How To use 24p or Avoiding 24p 'Blur'?

[white_2kgt]

I think a lot of issues people are having regarding 24p is they are just not getting 'Movie Quality' results from the camera just by making a simple flip of the switch. I know the first thing I did when I got the HV20 was to set it to 24p, and I shot 2hrs worth of footage that way. Since then I have been recording in 60i b/c I was unhappy with the 24p. It seems there are several people here that are shooting 24p and getting GREAT results. So can you impart the wisdom onto those of us willing to listen?

My biggest problem with shooting 24p was motion blur. Any scene with fast movement wasn't fluid. The closest thing I can describe it to is in the still camera world. It was like a basket ball player on a fast break and I took a non panning shot at 1/15 shutter. Make sense? Naturally you'd throw that shot out. Well any footage I took of my baby when she made fast movements was like this. I had the shutter a 1/48 per the recommendations and I did all the manual 'Farnsworth' Steps (this was pre HV20Pulldown.exe, which I did go back and try on the original m2t and still got the same results) to remove pulldown.

Since shooting in 60i I have not had the same problem. I believe 24Peter has stated that he ONLY shoots in 24p. How do you deal with fast motion scenes? Or do you just not take video with fast motion?

I really want to learn here, I'm not trying to start a 'war' or complain about a pro feature in a consumer camera, I just want to know how to use all the features!

Thanks,
Chad

[Erik Bien]

Hi Chad,

Yes, 24p can impart quite a lot of motion blur to fast moving subjects, or during fast camera moves. This is why the networks normally shoot basketball games 60i.

Of course, you can make a movie about basketball, and shoot 24p, and make it look good. This will normally involve quite a bit of lighting, dollies, a crane, and a crew to set up and operate everything.

But all is not lost: you can push your shutter speed past 1/48th; too much and you get the "Gladiator"/"Saving Private Ryan" effect, and the exact point where the stuttering cure becomes worse than the blurry disease is a matter of opinion.

Shooting lateral movement on a long lens and movement towards or away from camera on a wide lens will tend to emphasize or exaggerate the speed of whatever's moving, so you can preserve a "feeling" of fast motion at 24p.

Fast camera moves are less objectionable when the camera is following a fast-moving subject, so the strobing/blurring affects the background more than whatever the camera's tracking.

Hope some of that helps (but hey, no shame in shooting HD60i!).

[Tosh Layton]

There is actually a lot to this and it's a problem even with a film camera shooting 35 and 24FPS. There is no trick to make it all work it's just knowing how to move the camera and when and how to shoot fast motion scenes.

I can't go into it all because I am still learning, so my point of view is from that of an amature, but like the last post said, there are crews of people that set up each and every shot and can spend hours on only a couple seconds of footage.

I would say keep experimenting, keep shooting, and keep practicing. Thats what i am doing. I have lots of footage that looks like crap because my camera wobbles or moves the wrong way at the wrong time. It's just a matter of gaining as much knowledge as possible.

Also I have been studying the Hollywood Camera Work DVD's. They are awesome. I highly recommend them to anyone that wants to make their shots look professional.

Hope that gave someone some info.

[SalaTar]

there is some math around for pan speed vs. shutter speed..

24p 1/48 "The rule of thumb is it should take seven(8?) seconds for an object to cross the screen as you pan."

[Tosh Layton]

Do you know where one would find all those little rules in one nice neet package? I am sure I have it in one of my books but I don't want to scour 50 or so books trying to compile all of them. Hmm, maybe i could just google it myself.

[SalaTar]

google is your friend