Editing Video?

Question

Me and some friends are going to make a DVD video shooting with three video cams. I know it would be best to have all cams to be the same format but how difficult or problematic will it be to edit the video if we shoot with different cams with different formats.

Two cams will be consumer Hi-def. The other cam will be a prosumer standard def Panasonic DVX 100.

On one hand, the standard def is a better 'prosumer cam' while the hi-def is a higher quality video but is the lower end 'consumer' cam. Will there be a noticeable difference between scenes and what problems will there be in combining the two different formats while editing on Final Cut?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Do you have to use all three cameras? Or can you use just one or two? For the most consistent look, you're probably best off shooting with the DVX100 or if you have an HV20, that'll work as well. Lighting shouldn't be a problem, neither should editing, just try to make your audio sound as good as possible. When you do edit, cutting clips together won't be a problem, and neither should rendering it out in SD. However, you will notice color and perhaps frame differences if your other cameras don't have 24p. If you render out in HD or plan to in the future, then shoot with one camera, SD or HD. The cutting between three SD and HD cameras will be quite apparent, and will be distracting as well. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Why on earth do you need 3 cameras?

Here is what I can tell you.

1) If you are using Final Cut Pro 6, you won't have issues using 2 formats from a technical perspective. Don't use Final Cut Express, and don't use an older version.

2) The likelihood that your HD cameras will look REMOTELY close to the DVX footage is slim. The audience will tell, and it will ruin it. Be consistent.

3) Most productions (even professional) are shot on one camera. Please just do this.

I know you may have arguments against it, but trust me, I'm saving you a hassle. Either find the money for real cameras, or just use one format. Don't mix and match, you'll have a h**l of a time making it look the same.

Answer 3

i agree with what the guys above have said but will pass on the following tip.

when you are ready to shoot have a clapper ready. this could be as simple as someone doing a clap with their hands.

do a large easy to see clap by all cams (use 2 that look the same and leave the sd cam out of it)

roll on all the cams and make sure they are rolling at the same time. call the shot eg - "shot 55 take 1!" and smack your board/hands.

the reason? you will have a common point to which all cameras are linked and wil be in sync with each other when you come to edit.

when you get the final cut, look up doing a multi-cam sequence (under MODIFY). it works like vision switching and is works well.

good luck!

Answer 4

high def shots will be wide screen and the sd shots will be 4:3. If that sd camera that you have has a better lens, and a better microphone then i would just stick with the sd. the lens makes the biggest difference when determining the quality of the shot. a single chip camera with a great lens will most likely produce a better image than a 3 chip camera with a S****y lens

in terms of difficulty of the edit, it will depend on which application you are using to edit the video, if you are using final cut pro, then you will be able to switch formats very easily you'll just have to render one of the formats

matt

http://www.gebhardtvideo.com

Answer 5

well the only thing is that when you're capturing, you'll have to change your capture settings from SD to HDV or DVCPRO or whatever other HD codec you're using.  In the editing it shouldn't be too much of a problem.  You might have to render more but it shouldn't be a problem if you set everything up as a multicam sequence.  Once you've got a multicam sequence then all you have to do is hit 1, 2, 3 to change to the different camera angles.

As for the quality, it shouldn't matter too much as long as you light it well.  Honestly, you might just wanna go with the DVX if you've got everything lighted well.  If you don't have it lighted well then you're SD footage will look "meh" and your HDV or whatever footage will look terrible.  

Remember, True HD or HDV or higher quality codecs require more light and if they don't have it, they look worse than SD footage cause you can see more.

I can't stress enough how important your lighting is.