Home video vs movies- there is a difference in what you see.?

Question

I don't know if it is the speed of the film or if it is a special feature some cameras have, but I saw it used once on a wedding video. Everything was like a home video then all of a sudden it changed to be more like what a movie would look like, smoother and more elegant, I am having a hard time explaining this, but if anyone gets it this is my actual question:

When editing my digital videos, to achieve this effect do I need to Compress, or speed up, or slow down the footage? I know this is a very lame question, but I need to enhance my family videos. Thank you.

Answer 1

It is the film speed, usually 24 fps, I don't know how you can achieve this with post processing.

Answer 2

Most consumer camcorders record at 29.97 frames per second. This is commonly referred to as 30 fps. Movies are shot (typically) using film at 24 frames per second - then digitized.

The other item is most consumer camcorders are designed to playback on televisions, so their video is "interlaced" typically at 60i (divide by 2 = 30 fps). Basically, every other line of video is created, then the remaining lines are created... what your eye sees is fluid motion - this is one of the reasons why taking a consumer camcorder single frame does not make a good still picture - it will be blurry, especially if there is movement.

In film, a single frame is produced - this is called a progressive frame - there is no interlacing.

This stuff can't be done with most consumer grade camcorders. The Canon HV20 and HV30 are about as close as you will get with 24p capabilities - and the video editor would need to be more than what comes free in the computer.

The Panasonic DVX100 (now the 100B) was the first camcorder to bring this capability. Others do it now (Sony HVR-V1U, Z1U, Panasonic HDX200, Canon XHA1, I think, among others...)

Trying to get the effect you want just from consumer-grade post production probably work very well. It is a combination of the capture process and your post production tools.

Answer 3

Get a good movie editing program, with transitions and so you can add music. I use pinnacle studio 11 ultimate. I made a Christmas DVD with files from my digital camera, my camcorder and then added a slide show of stills at the end. It turned out pretty good.