Film Look I have discovered
 

I have recently discovered a way to process my video shot in progressive scan mode on my XL1S. Crank up the shutter speed to decrease the depth of field and ride the iris and focus manually. I have only been able to achieve this effect in outdoor shooting as there is plenty of light. Indoors I am still wrestling with lighting issues which seems to cause soft focus issue sfor me with the high shutter speeds as well as wierd color shifts.

Capture the footage at 30FPS in Final Cut pro. Then I export the footage to Adobe After Effects 6.5. There I take the footage and turn it into a 3D object. I then take a white light and project it on the surface of the footage.
I adjust the shininess and metal qualities to get the best diesired effect. Adjust the intensity and cone of the light to create the lens effect. For extra higher contrast look, copy the footage to a new layer and then turn the composite mode to overlay, then adjust the opacity to get the desired constrast ratio. It is very important to set the layers to accept light. FOr added look of age you can add tint to get that older frame look. Of course you can add shutter effects to it as well. For a really nice soft light look copy the base layer once more, turn it to a screen or overlay and add Gaussian blur. Adjust the blur and opacity levels for the soft light effect.

I am able to achieve the look I have seen in many commercials that were obviously shot in film. I am referencing the Enzyte commercials and numerous car commercials. I am using this effect in the current infomercial I am producing.

I then render the finished movie back out in 30 FPS. This eliminates any aliasing as the footage is now a 3D object and Aftereffecst treats the footage as an obect.

I am getting a really nice look, but perhaps somone has a different approach. I would have not attempted this approach on a standard G4 editing system. It is very render intensive. However I am achieving fast renders on my Dual G5 with After effects 6.5.

Can you post some "before" and "after" screenshots?

Thanks!

film look
 

I sure can. I will post in a day or 2.

Since when does the shutter speed control your depth of field?

I think he means with a faster shutter he can open up the lens, allowing a shallower DOF.

Isn't it easier to just add ND filters and keep the shutter speed at 1/50 or 1/60 depending if you are in the PAL or NTSC world?

Sure, if you have them. 1/60th (1/50th) is considered by most to be the "filmiest" looking shutter speed, unless you want that stroby, high shutter Saving Pvt. Ryan look.

Jason, please post some stills when you get a chance, I'm very interested in seeing your results. Thanks.