My department just ordered a HD100! Hurrah! Can't wait to play with it..

Anyway, we have an ongoing project where we shoot a few weeks during the spring. Last year I shot all on a Sony FX1, and it worked well, the clients were very happy with the result.

This year ofcourse I want to shoot with the HD100. But I am also thinking of using the FX1 for b-unit footage during some shoots. So later in post what would be the best way to combine footage from the 2? Edit in 1080i and upsample, or edit 720p and downsample. Since primary footage would be 720p I am thinking it's better to stay there, but maybe I'm missing something?

Also, any thoughts on settings for the FX? Should I shoot in the 30p Cineframe mode? I will most likely shoot 30p with the HD100, since this is not headed for film.

kaspar

Kaspar:

I have a similar situation, wherein I occasionally have to combine 720p shots with footage previously shot in HDCAM, 1080i. If you try to cross convert 1080i to 720p, the 1080i footage is first made progressive by using only one set of fields before resampling to 720; therefore you have a net 540 lines; you end up with really poor resolution pictures. So my answer is, any project where you must combine 720p with 1080i footage must be done in 1080i. The 720p footage converts nicely to 1080i, and cuts together well.

I use FCP's Media Manager to convert my footage after capture to the sequence settings of the 1080i project. Works great.

Now, there may be some razzle-dazzle cocnverter box that has some other way to take 1080i to 720p, but as of this writing, I know of none. Many industry folks I've talked to concur with me on this issue.

Hope this helps.

Gary

Kaspar:

I should add, I convert the HDV to the sequence setting of the 1080i, which is either uncompressed, or FCP's DVCProHD. Have not tried this staying in HDV all the way, since my 1080i is not HDV. I output the 1080i projects to an HDCAM deck.

Don't know if my system would work for straight HDV; the principle remains the same however. Do combined projects in 1080i.

Gary

Thanks Gary. My final output is DVD and web formats; it seems a shame to move the progressive format back to interlaced, especially for the web stuff.

kaspar

I'm a little confused here. If the final output is DVD and web content, why would you convert 720p up to 1080i first? I would think downcoverting both to 480p would make a lot more sense, wouldn't it?