• Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

  MiniDV to HDCAM – Advice please

  Posted by Patrick on January 19, 2006 at 5:00 pm

  Hi Everyone,

  I’m working on a documentary film shot on MiniDV that has just been accepted to a film festival that will only project HDCam or film. Everything that I have read about transferring MiniDV to HDCam has said its a bad idea and there are all sorts of problems. But regardless, I have to deal with the situation and try to make the best of it. My system is not outfitted to handle HDCam [no raid array, Kona2, nor HDCam deck], so I’m going to have to go to a LA post house to get this done.

  Is there a recipe [for lack of a better word] to optimize this process? What factors should I be aware of? Although there are budget constraints on this project, I’m curious what would be the idea situation if money wasn’t an object. Some have said a DaVinci color correction system can make all the difference. Any other “systems” or “technologies” I should be aware of?

  Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,

  Patrick

  Walter Biscardi replied 20 years, 3 months ago 4 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  Ben Oliver

  January 19, 2006 at 7:15 pm

  print it to dvcam tape, or minidv tape, and bring it to a transfer place.
• 

  Shane Ross

  January 19, 2006 at 9:41 pm

  Take your project and drives to a post facility with FCP and a Kona 2 card, and an HDCAM deck and have them upconvert it out to tape.

  Ideally, if you had the budget, you’d output the raw timeline (no color correction of any kind) out to HDCAM, then take the HDCAM to a Da Vinci colorist for color correction. Mind you, that is between $350 and $600 per hour. Or, you can CC it yourself in the DV timeline then output that via the Kona to HDCAM. Not ideal, but economical.

  Not to be harsh…but to be a realist…don’t spend lots of money on color correction. Very very few film festival films get picked up. As long as you have a look, and it is consistant, you will be fine. People are mainly looking for a great story, then picture quality. If someone buys it, THEN you can spend the $$$ to do a proper color correction and sound mix.

  Shane Ross
  Alokut Productions
  http://www.lfhd.net
• 

  Patrick

  January 19, 2006 at 10:44 pm

  Thanks for the response guys. Its actually a much more straight forward process than I thought. I was fearful of all sorts of weird conversions, etc etc. Nice to know that the Kona 2 is a good solution.

  -Patrick
• 

  Walter Biscardi

  January 20, 2006 at 3:32 pm

  [Patrick] “Thanks for the response guys. Its actually a much more straight forward process than I thought. I was fearful of all sorts of weird conversions, etc etc. Nice to know that the Kona 2 is a good solution.”

  I love my Kona 2 and use it everyday, but for the best MiniDV to HDCAM transfer, find a transfer house or larger Post house that has a Terranex converter. This will create the absolute cleanest SD to HD transfer you can get. I’ve seen projects that were shot on MiniDV transfered to HDCAM via the Terranex and they look like true HD. Keep in mind the Color Correction has a lot to do with that.

  I highly recommend CineFilm here in Atlanta for this service. http://www.cinefilmlab.com.

  Walter Biscardi, Jr.
  https://www.biscardicreative.com

  Director, “The Rough Cut”
  https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

  Now Posting “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

  “I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

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