"Shadowhawk" <manbat25@aol.comNospam> wrote in message

news:20040421193737.00117.00000040@mb-m12.aol.com...

> Thanks for the response. My director is concerned about 2 Things, since we

> will be taking this project to festivals.

>

> 1. If we shoot in 16:9 are we losing enough quality that when we project it in

> a theater will the 16:9 hurt us more then projecting in 4:3? Would we be

> better off just forgetting the 16:9, and just show it 4:3. It is afterall a

> Documentary, so people would forgive the smaller format.

Yes. Until inexpensive cameras have true 16:9 CCDs, you are better off

shooting in 4:3 (never could stand the "band-aid" slot-view, anyway...;-).

> And 2: If we shoot it in 16:9, he wants options when we are distributing the

> project. Obviously we can burn it to DVD, and people can enjoy it on widescreen

> TVs (and letterboxed on fullscreen). We will be using either Final Cut, or

> Adobe for editing (I dont know which versions, but I assume the most recent

> version) - will we be able to output to Video for viewing in a letterboxed

> format (instead of the raw stretched image).

Possibly, but why take the compromises in quality and production ease - and

why lock yourself into an odd image proportion that requires the use of unusual

compositions and that makes the shooting of individual tall thin subjects

(common...) so problematical? The ideal image proportion for a medium that

does not permit turning the camera 90 degrees is either the square or the

circle (and the latter makes the most efficient use of the lens circle of coverage,

though, like 16:9, it also offers serious compositional problems). Since this is

a documentary, it is likely that you want the image "formatting" to be less

obvious than the content - and this suggests the use of the traditional 4:3...

> Once again, I haven't used the 16:9 option with the VX2000, and VX2100 often

> enough to be totally comfortable making this decision alone. Any help, as

> always is greatly appreciated.

>

> Later,

> Shaun!

--

David Ruether

d_ruether@hotmail.com

http://www.David-Ruether-Photography.com