The Complete Guide to ProHD DVD (Volume 1) available now at DVinfo.net

Tim Dashwood · April 16th, 2008, 05:59 PM

The press release: http://www.dvinfo.net/prohd/press.html

The preview site: http://www.dvinfo.net/prohd

Stil Williams · April 16th, 2008, 11:18 PM

Hi Tim

Great stuff !

Just wanted to know if the image control chapter of the DVD is presented in a way that could be applicable to other camera menus & the colour matrix section uses the DSC Chart to create custom looks, scene files etc...
Regards.

Tim Dashwood · April 17th, 2008, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stil Williams

Hi Tim

Great stuff !

Just wanted to know if the image control chapter of the DVD is presented in a way that could be applicable to other camera menus & the colour matrix section uses the DSC Chart to create custom looks, scene files etc...
Regards.

Yes. The theory is the same. Knee, gamma curves, color matrix and toe (black stretch/compress) are all common controls in modern pro cameras. Some may have slightly different names, but function the same.

Marc Jayson · April 17th, 2008, 01:16 AM

Hey Tim, this is great news!
I´m going to buy one now.

Thanks!

Stil Williams · April 17th, 2008, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Dashwood

Yes. The theory is the same. Knee, gamma curves, color matrix and toe (black stretch/compress) are all common controls in modern pro cameras. Some may have slightly different names, but function the same.

Sold ! looking forward to it ...

Lee Roberts · April 17th, 2008, 09:38 AM

Thanks, Tim. Your posts, comments, recipes, et al have already helped me become a better cinematographer, and I'm sure this DVD will expand my knowledge even further.

Really, thanks to everyone here for taking the time to share your thoughts and ideas. DVInfo has shortened my learning curve exponentially -- what did people do in the old days before the internet? Oh, I guess they went to film school! -- not to say that film school wouldn't be a great idea even now :)

Best regards ~ Lee

Sean Wilson · April 17th, 2008, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Roberts

...what did people do in the old days before the internet? Oh, I guess they went to film school!

Hah! I'm in film school and I still read this forum religiously. :-)

Cheers,
- Sean

David Scattergood · April 17th, 2008, 04:19 PM

Excellent....I see the PAL version is due soon?

Eric Gulbransen · April 17th, 2008, 07:09 PM

Ordered. Didn't even read the press release. Already got a mile more than my money's worth from you Tim.

Adam Letch · April 17th, 2008, 09:06 PM

any rough timeframe on the PAL version?

thanks

Adam

Tim Dashwood · April 18th, 2008, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Scattergood

Excellent....I see the PAL version is due soon?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Letch

any rough timeframe on the PAL version?

I hate to give timeframes because the only way I was able to produce this video was to work on it in my "free time." I'm shooting 3 short films in May (and just heard about a possible fourth), I may be teaching some ProHD seminars in Asia in early June and I have big plans for the subtitle languages in the PAL version. My best estimate is that I could possibly have them replicated and ready for sale by mid-late June, but don't quote me on that!

The conversion to PAL video is easy and will actually be finished in a few days. I'll explain my workflow.
The DVD was shot almost entirely in 720p24, except for menu system screens which were captured as NTSC and pillarboxed/upconverted into 720p. I edited every sequence in 720p24 (except for the ones specific to NTSC.)
The 720p24 sequences were then downconverted and encoded to NTSC in 24P for the version that is now shipping. The PAL version will be sped up by 4% to 25fps and downconverted from 720p source as well. I chose this workflow for two reasons: 720p24 can be downconverted nicely to either NTSC or PAL and since the focus of the DVD is always achieving a "film look" is seemed appropriate to use 24P and 25P.
The added benefit is that I may have an extra 4% of space on the PAL version to add "bonus content" back in.
Don't fret if you have an NTSC version because the bonus content will always be available for free at www.dvinfo.net/prohd. There will be more and more bonus tutorials available as I encode and upload them for the web. These tutorials go above and beyond what is already in the DVD and will include

"How to shoot a slow motion music video" (already posted as Bonus 1)
"How to use the TC IN/OUT of your HD250 to efficiently shoot music videos" (a podcast version of my presentation from the 2008 FCPUG Supermeet)
a detailed tips and tricks guide to the HZ-CA13U adapter
"How to shoot convincing day-for-night"
"How to add the Anton Bauer DR-HD100 mount hardware to the HD200 series cameras"
and more....

The other thing is that I had started working on post-production workflow tutorials early last year but realized quickly that they changed so rapidly with each NLE update it was pointless to put them on a DVD. We'll have to work something up on dvinfo.net that allows us to update the suggested workflows as firmware and software upgrades are released.

BTW, I'm a little surprised but about 50% of the sales of the NTSC version since we launched the site on Wednesday have gone overseas! I'm glad I decided the last second before submitting my master to remove the region 1 encoding and go region free.

