Rhymeswithrunt
12-28-2010, 12:43 PM
I'm working on a web series with a higher production cost than most (sci-fi, est 50% of production budget on effects), we're working around the funding and whatnot.
thing is, I'm a Director/writer (producer by need), I know how cameras work, whitebalance and ccd/cmos ect, but not the application of it all; so we'll be hiring a DP later in pre-production.
my question is, for web video, what point is overkill? we want HD, and NOT dslr (damn rolling shutter won't work for action scenes), so...sony z7u?
my director's instincts say hire a DP with a red one, but producer me says that's 5x the cost of renting a z7u and 4k is useless unless we're going to theaters, 1080i is fine for web and even tv.
is red one worth it? will the increased quality make for smoother effects when we down-rez?
please help, I'm tech-tarded.
Eye for Video
12-28-2010, 07:23 PM
If you are working on a "web series" then you had better spend a little time learning about bitrate and Internet connection download speeds. It doesn't matter how great the raw video is, you still have to squeeze that into whatever size pipe your Web audiance has for a connection speed. And also consider that a particular bitrate is only optimal at one set dimension... any increase in screen dimensions will result in a decrease in quality.
Think I better dig up an old post:
Video bit rate
One of the principle of goal setting is to "Begin with the end in mind". In this case it'll be very hard to give good recommendations because the end is not defined. So I'll just make a few assumptions and you can correct me as needed.
First, I'll assume that since you are converting to Flash, you want to deliver this video over the Internet. If that's true, then we'll have to make some assumptions on the Internet connection download speeds of your potential viewers. Let's just say that most have at least a 1.5Mb connection or faster.
OK, that would mean that a video bitrate of half that should usually provide a video download that is not interupped by buffering (most of the time anyway). So assuming a video bitrate of 750kbps, what would the optimum display dimensions be?
Before we decide, here's a little info about bitrate. For highest quality playback, the video bitrate is tied directly to the display dimensions. That is, the larger the display, the more incoming data is required to properly display the video. Think of bitrate in terms of a can of paint. If you have 1 quart of paint, you might be able to do a very nice job on a 32 X 24 foot area. But if you try to stretch that same amount of paint out over a 64 X 48 foot area, the coverage will not be nearly as good and you get poor results.
In the same way, a video displayed at 640 X 480 pixels will require 4 times the bitrate as a video displayed at 320 X 240 pixels to produce the same quality. So for example a video with a bitrate of 100kbps, displayed at 160 X 120 will produce the same quality results as a video with a bitrate of 1600kbps if displayed at 640 X 480.
So to boil it all down, video bitrates of 750kbps, even up to 1000kbps can usually get delivered of the Internet on most high speed connections. Higher bit rates may work for really fast connections but will cause problems for viewers with slower connections. Video display size has a direct bearing on the final quality. In the 750 to 1000kbps range, display size should be kept around 450 or 500 width max (and whatever height the aspect ratio calls for). Yes it can be displayed larger, but the quality will suffer.
Sound like your audio settings are fine, especially for Internet delivery.
As for framerate, maintain the original raw video framerate for best results. So if the video was shot at 24fps, leave it.
As for video converters, do you have the Flash 8 Video Converter? It works just fine for video to be delivered over the Internet. Remember, you are taking a Cadillac version of video (h.264 HD) and stuffing it into a Chevy body to get it to work over the Internet.
Using Red 1 is like using a tank to kill a fly! I can't believe that anyone would even suggest that for WEB DELIVERY!! Start at the delivery point... the VIEWER, and then work your way back to the camera.
Take a look at the bitrate being used by your target audiance TODAY... what is the kbps being delivered on THEIR Internet connection speed? Will your audiance wait while the video buffers? or will they download the entire file and THEN watch the video?
Find out where your viewers are now! But plan to 2 years in the future! Set your bitrate goal for what a majority of your potential audiance will have 2 yrs down the road..... but be realistic ... what passes as "HIGH DEF" web video right now is still a gazillion miles from REAL HiDef. At best it really means that at one time this was HiDef video and now (after compressing the crap out of it) we call it HiDef web video.
Best of luck on your project!
Eye for Video
www.cidigitalmedia.com
PS:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ou/dont-believe-the-low-bit-rate-hd-lie/959