Lisa Laughbaum
Forum Replies Created
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I can dig it!
Thanks DavidLisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
[Scott] I thought were you looking for advice on how to make your show look better?
I was… using the footage I’d already shot.
[Scott] The subject line of your post is “Re: How Does One Achieve The Highest Possible Quality SD DVD”
Next time I’ll be sure to write my subject line so it reads “How Does One Achieve The Highest Possible Quality SD DVD using FCP and Color with footage they have already shot on their Canon GL2 and some Mismatched Sony HD Cam, in low light, shooting from the back row, without bothering the LD or buying new cameras.”
[Scott] Instead of useful info we could use to help you, we get the “I’ve been doing this for x number of years” speech.
Your right. All those screen shots I provided and the detailed description of my workflow were absolutely useless information. I guess until I’ve been in production for 25 years like you, I have no business saying how long I’ve been working at this. And by the way, who is we? Everyone else who responded obviously had no problem understanding my situation or the information I posted.
[Scott] I pointed out you had a lot of small things wrong with your workflow…
But you never said what they were. Didn’t take the time like Mike to point out that my some of my settings were incorrect. Did you even read them?
[Scott] And you might want to consider getting some time in with an editor. That is the polite way of saying, your not as up to speed on FCP, and production as you think you are, and you need more help than just a simple answer on the forum will provide.
That’s polite?! I never once insinuated that I think I am expert in FCP or that I didn’t need help. I think you might be projecting your feelings about yourself on me. And, as a matter of fact, just last weekend I paid an editor to sit in my studio with me for five hours to figure out what I am overlooking. Needless to say, I picked the wrong editor, because I got more useful and pertinent information regarding my “true” question from everyone on the forum.. other than you that is . You could tell me nothing more than how to fix what I had already finished. I’m not saying your advice isn’t valid… if that had been my question. But it wasn’t. You would have known that if you had taken the time to read past my subject line.
[Scott] So, yes to expect your GL2’s shooting 4×3 stretched(by the camera) to 16×9, under poor lighting, to match your third “new professional grade Sony HD camera” (whatever it is) is not realistic.
Other than the difference in color, they are matching just fine. I’m glad for the opportunity to learn more about grading and color matching. Gosh, maybe I’ll even try to tackle “Color”. Guess I’d better bone up on 3WCC first.
[Scott] Especially when you cut it in the wrong sequence settings, and have to compress 2 1/2 hours of material, shot at this quality level, to a SD DVD.
Hmmm…. You think maybe that was the gist of my original post? Could that have been the situation I needed help with? I don’t know…
[Scott] Michael Sacci already went over all of this with you in the DVDSP forum. You have been presented plenty of options to improve your production values, in areas that you have direct control over, to “Achieve The Highest Possible Quality SD DVD” but just choose to dismiss advice that doesn’t reinforce the current methods as ‘negative’. I’m ok with that.
You’re right again. I did get some very useful information from Michael, B.J., Chris and David. I AM using many of the options they presented to me, and I’m grateful and thankful they took the time to give me the answers I needed. Your advice was useless in my current situation and condescending to say the least.
Thank you for making my first post so enjoyable. Say hello to your high horse for me.
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
Scott…
Your type of posts are the reason it took me three years to post my own. Have anything positive to say?Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
Thanks B.J.
I have four two hour dance shows I\’m in the process of capturing, so that should take a while. I\’ll hope you find a few minutes before I start editing! I\’d love to hear about the plug-ins you mentioned.I do have one question I thought you might know the answer to…
Although we white balanced all three cameras at the same time, the Sony still looks quite different. When editing my projects, I use one multi-clip for each act; of course, the multiclip uses all three cameras. Should I color correct/match the three clips before I make the multiclip or export each scene (between the blackouts) from my final edit?
Any thoughts?
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
[B.J.] But realize also that you are shooting NTSC DV which records with 4:1:1 color sampling, i.e. 75% of the color information is eliminated. Then when you render to a DVD, which uses 4:2:0 color sampling, you keep only the overlapping color pixels. That leaves 12.5% of the color, which leads to the video looking mushy.
Wow! I didn’t know that… No wonder I’m losing so much quality. “Mushy” – That’s a great word! That’s exactly how I feel about it. It just loses so much of the original crispness.
[B.J.] Broadcast video is 4:2:2, which does make quite a difference (if it is full resolution!).
