New to Video: HDV 1080i to 1080p or 720p

[Craigy]

Has anyone any experience of taking Sony 1080i HDV footage and converting to 1080 or 720p. I am looking to shoot a few short films and someone told me to convert all to footage to 1080p or 720p prior to editing to acheive a more 'film like' look.

I can't really afford any other software at the moment and wondered if compressor or FCP could handle this - It you think the whole process is worth while.

Thanks

 

[bigbossbmb]

don't convert the video... leave it as 1080i. capturing progressive will give you a more filmish look, but there isn't much you can do afterwards.

 

[bmb012]

Would simply deinterlacing work? That's what I do with my 1080i film, looks much, much sharper.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Has anyone any experience of taking Sony 1080i HDV footage and converting to 1080 or 720p. I am looking to shoot a few short films and someone told me to convert all to footage to 1080p or 720p prior to editing to acheive a more 'film like' look.

I can't really afford any other software at the moment and wondered if compressor or FCP could handle this - It you think the whole process is worth while.

Thanks

Shooting at 24fps (as opposed to 30 or 60) helps give a more film-like look as the standard for films is 24fps. 1080 v. 720 doesn't make a difference in this regard, but 24fps @ 720p is currently more common than 24fps @ 1080p I think that's where you friend got confused.

Would simply deinterlacing work? That's what I do with my 1080i film, looks much, much sharper.

Deinterlacing basically tosses away 1/2 of your vertical image info. Some deinterlacers are better than others (which means they help minimize resolution loss) but, AFAIK, there is always image loss while deinterlacing. A single 1080i frame is made up of two 540 line fields and deinterlacing throws away one of those fields.


Lethal

 

[Craigy]

Thanks everyone.

I guess the only other concern I have read is that editing in a HDV timelime is to great, as fades / gradents / effects all show some HDV artifacts. If this is true then is there a better format timeline that I should consider taking the HDV fottage into to edit and export the final piece?

 

[icrude]

Thanks everyone.

I guess the only other concern I have read is that editing in a HDV timelime is to great, as fades / gradents / effects all show some HDV artifacts. If this is true then is there a better format timeline that I should consider taking the HDV fottage into to edit and export the final piece?

don't de-interlace the footage cause you'll loose quality, and yes, you can add all the effects you want. don't worry about artifacts. shooting 1080i HDV and editing natively in a 1080i60 hdv sequence is the best u can do ...period. oh ya, and about the whole "film" look, I work in an editing lab, and I can't tell you how much that idea is completely ruined. I see people who shot widescreen and are editing in a 4X3 sequence....and don't even know what anamorphic means. If you want your film to be professional, make sure the colors and lighting is right, the audio is clear, and the movie makes sense. don't spend ur time trying to be spielberg...it's a waste....of everything, you won't win an award because your movie looks like film.

 

[bimmzy]

I can't really afford any other software at the moment and wondered if compressor or FCP could handle this - It you think the whole process is worth while.

Not really. you do need some kind of software to preserve the resolution. The problem is that you're converting from one standard of HD to another and 1080i is a real f***er to convert from as well.

De-interlacing will not solve your problem though but it will get you closer to that film look.

Sadly the real solution to your problem if you insist on converting to 720p is unfortunately to use software.
RevisionFX's Fieldskit will almost certainly do the job.
http://www.revisionfx.com/rsfk.htm