Never seat a subject in an swivel chair during an interview. They’ll be moving around the whole time and you’ll never maintain their facial axis.
How do you label your tapes?
When it comes to labeling your camera originals, the key is having a consistent format. How do award-winning local nonfiction production houses like Chicago’s own Towers Productions label their tapes? Take a look at this rack of DVCAM tapes:
Towers has a huge on-site archive, and they’ve got thousands of tapes to keep track of, so you better believe they’ve got a coherent labeling system.
“HM” in the upper left corner refers to the show abbreviation, in this case History’s Mysteries, a series that runs on the History Channel. “Jack Ruby on Trial” is the title of the episode, and the show code is RUB (the first three letters of Ruby’s name). 013, 14, 015 etc refers to the order in which each tape was shot in. On the spine of each tape case is information about whether the tape contains an interview, b-roll (and what it’s of), an event/standup, or archival footage, and who is featured on the tape.
How do you label your tapes?
5 Quick things to check if the aspect ratio of your Final Cut clip looks funny
We’ve all been there. For one reason or another, the clip you just imported into Final Cut Pro looks squished or stretched: your aspect ratio is wrong, just like the clip above, left. Here are five quick things to check to find out the reason why your AR is wrong (in FCP 6.0.4– if you’re using a different version then your mileage may vary).
1: The original aspect ratio of the clip as it was captured
How’d you originally capture the clip in the first place? Was it anamorphic? Was it 4:3?
2: Is your viewer or canvas correcting for aspect ratio?
Try toggling it if not.
3: Are your item properties set right?
Control click or right click the clip in your project window and select Item Properties, then “Format…” Next, check if your pixel aspect is set properly:
4: What are your sequence presets?
How is FCP set up to display your clips when they’re in the timeline?
5: If all else fails, just be sure to export it properly
If you just can’t get it right, edit away and be sure to at least export it with the proper aspect ratio when you’re done editing. To force your video into a specific AR, export your video “Using Quicktime Conversion” and then choose Quicktime Movie and click “Options.” After you’ve set your video and audio settings, choose “Size” and tell Quicktime to constrain your video to whatever the proper aspect ratio should be in pixels. Be sure not to have “Preserve aspect ratio” selected. This will squeeze your video into whatever aspect ratio it should be.
Once and for all: What’s the difference between MiniDV and DVCAM?
Digital Video or DV has several incarnations, and for this article we’ll be looking at Sony’s products. They can essentially be broken into three categories: small format consumer tapes (MiniDV), small format professional tapes (Sony’s DVCAM), and large format professional tapes (DVCAM comes in larger sizes as well). Let’s break ‘em down and alleviate any confusion you might be feeling:
MiniDV
Most people are most familiar with MiniDV tapes, which are small-format 60 minute tapes that most consumer camcorders use. These cheap consumer-grade tapes cost a couple bucks each and tend to be relatively fragile so you won’t want to re-record over them more than once or play them too many times. These tapes are made by a variety of manufacturers, including Sony among others. Unlike the following two tapes which come in over-sized blue hard cases, MiniDV tapes are typically sold in small, thin, clear plastic cases.
Small Format DVCAM
Although these Sony tapes are more expensive, they’re also more durable and can typically be re-recorded over several times if needed. They can also be played back and forth many times before the tape is worn out, and for this reason they’re considered more reliable for use as masters in documentary film. These tapes can be used in consumer camcorders as well as pro-sumer cameras like the PD-150 or the shoulder-mount PD-250. Although the length of DVCAM tapes marketed as 40 minutes are technically 60 minutes long when recording in MiniDV mode, when they’re recorded in a Sony camera set on DVCAM mode they’ll only record for 40 minutes since the tape runs at a faster speed although the image quality will remain the same. Sony also makes a cheaper tape that shoots for 32 minutes in DVCAM mode.
Large Format DVCAM
Sony also makes large format (“full size”) DVCAM tapes for use in large format shoulder-mount cameras. These tapes are somewhere in between MiniDV and VHS in size and are considerably more expensive but can record for up to 184 minutes, so they’re often used for event shooting where there has to be non-interruptable coverage.
Check out the flyer that helped get “In The Family” broadcast on PBS
Kartemquin’s Joanna Rudnick’s stirring personal documentary In The Family about testing positive for the “breast cancer gene” in a new genetic proceedure was broadcast on PBS’ POV series on October 1st and is now available on DVD.
Check out the “one-sheet” flyer she used to shop the film around in its nascent stages, exclusive to VivaDocumentary.com:
Tip of the Day 10
No piece of footage is worth getting killed over.
“Mountain Top Removal” doc screening Oct 16th
Ever wonder where your electricity comes from?
Come to the screening and find out why ‘the energy crisis’ is such an important part of the Presidential campaign.
You are cordially invited to attend the Chicago premiere of Michael O’Connell’s award-winning documentary Mountain Top Removal. Centering on the struggle of coal field residents from across Appalachia to end the practice of the disastrous form of coal-strip mining, known as MTR, the film scratches the surface of America’s energy crisis and the true cost it incurs – human life. Following the film’s screening, there will be a panel discussion with Michael O’Connell and others involved in energy issues. The Topless America film crew and student organization will also be collecting spare change for Pennies of Promise to build a new Marsh Fork Elementary school in the Coal River Valley, WV. The film screening is part of Columbia College Chicago’s Critical Encounters Series.
When: Oct. 16, 2008
Time: seating begins at 6 p.m., screening starts at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Columbia College Chicago Film Row Center
1107 S. Wabash, 8th Floor
Chicago, IL 60605
Admission: Free
More info: ToplessAmerica.org, Mountain Top Removal
Update: Sorry for any confusion; the name of the documentary to be screened is Mountain Top Removal, not Topless America which is still in post-production by Columbia students.