Is conversion from HD video to Film Possible?

Shur · Jul 10, 2006

Hello,

I really appreciate your taking time to read through my posting. Thank you.

I was wondering if I shot a movie or a documentary in High Definition with a JVC GY-HD100 camera and edit it on an AVID PRO HD System, if I would be able to convert with an excellent professional quality to 35mm or Panavision Film for theater projection. Is this possible?

I am sure there are a whole lot of experienced Cinematographers like you who should be able to advise me. I thank you, once again, for your time and look forward to hearing from you. Please copy your posting to my email address Shur007@gmail.com

Thanks and regards,
Shur

Master Snorky West · Jul 15, 2006

No. When you transfer 35mm to digibeta to avid, you already lose stops as it is. I'm afraid if you want that real film look, you'll have to use film.

David Mullen ASC · Jul 15, 2006

He's been asking this question all over the internet and I already answered him elsewhere...

...but he wasn't asking about a "film look", he was asking if the JVC HDV image, posted in HD, and transferred to 35mm would be professional-looking with decent picture quality.

The answer is a resounding... "maybe". No, it won't look like 35mm film but on the other hand, the quality would probably be higher than some of the DV-to-35mm movies that get theatrical distribution.

The real question is if the quality would be comparable to the pro-HD movies transferred to 35mm. My guess, again, is "maybe" -- I suspect that it would be a notch lower than the quality of something shot in 720P on the Varicam for example, which is a 2/3" CCD camcorder.

But how well the footage shot has a big impact on the quality of the transfer.

My suggestion is to go look at some of the HD-to-35mm movies currently in theaters. The documentaries "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Who Killed the Electric Car?" have a lot of HD material in them, mixed with other formats, high and low, and the projects were mastered in HD before they were filmed-out. "An Inconvenient Truth" shot the Al Gore lecture on an F950, mixed with some behind-the-scenes stuff (Gore visiting his family ranch, Gore in his hotel room, etc.) shot in Super-16 and transferred to HD. Plus there are some other formats here and there.

You could always shoot a very short test and get it transferred to 35mm and project the results and decide for yourself.