digital video to film

[Dimeworth]

Ok i'm a newbie to all this stuff, and i'm trying to learn the ins and outs of DV editing. I'm thinking of getting a DV cam.. but here's a question about post-production. Maybe it's already been asked a few times.. but here i go...

Once you've captured all your video and edited it into the film you want... how do you go about putting it onto a format that you can screen? If i wanted to enter my film at a film festival.. how would go about getting it off my hard drive and onto a format that'll be accepted? I'm not talking about just spitting it out to video.. Do most festivals screen digital video's? or do you definately have to convert it to film... if so.. what do i hand to the lab? my hard drive?

this is probably so freaking obvious that i'm gonna regret asking... lol

i'd appreciate any help.

-ayz

[Twitch]

You mean DV or mini DV? I just got a Mini DV cam and all I know is, you can put the edited video back on your camera and onto VHS through the VCR, which you said you didn't want to do, so how bout burning it to a VCD or a DVD. I dont think DVD burners cost as much as they used to. Otherwise I'm out of ideas.

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Yeah, I can't think of a funny quote to say.

[Generic Skinhead]

Most festivals accept Beta SP. Output your final edit to DV and find somewhere that'll do a transfer. Transfering From DV to film is implausible and also, highly pointless.

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I can't believe I sold my image rights for a pint of Guinness!

[Rar]

and bloody expensive.


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[steven_craig]

and a technical nightmare...

you shoot in 25 (PAL) or 30 (NTSC) FPS - then you need to convert it to 24FPS for cinematic distrubution onto 35mm film...

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a carefull man tries to dodge the bullets, while a happy man takes a walk!

[1080i]

First off, I'll address the fact of the cost of video to film. Even Kinescope costs $5,000. CRT transfers will cost you $25,000. A better version of the CRT recorder called the Electron Beam Recorder, which will run you $50,000. The ABSOLUTE best ARRI-LASER transfer will cost you $125,000 or more. Trust me, I know. And on another issue. Shoot ALWAYS IN PAL if you're going to transfer to film, even with Kinescope! WHY?!?! That one frame DOESN'T MATTER! NO ONE I'VE DEALT WITH HAS EVER NOTICED IT, OR MENTIONED IT! NTSC is terrible for transfer, because you have to skip grames and loose so much of your precious image.

Another Thing should be known: MiniDV has the shittiest bandpass of ANY digital format, because it only uses a 4:1:1, 10-bit, 25 megabit per second encoding system. Anything you transfer using it will not look very good. Even seen a really big, older Projection TV? It looks like shit if you're not a mile away from it, because the resolution is so low to be blown up that far. Same thing holds true to ALL video EXCEPT for HD-MAC 1080i video images. I have field knowledge. Video to film is a dangerous thing for everyone but the most funded. It's not a good idea to attempt it. You might succeed in creating a watchable production, but you'll either be bankrupt, or have a bad reputation as "the guy with the grainy shit". It takes a lot of money and experience in high-end video and mid-end film. The best way to do video-to-film transfers is to, honestly, start a business and buy your own! You know how much one of the CRT scanner/printer units cost? You can pick up a great working used one that inputs NTSC/PAL/SECAM/HD and others for about $50,000. The cost of an EBR transfer! And another thing, if you think your film has THAT much of a high-level future, let your distributor, if you have one, to deal with the trouble of a video to film transfer.

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[gaspode]

The above pretty much covers it. I also do (still)photography & I know how evily expencive it is, not to mention annoying, to convert fim to digital, edit it and then convert back to film. I should think doing it with a 'Film' would be even worse

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[Dimeworth]

Thanks for all your replies... gave me some perspective.

Ayz



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[Alex]

All it takes is for one lucky Jake out of 10,000 to have a "successful" Mini-DV to film transfer, EVERYBODY trying to make a buck off of digital will talk about that one friggin production, and not the 10,000 failures.

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Alex