Themis Gyparis
January 10th, 2008, 06:45 AM
Hello everyone
I have been working as a freelance editor for a company that publishes 3 monthly sea-oriented magazines with a DVD included for each of them. I'll ask something I'm pretty sure I know the answer to, but I have to see it again in writing so that I know I'm right. The camera team shoots in HDV 1080i but the post production team (me alone, actually :-) delivers on a standard 4.7 Gb DVD. That, of course, means, as we all know, that the final videos are downconverted to match SD DVD size and their quality is obviously diminished compared to the original material.
I have often "battled" their decision to shoot in HDV and deliver in SD DVD because I see absolutely no reason for them do so since quality drops that much. Also with the small HDV 1080i cameras they use and their short-length, lower quality lenses, I myself don't see any difference in picture quality compared to DV 25p. In fact, I've seen tremendously better picture on a 25p DV project shot with my JVC GY-HD 100E (720p) camcorder than any of their HDV projects so far.
So I ask: Is there any reason at all to shoot in HDV when delivering in SD DVD? Is there any visible difference to make it worth while considering the endless original shots occupy sooo much space on the disks and is, of course, a bigger "burden" for the system to handle?
It only takes a really larger file, shot with a much better and more expensive camcorder to make a viewable difference on a standard DVD. Just like the professional movie DVDs, downconverted from the original material, originally shot on film and digitized to be edited on Avid and authored on, say, Scenarist.
Honestly I've heard a lot of crap from "connoisseurs" that I almost forgot what I've learned so far. The only thing that I can accept is the fact that perhaps in the future they might want to make an anniversary HD DVD or Blu-Ray disc with the original edited material we master in HDV tapes. Even then, with the poor original shots I've seen from their camcorders, I don't think they'll be amazed by the outcome...
But then again, maybe I should just pay attention to my work and don't bother with insignificant facts... :-)
I have been working as a freelance editor for a company that publishes 3 monthly sea-oriented magazines with a DVD included for each of them. I'll ask something I'm pretty sure I know the answer to, but I have to see it again in writing so that I know I'm right. The camera team shoots in HDV 1080i but the post production team (me alone, actually :-) delivers on a standard 4.7 Gb DVD. That, of course, means, as we all know, that the final videos are downconverted to match SD DVD size and their quality is obviously diminished compared to the original material.
I have often "battled" their decision to shoot in HDV and deliver in SD DVD because I see absolutely no reason for them do so since quality drops that much. Also with the small HDV 1080i cameras they use and their short-length, lower quality lenses, I myself don't see any difference in picture quality compared to DV 25p. In fact, I've seen tremendously better picture on a 25p DV project shot with my JVC GY-HD 100E (720p) camcorder than any of their HDV projects so far.
So I ask: Is there any reason at all to shoot in HDV when delivering in SD DVD? Is there any visible difference to make it worth while considering the endless original shots occupy sooo much space on the disks and is, of course, a bigger "burden" for the system to handle?
It only takes a really larger file, shot with a much better and more expensive camcorder to make a viewable difference on a standard DVD. Just like the professional movie DVDs, downconverted from the original material, originally shot on film and digitized to be edited on Avid and authored on, say, Scenarist.
Honestly I've heard a lot of crap from "connoisseurs" that I almost forgot what I've learned so far. The only thing that I can accept is the fact that perhaps in the future they might want to make an anniversary HD DVD or Blu-Ray disc with the original edited material we master in HDV tapes. Even then, with the poor original shots I've seen from their camcorders, I don't think they'll be amazed by the outcome...
But then again, maybe I should just pay attention to my work and don't bother with insignificant facts... :-)