Assorted posts from 2001Q4

[Ed Baatz]

I have 40+ Beta SP (30-minute) A & B roll tapes which I would like to transfer to DV format.

I also need to transfer two master tapes, currently on Sony D-2 format videotapes which I want to transfer to digital format for archival purposes.

My first question is what would be the most cost effective way to transfer the 30-minute Beta SP tapes to Mini-DV? I am considering either taking them to a company such as Allied Vaughn in Orlando Florida for transfering or renting a Beta SP deck and making the transfers myself using my Canon GL1.

I am not sure what outputs are provided on Sony Beta SP decks but hopefully they also have composite audio and s-video? Anybody know how I can get from SP to DV?

My second question is what other companies have people used to make video transfers and recomendations. When transfering from Sony D-2 masters to digital what format would be appropriate? DigiBeta? This would also be a good time to transfer from D-2 to DV?

Are there any pitfalls or problems that I am blissfully ignorant of and need to avoid or prepared for (ie frame rates, etc) ???

Thanks,

Ed

I've just dug out a copy of editDv2 to use for a small project at home. All seems fine (new drivers etc for winME) EXCEPT printing to tape via firewire plays back about 10 percent fast. As a newbie to pc/dv editing - is this vast numbers of dropped frames, or am i doing something really stupid?! I'm running winME on a 650P3 128M laptop - built in 1394
any thoughts appreciated.

i meant a built in firewire 1394 port...rather than the year of manufacture....although it might as well be, feels ancient now!

[wefdenver]

I have Matrox RT2000/Adobe Premier 6.0 which has Inscriber and Titledeko titling software included. I am not impressed with either.

Can anyone suggest some really good software that will expand my capabilities for really effective titles? Like "writing" titles out as if someone is writing them in long hand (revealing?), PIP of JPGs/Text?

Thanks in advance.

[Ian Austen]

I have been using "Boris Graffiti" http://www.borisfx.com/products/GRAFFITI/graff_index.php. It has done everything I need so far.

[Ozzie Alfonso]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question but here it goes.

We shoot mainly with Beta SP although we do a good deal of Mini DV shooting. We've even mixed the two with no noticeable differences. Our productions are distributed over the air, on VHS, DVD and CD-ROMs as QT movies. We edit on Avids. Okay, that's the background, now for the dilemma.

A project just walked in through the door. The budget can't go over $300k. The material consists of 48 dramatic vignettes with a max of 4 actors mainly interiors with 8 exteriors. All with sync sound dialog. Total runing time is 90 mins approx. The material will end up on the Internet and CD-ROM.

Here's the "problem" -- the client is demanding it be shot on Mini DV thinking that's the only way to come in on budget and no better quality is needed. Of course we can do that but we've done the math and the difference in cost between mastering on BetaSP and MiniDV is roughly $5000 (for camera rental and raw stock). The client is adamant we don't need any more than MiniDV quality for something that will end up as QT movies on the Internet. I agree BUT the thinking that Mini DV will save tons of money is faulty. Although the cold number yields a $5k difference, work tends to slow down when shooting with Mini DV - to yield good results more attention has to be paid to lighting; depending on the camera used, moves have to be planned with delicate care; handholding is not as good with small, unbalanced cameras; sound monitoring can be a nighmare; rack foucusing is next to impossible, etc.

Still, we're going along with DV because the client seems to be demanding it. We'll be shooting with an XL1 (which we own) with the new lens that's sharper and can track a zoom (can someone tell me the lens model? we have the old one) and we'll be using a SONY TRV900 for pickup shots.

Shooting on DV can yield a profit IF I'm the director AND the DP AND camera operator which I love to do but can be counter-productive with dramatic scenes. The crew can be reduced by one - a great grip is all I need and an film school intern can be my AC. Audio is no savings at all. I wouldn't do that any differently, especially when mics need to be mixed live and dialog must be crisp.

There's a question here somewhere - I guess I'm looking for a strong argument for NOT mastering on Beta SP. I'm looking for strong arguments why shooting high quality dramatic material can be achieved with Mini DV. Quite frankly, shooting drama with Mini DV scares me. I see David Lynch and a number of feature directors are shooting with Mini DV for aesthetic reasons but are the savings significant (between Beta and Mini DV) when the crew makeup remains largely the same?

Any opinions are most welcomed.

[Markus Bo]

Hi!

Does anybody has experience with one of these programs? I think about buying one of these.

Thanks, Markus

[Elmar Tewes]

I'm wondering what the differences between miniDV tapes are. Is there a significant difference in the picture quality itself or do cheap tapes just have more dropouts ? Panasonic tapes for example. There are about 6 different 60 minute tapes from Linear BK to Super Linear Plus - Semi Professional Tapes XK. I suppose i should use the more expensive tapes for professional filming and the cheap ones for testing and whatever. Am i right ?

[Brad_DeWees]

I'm curious to see a logical answer to this myself....

[David Phillips]

Hi, my name is David and I am a partner in a small DV production co. We have just started to use the Canon XL1 and are experiencing a problem. During recording everything looks fine through the viewfinder but on playback there appears 5 thick black lines running horizontal. These lines last for between 5-15 seconds before disappearing. This does not happen all the time but on odd occasions. Can anyone throw some light on this.
Regards to all,
David Phillips

[Chris Hurd]

Run a head-cleaning cassette through the tape transport mechanism for about five seconds or so -- the problem should disappear.

I have a PAL camcorder(XL1) and i need to buy a capture card which can capture PAL DV.I don't want to buy any of those cards that come w/ a bundle of software because i got a hold of a guy that sold me adobe premiere 6.0 & aftereffects for a really low price(he's acctually gave it away almost) so i just want to buy a capture card for my PAL video which i also can use w/ adobe premiere& aftereffects.
The PYRO DV OHCI is very affordable and i heard it's certified for use w/ premiere(5.1/6.0?).But does it work also w/aftereffects?Does it capture PAL?
I'm looking for a solution for this.What capture card(alone, not the bundles like dv500 or RT2000 since i already have premiere& afftereffects ) could i buy for my needs?Any help will be immensely appreciated!

Thank you very much!!!

[Nathan Gifford]

Hello,

I got just got Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum today from CompUSA ($39.95 after rebate). It seems that it will not recognize my HP cd16i IDE burner. Anyone else had this problem?

I've been to Roxio site, but my guess is that I will not get an answer from them until Monday. They indicate that they do support the cd12i drive, but nothing on either the cd16i or cd24i. I'm guessing the cd12i would work, but since it looks like Roxio actually reads the cd16i string I'm not sure how to convince it to use this.

Any help is appreciated...I hope migrating to DVD is not worse!

Thanks,
Nathan Gifford

[Bob Zimmerman]

So with the slow down in the US economy does anyone think camcorder prices might fall? I've seen some offering rebates.

I have used a Matrox with excellent results. Probably it is a bit of an overkill if you are not planning to go pro but it works very, very well.
Yours
Jose A