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varicam workflow several questions
dear all varicam friends
my namie is anshul doshi and i work in a company called prime focus limited in India. we have purchased the first and only panasonic varicam , hd1200 and D5 deck in india. we have completed three full length features shot entirely on hd and we have followed a different workflow each time. i look at business development and am not too technical but have a range of questions in my mind. i have been through the archives and have some clarity still a few unsolved issues. i would be grateful if ic ould get a reply to the same.
a. how does the varicam flag the frames hen we shoot 720/24p/60. this i believe is for pal. when we have ntsc involved i.e do we actually shoot 720/23.98/59.94 or does the varicam still record over 60 i.e. 720/23.98/60
b. i believe 1080/25p and 1080/50i are the same. for a video project should we shoot 25p pr 50i. i believe the camera records 720/25/60. this is for a video project. – in this is it still recording progressive frames and not interlaced frames.
why I ask the B question is because i would prefer to digitise into a nle via a beta deck and not the hd1200 decka s we do not have so many hd1200 decks. i want it to work like a telecine where i digitise their footage onto beta and give them. beta decks are available in plenty for hire.
because if it shoots 25 progressive and then we can take an out from the hd1200 as 1080/50i, use that for the offline and based on that grab the material using a hd1200 into an online system for filmout.
am i being too foolish or do i just dont understand
c. is there any other way for a 2p shot project on hd1200, to first transfer to a beta for edit and then do a match back. or is it done only through a NLE. i.e take it ona nle on a 24 timeline, conert to 25, and give a dump onto beta of all the rushes for offline eidt and then come back and do the final match.
cheers
thanks and regards
anshul doshi
Anshul Doshi
VP – strategy and business development
Prime Focus Limited -
1 Reply
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Hi Anshul
Before answering your question, keep in mind the following:
-the camera can be set to 59.94 (for NTSC word) or 60.00 (for Pal world).
-the camera shoot at any speed between 1 and 60 frames per second BUT the VTR always record 60 frames per second (the magic is in the shutter of the camera, not the VTR). I am not aware of a PAL-friendly 720p format (doing 50 instead of 60).
-the camera only record in progressive mode.
-each active frame is identified in the user bit.
-you need a frame rate converter to get rid of the non active frames. Some NLE can also get rid of those frames at ingest time.Some answers:
A- Each active frame has a bit enabled in the user bit, whatever 720/24/59.94 (that being 23.97) or 720/24/60.00 (that being 24).B- 25p/50i are almost the same, except for field motion (progressive vs interlaced). For video project, you could use 25p to get a film look. Video look would be emulated with 50p, converted to 25p (where each frame would become a field). Some NLE can do that field merge operation.
C- the workflow would be: shoot at 720/25p, get a Panasonic frame rate converter to create 1080/25p and create new tapes. The downconvert to SD beta for offline. Conform with 1080/25p tapes and keep the 720/25p in your vault (just like you do with film negative reels).
I recommand you to talk with your Panasonic reseller in India. You can also visit the Panasonic web site. Lof of data is available.
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