I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? at DVinfo.net

Noam Osband · August 8th, 2011, 07:03 PM

I'm about to start shooting a short doc that I hope to get screened at festivals. I have access to archival footage of my subject that is almost all is SD and 4:3. I also want to use photographs.

I'm thinking of shooting in 720p/24fps with my HMC-150. Here's my thinking: Almost all the audio and much of the footage is going to be from an extended interview of the subject, and this footage will essentially undergird the film. I want to shoot in HD and hopefully use it, but this way I can downgrade if need be. Shooting in 720 will make it less jarring to upscale the archival footage if I go HD than if I did it in 1080. The 24fps is because I just prefer that look over 30fps. Moreover, I'll be shooting b-roll and I'm thinking that some of it I might want to put in slo-mo. Shooting in 720p means I can go to 60p and slow it down without much blur as opposed to shooting in 1080 where 60fps is interlaced.

Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. I'm still new to this game and have much to learn.

Robert Turchick · August 8th, 2011, 09:11 PM

Sounds pretty logical to me though I don't know what the requirements of film festivals are.

I can say from having owned the hmc-150, it looks really nice in 720. Much better than 1080.

Have you looked at Magic Bullet's instant HD? does a pretty decent job of up-rezzing SD video.

Noam Osband · August 9th, 2011, 03:58 AM

One person recommended to me shooting just in 720 60p and converting it to 24fps. Is that easy to do with FCP7?

Chris Harding · August 9th, 2011, 11:10 PM

Hi Noam

I shoot my weddings at double frame rate and if there is any fast movement the 720 50P (I'm PAL) handles it a lot better than 25P where even rapid arm movements can be a little blurry. If you ever need to slow down footage, double frame rate makes for really smooth footage too!!

Not very sure about rendering out to 24P in FCP though as I don't use it!!

Chris

Sareesh Sudhakaran · August 10th, 2011, 05:05 AM

720p is perfectly acceptable.

As to frame rates, different festivals have different requirements for masters. 24p is a good idea if you're only displaying in HD and on the web. However, if you plan to go SD, then you'll have headaches getting it to 30p for NTSC.

John Wiley · August 11th, 2011, 05:27 AM

The HMC150 is not a whole lot sharper in 1080p mode than in 720p - so you're not going to miss out too much by shooting at 720p.

I'd suggest shooting the interviews at 720p24, and the rest at 60p. That way the stuff you know will be at normal speed is already a perfect fit for a 24p timeline, and you have the option of using slow motion on all the b-roll footage.

August 8th, 2011, 07:03 PM	#1
Noam Osband Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Philadelphia, United States Posts: 163	I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? I'm about to start shooting a short doc that I hope to get screened at festivals. I have access to archival footage of my subject that is almost all is SD and 4:3. I also want to use photographs. I'm thinking of shooting in 720p/24fps with my HMC-150. Here's my thinking: Almost all the audio and much of the footage is going to be from an extended interview of the subject, and this footage will essentially undergird the film. I want to shoot in HD and hopefully use it, but this way I can downgrade if need be. Shooting in 720 will make it less jarring to upscale the archival footage if I go HD than if I did it in 1080. The 24fps is because I just prefer that look over 30fps. Moreover, I'll be shooting b-roll and I'm thinking that some of it I might want to put in slo-mo. Shooting in 720p means I can go to 60p and slow it down without much blur as opposed to shooting in 1080 where 60fps is interlaced. Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. I'm still new to this game and have much to learn.

August 8th, 2011, 09:11 PM	#2
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Re: I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? Sounds pretty logical to me though I don't know what the requirements of film festivals are. I can say from having owned the hmc-150, it looks really nice in 720. Much better than 1080. Have you looked at Magic Bullet's instant HD? does a pretty decent job of up-rezzing SD video. __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

August 9th, 2011, 03:58 AM	#3
Noam Osband Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Philadelphia, United States Posts: 163	Re: I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? One person recommended to me shooting just in 720 60p and converting it to 24fps. Is that easy to do with FCP7?

August 9th, 2011, 11:10 PM	#4
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? Hi Noam I shoot my weddings at double frame rate and if there is any fast movement the 720 50P (I'm PAL) handles it a lot better than 25P where even rapid arm movements can be a little blurry. If you ever need to slow down footage, double frame rate makes for really smooth footage too!! Not very sure about rendering out to 24P in FCP though as I don't use it!! Chris

August 10th, 2011, 05:05 AM	#5
Sareesh Sudhakaran Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,385	Re: I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? 720p is perfectly acceptable. As to frame rates, different festivals have different requirements for masters. 24p is a good idea if you're only displaying in HD and on the web. However, if you plan to go SD, then you'll have headaches getting it to 30p for NTSC. __________________ Get the Free Comprehensive Guide to Rigging ANY Camera - one guide to rig them all - DSLRs to the Arri Alexa.

August 11th, 2011, 05:27 AM	#6
John Wiley Trustee Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Byron Bay, Australia Posts: 1,155	Re: I'm thinking of shooting this project in 720p. Is that a good idea? The HMC150 is not a whole lot sharper in 1080p mode than in 720p - so you're not going to miss out too much by shooting at 720p. I'd suggest shooting the interviews at 720p24, and the rest at 60p. That way the stuff you know will be at normal speed is already a perfect fit for a 24p timeline, and you have the option of using slow motion on all the b-roll footage.