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720/25P or 720/50P?
Hello!
Finally got the Matrox Axio software release so it supports P2/mxf! I am now going to shoot a commercial which will be shown in 2 different places:
1. In a movie theater. The commercial will be exported as a Windows Media Video at 1280 x 720, square pixels, 25 fps progressive.
2. On local TV (PAL), where the commercial will have to be downconverted to 4:3 letterbox, DV aspect pixels, 25fps interlaced.
If I was just shooting for situation 1, I would shoot 720/25P, simple enough. But since I need to also downconvert to interlaced PAL, won’t I get a smoother result by shooting 720/50P, since I’ll have 50 “moments in time” to convert to another 50 “moments in time” in my PAL interlaced footage..? But then I can only use every other frame for situation 1, so the result won’t be as smooth as it could be there…? Hope someone has a recommendation for my specific situation: 720/25P or 720/50P?
Kind regards,
Eric -
6 Replies
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Well, in the end it depends on the ‘look’ you want. 720p25 will look on TV like film transferred to video (telecined).
But there’s nothing wrong with shooting 720p50 and throwing every other frame away for the cinema, since traditional film cameras have 1/48th of a second exposure time and you’ll get 1/50th -
Thanks for your input!
I’m leaning towards 50p. The only thing I’m concerned about with the choice of throwing away every other frame for the cinema, is that if I understand things correctly, the motion blur on each frame will be less on each frame when I shoot 50p than with 25p, since the shutter will be open a shorter amount of time. That means that the result will be more stuttery than if I had shot with 25p. Am I correct in this assumption? I guess I could try frame blending in After Effects, but I’m worried the results won’t be that great.
Kind regards,
Eric -
As I explained already, 50p (with open shutter on the HVX200) will give you very much the same amount of motion blur a traditional film camera has. It will never expose the full time, since film has to be moved mechanically and can’t be exposed during that time. A typical camera has a shutter opening of 180 degrees fo it’s rotational shutter, and that will give you 1/48th of a second at 24 fps.
An electronical camera can give you nearly full time of exposure. If you use 25p and leave the shutter open, you’ll get exaggerated motion blur as compared to traditional film with 1/25th of a second.
The secrets to avoid stuttering are the so-called “panning rules”, which every film DOP knows, but video folks never cared about plus controlled depth of field, which is difficult to achieve with small chips.
How will your film be screened in the theater?
Regards,
Uli
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Hi,
The commercial will be played before the main feature from a computer / projector setup as a Windows Media Video file at 1280 x 720.
Kind regards,
Eric -
[Uli Plank] “An electronical camera can give you nearly full time of exposure. If you use 25p and leave the shutter open, you’ll get exaggerated motion blur as compared to traditional film with 1/25th of a second. The secrets to avoid stuttering are the so-called “panning rules”, which every film DOP knows,”
Uli
don’t forget to add that the HVX has the ability to change modify the shutter angles – so that the user can increase or decrease that amount of blur on each frame.gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows -
But then I’d rather opt for 720p50. It’s gonna look smoother. I thought you want to transfer to film.
Regards,
Uli
Author of “DVDs gestalten und produzieren”, a book on professional DVD-authoring in German.
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