Tim Dashwood · April 18th, 2008, 02:13 PM

I have a couple questions.
Is anyone having any issues watching the quicktime files or seeing the content on www.dvinfo.net/prohd ?
We know there are some style-sheet issues with the sidebars but Chris is going to fix those when he gets home from Vegas. (We built and launched the site from various hot-spots at NAB.)
I'm more concerned with the video content. Should it be encoded at a lower bit-rate or maybe into Flash to make it easier on Windows or dial-up users?
Opinions?

David Scattergood · April 18th, 2008, 03:59 PM

^^ The vids work fine for me Tim (on a mac) and I don't necessarily have the fastest broadband connection at the moment. In fact they play straight away without any lags/stream pauses.

Quote:

My best estimate is that I could possibly have them replicated and ready for sale by mid-late June but don't quote me on that!

Thanks Tim!

Mark Cowherd · April 21st, 2008, 04:59 AM

I just ordered the DVD I can't wait till it arrives! How long on shipping generally?
Thanks for the help Tim.
Mark Cowherd
GY HD-250u w/17x lens but I'm looking for used 13x WA Lens

Brent Kolitz · April 21st, 2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Dashwood

I have a couple questions.
Is anyone having any issues watching the quicktime files or seeing the content on www.dvinfo.net/prohd ?
We know there are some style-sheet issues with the sidebars but Chris is going to fix those when he gets home from Vegas. (We built and launched the site from various hot-spots at NAB.)
I'm more concerned with the video content. Should it be encoded at a lower bit-rate or maybe into Flash to make it easier on Windows or dial-up users?
Opinions?

Tim,

I've watched some of the QT videos while waiting for the DVD, and I've had no problems with the streaming (on a 6Mbps downstream connection).

However, I did have a very hard time (basically impossible) reading the text on your computer screen, when you were working in an NLE -- but this may be because my own monitor is set to 1920 x 1200 resolution. However, I imagine many in your intended audience may be viewing this content on monitors set to high resolutions, so this might end up being a problem for your NLE tutorials.

I don't think I had any problem reading the camera's menus, and the video as a whole was good.

Brent

April 16th, 2008, 05:59 PM	#1
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	The Complete Guide to ProHD DVD (Volume 1) available now The press release: http://www.dvinfo.net/prohd/press.html The preview site: http://www.dvinfo.net/prohd __________________ Tim Dashwood

April 17th, 2008, 09:06 PM	#10
Adam Letch Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 414	Yes Awesome Tim any rough timeframe on the PAL version? thanks Adam

April 18th, 2008, 02:13 PM	#12
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	I have a couple questions. Is anyone having any issues watching the quicktime files or seeing the content on www.dvinfo.net/prohd ? We know there are some style-sheet issues with the sidebars but Chris is going to fix those when he gets home from Vegas. (We built and launched the site from various hot-spots at NAB.) I'm more concerned with the video content. Should it be encoded at a lower bit-rate or maybe into Flash to make it easier on Windows or dial-up users? Opinions? __________________ Tim Dashwood

April 21st, 2008, 04:59 AM	#14
Mark Cowherd New Boot Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 16	I Just Ordered DVD Tim I just ordered the DVD I can't wait till it arrives! How long on shipping generally? Thanks for the help Tim. Mark Cowherd GY HD-250u w/17x lens but I'm looking for used 13x WA Lens

April 16th, 2008, 11:18 PM	#2
Stil Williams Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: London Posts: 34	Hi Tim Great stuff ! Just wanted to know if the image control chapter of the DVD is presented in a way that could be applicable to other camera menus & the colour matrix section uses the DSC Chart to create custom looks, scene files etc... Regards.

April 17th, 2008, 01:16 AM	#4
Marc Jayson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Hague, The Netherlands Posts: 112	Hey Tim, this is great news! I´m going to buy one now. Thanks!

April 17th, 2008, 09:38 AM	#6
Lee Roberts Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Memphis Area, SoCal, Jax, and Princeton Posts: 63	Thanks, Tim. Your posts, comments, recipes, et al have already helped me become a better cinematographer, and I'm sure this DVD will expand my knowledge even further. Really, thanks to everyone here for taking the time to share your thoughts and ideas. DVInfo has shortened my learning curve exponentially -- what did people do in the old days before the internet? Oh, I guess they went to film school! -- not to say that film school wouldn't be a great idea even now :) Best regards ~ Lee

April 17th, 2008, 04:19 PM	#8
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	Excellent....I see the PAL version is due soon?

April 17th, 2008, 07:09 PM	#9
Eric Gulbransen Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Palo Alto, California Posts: 520	Ordered. Didn't even read the press release. Already got a mile more than my money's worth from you Tim.