What settings to use for Cinema projection at DVinfo.net

Max Chau · November 11th, 2005, 05:32 PM

My client (resturant) has asked me to produce a 30 seconds spot ad. movie to play in a local Regal Cinema theater. Be honest, I have no experience on this end but I do have Z1 and the computer hardware to put out HD Quicktime moive file for Regal. So I need all the help I can get from the seasoned professionals in this forum.

The quesiton is, considering the theater projection, what is the best settings for Z1 to come through successfully? (I mean 60i vs other settings) What about Picture Profile, what setting do I use to get the "movie look"?
The forum has help me a lot in the past. I want to thank everyone who offers their suggestions and insights.

Max Chau

George Griswold · November 11th, 2005, 07:28 PM

Boy what a great project.... is there any way you could do some tests and take them to a theater to see how things look?

I would skip the Cineframe because it will probably send the audience for the motion sickness pills. You may want to crunch the blacks a bit and watch that you do not clip any highlights unless it is a window or light bulb. You may want to crank up the color saturation so it does not washout when projected. Don't scrimp on audio either--- movie crowds can hear that big time.

Keep the pans and zooms down to next to nothing-- it will end up making a better impression.
Then there is the issue of shooting food-- no one wants to see a 25 foot plate of Shrimp Alfredo, so I would leave some space around the food shots.. ie.e glass of wine, tablesetting etc. Hit the plates with some backlight to show the hot steam--- have the chef put it into a microwave so it is steaming hot. A spray bottle of glycerine will give it a gloss-- go easy or it will look greasy.

Keep us posted on your progress...

George

Steven White · November 12th, 2005, 07:29 AM

If you own a Z1U you should switch it to "PAL" and shoot 50i or CF25.

If you plan to use a lot of camera moves, I suggest you shoot CF25. This will ensure that you keep your panning appropriate for the film medium, but will also produce better images in regions of high motion.

For relatively static shots, shoot 50i, and you'll have higher resolution than the CF25 mode.

If your aim is to have some slow-motion shrimp-tossing in a pan or something, shoot either 50i or 60i and slow it down to 24p in post.

EDIT:
It just occured to me that the commercial could potentially be digitally progected as well. I suggest you contact the theatre chain that he'll be using to advertise and ask them to detail their submission format.

-Steve

Max Chau · November 13th, 2005, 11:57 AM

Thank you George and Steve for all great tips.

I checked with the theater and they accept HD Quicktime .mov file at 720p 59.94fps @ 15mbps to 19.4mbps CBR. I know I can achieve this in Compressor 2 with the typical 60i footage I shoot. If I shoot 50i, would the result better still? Should the shuttle go in sync with the frame rate used?

To offset the effect of compression in luminance how much should I adjust using Luminance filer in Compressor 2 (if at all)?

Thanks again

Max

Bill Pryor · November 13th, 2005, 01:17 PM

If you shoot PAL, how are you going to view and edit it?

Boyd Ostroff · November 13th, 2005, 05:41 PM

I don't know whether it's a good idea to shoot PAL, but there should be no problem viewing or editing it. With FCP you just need to create a PAL project and you're good to go. Computer monitors don't care what format you're using. Now if you want to view it on an external monitor then that might be another issue if it doesn't have a PAL mode.

I did a big project in PAL this summer using my Z1. I don't have a PAL monitor. But this wasn't a big problem actually. FCP has the option to use a second computer monitor in "digital cinema desktop" mode. That will correctly map the PAL image to any computer monitor.

The Z1 can shoot in both NTSC and PAL formats, and it can be used as a PAL deck when connected to your computer via firewire.

November 11th, 2005, 05:32 PM	#1
Max Chau New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 6	What settings to use for Cinema projection My client (resturant) has asked me to produce a 30 seconds spot ad. movie to play in a local Regal Cinema theater. Be honest, I have no experience on this end but I do have Z1 and the computer hardware to put out HD Quicktime moive file for Regal. So I need all the help I can get from the seasoned professionals in this forum. The quesiton is, considering the theater projection, what is the best settings for Z1 to come through successfully? (I mean 60i vs other settings) What about Picture Profile, what setting do I use to get the "movie look"? The forum has help me a lot in the past. I want to thank everyone who offers their suggestions and insights. Max Chau

November 11th, 2005, 07:28 PM	#2
George Griswold Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 218	Boy what a great project.... is there any way you could do some tests and take them to a theater to see how things look? I would skip the Cineframe because it will probably send the audience for the motion sickness pills. You may want to crunch the blacks a bit and watch that you do not clip any highlights unless it is a window or light bulb. You may want to crank up the color saturation so it does not washout when projected. Don't scrimp on audio either--- movie crowds can hear that big time. Keep the pans and zooms down to next to nothing-- it will end up making a better impression. Then there is the issue of shooting food-- no one wants to see a 25 foot plate of Shrimp Alfredo, so I would leave some space around the food shots.. ie.e glass of wine, tablesetting etc. Hit the plates with some backlight to show the hot steam--- have the chef put it into a microwave so it is steaming hot. A spray bottle of glycerine will give it a gloss-- go easy or it will look greasy. Keep us posted on your progress... George __________________ George T. Griswold, Jr. www.videonow.info New Orleans

November 12th, 2005, 07:29 AM	#3
Steven White Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 547	If you own a Z1U you should switch it to "PAL" and shoot 50i or CF25. If you plan to use a lot of camera moves, I suggest you shoot CF25. This will ensure that you keep your panning appropriate for the film medium, but will also produce better images in regions of high motion. For relatively static shots, shoot 50i, and you'll have higher resolution than the CF25 mode. If your aim is to have some slow-motion shrimp-tossing in a pan or something, shoot either 50i or 60i and slow it down to 24p in post. EDIT: It just occured to me that the commercial could potentially be digitally progected as well. I suggest you contact the theatre chain that he'll be using to advertise and ask them to detail their submission format. -Steve

November 13th, 2005, 11:57 AM	#4
Max Chau New Boot Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 6	Thank you George and Steve for all great tips. I checked with the theater and they accept HD Quicktime .mov file at 720p 59.94fps @ 15mbps to 19.4mbps CBR. I know I can achieve this in Compressor 2 with the typical 60i footage I shoot. If I shoot 50i, would the result better still? Should the shuttle go in sync with the frame rate used? To offset the effect of compression in luminance how much should I adjust using Luminance filer in Compressor 2 (if at all)? Thanks again Max

November 13th, 2005, 01:17 PM	#5
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	If you shoot PAL, how are you going to view and edit it?

November 13th, 2005, 05:41 PM	#6
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	I don't know whether it's a good idea to shoot PAL, but there should be no problem viewing or editing it. With FCP you just need to create a PAL project and you're good to go. Computer monitors don't care what format you're using. Now if you want to view it on an external monitor then that might be another issue if it doesn't have a PAL mode. I did a big project in PAL this summer using my Z1. I don't have a PAL monitor. But this wasn't a big problem actually. FCP has the option to use a second computer monitor in "digital cinema desktop" mode. That will correctly map the PAL image to any computer monitor. The Z1 can shoot in both NTSC and PAL formats, and it can be used as a PAL deck when connected to your computer via firewire.