XL2 vs 16mm

Tim Brown · September 28th, 2004, 02:40 PM

THE KING IS ALIVE was an excellent movie, IMHO, although the motion-judder in the conversion to film was a little unsettling at times.

Anyway... it was filmed with a PD-100.

-Tim

Zohar Lokhandwala · September 28th, 2004, 03:54 PM

Don't know if anyone of you'll saw Monsoon Wedding?
It was made on film, but wouldn't that film have done well on dv too?

-
While you guys have been an immense help and I'm trying to get hold of a DV to Film reel from one of the Labs here and also trying to get all these movies shot on digital, it is taking time cuz acess to them is very limited.

I'm concerned because not having worked with DV myself, its going to be a lot of trial and error which can be scary and exciting at the same time. My film is 80% indoors and 20% outdoors.

Let me know if you'll feel Monsoon Wedding could have been shot on DV.

Marco Leavitt · September 28th, 2004, 08:56 PM

Funny you should mention that about "Monsoon Wedding." I thought the same thing when I saw it. Not that I thought it was DV, but I remember thinking that this is exactly the type of movie that a handful of people with a miniDV cam could make. Still, that rooftop shot with the wedding planner trying to avoid his nagging mother was so beautiful. Don't think it would have had the same effect on DV. Love that movie by the way. It's one of my all-time favorites. Not sure why. It just puts me in a good mood every time I watch it.

Jed Williamson · September 28th, 2004, 09:24 PM

I would say the answer depends on the locations you are using.

For an example:

80% of your scenes are inside settings (banks, hotel rooms, bars, restaurants) and 20% have medium or wide exterior shots (parks, beaches, etc.. )

This would be a case for using mixed formats. You could shoot the inside locations on mini-dv and it won't really matter too much for the final product if well lighted and stable (tripod) shots in the comparison between dv hd & 16mm

With the savings from shooting 80% on minidv you could then shoot the 20% on HD or super 16mm. Since medium & wide shots are where dv falls flat. Or you could take the sky captain route and blue screen the exteriors.

On another note if I had 20,000 for a budget I would spend 10,000 on the feature and 10,000 for 2 cameo spots from semi-famous actors.

You probably could get Mark Hamill :) He just did a horrible movie in Wisconsin recently Reesville.

Zohar Lokhandwala · September 29th, 2004, 05:03 AM

Marco,
I agree, that scene is rather beautiful. Love that song 'Aaja Baavaria" that plays in the background. And although the emotion comes through so beautifully, it takes on a whole new meaning when you understand the lyrics of the song.

Jed,
I thought of that. Mixing 16mm with DV, but did not want it to look too different. I hear 'full frontal' the movie, had a mix of both mediums. Can't someone notice the difference? I am yet to see this film so am not sure.

""Or you could take the sky captain route and blue screen the exteriors""
As someone who is very new to the film medium, you lost me there. Pardon my ignorance but what was that?

Jed Williamson · September 29th, 2004, 08:02 AM

Full frontal used the XL1. The director didn't use it very well so the result is awful. I think everyone on who has seen it would say to ignore this movie as an example of mini-dv footage, or even an example of cinema :)

Sky Captain & the world of tomorrow is the movie I'm referring to. They shot most of the movie on blue screen & then in post added the backgrounds. The result was very cool.

There is another movie (able edwards) that did this & you can find the info on both projects on Apple's pro website http://www.apple.com/pro/filmvideo/

September 28th, 2004, 02:40 PM	#31
Tim Brown Major Player Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Richmond, Virginia Posts: 263	THE KING IS ALIVE was an excellent movie, IMHO, although the motion-judder in the conversion to film was a little unsettling at times. Anyway... it was filmed with a PD-100. -Tim

September 28th, 2004, 03:54 PM	#32
Zohar Lokhandwala New Boot Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 22	Don't know if anyone of you'll saw Monsoon Wedding? It was made on film, but wouldn't that film have done well on dv too? - While you guys have been an immense help and I'm trying to get hold of a DV to Film reel from one of the Labs here and also trying to get all these movies shot on digital, it is taking time cuz acess to them is very limited. I'm concerned because not having worked with DV myself, its going to be a lot of trial and error which can be scary and exciting at the same time. My film is 80% indoors and 20% outdoors. Let me know if you'll feel Monsoon Wedding could have been shot on DV.

September 28th, 2004, 08:56 PM	#33
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Funny you should mention that about "Monsoon Wedding." I thought the same thing when I saw it. Not that I thought it was DV, but I remember thinking that this is exactly the type of movie that a handful of people with a miniDV cam could make. Still, that rooftop shot with the wedding planner trying to avoid his nagging mother was so beautiful. Don't think it would have had the same effect on DV. Love that movie by the way. It's one of my all-time favorites. Not sure why. It just puts me in a good mood every time I watch it.

September 28th, 2004, 09:24 PM	#34
Jed Williamson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 175	I would say the answer depends on the locations you are using. For an example: 80% of your scenes are inside settings (banks, hotel rooms, bars, restaurants) and 20% have medium or wide exterior shots (parks, beaches, etc.. ) This would be a case for using mixed formats. You could shoot the inside locations on mini-dv and it won't really matter too much for the final product if well lighted and stable (tripod) shots in the comparison between dv hd & 16mm With the savings from shooting 80% on minidv you could then shoot the 20% on HD or super 16mm. Since medium & wide shots are where dv falls flat. Or you could take the sky captain route and blue screen the exteriors. On another note if I had 20,000 for a budget I would spend 10,000 on the feature and 10,000 for 2 cameo spots from semi-famous actors. You probably could get Mark Hamill :) He just did a horrible movie in Wisconsin recently Reesville.

September 29th, 2004, 05:03 AM	#35
Zohar Lokhandwala New Boot Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 22	Marco, I agree, that scene is rather beautiful. Love that song 'Aaja Baavaria" that plays in the background. And although the emotion comes through so beautifully, it takes on a whole new meaning when you understand the lyrics of the song. Jed, I thought of that. Mixing 16mm with DV, but did not want it to look too different. I hear 'full frontal' the movie, had a mix of both mediums. Can't someone notice the difference? I am yet to see this film so am not sure. ""Or you could take the sky captain route and blue screen the exteriors"" As someone who is very new to the film medium, you lost me there. Pardon my ignorance but what was that?

September 29th, 2004, 08:02 AM	#36
Jed Williamson Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 175	Full frontal used the XL1. The director didn't use it very well so the result is awful. I think everyone on who has seen it would say to ignore this movie as an example of mini-dv footage, or even an example of cinema :) Sky Captain & the world of tomorrow is the movie I'm referring to. They shot most of the movie on blue screen & then in post added the backgrounds. The result was very cool. There is another movie (able edwards) that did this & you can find the info on both projects on Apple's pro website http://www.apple.com/pro/filmvideo/