Dumb question. What do i need to know to film large enough 4 a movie screen

[tenderloin]

Is the answer just "whatever resolution you film in"? Or does it go deeper than that?

Basically, I want to shoot with a digital camcorder but know that the finished product can be projected
on a large movie screen without looking too blurry or pixelated.

Thank you very much!

[filmboss80]

You can start by looking here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_cinematography_cameras

[minerva.thegift]

Hmm, do you have a specific projector or TV in mind that you want to show it on? I ask because an older projector or a non-HD TV will generally top out at "Standard Definition" which is generally 640X480. I have used an older projector (hooked to a computer via S-Video) to project movies on a large screen and it usually looks fine.
If you'd like to use a little higher resolution, the two main "HD" options are 720p (usually 1280X720) or 1080p (usually 1920X1080.) New "HD" camcorders generally shoot in one of these two sizes. For what it's worth, new Blu Ray movies are typically 1080p. However, for home movies or something my opinion is that 720p would likely be more than enough. Of course, file size also plays a big part - the higher the quality, the more space it'll take up. Oh, and if you want to do any editing to the video, keep in mind that in generally takes a pretty nice computer to do HD video editing (especially with something like Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, which sets some rather high requirements for HD editing.)

In short, there's no clear cut answer to "how big is big enough" but you might consider downloading some video clips in the different ranges (say get a 640X480 clip, a 1280X720 clip, and a 1920X1080 clip) and play them all and see how they look. Oh, also worth noting that especially 1080p can put a strain on your graphics card (if you're playing it off a computer) so if your computer can't do it that might rule that one out right off the bat.

Sorry the advice is a bit vague but if you add some more details maybe people here can help you out a bit more. For example. I'm wondering what specifically you want to record (home videos, recording little league sports games, etc.) and what you'll be playing it on (burning it to DVD to watch on a TV, playing it on a projector hooked up to a computer, loading it on a home media server to stream to an HDTV, etc.)

[tenderloin]

Thank you filmboss80 and minerva.thegift!!
SIMPLIFICATION:

To give an example, just assume that I have no idea what I am doing but my goal is to have the ability to show my "film" on a somewhat medium to large movie size screen at this or that independent film festival.

Therefore, the projector type and exact screen are unknown, but it is assumed that it would be slightly larger than your largest store bought big screen TV.

Anyway, with whatever camera I may decide to use, it would have to be an affordable DV camcorder, 1 buck to 500 bucks.. nothing too fancy $$$ (however, i am looking for adjustable speed non-variable (constant zoom) to very slow speeds, as opposed to the typical preset three speed zoom. From what i've seen, price-wise, I may be asking for to much and will have to settle for a 3-speed constant zoom. thanks!

[minerva.thegift]

While I'm afraid that a full comparison of various camcorders is beyond the scope of this website, I would probably recommend a 720p "HD" camcorder for your uses. If you Google "camcorder reviews" or something like that I'm sure you'll get all kinds of hits. I personally use Amazon.com, but you have to keep in mind that most of the reviewers are far from experts so take what they have to say with a grain of salt. In any case, anything in the roughly $400-$500 (USD, that is, since there are folks from around the world on this board, but I see that you're from RI) range that says "HD" on it is more than likely 720p. This is a nice widescreen format - as an example, many "HD" TV channels (at least in the US) are in 720p. These camcorders generally record to a built in hard drive, a chip (like an SDHC card), or a DVD.

Keep in mind, though, that whatever computer you edit these video clips on will have to be pretty nice. If your computer can handle it and you have the hard drive space, though, I'd recommend 720p. Any film festival, etc. that you show your video at should be able to handle 720p (and if not you could always burn it to DVD without too much quality loss.)

[redwudz]

tenderloin, I see you list a Mac OS in your computer details. If that will be your primary PC for this project, then you might get more Mac specific answers in our Mac forums. I can move this thread there if you want. Mac's handle HD a bit differently than a Intel PC. iMovie is one example.

And welcome to our forums.

[tenderloin]

thank you all

[tenderloin]

oh, yeah , thank you redwudz please do that special magic. I do intend on researching this now and hopefully continuing the same post.

[redwudz]

Moving you to our Mac Forum.

[edDV]

Reality strikes.

While some of these $500 camcorders may record to a 1280x720p/30fps file, that doesn't mean the picture will come close to ABC/ESPN 720p/60fps. The camera lens and sensor will be plastic consumer grade and the flash file will be highly compressed h.264. ABC/ESPN use $>25K cameras and record with very low compression.

The MAC using iMovie will convert 720p or 1080i to 960x540p for editing. You will need Final Cut Express or Pro to edit 1280x720p (after conversion to AIC or ProRes422).

[tenderloin]

EdDV
While i will be using Final Cut to edit, i will certainly not be using (or even renting) 25K cameras for any reason! LOL

[minerva.thegift]

OK, good point. don't get your hopes up that a $500 camera will give you video that looks like ESPN-HD. Still, for a film festival I'm guessing people realize that the producers are on a tight budget so I don't think they'll be surprised or upset that you aren't using $25k cameras. You might consider looking at www.cdfreaks.com, under their reviews section - they're an affiliate of videohelp and they have reviews.

[dLee]

You're worried about something that is completely out of your control. The festival will have their equipment - you can take it or leave it.

Any well made SD or HD video will look good projected onto an appropriately sized screen in a movie theater environment. The audience members sitting closest to the screen will most likely be 10 - 12 feet away - the majority, much further away.

Rent (or, if you must, buy) a good quality camera. Use DV or HDV as these formats will afford you a clear path up to DigiBeta or HDCam, which many festivals require if your film is selected for exhibition. (I'm sure edDV or someone else can clarify this point.)

Cameras that can deliver will cost a few thousand US$. Much less to rent, depending on your film type and production schedule.

Content, sound, lighting and budget should be at the top of your list of concerns.

[edDV]

EdDV
While i will be using Final Cut to edit, i will certainly not be using (or even renting) 25K cameras for any reason! LOL

JVC is the king of 24p-30p prosumer 720p with cameras in the $3K to 10K range.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=JVC+GY-HD200U&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=1260133...m=4#ps-sellers

Also popular with indie film producers are the HDV and DVCProHD prosumer models. The Panasonic HVX-200 and new Sony XDCAM models are popular in the $6k-9K range.

All of these can be rented. You will be shooting over days and editing over weeks.

Just know what your competition will be using.

Still it is great to learn and rehearse with a cheap cam, then upgrade with a rental for the real shoot.

[tenderloin]

Anybody know if any of the $500 cameras have constant zoom which you can set to a really slow speed? I see lots of cameras with 3 preset speeds, but i'm willing to bet even the slowest of those are still not slow enough.