[Nate Hanson]

I created a 24p sequence and dropped my 60p footage into it – looks fantastic. Smooth and slow.

However, I have been advised to do frame rate conversions in After Effects. I can see why this is important when going UP to 60p from 24p because frames need to be created in order to achieve a smooth looking video.

But if you are converting DOWN to 24p, all you need to do is play the same frames at a slower rate – nothing needs to be created. So it makes sense to me that simply dropping 60p footage into a 24p sequence would be fine. I’d love confirmation of that from a pro if anybody has the answer.

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

With a T2i’s (or 7D’s) cropped sensor, would you recommend getting a 35mm prime f/1.4 instead of a 50mm?

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

Hi Vince,

I have the plugin and I’ve watched Kramer’s tutorial on that. I’m wondering what the advantage is in this case.

I can see how if you are going UP from 24p to 30p, After Effects would be combining frames to generate new ones to fill the gaps. But if I’m going down from 60p to 24p, I don’t need to generate any frames, right?

It seems to me that Premiere just has to play the frames one frame at a time…just at a slower rate. Am I missing something?

Footage is from a Canon T2i in case that matters.

Thanks for any input,

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

Why would I want to buy a DSLR and use it for video? I just ordered a Canon T2i…here are my reasons:

1) Price – I don’t have a big budget. I was planning on saving up for an XH-A1s ($3400 at B&H). Instead I got the T2i, an f/2.8 lens and an H4N for audio all for under $2000. All I have at the moment is a MiniDV GL2. This is a huge upgrade for me.

2) Image quality – I’ve seen some beautiful footage shot with just the kit lens. Again, compared to my GL2…huge upgrade. Even the XH-A1s I was hoping for can’t produce images this rich.

3) Lenses – lots of different looks are possible. I’ve got lots of friends with DSLR cameras and I’m sure I can borrow lenses for projects.

4) Project goals – I’m planning on shooting some short video segments (2-minutes each) with interviews and B-roll, so the ability to roll for hours on end is not a factor for me.

5) Cabbage Patch Factor. Just kidding, Dave.

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

Thanks, Tom.

I’ve got iMacs in my room:
2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Running Final Cut Pro 7

I also teach After Effects and I’m hoping to avoid problems sending footage from FCP to AE and back.

The cameras I’m looking at are:
Canon HF200s and they record in SD MPEG-2 format (Whoops…I guess it was another camera I was looking at that had the h.264 mp4).

I’m also looking to buy a Canon Vixia HV40 (HDV on MiniDV)

Do you see any trouble ahead with that set up?

Thanks for your help!

[Nate Hanson]

Maybe this might work for you:

1) Create a nice looking family tree in Photoshop.
2) Keep the lines on one layer, put the boxes or names on a different layer.
3) In AE, animate a mask to reveal the lines moving down the screen. You could create one large mask, and then animate the mask path property to stretch it vertically down the screen, revealing more and more of the line paths over time. Make sure the mask is set to ADD.
4) (optional) you could have the boxes or names scale up from zero to 100 as the line passes through its position in the tree. Maybe add a bit of a bounce to the animation (0% -> 110% -> 100%).

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

Thanks for all the great responses, guys!

I got some clarification from the client. The picture looks pixelated and stretched wide. I sent her some possible settings to try (had to look up their TV’s manual online), and I also suggested they test the DVDs on their computer to see if the problem is on the DVDs or if the TV set is to blame.

They have been busy and I haven’t heard back yet. But it sure sounds like a TV setting issue to me.

Jim, I’m looking to upgrade to a Canon XH-A1 as soon as I can, but a Sony EX1 is way out of my budget. I started my business from scratch as a side job and I’m currently paying off my GL2 and my Adobe Master Collection.

How does HDV look when turned into a Standard Definition DVD? And do you edit the project at full resolution? Or do you import it as SD to start with?

Thanks for all the info!

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

I’m really curious to see suggestions on this one. Can the size of the project (40 hours of footage) impact performance?

It would be good to hear from somebody who regularly uses HDV in Premiere Pro CS3: what capture settings do you use? I remember reading that CS3 can work with HDV native. Is that the case? Or do you need to capture it as some intermediate format?

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

Hi Mark, thanks for the reply.

I filmed it in standard NTSC, not anamorphic widescreen. But maybe their TV is stretching it, as if it were anamorphic widescreen? I’m about to give her a call.

But imagine SD footage on a 40-inch high definition TV…is that going to look ok? I don’t have a HD TV so I have no idea how my stuff looks at that resolution.

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films

[Nate Hanson]

Which codecs have you tried? Have you tried Quicktime Animation at 100% quality?

Nate Hanson
Pilothouse Films