Bill Prouty
April 30th, 2004, 04:43 PM
This July I am filming a five-minute high-speed chase through the streets of London and would welcome any advice regarding camera selection and capturing action sequences on DV. My apologies in advance for the mixture of questions.
Here are my constraints:
1) The film must be broadcast on 16:9 anamorphic PAL and distributed on 16:9 anamorphic PAL DVD. There is also potential for a 35mm blow-up.
2) 90% of filming will occur with only natural summer daylight. The remaining 10% will be shot at night using light from streetlights
3) The film has no dialogue and all sound design / effects will be recorded after the picture is locked.
4) The film is 75% action (200 cuts) with many handheld and POV shots. Static shots will have significant motion within the frame.
5) The camera must be light enough to operate with one hand.
6) The project must be edited on FCP 4. Fire, Flame After Effects and Magic Bullet are available for the final conform, grade and deartifact.
Here is my GENERAL shooting approach:
1) Matte box and ND filters to address daylight contrast
2) “cinematic” composition, avoiding whip pans/tilts in particular
3) wide angle lens for greater depth of field and accentuation of speed. Possible fish-eye and teleconverter to mix things up.
I’m interested in any techniques to overcome the “stutter” or “strobe” effect so often associated with deinterlaced video. Experiences with shutter speed in relation to motion blur would also be very useful.
Should I film in progressive scan, or shoot interlaced and use software to deinterlace later? 24p, 30p or 60i? Has anyone had any luck "overcranking" DV using some sort of software interpolation on 60i?
What camera do you believe is best suited for the project given my shooting restraints? At the moment I am particularly interested in a comparison of the Panasonic DVX100A (25p PAL) and the JVC-HD10U (30p). In relation to the Panasonic, if I use an anamorphic adapter, does this mean I cannot shoot wide angle? I’ve also heard mixed reviews about the cameras 16:9 “squeeze mode”. In relation to the JVC, I’ve read that the 30p to 25p/24p conversion can be a nightmare, and I am concerned that the MPEG compression format will show significant artifacting when forced to cruch very active frames. I’ve also seems that the HDV post-production workflow has not been perfected. Still, the greater resolution would excellent if the film is blown up to a 35mm print.
Much of the chase will be filmed by an operator on rollerblades. Our tests have come back with an excellent floating sensation, but a high frequency buzz is being transmitted from the wheels through to the operator's arm. Does anyone know of dampener to reduce this buzz? Something like a rigid hoop connecting to a central camera mount with elastic chords?
Any other experience / advice on capturing an action sequence on DV would be extremely helpful.
Happy Trails,
Bill
Here are my constraints:
1) The film must be broadcast on 16:9 anamorphic PAL and distributed on 16:9 anamorphic PAL DVD. There is also potential for a 35mm blow-up.
2) 90% of filming will occur with only natural summer daylight. The remaining 10% will be shot at night using light from streetlights
3) The film has no dialogue and all sound design / effects will be recorded after the picture is locked.
4) The film is 75% action (200 cuts) with many handheld and POV shots. Static shots will have significant motion within the frame.
5) The camera must be light enough to operate with one hand.
6) The project must be edited on FCP 4. Fire, Flame After Effects and Magic Bullet are available for the final conform, grade and deartifact.
Here is my GENERAL shooting approach:
1) Matte box and ND filters to address daylight contrast
2) “cinematic” composition, avoiding whip pans/tilts in particular
3) wide angle lens for greater depth of field and accentuation of speed. Possible fish-eye and teleconverter to mix things up.
I’m interested in any techniques to overcome the “stutter” or “strobe” effect so often associated with deinterlaced video. Experiences with shutter speed in relation to motion blur would also be very useful.
Should I film in progressive scan, or shoot interlaced and use software to deinterlace later? 24p, 30p or 60i? Has anyone had any luck "overcranking" DV using some sort of software interpolation on 60i?
What camera do you believe is best suited for the project given my shooting restraints? At the moment I am particularly interested in a comparison of the Panasonic DVX100A (25p PAL) and the JVC-HD10U (30p). In relation to the Panasonic, if I use an anamorphic adapter, does this mean I cannot shoot wide angle? I’ve also heard mixed reviews about the cameras 16:9 “squeeze mode”. In relation to the JVC, I’ve read that the 30p to 25p/24p conversion can be a nightmare, and I am concerned that the MPEG compression format will show significant artifacting when forced to cruch very active frames. I’ve also seems that the HDV post-production workflow has not been perfected. Still, the greater resolution would excellent if the film is blown up to a 35mm print.
Much of the chase will be filmed by an operator on rollerblades. Our tests have come back with an excellent floating sensation, but a high frequency buzz is being transmitted from the wheels through to the operator's arm. Does anyone know of dampener to reduce this buzz? Something like a rigid hoop connecting to a central camera mount with elastic chords?
Any other experience / advice on capturing an action sequence on DV would be extremely helpful.
Happy Trails,
Bill