HD?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, i’m a bit of a novice in the world of videomaking so bear with me,

I’m going to be shooting a Music Video for a band as part of my Video Production name, and i want to get the best quality footage that i can, as i am at University i have access to HD camera’s, now first of all if i shoot on HD, will i be able to edit it in Final Cut Pro 6? or would i need to use some kind of HD version of it? Also should i shoot the video in widescreen or not? i want the video to look as professional as it can be, i’m guessing that the video will mostly be being played through youtube and on the internet, but i would also like to get it onto DVD as well. Is there anything i should be looking out for when shooting in HD, i don’t want to get all this footage and then find that i’ve done some rookie mistake when i come to editing it.

Also i recently edited a Parkour video, when i added some slow motion effects and exported it, it kind of stuttered on playback, whereas it didn’t seem to do this when viewing it final cut, have i exported it at the wrong frame rate or something?

thanks for any advice 🙂

[Rob]

Final Cut Pro 6 does edit HD, however, make sure you need HD. People these days get to psyched on HD and forget that they and their clients have no HD TVs to view the final video on. You would also need a Blu-Ray burner. But also keep in mind that shooting in HD and down-converting to SD after you finish cutting the video makes for really good SD video. Does that make sense.

Shooting HD will automatically be in the 16:9 aspect ratio. Thats just the standard for HD. All HD camera shoot widescreen.

I feel that lighting is one of the most important aspects in video making. I always make sure I have more light than I need. It’s better to close the iris and boost the shutter speed if I have too much light rather than boost the gain if I don’t have enough light. Also learn how to light. Look into 3 point lighting. Obviously for this video you might need more than 3 lights, but you will get the concept of key light, fill light, and rim light. Plan what you are going to shoot too. Don’t just shoot randomly and expect it to work out. Make sure you get wide shots, medium shots, and close ups. If the song is a fast song, make sure you shoot enough. Fast song require faster cutting and faster cutting requires more shots. Don’t be afraid to do lots of takes. Getting the footage you need will save you head aches in post production.

I can’t help ya out with the slow motion effect. I’d have to play with it. Have the “frame blending” box checked. That usually makes for a smoother slow mo.

Also, use a tripod unless you purposely want shaky video. Feel free to rig up a simple dolly too. Dolly shots would make a HUGE difference when trying to look professional, but don’t use too many dolly shots in the final video, just a couple to make your video pop.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the advice 🙂

when you say HD makes good SD video, do you mean simply shooting and editing in HD and the exporting the finished video in an SD format?

cheers again

[Rob]

yup. shooting and editing in HD and then exporting in an SD format.

You might be able to shoot in HD and capture it in an SD format. I’ve never thought of that. Give that a try with a clip and the way i suggested with another clip. See which one you like better…or if there is even a difference. Shooting in HD and capture in SD might save you time when rendering effects. I’m not sure though…like I said, I’ve never thought of it.

Good luck

[Aspyrider]

Ditto to all robgrauert said…

[Anonymous]

I am currently working on this topic, I am planning on shooting a dance recital and edit it with FCP 6. I’d always shoot HD (16:9 is the only aspect ratio for this resolution) to have all capture options available, unless I spcifically need the footage in 4:3.

You can also capture your footage to your computer in DV, do your editing using low resolutions files, once the editing is complete, you can recapture just the footage used in your sequence at its full resolution.

[Author]

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