HDV color banding
by Steven Galvano
on
Mar 12, 2007 at 1:55:54 pm
I'm making a new short film using the new Canon HDV camcorders.
I've been using HDV since 11/2003. Overall it is a decent codec, considering the output size. I have always been disappointed by the horrible color banding though-- it behaves rather like DV in this regard.
Our 10-minute film is nearing completion, and most of the camera shots look great.
BUT- we have an opening sequence that was created in Shake and After Effects. It is beams of light and "color trails" with some titling over it.
As you might imagine, these this sequence looks pretty bad -- it's loaded with banding and artifacting due to the HDV compressor.
What can I do? Should I use another compressor for the entire project (other than HDV)? Is there a way to have just the opening sequence render in the Animation compressor and the rest in HDV?
The opening Seq. is about 2 mins, the entire film is about 19.
The rest of the film looks good.
Re: HDV color banding by Tim Kolb on Mar 13, 2007 at 4:39:26 am
[Steven Galvano]"HDV tape, and DVD.
Why, do i have options?"
That's typically the problem...there's lots of options.
Are you editing in FCP? Does the tape HAVE to go back to HDV?
Your animations will ultimately face the same fate as long as HDV compression is the final goal somewhere down the line. Even if you render a higher quality file from AE, once it's on the timeline it needs to be recompressed to HDV for output to tape.
Do you haved any control over this, or is HDV pretty much the only way to go for this project?
Re: HDV color banding by TimothyD on Mar 14, 2007 at 7:36:01 pm
Sorry to jump in here, but I am wondering if doing motion graphics work for inclusion in HDV is a consistent problem. I was/am planning to buy the Red One, but am being pressured to go with a "known quantity", namely HDV. Will shooting in HDV mean I will be unable to do decent motion graphics work for inclusion in my projects without editing/outputting to a different format? Is there even a reasonable format to use for HD that can include motion graphics without problems?
Thanks,
Tim O'Brien
Ours is not to reason why, ours if but to do or die...
Re: HDV color banding by Tim Kolb on Mar 15, 2007 at 1:57:18 am
HD program masters are made every day on HDcam, DVC ProHD and D5...and HDcam SR for the really well-heeled projects.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning HDV as an acquistion format for a budget-sensitive project, but depending on your definition of "decent" when you say decent graphics, HDV will be more prone to some artifacts than other higher-cost options when used for mastering-no question, and I think we all can agree that that is a predictable situation...
HDV probably works for mastering lots of projects too...but if some artifacts are showing up that you find unacceptable, it just means that you may need to experiment to see what sorts of design techniques would help to minimize artifacts visible in motion graphics.
It's all a sliding scale..."decent" or "acceptable" to you may not be for someone else or vice versa. Saying that any format or workflow is bad is not considering that there is a range of project budgets and purposes out there and the same solutions don't suit all situations.
