Thanks Michael. Re cameras: There are probably better options than the AG-HMC40 if you're trying to get great HD output. Having used many different cameras over the years, what makes the most difference is the chip (sensor) and the lens.

That panasonic does look pretty cool, and the specs sound great for the price and size of the camera. But even though it'll technically record 1080p it wont necessarily have that HD (or even film) look with only a 1/4" chip. It'll just be a really big video.

Take a look at the Sony PMW-EX1 (theres a few channels here on vimeo too), which is the other camera i have. Fantastic pictures, and definately my choice for running around shooting action when the ergonomics and video limitations of the 5Dmk2 are just too much to deal with. Also the data rate of the recorded video is important. Higher data rate = less compression = theoretically better quality pictures. The max data rates of each are; Panasonic 24mbps, Sony 35mbps and Canon 39mbps.

I find myself using the 5D more and more. The huge sensor + all the lens options make it so fun. But keep in mind that it really sux at the same time. Separate audio recorders. Converting from H.264 before editing. But i still love it. If you want to see some raw footage from the camera let me know.

or a panasonic hpx170 which is kind of like the ex1 but maintains the CCD sensors rather than CMOS

Yeah they are. Its weird, they are synced in final cut. synced on the master render. then slightly off once on vimeo. grrr. I guess they were probably a frame or two out back in final cut and vimeo just emphasized it.

Hey Herb. Oh i'm back in chilly melbourne sitting in front of a computer like always. but i have a better view and get to do fun things like this now. where are you? WA still. i should come over and we could make a film.

Hey thanks. I used a zoom h4n zoom.co.jp/english/products/h4n/ with a rode shotgun mic plugged in.

Then synced it to the footage in Final Cut with the Pluraleyes plugin

Hey. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. I'm based in Melbourne, was just over in north america on another shoot. You'll be using the D90 yeah? A friend has one and says the rolling shutter can be noticeable in even slow-ish pans. Locked off it looks great though.

The audio sync is me just not paying attention when editing late at night. With the pluraleyes plugin for final cut, syncing shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Haha, that Nat Geo article was what got me excited about filming these rooftop things. Tried to get onto the Chicago City Hall, but media access to that is a mess and didnt have enough time. Did get to some other great projects though. stay tuned

dave

Hey. I was watching an errol morris film the night before editing this, so thought jump cuts were so cool. haha

haha. yeah maybe it is a little. but it was really calm and quiet up there, and i'd been listening to sigur ros the day before

ha, thanks for your reply, Dave! I've looked at it again and I'm learning to live with the music :)

Thanks. I've realised what the problem was from editing a few other 5D shot videos. I'd synced the audio during the edit (including the 99.9% speed change) but then i bounced it out to logic to do a final mix, and when i brought it back into final cut, i needed to set it to 99.9% again... but didnt. Hence the the more out-of-syncness at the end.

You'll love the zoom btw, I've taken to recording on mine even when using a proper video cam with xlr inputs. Double system sound is freedom. I just wish mine didnt occasionally take ages to turn on.

Hey thanks. Most of the stuff i do (both personal and paid) is for the web. So i havnt done anything that required 25p conversion. I've output 2 mins of footage as a quick screener to DVD, but just let it run at 30p as almost all DVD players will handle that.

I'm editing a project at the moment however where I've shot with 2 cameras, an EX1 and the 5D. Shot the EX1 at 25p, the 5D at 30p. I then converted all the 5D stuff to 25 and it really holds up well, just interviews so no fast action, but looks great. For whatever reason, turning the "frame controls" in apple compressor to "none" rather that "good" or "best" actually gave a better picture. No ghosting.

Think i'm going to just get a 7D though. Its all too much thinking about the tech and process and not enough about the story

An update on the DVD conversion Pixel Flix... I did a transcode of this video to 25fps PAL for a DVD yesterday and it came out great. No motion compensation again worked out the best, but most shots a pretty static. If i was shooting fast moving stuff i'd experiment with the frame controls more. Or even the twixtor plugin