Where can it get me.

Hi all,

First post so excuse and newbie basic stuff (i did look for an FAQ on the basics but couldn't find one).

Where can DV get me?

What do I mean?

Well I know I can make home movies but how much further can I go? Am I corrent in saying that very few film festicals are accepting DV as a format?

I doubt I can get to the movies with DV but surely I can get futher than my VCR.

Regards

Chris

[Rob Lohman]

It looks like you are talking about the technical format DV. It is
not accepted as widely indeed as other formats, but it is increasing
rapidly. You can always convert it to something like DVD which
I assume most festivals will accept.

If you are talking about what you could do with DV in terms of
product, you can do a lot:

- wedding videos
- news
- tv programs
- indepedent movie
- internet broadcasts

Most higher end DV camera's can deliver media that is acceptable
for use by TV stations.

[Adrian Douglas]

Chris,

A growing number of broadcast channels, commercial, cable, and public access use miniDV/DVCAM in their everyday programming, especially for lower budget programming and ENG work

[Glenn Chan]

In terms of how different formats stack up, Adam Wilt (check out his DV FAQ) rates various formats as follows:

D-5 (10-bit uncompressed digital) 10
D-1 (8-bit uncompressed digital) 9.9
Digital Betacam, Ampex DCT 9.7
D-9 (Digital-S), DVCPRO50 9.6
DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO (D-7), Digital8 9
MII, Betacam SP 8.9
1" Type C 8.7
3/4" SP 6.5
3/4", Hi8, SVHS 5.5
Video 8, Betamax 4
VHS 3.5
EIAJ Type 1, Fisher-Price Pixelvision 1

http://www.adamwilt.com

However, the quality of your image depends a lot on how good the lighting is and how good your camera is. Great pictures won't do much if your movie's story isn't good. If your story is good and shoddy production values don't detract from your film then you can get kind of far-look like with the Blair Witch Project (shot on 16mm film and hi8 I believe). Most film festivals, I think, will accept mini-DV nowadays. I wouldn't bother with really expensive equipment (yet) since most "indie films" don't make money (I think).

[Sumesh Thundathil]

Hey Chris,

Your question is pretty hard to answer. Where can DV get you? Well, that depends where you want to go. The advantage of DV over other formats is probably picture quality, ease of handling, and flexibility.

The picture quality of high-end DV cameras is certainly comparable to anything you would see on TV (if not exactly the same thing you see on TV).

Digital Video is also easy to handle. Since the format is completely digital it can be imported into non-linear editing systems, making editing a lot easier than analog. Also it's easy to output your video to DVDs, tape, internet video, or whatever else you want.

DV cameras have the flexibility to do simple home movies, like you said, as well as more involved projects from the amateur to the professional level. The only limit in this regard is your imagination (and your equipment, I suppose. But don't let that stop you!). If you want DV to do nothing more than home movies, there's an entire range of consumer-level cameras from every electronics manufacturer out there. Want to do something a little more involved? There's a nice selection of prosumer cameras on the market, too. Looking to make a living out of your DV camera? There are incredible professional-level cameras available for this very purpose. But here's the thing. This last part I've been talking about is certainly not specific to DV alone. DV is not certainly not a magic solution to all your video production needs (although it sometimes feels that way). Whatever video format you choose, only YOU can decide where it will take you. The power is in your hands.

Hope that helps.

Peace.