why does video look harsh?

[Rick Mac]

[Raiderneal] “When comparing my footage (Canon XH-A1) with what I see on TV, film, or other DVDs, I notice one major difference: the video looks a bit harsh.”

The first tip I would give you is light your scene like the pro’s do. Good Lighting is key #1! Proper expossure is key #2. Go by VASST.com and pick up their book on on lighting.
It will show you how to “light it right”. In fact, I think that is the title for the book.
Lihting can make or break you.

Regards, Rick.

[Randall Raymond]

The best ‘film to video’ look is 720p not 1080i – the varicam has proved this. Richer colors and less edge enhancement to make it look more HD, especially HDV, which adds contrast as well. ‘Video to Film’ is another story.

So add a mist filter to your shooting (the H1 is guilty of edge enhancement) or add gaussian blur in post.

[Douglas Spotted eagle]

The best ‘film to video’ look is 720p not 1080i – the varicam has proved this

Of course this isn’t so….HDCAM is by far responsible for the majority of HD production out there. On the SD side, the DVX100 is probably the most popular, but I don’t know that I’d consider it the “best film to video look.” HDCAM is i or p, but always 1080. RED and SI2K are also both greater than 720p. So is Genesis. And Viper, if you want to round out the top end. XDCAM HD is now being used by indies as well, for the ‘soft’ low contrast look.

The best “film to video look” that can be achieved with low-cost digital media starts with production lighting, setup, etc. It usually finishes with Magic Bullet or something similar. Reducing contrast at the shoot is the best beginning point. Being certain your camera does not have sharpening turned up is another. It seems counterintuitive, but adding sharpening to highly compressed footage is like adding high frequency equalization boosts to MP3 audio; it becomes brittle.

It’s not at all a 1080 vs 720 discussion. It’s an exposure, framerate, gamma discussion.

[Mike Kujbida]

Heath McKnight (from VASST) wrote an excellent article titled Achieving a Film Look with DV and HDV Cameras.
I suggest carefully going through it and picking up some tips to help you in the future.

[Randall Raymond]

[DSE/Spot] “It’s not at all a 1080 vs 720 discussion.”

Sure it is. The lower resolution of 720p appeals to the perception that one is watching a film that has been converted to video and not an HD video. The opening post is complaining about the too crisp picture of 1080 since he’s not going to film. Resolution has a lot to do with the viewer’s perception of what they are watching on their HDTV.

A 4K picture projected (scaled up) for the big screen is going to soften a bit because of the scale and look more like what? 720p in their living room.

[Douglas Spotted eagle]

So based on your theory, you’re saying that 720p from a film source looks softer on a 720p display than 1080i/p will appear from the same film source when displayed on a 1080 i/p display system?

[Randall Raymond]

[DSE/Spot] “So based on your theory, you’re saying that 720p from a film source looks softer on a 720p display than 1080i/p will appear from the same film source when displayed on a 1080 i/p display system?”
Yes, resolution is resolution. That’s another variable – but I think most HDTVs are now 1080 and 720 is scaled up which is where the difference shows.

What I am saying is that counting the pores on my favorite actresses face is a big distraction – Hollywood knows that and will not allow that to happen in either broadcasted movies or those delivered on disk. It’s probably going to stay that way for decades to come.

We’re not talking about the news here. The suspension of disbelief is the goal of all drama – that’s why the ‘look’ of film is so important – it’s what we expect in helping to pull us into the story – we expect a softer picture if the picture is not to call attention to itself.

I shoot 720p – it just looks better to me on a plasma.

[Douglas Spotted eagle]

You didn’t answer my question, and I specified film source, which precludes any discussion of “news” or ENG.

“So based on your theory, you’re saying that 720p from a film source looks softer on a 720p display than 1080i/p will appear from the same film source when displayed on a 1080 i/p display system?”

For giggles, we’ll specify a 46″ 720p display, and a 60″ 1080 display as our foundational displays.

So sourcing from the same film source (which would mean 35mm source footage), you’re saying that a 720p stream on a 720p display would appear softer than a 1080 stream on a 1080 display? With the same original footage sourced to two different streams?

[Douglas Spotted eagle]

You didn’t answer my question, and I specified film source, which precludes any discussion of “news” or ENG.

“So based on your theory, you’re saying that 720p from a film source looks softer on a 720p display than 1080i/p will appear from the same film source when displayed on a 1080 i/p display system?”

For giggles, we’ll specify a 46″ 720p display, and a 60″ 1080 display as our foundational displays.

So sourcing from the same film source (which would mean 35mm source footage), you’re saying that a 720p stream on a 720p display would appear softer than a 1080 stream on a 1080 display? With the same original footage sourced to two different streams?

[Randall Raymond]

[DSE/Spot] “For giggles, we’ll specify”

For giggles, what not stay on topic?

How is a higher resolution going to fix ‘harshness’ and the ‘video look’ – the fact is, it can’t – it just makes it worse.