DIGITAL FILMMAKING HANDBOOK phần 1 pps

While we can’t spend toomuch time covering the artistry of writing, shooting, and editing, we will giveyou some suggestions of where to learn more about such non-technical issues.For mor

D IGITAL

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Digital Filmmaking Handbook

by Ben Long and Sonja Schenk

at 781-871-4184.

C ONTENTS

v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

W HAT K IND OF E QUIPMENT D O I N EED ? 4

W HAT I S D IGITAL V IDEO ? 4

W HY D IGITAL V IDEO ? 6

W HAT THIS B OOK C OVERS 10

P OP Q UIZ 10

CHAPTER 2 PLANNING YOUR PROJECT 13

B EFORE Y OU S TART 14

W RITING FOR DV 14

S CHEDULING Y OUR P ROJECT 22

B UDGETING 26

P AYING AS Y OU G O 28

B UDGETING C AN B E F UN 32

CHAPTER 3 PREVISUALIZATION 33

S TORYBOARDING 34

S UMMARY 48

CHAPTER 4 CHOOSING A VIDEOTAPE FORMAT 49

D ELIVERY I S E VERYTHING 51

V IDEO B ASICS 52

V IDEO F ORMAT F EATURES 60

V IDEOTAPE F ORMATS 68

S O W HICH O NE D O I C HOOSE ? 73

O R , M AYBE I T D OESN ’ T M ATTER 73

CHAPTER 5 BUILDING A WORKSTATION 75

F IRST T HINGS F IRST 76

C HOOSING A P LATFORM 76

C HOOSING A V IDEO I NTERFACE 78

C HOOSING A C OMPUTER 84

F ORMATTING Y OUR D RIVES 93

M ANAGING Y OUR RAM 95

C ONCLUSION 97

CHAPTER 6 CHOOSING A CAMERA 99

E VALUATING I MAGE Q UALITY 100

C AMERA F EATURES 108

A CCESSORIZING 120

C AMERAS C OMPARED 122

CHAPTER 7 NON-LINEAR EDITING SOFTWARE 127

Y OU S AY O N -L INE , I S AY O FF -L INE 128

W HAT ’ S IN AN NLE 130

G ETTING M EDIA INTO Y OUR P ROJECT 139

A UDIO T OOLS 145

T HE F INAL P RODUCT 148

NLE S C OMPARED 150

S UMMARY 154

CHAPTER 8 LIGHTING AND ART DIRECTING 155

L IGHTING B ASICS 156

T YPES OF L IGHT 157

T HE A RT OF L IGHTING 164

T UTORIAL 167

I NTERIOR L IGHTING 172

E XTERIOR L IGHTING 174

S PECIAL L IGHTING S ITUATIONS 176

A RT D IRECTING 179

R OLLING 182

CHAPTER 9 SHOOTING DIGITAL VIDEO 183

S HOOTING D IGITAL V IDEO 184

T HE T OOL OF THE T RADE —T HE C AMERA 190

D URING THE S HOOT 208

S PECIAL S HOOTING S ITUATIONS 214

Q UIET ON THE S ET , P LEASE 215

CHAPTER 10 PRODUCTION SOUND 217

W HAT Y OU W ANT TO R ECORD 218

M ICROPHONES 219

S ETTING U P 234

R ECORDING Y OUR S OUND 243

A G OOD A PPROACH 244

CHAPTER 11 EDITING HARDWARE 245

H ARDWARE AND P ERIPHERALS 246

D IGITAL V IDEO D ECKS 250

D IGITAL A UDIO E QUIPMENT 256

V IDEO M ONITORS 257

H ARDWARE C ONNECTORS 260

S UMMARY 261

CHAPTER 12 PREPARING TO EDIT 263

W ORST C ASE S CENARIO 264

H OW TO O RGANIZE Y OUR P ROJECT 265

L OGGING 266

T UTORIAL : S ETTING Y OUR V IDEO L EVELS 267

T UTORIAL : L OGGING AND C APTURING 274

T IPS FOR B ETTER L OGGING 277

C APTURING O N -L INE Q UALITY V IDEO 279

T ROUBLESHOOTING 284

A DVANCED M EDIA M ANAGEMENT 287

S UMMARY 289

CHAPTER 13 EDITING 291

T HE I NVISIBLE A RT 292

B UILDING B LOCKS 292

F INE -C UTTING 307

L OCKING P ICTURE 309

CHAPTER 14 SOUND EDITING 311

S OUNDING OFF 312

S ETTING U P 314

D EDICATED S OUND E DITING A PPS 317

E DITING S OUND 322

E QUALIZING I S Y OUR F RIEND 327

C HOOSING S OUND E FFECTS 331

M USIC 332

F IX I T IN THE M IX ? 335

CHAPTER 15 COLOR CORRECTION 337

T O C OMPRESS , O R N OT TO C OMPRESS 338

C OLOR C ORRECTION 343

T UTORIAL : C ORRECTING W HITE B ALANCE 345

P UT A C LAMP O N I T 354

C ORRECTING C OLOR FOR F ILM 356

CHAPTER 16 TITLING AND SIMPLE COMPOSITING 357

T ITLES AND S IMPLE G RAPHICS 358

C OMPOSITING 101 364

T UTORIAL : Creating a Luminance Key 367

T UTORIAL : Using a Chroma Key 372

T UTORIAL Creating a Title in Photoshop 385

T UTORIAL : Variable Transparency 391

M OVING P ICTURES 394

T UTORIAL : Creating a Credit Roll 396

T UTORIAL : Adding Camera Shake 400

S UMMARY 406

CHAPTER 17 ROTOSCOPING AND MORE COMPOSITING 409

R OTOSCOPING 410

T UTORIAL : Rotoscoping a Simple Image 414

T UTORIAL : Painting an Alpha Channel by Hand 421

T UTORIAL : Color Correcting Part of an Image 429

T UTORIAL : Exploding Heads 436

S PECIAL E FFECTS 450

M AKING Y OUR V IDEO L OOK L IKE F ILM 453

T UTORIAL : Creating Film Grain 455

R ENDERING 461

CHAPTER 18 OUTPUTS 463

M ASTERING Y OUR O UTPUTS 464

V IDEOTAPE M ASTERS 465

T HE F INAL A UDIO M IX 478

O UTPUTTING TO CD-ROM 482

O UTPUTTING FOR THE W EB 492

