virtues of 24p a ton in his book, but don't I have to convert it to 30fps eventually anyway? Is it just clearer?? Do I have to have a 30p timeline if I'm destined for DVD??? Or is it just a simple export to DVD command???

What do I setup my Premier Pro CS3 as? I want it to be in a timeline that PPro can edit natively.

I noticed that in this article http://www.dvinfo.net//articles/p2misc/p2premierepro.php that 720p/30 isn't listed as a native preset in PPro. Any thoughts on how to setup my timeline??? ANY help is GREATLY appreciated!

Also, am I looking at shooting DVCPRO50 mode??? I have a 16GB card and plan on offing it to my laptop when it gets full on the field.

I'm a good videographer and producer, but these high def options are crazy! :-)

Thank you for your help!
Justin.
 
It depends on if you want it to have a filmic cadence (24p) or not (30p). You will be able to edit both in PP CS3 fine, and they will both go to DVD well. 720/24pN will give you about 40 minutes on a 16 gb card.
 
I do plan on having some track/dolly shots, although hopefully slow. I'm looking to mimic the shots (although admittedly they were steadicam) of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if95h3uh1wM&feature=email

I know if I go slow enough the 24p should be an issue, but should I play it safe and do 30p? Or are the benefits of the "film cadence" worth it? Personally, coming from a SD background I'm not particularly keen on the flickery cadence and limitations of 24p, but I am VERY interested in hearing the benefits, if it involves higher quality individual frames. Please advise!

Also, to get back to the other part of the post, I really need to know how to setup my PPro timeline. Am I correct in saying they don't have a 30p native preset for DVPRO50????
 
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needs to be done in HD. This is destined for DVD
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We are in a time of transition between SD and HD. Formats, displays and playback options are being mixed up, with often less than stellar results.

Others may have a different viewpoint, but I feel that if one is going to do HD, it should be HD all the way. Shoot HD, edit HD and deliver on Blu-ray. If final delivery will be DVD, then keep the whole production chain in SD.

I hear a lot of folks talk about shooting in HD for current SD delviery, with the possibility of a future HD delivery. I won't say that's a bad philosophy, especially for guys who do very few projects in a year. But I just can't imaging having the time to go back over finished projects later to rebuild an HD disk. I'm way too busy. I can barely get out current projects on time.

Much simpler in my view to shoot and edit for the current delivery format and be done with it. If DVD is the goal, shoot SD. If you want to shoot HD, then deliver a Blu-ray and actually get all the benefit from shooting in HD.

Also, the newest Premiere CS4 has a full set of presets for DVCPro 50. I imagine 480p/30 would be one of them.
 
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If final delivery will be DVD, then keep the whole production chain in SD.
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TOTALLY disagree!

footage shot in dvcproHD and downconverted to an SD delivery look FAR better than the same thing shot in SD. at least thats been my experience.
 
its not a matter of viewpoint. just a simple fact.

jim, youre way off the mark on a number of things here. the first one as weve mentioned above, but also:
especially for guys who do very few projects in a year. But I just can't imaging having the time to go back over finished projects later to rebuild an HD disk
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you dont have to rebuild ANYTHING. unless youre referring to dvd menu stuff. and if so, id imagine the client would pay for it. so why not have it on hand as an upselling option?

youre making things a LOT more complicated than they actually are.
 
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Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you for replying to my thread!

For those of you who disagree with Jim, please kindly would you tell me what you recommend? I still need the original issues of shooting mode, 720pn30 or 60 or other options, and timeline setup addressed.

Again, just a quick opinion and how you would setup your shoot as described above would be great. I am not opposed to burning to Blue-Ray if needed and finding a projector.

Thank you!!!
 
its not a matter of viewpoint. just a simple fact.
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I can't agree with that. My own experience is that SD video upconverted for HD display just doesn't look as good as that same video on an SD CRT. When you add the further processing of downconverting HD to SD first into the mix, things can get even worse.

So my viewpoint is very simple - keep all things on a level playing field. If you shoot in HD, then edit in HD, deliver in HD and watch in HD. If you deliver in SD, then also shoot in SD, edit in SD and watch in SD. Nothing too complicated about that. And like it or not, it is a very workable method.

I've no quarrel with those who hold a different viewpoint, but I will thank you to also let me hold mine, and give me the freedom to state it.
 
SD video upconverted for HD display just doesn't look as good as that same video on an SD CRT.
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of course it doesnt - because its UPconverted.

what we were talking about is working in HD and downconverting to SD. if you choose to upconvert that back on an HD screen - you get what you get...

im gonna shut up now. ive said enough
 
I'm having some of the same questions. I just got the HPX170 in and this is my first HD camera.

If I shoot in 720/24pn but plan to export to dvd, what settings should I make the time line in FCP? Do I make the editing time base match my 24 p frame rate?

When I drop clips into the timeline, it shows them as unrendered so I'm guessing some of my settings are off??

thanks for any help.
 
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