TO: Barry Green and Interested Others

[brightsky]

DVX 100A arrived last week and I have almost completed "The DVX Book." I intend to shoot 24PA with the ultimate intention of submitting to Ann Arbor. Some questions:

1) Can the Gray Card (p. 27) be used to set iris/aperature, and if so, HOW? I am not quite clear how to manually set iris (within any given shutter speed) and an apparently indeterminate ISO (coming, many years ago, from the 16mm film tradition).

2) Is 2:3:3:2 pulldown compatible for film transfer?

3) Perhaps this has been answered many times in the Forum (and I simply have not found those strands nor any reference in the book), but what tape stock is recommended for quality production? I am aware that Panasonic issues Consumer, "Professional," and Master quality tapes. I am also aware of discussions wherein the suppossedly "lower" quality (and less expensive) tape is superior to the higher quality tape (based upon various parameters)! And, are any other manufacturer's tapes recommended per both quality and compatability with Panasonic heads?

Your considerable and considered thoughts please? Thank you...

 

[Barry_Green]

1) An 18% gray card can be used to ballpark your exposure, but actual appropriate exposure is more properly determined using other tools -- the zebras, for example, or a waveform monitor or a properly-calibrated production monitor. The 18% card will let you set reasonable exposure on most scenes, but the particulars of your individual scenes may call for exposure adjustment.

2) Depends on the place you have planned to do the film transfer. DVFilm.com can definitely accept 2:3:3:2 footage.

3) MQ's.

 

[brightsky]

Thank you, Sir.