[David Rehm]

Here’s a way to make it a bit more interesting and have some flexibility. Any stationary camera you have (such as your front-wide angle shot) shoot it in 1080p. Now what I do is take the 1080p footage and nest it into a 720 comp – now I have plenty of room for zooming in and out without loss of quality because the 1080p footage is huge compared to the 720 comp.

Scale the footage down to fit the 720 comp exactly. In Premiere it’s at 67%. Now you can zoom in to the 100% (and actually even beyond that if you want) and even pan back and forth.

I do this all the time with and it works well.

I would leave a little extra room on the right and left sides when framing your wide-angle shot. The reason for this is when you zoom in post – you want to be able to center your subject that may be tight to the side of the shot. If there is no extra room it will be harder to center the subject.

David R.

[David Rehm]

For an external recorder I would recommend the Tascam DR-40. Just look it up – it has everything you could need. Sounds awesome, easy to use and priced just right.

I would not depend on the audio recorded to the camera.

LD

[David Rehm]

You can create the DVD pretty easily with Encore. Encore needs Mpeg2 files. Or if you are able to use Dynamic Link (depending which version you have – it always helps others to help you when you list the software version you are working with – it makes a big difference) and bring in the Premiere Pro sequences and let Encore do the transcoding.

David R.

[David Rehm]

I only use the lights I built (which are 2) to light the screen. I use OnLocation for monitoring and the scopes are in “the” range it needs to be for the best conditions to key.

Whatever works best – use it.

David

[David Rehm]

Have you ever considered building your own lights? Jeff Foster, who is considered one of the gurus of keying, gives this instructional video on how to build great lighting for your green screen.

check it out:
https://www.video2brain.com/en/courses/green-screen-workshop-the-shoot

David

[David Rehm]

As “unprofessional” as this sounds either use clear bags over the camera or even saran wrap. Use tape accordingly. Why spend lots of $$$ when you don’t have to? Unless you plan on using the rain bag alot.

David

[David Rehm]

The Tascam DR-40 is hands down (IMHO) the best bang for your money. I tested this out rigorously against the Zoom H4N and heard no difference. It’s less than half the price of the Zoom H4N, easy to use, allows you to record a back-up track at a lower db rate (in case your 1st track peaks). You can also record up to 4 tracks simultaneously. It’s a no brainer. I use it all the time with my lapel (and sometimes just the on-board mics – which sound really good too).
Check it out:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/821259-REG/Tascam_DR_40_DR_40_4_Track_Handheld_Digital.html

David

ps – the only thing I like about the zoom over the Tascam is the body construction shell – it’s a little better. But this is not a deal breaker for me.

[David Rehm]

hello, This is a frustrating problem. Compressor and Adobe Media Encoder do not have the capabilities to convert from HD to standard DVD and have the quality be at a professional and acceptable level. Everything was fine and peaceful when shooting with my Canon GL2 – never a problem until HD. Last year I made the switch to a DSLR and am having the same problem.

Here is a guaranteed method to work and you’ll get crystal clear professional results. Don’t be intimidated by the process. Test it on a 5 minute clip. And the greater news is it has much shorter render times. Here is the link
https://www.precomposed.com/blog/2009/07/hd-to-sd-dvd-best-methods/

I use Adobe Media Encoder. It has an option for Frame Blending – a pure waste of time – literally. Not only is the final result unacceptable but it can add hours onto your render times. From what I hear Compressor has the same problem.

You’ll be pleased with the results.

David R.

[David Rehm]

I just looked the mic up you are using and realized the mic cost less than $20. There is an old saying that sometimes “you get what you pay for”. However, with that aside, the background noise could be removed pretty easily with Audition (or even Soundbooth).

I have an Audio Technica lavalier (2000 series) that I bought 2 or 3 years ago for around $350. It’s far from their top model but it works very well. I use it with my Tascam DR-40. You may want to invest in something better.

David R.

[David Rehm]

Hi, Thanks for your reply but I’m wondering about the times my camera is listing for my sd cards and should there be 4 hours of HD video fitting on my cards?

Thanks, David