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Is the XLH1 Broadcast legal?
I’ve been asked about shooting a commercial for local cable and local broadcast TV. It’s a long time since I’ve been in this world. Is it broadcast legal/acceptable to shoot HDV? If the station ends up doing the post will they be able to deal with my HDV tapes? If I end up posting what will I need to do to make it legal? I post in FCP7.
Thanks so much. I need the work, but don’t want to misrepresent what I can do.
Jeff Mueller
http://www.ApertureVideos.com
Santa Barbara, CA -
1 Reply
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The simple answer is that it depends on the broadcaster. Every one has a different definition of what is acceptable. It tends to be that the more local/smaller ones are more flexible than larger ones like Discovery, CNN etc… So if its a local cable channel then they may be OK, but it is best to check directly with them.
HDV is a really bad codec to work with – the compression sucks and it doesn’t allow much manipulation in Final Cut before you start seeing artifacts… But having said that the XLH1 captures lovely images and does wonders with the codec. I have shot with the camera a fair amount and have a XHG1 myself, and have to say that I am often very pleasantly surprised by the images these cameras produce.
If you shoot with the H1 spend time setting up the camera to get the most out of it – using the film gamma settings etc. When shooting, keep in mind that you won’t be able to do too much tweaking in post, so if there is a specific look you are wanting, try to approximate it in camera so there is less to do in post. I set my zebra at 100% – that way I know when I am about to start losing detail in highlights. You can actually recover detail in Final Cut up to about 105%, but best to pay special attention to highlights, and you can slightly under expose if necessary, by about 1 stop, and then pull it back in Final Cut.
Good luck with it – as I say: speak to the cable channel.
Cheers,
Chris
Chris Dickinson
Lighting Cameraman and Editor
http://www.chrisd.tv
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