Help with format transfer at DVinfo.net

Micah Brooke · January 6th, 2007, 12:52 PM

Hi, I am currently finalizing a short film of mine and plan on submitting it to various film festivals.

I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions as to what format works well with the HVX footage. A film transfer is pretty much out of the question as the expense is too high. I was wondering about formats such as HDCAM, BETA, etc -
formats that are the norm at Film Festivals.

The film was shot in 720p if that helps.

Thanks guys.

Robert Lane · January 7th, 2007, 11:32 AM

The most important thing is to export it as uncompressed. Although you shot and edited in a compressed codec if you then export it out in the same codec it will be re-compressed again and you'll lose quite a bit of color and detail.

Any 4:4:4 uncompressed format will do well.

Ned Soltz · January 7th, 2007, 05:41 PM

This all depends upon the format in which the festival wants the footage. If the festival will accept DVCPRO HD footage, just output via firewire to a Panasonic deck.

You are not indicating which NLE and platform you are using, but on the Mac, if you have a Kona 3, you can do a real time uprez to HDCAM and record directly to HDCAM deck. Or, send it to a post house that has that capability. It really should not be terribly expensive (certainly only a fraction of film transfer).

But the question is what the festivals want.

Ned Soltz

Mike Schrengohst · January 7th, 2007, 07:41 PM

Some festivals have started using the pseudo HD players
like Buffalo, i/o data etc.....
You can playback either WMV HD or a transport stream....
We just created some 1920x1080 transport streams for
a universities visitor center. The footage looks great on
50" plasmas and they have one feed going to a projector
showing on a 10' screen.....
The JVC i/o data player only costs $385, much cheaper
than even renting an HDCAM deck for one day.

Micah Brooke · January 9th, 2007, 12:26 AM

Thanks for the responses guys, you've been helpful.

"The most important thing is to export it as uncompressed. Although you shot and edited in a compressed codec if you then export it out in the same codec it will be re-compressed again and you'll lose quite a bit of color and detail.

Any 4:4:4 uncompressed format will do well."

Yeah, I'm beginning to notice that mistake. Initially the clips were compressed with Cineform HD, then QT, then I corrected everything in After Effects, then cut it all together in Premiere.

This is a dumb question but if you export a compressed clip with degraded quality as uncompressed, will the picture quality increase?

January 6th, 2007, 12:52 PM	#1
Micah Brooke New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: overland park, KS Posts: 8	Help with format transfer Hi, I am currently finalizing a short film of mine and plan on submitting it to various film festivals. I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions as to what format works well with the HVX footage. A film transfer is pretty much out of the question as the expense is too high. I was wondering about formats such as HDCAM, BETA, etc - formats that are the norm at Film Festivals. The film was shot in 720p if that helps. Thanks guys.

January 7th, 2007, 11:32 AM	#2
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,788 Images: 15	The most important thing is to export it as uncompressed. Although you shot and edited in a compressed codec if you then export it out in the same codec it will be re-compressed again and you'll lose quite a bit of color and detail. Any 4:4:4 uncompressed format will do well. __________________ Robert Lane Producer/Creator - Bike Pilots TV

January 7th, 2007, 07:41 PM	#4
Mike Schrengohst Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 355	Some festivals have started using the pseudo HD players like Buffalo, i/o data etc..... You can playback either WMV HD or a transport stream.... We just created some 1920x1080 transport streams for a universities visitor center. The footage looks great on 50" plasmas and they have one feed going to a projector showing on a 10' screen..... The JVC i/o data player only costs $385, much cheaper than even renting an HDCAM deck for one day. __________________ Mike Schrengohst dvd.pro@verizon.net

January 9th, 2007, 12:26 AM	#5
Micah Brooke New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: overland park, KS Posts: 8	Thanks everyone Thanks for the responses guys, you've been helpful. "The most important thing is to export it as uncompressed. Although you shot and edited in a compressed codec if you then export it out in the same codec it will be re-compressed again and you'll lose quite a bit of color and detail. Any 4:4:4 uncompressed format will do well." Yeah, I'm beginning to notice that mistake. Initially the clips were compressed with Cineform HD, then QT, then I corrected everything in After Effects, then cut it all together in Premiere. This is a dumb question but if you export a compressed clip with degraded quality as uncompressed, will the picture quality increase?

January 7th, 2007, 05:41 PM	#3
Ned Soltz Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Teaneck, NJ Posts: 659	This all depends upon the format in which the festival wants the footage. If the festival will accept DVCPRO HD footage, just output via firewire to a Panasonic deck. You are not indicating which NLE and platform you are using, but on the Mac, if you have a Kona 3, you can do a real time uprez to HDCAM and record directly to HDCAM deck. Or, send it to a post house that has that capability. It really should not be terribly expensive (certainly only a fraction of film transfer). But the question is what the festivals want. Ned Soltz