PRACTICAL DV FILMMAKING

Practical DV FilmMaking

• Overview
• Inside video
• Films and how they work
• Pre-production
• Production tools
• Production aesthetics
• Post-production tools
• Post-production aesthetics
• Careers and distribution
• Mapping the industry
• Glossary of film and video terms

Since digital loses virtually no information each time it is copied, images can be transmitted or stored and the image that is read by the player is as good as the one on the master copy. The image is limited only by the quality of the playing instrument. Storing a film on any digital format guarantees greater longevity too. Magnetic tape is vulnerable to all sorts of environmental change, including heat, humidity and other magnetic fields, but digital tapes are very hard-wearing compared to previous formats.

Compatibility

Digital is 'backwards compatible'; in other words, all digital is compatible with itself, whereas other formats such as analog were not so interchangeable.

Broadcast standards

Most countries have very specific guidelines about what kind of picture quality is acceptable for broad­cast. Pictures have to measure up to a set of standards and failure to meet these consistently may lead to the licence to broadcast being revoked, so broadcasters reject material from filmmakers which don't meet these standards. Some digital camcorders meet these specifications, but at the lower end there is an important difference. But broadcasters will accept material, in fact whole programmes and movies, which have been shot on cameras that are not actually broadcast standard. The Sony PD170 range, for instance, is a favourite with filmmakers, particularly documentary makers, and yet it should not really be good enough for TV in terms of its technical characteristics. Yet it is close enough to do the job, while other cams such as the Canon XM2 are well regarded by TV commissioners across the board.

However, beware of the term 'broadcast quality' if you see it on the shop window at your video store. The term has changed considerably since DV became a consumer item; in terms of the consumer it has become a loose term, often simply referring to a quality far above that offered by analog but not neces­sarily meeting broadcast technical quality guidelines. Whatever the publicity blurb says, check with an independent advisor first (don't even trust a manufacturer) before committing yourself to an expensive camera that claims to be broadcast standard but stops your programmes being accepted by television companies.

Audio

The CD format in music offers superior quality to analog and almost 'lossless' copying. As you would expect, then, audio channels on DV video are comparable to CD and when recorded on 16-bit stereo offer unparalleled quality.