Hope I don’t sound ignorant, and I’ll probably check out my FCP manual as soon as I finish typing this, but can I somehow convert my DV footage to broadcast quality? AND, put it on a DVD?
[B.J.] I spent a long time trying to get a $12,000 NTSC DV camera (with a $4,000 lens) produce footage that looked good on DVD, but never got it to meet my standards.
I can relate to the standards thing. My clients (parents, children, theatre and dance companies) all seem pretty satisfied with the quality; it’s just my high standards that keep me questing!
What was the best NTSC DV SD Camera solution you came up with?
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
Thanks Chris…
It seems all I had to do was change my aspect ratio to NTSC DV (3:2). I did this on both my capture and sequence presets. I’ll hope that helps a bit.Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
Scott… I’ve been shooting live theatre and dance productions for close to four years now.
I gave up talking to the LDs long ago as most are very attached to their design, settings, and look; not to mention that they are usually way too busy to have to worry about talking to me.
Due to fire regulations, we are always relegated to the very back row. I gave up fighting for better locations long ago as well.
As far as making the show shorter…
Other than cutting out the dark times in between scenes, I have no way of doing this. My job is to include everyone; not leave them on the “cutting room floor”. How would I explain that to the child or their parent. I’m pretty sure I would loose any and all of my accounts if I decided to “find the balance between picture quality and what has to be in the show.” You may have the luxury of “editing for length on shows that “need to have it all in.” I’m pretty positive that in my situation, it wouldn’t go “unnoticed by the audience.”
There was a time when I would use my 2 GL2s to shoot multiple shows as you suggested, but ever since the economy went south, the most any of these dance and theatre companies are willing to pay is $15 per DVD. At that price, I can only shoot one show. I’ve recently added the third camera because it’s a more cost effective way to achieve additional coverage and still produce an above average DVD.
If you read my entire post, I believe I also got the meaning of the word “workflow”. In fact, I gave it to you in words and pictures. I just didn’t know that was the “Industry term” for it.
[Scott] So if your firm on mixing cameras that are shooting in different aspect ratios, have poor low light performance, and you have to compress your footage a lot due to program length to get it all on the DVD, you have to expect a reduction in quality.
To be a bit more clear for you…
- my cameras are all shooting in the same aspect ratio (squeezed 16:9)
- all three are shooting in SD
- I bought the GL2s because they have the best low light performance in their class
- I reiterate that I have no control over the length of the programs.
- and I am certainly aware that all of these issues factor into my reduction in quality.
What I was hoping for was some clear, concrete advice on how to get the best picture quality on my final DVD product WITH all these limitations.
Some of us don’t have very deep pockets.
With all due respect. – Lisa
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
Oops! Sorry… Double post! Still getting use to this forum stuff. 🙂
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
Chris…
When I change to the easy setup you suggest, the dimensions during capture are 680×459.
The dimensions for sequences are 720×486.
I’ve been advised that both should be 720×480.
What are your thoughts about this?
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com -
[Scott Sheriff] Lots of reasons it is best to plan out your productions completely from finish to beginning
I wish I did have control over the lighting or more input about the theatrical productions I shoot, but I just have to capture what they present.
[Scott Sheriff] it’s hard to make suggestions without knowing your exact workflow, and the specific camera settings
I currently run my GL2s in manual mode with the shutter speed at 60, the gain at 6db, and I ride the aperture constantly throughout the production. I also shoot in the 16:9 mode I mentioned in my first post.
The term “workflow” confuses me a bit… I capture using the DV NTSC 48 kHz Anamorphic settings below:
The Advanced Tab in Quicktime Video Settings in Capture:
Then I edit my sequence with the following settings:
The Advanced Tab in Quicktime Video Settings in Sequence:
The Video Processing Tab in Sequence Settings: (should this be RGB instead?)
I also always get this funky message the first time I add a clip to my timeline. I always say yes, but when I check to see what changes occurred in the sequence settings tab, I see nothing different.
Once I’m done with my edit, I change the sequence settings to the following:
and the compression settings tab during export looks like this:
I then send the sequence to the Compressor, without rendering it first as I’ve been told this is redundant. I use the highest possible settings I can depending on the length of the production which can range anywhere from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours.
Finally, I author my DVD in DVDSP. I tend not to mess with these settings too much and often wonder if this may be where I lose quality, but that’s a different forum! 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to answer my post. I hope that’s what you meant by workflow!! 🙂
Lisa Laughbaum
Laughing Tree Productions
http://www.LaughingTreeProductions.com