A new Quicktime version of the video is now available!
 

A new Quicktime version of the HDV music video "Hip Hop's Dead" is now available at my website, jonfordham.com!

You can find the video here: http://www.jonfordham.com/elus.html

Enjoy!

D'oh!

OK, so that link was incorrect. It's actually: http://www.jonfordham.com/elus No "html"...

Interesting, but the DVFilm logo is blurred so you must have
blurred or deflickered the results. I would not do that.
Any non-moving object in the frame should look
identical after processing with Maker.

Marcus,

What if I shot in 50i with CineFrame 25 and have been making, in Final Cut, a Photojpeg (at 75%/8 bit) quality, then conforming it in Cinema Tools to 23.98 fps vs. using one of the DVFilm plug-ins? My audio's pitch drops slightly, but not too bad. Would I get that with DVFilm? Also, do I lose more resolution?

Thanks,

Heath

Marcus will probably elucidate further, but tests done by Alan Roberts over in the DVdoctor forums (more of a UK biased group) recommends steering clear of CF25 too - it's a lot better IMHO, but not as good as 1080i via DVFilm Maker. I've been very very happy with Maker - it's not a plug-in, so one can do 'other things' whilst Maker does its magic.

OTOH, I'm also learning Graeme's tool set as it can combine many actions, and is significantly faster. After all, progressive is 'in' if your work is going to web, LCD, Plasma, DLP or laptop/ppt. Just as there's no one 'killer' camcorder, there's not one single killer app that gets rid of fields.

1. Instead of CF25 I would shoot 50i or 60i to avoid any loss in vertical resolution. The reasons are elucidated here http://dvfilm.com/fx1

2. The main benefit of 60i is that you don't have to slow the movie down 4%. Because the 60i to 24P conversion requires blending fields together (in areas of the screen where there is motion) you have to be careful about shutter speed and blown-out highlights that create an artifical high shutter speed look. This is also a consideration for 50i but not as important.

3. Assuming that you have to shoot 50i like for example you have a Euro model FX1, then convert to 25P with Maker and do all your ediiting at 25P, not 24P. You can make a 60i (NTSC) DVD movie with DVFilm Atlantis with no speed change, instead of a 24P DVD movie.

If there is a transfer to film the film transfer house will do the time expansion of the dialog with ProTools or similar app. We generally like to do this rather than let the filmmaker do it as we can check the results in our screening room. Despite great efforts time expansion of dialog always suffers a slight quality loss. For original music (esp orchestral music) and effects it's better to just slow it down and not attempt a pitch correction. Then we mix it all together at the new rate (24P). Much of this is covered in SHOOTING DIGITAL if you have the old edition, The new one is not quite done yet.

Marcus,

Thanks for the response. We shot in 50i and CF25 and I'm happy with the results. Can Maker convert that to 24p cleanly?

Also, everyone, Marcus' book SHOOTING DIGITAL was reviewed by me right here. Check it out and buy a copy!

heath

No, 25P to 24P is not a function of Maker.

The only product we have that is applicable is Atlantis. If you make a 25P PAL-sized movie, Atlantis can convert that to 60i NTSC to make a
DVD. No audio change is required since it's 25P over 60i.
Thanks but we're not selling it right now, maybe next year!

Thanks for the clarifications, Marcus!

heath

Who is this Elus cat? I like his flow. Hip Hop is dead. I love that effect you did where he's rapping on one side of the screen and moving to the beat on the other. Nice work Jon. I see this camera on eBay for $2200. Seeing this video makes this camera very tempting. It's really between having this now and and the Canon later.

-Nate

"This is me in flesh, lyrically I'm the best."
-Elus

My opinion is if you're a great shooter, most cameras will work good for you. And I feel a Sony is going to be your best bet. See some Z1 footage Jon shot and I directed, found at:

www.myspace.com/904am

heath

I was just on your site man. Forget the footage, hook me up with Suzy or Monique. I love Sci-Fi babes. Did you shoot this in 1080i or 30CF? Hey did you do those FX shots too? Nice work guys. BTW, I sent you a friend request.

-Nate

Suzy and Monique are the goths (and punk) in the movie. The character Billie is the scifi nutcase, as seen in the 3 Sisters clip. For more info on 9:04 AM, visit:

www.904am.com

Matt Miller did the F/X, and is busy working on everything. His website can be found at www.mattmiller.net and he's one of the best!

We shot in 50i, CineFrame 25, then I did a coversion to 23.98 fps in Cinema Tools, and outputted from Final Cut Pro 5.1.2.

heath

I've always been curious about this but could I shoot in 1080i and output at 23.98 in Cinema Tools? I think this would save me some resolution. Then I could make an SD and HD-DVD of my next film. I do have FCP 5.1.2.

-Nate

If you shoot in 1080i50 with CineFrame 25. If you shoot without CF25, then you have to de-interlace in your NLE, then convert to 23.98 fps. I write extensively about this method, based on Graeme Nattress' worflow, in the second edtion HDV book from VASST.

h