Hey guys

I have been shooting up to now in 4:3 but just got my new camera which shoots 16:9 and HDV.
Do you mention to the clients if you are shooting 16:9 because i know alot of people still dont have widescreen TV's
nI did a test shoot in 16:9 was viewing on my 4:3 monitor picture looked squashed exported it quicktime anamorphic and then produced a DVD in widscreen in DVDSPRO and i ended up getting the blacklines top and bottom
Is this the way to do it so people with 4:3 tv's can watch

Rob

I always shoot 16:9 now. I never mention that there's a choice.

We tell them its widescreen and we always goto see them before the day anyway. If I ever see somone with a 4:3 ill ask them if they want it widescreen or not. I would never mention 16:9 or 4:3, people just dont know what they mean. Widescreen or normal is what they understand.

Ive seen a lot of videographer sites who go on about the technical detail, talking about their mics and how they pickup from -15db with a range of xxx Mhz and other info. Which just confuses people. KISS.

The blacklines are how its done for 4:3 and how I prefer it, otherwise you eitehr loose the sides or have it squished. You no doubt edited it with 16:9 aspect in mind so should present it like that.

Black bars for 4:3 TVs is the way to go. If your clients watch movies on DVDs, your transition won't be noticed.

Hi Robert

So far I have never had anyone say "ah I didn't know there was black bars". I think with movies on DVD and television programming being all in widescreen most people are used to it now. I don't mention it other then I shoot everything in HD as that's the current buzz word around even if the client isn't totally aware of what it exactly is. Plus you'd be surprised how many people have upgraded to LCD's/Plasma especially if its a youngish couple getting married.

When rendering to dvd as long as you select widescreen on the software the DVD should author fine and give you black bars on a an old TV so what you did is correct.

Hi, you don't need to mention unless they ask.
Wide screen is the standard now.

I've never mentioned it. I shoot in 16:9. Everyone has widescreen DVDs and watched widescreen tv programs on a 4:3 window.

Watching 4:3 on a widescreen tv says "out-of-date".

If they don't have a widescreen now, they will in the near future.

What I think is funny is when clients will request shooting in HD, yet also specify delivery on standard DVD. I gave up trying to explain that they're mutually exclusive.

^ what do you mean
"I gave up trying to explain that they're mutually exclusive." ?

^ what do you mean
"I gave up trying to explain that they're mutually exclusive." ?

DVD video is 720x480, or in digital television parlance - 480i, which is Standard Definition.

Sure, I can shoot HD, but if you're demanding it be delivered on a standard DVD, it will be SD.

I feel it's my duty to give them the option. But it's like deer in headlights.....
After about thirty seconds, i simply convince them that 16:9 is the way to go.

When they buy their next big screen TV, there won't be any complaints...

There's no "mutual exclusivity" between SHOOTING in HD and DELIVERING in SD widescreen. I've started to render an HD copy of a project for later use with BR when it becomes mainstream. And the SD DVD looks great because the footage started life in Hi res.

Starting from an HD source gives far better quality when output properly to SD than starting with an SD source that really probably isn't even 480 lines of vertical res... and of course your footage is future proofed.

It's probably a result of Marketing, but people are starting to realize the benefits of "High Def"...

I specify in my contract and on the DVD covers and disc labels that my videos are widescreen format, and don't offer a choice unless it's for a corporate client. For consumer projects I only shoot HD/widescreen because that's what I want for my demos and what will serve the customer best in the long run. If anyone ever complained it would be easy enough to center-crop back to 4:3 format, but that hasn't happened yet.

DVD video is 720x480, or in digital television parlance - 480i, which is Standard Definition.

Sure, I can shoot HD, but if you're demanding it be delivered on a standard DVD, it will be SD.

Wont the quality be better even if it has been shoot in HD and delivered in SD i am sure you could notice the difference your down converting

Wont the quality be better even if it has been shoot in HD and delivered in SD

Yes it will, I have noticed sharper images between my downconverted xh-a1 footage and dvx100 footage, especially when the lens is wide.

I did a test shoot in 16:9 was viewing on my 4:3 monitor picture looked squashed exported it quicktime anamorphic and then produced a DVD in widscreen in DVDSPRO and i ended up getting the blacklines top and bottom
Is this the way to do it so people with 4:3 tv's can watch

Yes, if it's encoded with the 16x9 flag & also your authoring program has some sort of setting where it will "let the dvd player choose the aspect ratio", then that DVD on a 4x3 will display letterbox and a widescreen TV will display 16x9. Of course provided the client has their player & TV set up properly.

Shooting in HD gives you more flexibility as you have more pixels to play with. If you shoot SD and want to crop to cut out the tog to the side or be a bit more creative you cant, your throwing away valuable pixels. Shoot in HD and you have 4 times the resolution to play with. You can digitally crop and zoom and when its pressed to DVD, looks just as sharp.

Why not? It doesnt cost you any more to flick that switch on your camera and record in HD.

Wont the quality be better even if it has been shoot in HD and delivered in SD i am sure you could notice the difference your down converting

I'm not suggesting to not shoot in HD. I just find it amusing that people think they're getting HD video on a DVD.

I recorded HD and found that rendering takes alot longer i use FCP which means if you are delivering in SD why would you record in HDV and make life harder unless you charge the clients more which i dont think they would pay more for SD

I recorded HD and found that rendering takes alot longer i use FCP which means if you are delivering in SD why would you record in HDV and make life harder unless you charge the clients more which i dont think they would pay more for SD

For some the quality benefits of working with HD source are worth the extra hassle regardless of the final output resolution; others may decide to work in widescreen SD unless the client is paying for HD editing. I shoot most projects in HDV and then decide how to handle the footage before I start capturing, since I can downrez to widescreen DV at that point with no impact on workflow and still have the HD source material if I want it later.

It's also worth developing a full HD delivery workflow so you can offer that to clients for an additional fee, which some will pay.