Standard Definition from EX1R

[Craig Seeman]

Sony Log & Transfer Plugin 1.2 should handle DV.avi files.

I’d recommend shooting in 1080p assuming you have a need for it.

I’n my experience the AV Composite out doesn’t look all that great. Why would you need 4:3 for “large screen” output? Where does large screen 4:3 exist these days? It sounds like an antiquated system.

[Matt Davis]

Shooting SD is simple, with no Log & Transfer process required. One can just copy the AVI files off the card, dump them on the FCP timeline and edit (been there done that).

Yes, recording HD for later whilst feeding a vision mixer with SD is fine, but then you have framing to look out for. What looks natural at 4:3 (headroom) can look a bit too airy at 16:9. Scaled down HD will look nicer, but takes longer to encode. I’ve stuck to 1280×720 on conference records.

You can also record from FireWIre straight into FCP if you need really really fast editing. Treat EX1R in SD mode as non-controllable FW device, hit Capture Now and away you go. Build an Exclusion Zone round your Camera/Mac setup, cables too easy to dislodge.

Do look into SD-SDI instead of composite. Or even RGB. Composite has all the sharpness and clarity of a damp teabag when compared to SDI and RGB.

@ Craig – this is for conference projection, 4:3 is still mandated because so much PowerPoint is 4:3 still. Putting 16:9 Standard Definition (anamorphic pixels) and 4:3 data together leads to loads of ‘issues’ that are deemed unacceptable (budget for extra kit, letterboxed video, etc).

A colleague and I are looking into HD-SDI vision mixers fed with 4x EX and a couple of Macs on DVI as a portable vision mixing rig feeding an XDCAM or KiPro deck, but it’s still a very rare beastie and not sure if our market is ready for it.

Director/Editor – MDMA Ltd: Write, Shoot, Edit, Publish – http://www.mdma.tv
EX1 x2, T2i –> FCS3 (FCP, Motion, Colorista, Episode et al)

[Craig Seeman]

[Matt Davis] “@ Craig – this is for conference projection, 4:3 is still mandated because so much PowerPoint is 4:3 still. “

I’ve been seeing 16:9 projection of late even if screen is 4:3. Use Letterbox not Squeeze.

[Matt Davis]

Depends on what the client wants. Letterboxing the cameras on a 4:3 projection screen that has a fancy surround offends the creative sensibilities of a lot of my clients. OTOH, doing a 16:9 show ups the Production Value, but then it means putting a process in place to ensure everyone turns up with a 16:9 PowerPoint deck. It’s the cheaper shows and the built-in installations that still demand 4:3.

Director/Editor – MDMA Ltd: Write, Shoot, Edit, Publish – http://www.mdma.tv
EX1 x2, T2i –> FCS3 (FCP, Motion, Colorista, Episode et al)

[Brent Dunn]

If the screen is adjustable, you can close it partially to create a 16 x 9 screen.

Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.net

Sony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut Studio

HP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite

[Ian Cook]

Log and Transfer v 1.2 will recognize the SD AVI files and convert them to .mov.

You can also import natively but you’ll get a ‘media not optimized’ warning and will have trouble media-managing the AVIs down the road (for example FCP won’t trim non-.MOV files to the lengths used in the timeline if you try to media manage the project). You also may not have the same level of real time capability with the AVIs.

Let me know if L+T 1.2 doesn’t help..