Tip #79: Have a Blu-ray mastering workflow

By Dan Parkes (Director/editor)

Although not (yet) commercially released in the Blu-ray format, Ambleton Delight was mastered in HD and hence we created a Blu-ray master first, before down-converting it to DVD. This is something we recommend all filmmakers do, as not only will it look great on a HD TV, but it future-proofs your film and also allows for HD quality projection if shown in a cinema (e.g. cinemas such as Cineworld are now equipped with Blu-ray players that can be used with their digital projectors). This is the workflow we used:

1. Export HD master file
Since the film was shot and edited in HD we simply exported the entire film as a HD master file, in our case, from Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, as an .avi file using the Cineform intermediate codec. (For more information on this refer to our earlier blog: http://ambletondelight.blogspot.com/2011/02/tip-63-establish-editing-workflow.html)

2. Encore authoring
We then authored the Blu-ray disc in Adobe Encore CS3, making sure all the menus etc we at HD resolution (ie at least 1280x720). It is recommended to create these menus separately in image creation software and then import to the authoring programme. We created ours in Photoshop.

3. Add extras
The great thing about Blu-ray is the ability to fit up to 23GB of data on the basic 25GB discs, compared to 4.3GB on standard 4.7GB DVDs. This not only allows for higher quality video but a load more extras. On the Blu-ray version of Ambleton Delight we could include the full Making Of plus other extras such as deleted scenes and the alternate ending -something that would just not fit on a standard DVD.



4. Burn DVD and HD
Adobe Encore has a great feature -the ability to export both a Blu-ray or DVD disc from the same authoring project. It does involve creating different transcodes for each disc and so there is some extra rendering time. You also need to decide whether your Blu-ray video is transcoded in either MPEG2 or h.264. H.264 is higher quality but takes a lot longer to transcode, unless you use a Matrox system which has the ability to speed up h.246 encoding.

5. HD Image file
We also recommend not burning direct to disc but creating an image (.iso) file for both the Blu-ray and DVD discs, that can then be burned to disc using IMGburn (http://www.imgburn.com/) which can verify the accuracy of each disc that is subsequently burned.

Tip #33: A 'cinematic' camera

By Dan Parkes (Director)

A “cinematic camera” might conjure up the large expensive cameras seen in Hollywood productions. But the truth with film production has and always will be that it is a case of not what you’ve got but what you do with it. In recent times, large budget feature films are being shot with relatively smaller and less expensive cameras, the reason being that the “cinematic” look is now achievable on even “domestic” cameras. The explosion in low budget DSLR video production is the result of that.

But what is the “cinematic” look and how did we achieve it? Well, for us, “cinematic” firstly meant a wide aspect ratio. We filmed everything in 16:9 (widescreen) but then cropped it to 2:35:1 (cinema widescreen) in post. Secondly it meant the use of 35mm lenses to achieve a shallow depth of field (DOF). DOF has long been used as a tool to control what an audience focuses on in a frame. Especially on a large cinema screen, if everything was in sharp focus eyes may rest on some irrelevant background action instead of what is happening in the foreground or vice versa. The answer is to have a very narrow plane of focus, where the main object is in focus, and the background or foreground is out-of-focus. This is called a “shallow depth of field”. There are two ways of achieving this: 1. To use 35mm lenses, especially longer lenses. 2. If 35mm lenses are not available to use the longer end of the lens –ie to zoom in. This has a similar effect, but the problem being that the camera may have to be quite a distance from the subject!

We shot Ambleton Delight with the JVC GYHD201 camera, with a SGPro 35mm adapter that allowed the use of 35mm lenses. We had already tested the workflow on two smaller productions and so felt ready to shoot a feature, and the end result was fantastic.

Here are some vital ingredients to think about when attaching 35mm lenses to a video camera:

1. You will need a selection of prime and zoom lenses: for example wide (28mm) medium (50mm) long (85mm+) and a zoom if possible.
2. You will need more light as the 35mm adapter can lose a stop or so of light
3. Prime/zoom lenses result in an inverted image (upside down) –our camera has the option to invert the image so it was not a problem, but otherwise you might have to put your monitor upside down!
4. Always use a HD monitor if possible. The viewfinder and LCDs are not enough to ensure precise focus.
5. You will need a focus-puller –someone completely in charge of the focusing.
6. Always measure, check and mark focus points on the floor (actors marks) and also on the white ring on the focus dial.
7. With the 35mm lenses and adapter the camera becomes a lot heavier.
8. Prime lenses are better, as they are often faster (i.e. you can let more light in) –but they are fixed focus, so get the camera in the right position first.
9. Zoom lenses are more flexible for framing, but they are often slower (you lose light).
10. Factor in more time to set the camera up as you will have to select lenses and also mark your focus points
11. Make sure the actors hit their marks!

VIDEO BLOG: Episode 1

After winning the Best Film award at the British Independent Film Festival 2010, we have decided to celebrate by releasing a series of High Definition 'How to Make a Next-to-Nothing Budget Feature Film' videos in the weeks leading up to the presentation of the award on April 24th.

The 47 minute HD documentary has been divided into 7 episodes which will be released once a week during March and April 2010. Each video explores 40 vital factors involved in low budget film production by means of interviews with key members of cast and crew, excerpts from the film itself and behind-the-scenes footage and photographs.

To watch it in HD, right click on the player and select 'Watch on YouTube' and then select 720HD from the dropdown menu on the lower right of the player.

Here is the first episode.... Enjoy!