Hi all,
Glad to find this forum! I'm about to make a documentary, and it's been a few years since I've done much with film and video and a lot has changed. I was a film student half a lifetime ago, where I focused mostly on screenwriting but also got to do some 8mm, splicing my hand. I'm self-taught on final cut pro and I took a multimedia course in a publishing program last year where I brushed up on the basics.
I've made things for YoutubeHD in the last while but I'd like to keep my options open as far as distribution/exhibition are concerned.
For this project I'll be shooting on AVCHD, and transcoding to ProRes 422 for editing in Final Cut Pro, and doing my sound with a zoom recorder at 24/96.
In which video format(s) should i output my film? I'd like to submit it to contests, have something I can enter into festivals, maybe even something which can be broadcast on cable.
I think AVCHD may be at the low end of what's acceptable for exhibition and broadcast 😕 but it's what I have to work with. I have good mics and lights and all told, the Canon HFS100 looks pretty good (although in certain conditions there are definitely jaggy edges/compression artifacts).
-Chris
I don't think there is an universal format that's appropriate for everything. For contest or festival submissions, an ordinary, Standard-Def DVD should be sufficient. For public exhibition, vast majority of theatres still work with 35mm film, although the number of digitally-enabled screens is growing. For those, a DCDM (Digital Cinema Distribution Master) is needed, and should be delivered as DCP (Digital Cinema Package). There are specific definitions for the standard (developed by DCI - Digital Cinema Initiative), but the important parts for the filmmakers are that the image must be 2k (2048x1080) at 24p, and sound is to be WAV 24/48 or 24/96. If your master is a standard HD (1920x1080, with 16-bit sound), DCI fulfillment company (the one that takes your master and packages it as DCP) will convert it to match the CDCM requirements.
thanks for the info, vasic... i hadn't heard of DCP.. I have much reading to do 🙂
Outside of the still nascent digital theatrical projection industry, nobody has any use for DCP. As digital projection in theatres becomes mainstream, so will likely be the format itself. At present, the only way to get your film into this format is to send it to a DCI fulfillment company, much like you'd do if you wanted a film-out of your HD master for a traditional 35mm projection. So essentially, it doesn't make much difference in your post-production process whether you'll go film-out or DCP.
