High definition is redefining acquisition. Julia Camenisch explains why you should choose your HD format first and your camera second, and how.
High definition production is spreading. From football games and local parade coverage to network miniseries and feature films, this format is redefining acquisition, production and distribution. Whether you’re interested in corporate work or indie filmmaking, familiarity with the HD format is a must. You or your clients just might decide that your next project needs to be HD.
Counting the Cost
But don’t try to jump on the bandwagon without knowing what you’re in for! While those big production houses may be touting their high quality capabilities, they’re also paying big money for those bragging rights. Just purchasing a high quality camera alone has the potential of debiting your bank account $100,000. Have that much money sitting around?
If you’re not rolling in the dough, don’t despair. There are other options – namely, the budget HD workflow. In this article series, we’ll help you understand HD basics, as well as examine your workflow options starting at the camera and ending with the finished product.
Compressed HD Format Options
Your first workflow decision is format. There are three main contenders: HDV (Sony, JVC and Canon), DVCPRO HD (Panasonic) and HDCAM (Sony). The differences between the three are fairly substantial:
HDV: HDV is the new kid on the block, and like any newcomer, has the potential to shake up the status quo. HDV uses long GOP MPEG-2 compression to squeeze the HD data stream into a manageable rate, thus allowing it to be acquired on inexpensive DV tapes and edited on a comparatively low power system. The benefits can be summarized in one word: affordable. Affordable cameras, affordable editing systems and affordable media.
Where’s the hitch? HDV’s high compression rate isn’t without its drawbacks. While low action, low complexity scenes are handled with ease, add serious movement and HDV begins to hiccup. Posterization, pseudo-random noise, and blocking are some of the compression artifacts you could encounter given the right circumstances. This format also has a tendency to degrade faster over successive generations than even the DV format.
DVCPRO HD: Based off Panasonic’s DVCPRO codec, DVCPRO HD has a compression ratio of 6.7:1 and a video bitrate of 100 Mb/sec. While HDV’s MPEG-2 codec uses interframe compression (causing quite a bit of generational quality loss), DVCPRO HD uses an intraframe compression format that minimizes picture degradation from one generation to another. Other benefits of DVCPRO HD are its superior color sampling of 4:2:2 and the ability to use firewire to transport the video signal.
So why wouldn’t you want to use DVCPRO HD? Expense, for starters. Panasonic’s HD decks and cameras aren’t cheap, either to rent or buy, though the new HVX-200 will bring some welcome change – more on that later.
HDCAM: This format is Sony’s offering for high definition producers, and is the HD version of DigiBeta. It comes in two main flavors: regular HDCAM and HDCAM SR. HDCAM uses 3:1:1 colorspace and has a bitrate of 144 Mb/sec. Its high data rate produces a good picture, and very rarely are noticeable artifacts seen. One significant barrier to the use of HDCAM in budget editing is its lack of firewire support. The only HDCAM output options are to use HD-SDI or HD-SDTI, both of which are much pricier than a firewire solution.
HDCAM SR isn’t really a budget solution, but does have nice specs and can give both low compression or no compression, depending on the way you use it. But even though HDCAM SR produces beautiful looking footage, the high data rate (requiring near the top end 640 GB/hour) makes editing HDCAM SR almost impossible to a producer counting their pennies.
Finding a Camera
Once you’ve determined which HD format to use for acquisition, now it’s time to camera shop! Depending how much you want to invest, you can either rent your camera or purchase it. If a seriously high-end production is your goal, then renting might be the better option. By using a rental house, you’ll have access to the $100,000 camera and only pay a fraction of that amount in rental costs.
For those filmmakers that prefer ownership, here’s a partial listing of sub-$10,000 cameras available:
*Sony’s HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1U: Both of these HDV cameras are in the $4,000-5,000 range and shoot 1080i, but neither of them have true 24p support.
*JVC’s GY-HD100U: Also using the HDV format, this camera shoots 720p and sports the ability to use interchangeable lenses. The price hovers around $6,000.
*Panasonic HVX-200: The only camera in this price range to shoot something other than HDV, the HVX-200 records DV, DVCPRO 50, DVCPRO HD, and records both 720p, 1080p and 1080i. Instead of using DVCPRO HD tape stock, it records the DV signal to DV tape and the SD/HD signals to P2 media. The bare camera (no P2 media) retails at approximately $6,000.
*Canon’s XL-H1: At $9,000, this camera is the priciest one of the HDV lot and the only camera in the round-up with HD-SDI output. It also sports 1080i recording and interchangeable lenses, but no true 24p.
Those are some of the current low budget camera offerings. Happy HD shooting!
Julia Camenisch is a freelance video producer in the Chicago area.
Call now for information on the next round of workshops: 877.577.7700 4-Week Summer Film School 7-Week New Filmmakers Workshop 2 & 6-Week Workshops for High School Teens 1-Year Professional Certificate in Filmmaking
Related filmmaking guides
- What does a cinematographer do?
- How to become a cinematographer
- Camera angles in film: a beginner’s guide
Keep learning filmmaking
Want more lessons like this? Join StudentFilmmakers free for live webinars with working pros, and stream on-demand filmmaking classes in cinematography, directing, screenwriting, sound and post.
