Re: Could there be a Marketing/Sales Edge in Using the Panasonic DVX-100?

Rick makes some very valid points, and many people do shoot film at 30 fps, but most do not for reasons that have nothing to do with going to film out. The major factor in the beauty of 24 fps is the 1/48 second exposure duration (with the 180° shutter) which provides just the right amount of motion blur for most dramatic presentations.

I also experimented with shooting 35 MM at 30 fps instead of 24, but found that the look was too much like video for my taste, so I returned to shooting at 24 for most, but certainly not all, scenes.

There it is actually; the matter of taste. Some people don’t like the look of 24p with the 3/2 pull-down on television. Remember, however, that every motion picture you see on TV is presented exactly in that fashion; shot at 24 fps and transferred with the pull-down for presentation. Perhaps it’s a generational thing, with youngsters like Rick preferring the 30 fps look. Also, many inexperienced shooters don’t know how to shoot at 24p; you’ve got to avoid panning too fast and watch your horizontal subject movement.

Rick’s suggestion of shooting and editing in PAL is also a very good idea. You have a few issues to deal with, such as the time changes, but it’s certainly a common and valid practice.

By the way, you can avoid the problems associated with the pull-down when doing effects, but you’ll have to remove the pull-down, edit at 24p, and then re-insert the pull-down when you’re finished. For this reason, we often shoot green/blue screen material at 30p when the post budget is tight.

As a last note, even higher frame-rates have been tried, and the results have been disappointing; again, that 1/48 second exposure really does spark the imagination of the viewer. Well, most viewers!

Best regards,
Leo