hdv de-interlacing and editing

[Heath Hays]

so... im waiting for some resources on hdv.. books, anything... but for now, my question is this:

at what point should i do things like de-interlacing and any dvfilm conversions? should i edit the project to my liking, export an uncompressed copy then de-interlace in after effects?

or de-interlace each clip on my timeline in fcp5 before export?

also, how do i export a quicktime that is 16:9? just for quick viewing low compression edits on a tv.. i have exported with current settings and it ends up in 4:3.

if anyone knows of a good book or any resources on hdv that might be helpful to me, please share the title/location.

thanks again for the help!

heath

[Lorin Thwaits]

If you have an interlacing-aware deshaking filter then it should always come first.

If your final format is something progressive (not 1080i) then deinterlacing will be important. Otherwise if you want 1080i either printed back out to tape or on an HD-DVD then don't deinterlace! You're throwing away motion information that way.

If your final destination is interlaced NTSC / PAL then first deinterlace to 60fps. Then weave the fields together again at the proper 720x480 or 720x576 resolution. To work with filters designed for DV then swap fields. (DV interlacing is done backwards compared to just about every other interlacing out there, including HDV.)

If possible, between each step along the way use a frame server instead of an intermediate codec. No loss that way.

Note that I've never heard of dvfilm. Is it some kind of FCP thing? Sounds like it would either modify the gamma curve, or add grain, or maybe both.

-Lorin

[John Jackman]

DV Filmmaker is standalone deinterlace software from DVfilm.com. It works fine and can batch process all your clips. Or you can deinterlace the finished exported file in AE. Simply use the "Reduce Interlace Flicker" filter set to 0.8 or 0.9, not above 1.

At DV Expo East, I was on a panel discussion "HDV for Broadcast" and the consensus was deinterlace in post, stay away from CineFrame modes. Whether you do the clips or the finished movie makes not difference.

You should be able to set output to 16x9 manually if the flags are not being recognized properly.

[Heath McKnight]

Heath,

For resources, visit here often, but also check out our special HDV site:

http://www.hdvinfo.net/

Also, our own Douglas Spotted Eagle co-wrote an HDV book I reviewed:

http://www.hdvinfo.net/articles/training/dsehdvbook.php

You can buy it here:

http://www.vasst.com/printproducts/hdv.htm

It's a little light on the Mac side, but FCP 5 has a lot of nice features for native HDV editing.

-heath

[Edward Borden]

Originally Posted by John Jackman

At DV Expo East, I was on a panel discussion "HDV for Broadcast"

I was at that seminar. It was like a flock of FinalCut product reps came in to roost. yeesh