Digital Video - May 2008 - (Page 17)

that’s somewhat exciting, but practically I found it really has very little bearing. THE NEW 320 DUAL-CHANNEL WIRELESS MICROPHONE IN THE CAN For Two Million Stupid Women we shot 45 hours of footage (15:1 shooting ratio for a 90 minute movie with two camera coverage). We also decided on a triple-redundancy system having our camera data masters and two clones. We figured we’d need 6TB of space for the footage and two clone sets. Twentypercent savings on 6TB is 1.2TB of space! That seems like a lot, but when you break it down to each set of data, it’s only a savings of 400GB. So we’d need either 2TB for DVCPro HD or 1.6TB for AVC-I. When it comes to purchasing hard drives for 100MB/s data speeds your choices are really 500GB, 750GB and 1TB. The cost savings of the 20-percent smaller files was practically nothing. We were able to find deals on 1TB drives that were better than if we had only purchased 1.75TB worth of space for each data set. For us, the AVC-I smaller file size would have made no financial difference. Then the surprise was that the files in Final Cut were much closer in size. Both files require “rendering” or processing to get into Final Cut Pro. The DVCPro HD needs to be “wrapped” in a QuickTime wrapper to work natively in the FCP timeline, AVC-I needs to be transcoded to ProRes 422. The QT wrapper of the 30second clip of DVCPro HD footage was 423.5MB and 407.6MB in ProRes 422 for the AVC-I. That’s only about a 4-percent difference — certainly not significant unless you’re shooting thousands of hours of footage. The AJ-HPX3000 produces extraordinary images, as one would expect from an advanced Panasonic camera. We put it through some grueling conditions, and it performed wonderfully. The P2 system is robust and trustworthy. At the end of the day, the HPX3000 is a great camera, but is also dwarfed by its considerably lessexpensive sibling with considerable more functionality. DV dv may 2008 natively with AVC-I format, but I don’t know a single professional (or even aspiring professional) editor who uses Adobe Premiere. Final Cut Pro requires AVC-I to be transcoded to its own ProRes 422 codec. In addition, for a Final Cut Pro system to work in ProRes 422, you must have the latest version of FCP and the latest Intel processor Mac. After a quick poll of six editors I knew — only one of them had a system that could support the requirements of this format, and he, of course, wasn’t an editor we could afford for the project. If that sample-size was statistically correct, only 17 percent of the editors we could approach would be able to deal with the footage. As a producer of the film, I refused to utilize a format that would eliminate 83 percent of potential editors from working with us simply for technological reasons. In my tests, I noted no discernable visual difference between DVCPro HD and AVC-I. For Two Million Stupid Women, there are no visual effects, no desperate need for the extra resolution. Since DVCPro HD is a more openly supported (and tried-and-true) format, we elected to shoot the film in that format. Thankfully, the camera has the option to do both. After we wrapped the movie, Jayson and I gathered to shoot a short project utilizing the AVC-I format so that we could put that through its paces. The purported benefit to AVC-I is that you get DVCPro HD image quality in a smaller file size. I found this to be absolutely true. For a 30second clip we had 412MB for DVCPro HD and 320.6MB for AVC-I. That more than 20-percent less for AVC-I. Initially www.dv.com The new 320UPR discrete dual-channel UHF receiver is smaller and lighter than all previous units. It has 240 user-selectable frequencies for each channel, stereo output, digital LCD displays with multi-function readout, and separate Power On/Off switches for each channel. It operates on just 2 "AA" batteries and has a unique dual-function DC jack. Optional NiMH batteries can be recharged while in the 320UPR, or the receiver can be powered from an external, optional power supply. Additionally, the 320UPR comes with both dual-plug XLR and a stereo mini-plug output cable, removable shoe-mount, and flexible high-gain antennas. Available initially in systems with 2 bodypacks (320ULT system), or 1 bodypack and 1 plug-in transmitter (320ULX system). Carrying case included ® P.O. Box 10, Franklin Square, NY 11010 (516) 328-7500 • FAX: (516) 328-7506 17 For full specifications e-mail azdenus@azdencorp.com or visit our Web site: www.azdencorp.com http://www.azdencorp.com http://www.azdencorp.com http://www.azdencorp.com http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - May 2008

Digital Video - May 2008 Contents DV Update Close-Up AJ-HPX3000 Camcorder Sidecar Raid Zoom H2 Recorder Instant Expert 324 Flat-Panel Display Extreme 35MM Adapter Type-S JIB How Slow Can You Go? Global Gastronome Mixing It UP Long-Distance Runaround Tools & Technology DV 101 Production Diary

Digital Video - May 2008

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