DVD A UTHORING 495

G ETTING Y OUR 35 MM F ILM R ELEASE P RINT 497

C ONCLUSION 504

APPENDIX A CALIBRATING YOUR NTSC MONITORS 505

S ETTING U P 506

APPENDIX B ABOUT THE CD-ROM 509

GLOSSARY 513

INDEX 541

xi

Sonja Schenk wishes to thank Hank Clay of in:sync, Rod Finley, Julie don of Gordon Images and Communications, John Hanish, Jeff Kress, KenMusen, Jacob Nassim, Jane Perratt from DPS, Benoit Rossel from Swiss Ef-fects, Gregg Rossen, Wes Sewell, Carl Stanza from 4MC, Pamela Soper,Michael Wynses, Gibert Yablon from Film Out Xpress, and most of all,Ralph Smith Also thank you to DeeDee Halleck for starting me off on theright foot as a video maker

Gor-Ben Long would like to thank the many vendors who generously tributed software and support, especially Susan Doering at Adobe; AndyBaum, Keith Hatounian, Ralph Fairweather and Jean Grandy at Apple; EricDohnlinger at Newer Technology; and Charles McConathy at ProMax I

con-would also like to thank Larry Jordan and the users of www.2-pop.com who

are a great resource for digital videographers of all skill levels As alwaysCraig Lyn generously answered loads of special effects-related questionswhile Sean Safreed expertly fielded countless video-related questions I alsowish to thank Mike, Gary, Fred and Byron, my first (and best) productionteachers

Also, special thanks to Sean Wagstaff, and Rick LePage for getting usstarted and supporting us during this whole writing “thing.”

C H A P T E R

1

Several years ago, actor/monologist Spalding Gray was sent with a small

video crew to Los Angeles to conduct an interesting experiment Whilespending a day in the city, he chose random people—cab drivers,clerks, waiters, people on the street—and asked them a simple question:

“Hi,” he said “I was hoping you’d talk to me about your screenplay.” variably, each person responded the same way: “How did you know I waswriting a screenplay?”

In-It seems that just about everyone these days has an interest in makingmovies But, as everyone knows, movie-making is colossally expensive, andHollywood is something of a closed community Since getting that “bigbreak” isn’t easy, more and more filmmakers are going independent and pro-ducing movies on their own

“Indie” films are nothing new, but the number of independent tions has increased dramatically since the 70s and 80s when people like JohnCassavettes, John Sayles, and Spike Lee scraped together shoestring budgetsand begged and borrowed equipment and talent to produce their films In

produc-1998, more than 1,000 films were submitted to the famed Sundance filmfestival, and four of 1997’s Best Picture Oscar nominees were independentproductions

Though independent filmmaking is cheap by Hollywood standards, theindependent filmmaker still has to come up with tens or hundreds of thou-sands of dollars to pay for sets, actors, locations, and, most of all, equipment

In the past, cameras, lights, film-stock, editing facilities, special effects, andpost-production were the most expensive items in an indie film budget Butwith new digital video technology, that is starting to change New standardsand tape formats ranging from MiniDV to DVCPro allow filmmakers toshoot high-quality footage for far less money

With DV technology, it’s possible to get a polished, edited feature “in thecan” for substantially less than if you were shooting on film Once your fea-ture is finished, you can use your final, edited digital videotape to shoparound for a distributor who will pay for a transfer to film

Even if you’re not interested in becoming a movie mogul, you may findyourself facing more and more of a demand for video production With newWeb-based streaming technologies and faster desktop computers, more andmore businesses are finding corporate and industrial applications for high-quality video production tools Whether it’s live webcasting or producing aCD-ROM-based annual report, you might have recently found yourselfneeding to wear the video producer hat

C HAPTER 1 I NTRODUCTION

While there has been plenty written about how famous, monied ers like George Lucas use high-end proprietary equipment to create digitalspecial effects, there has been very little about how non-famous, less-moniedindividuals can use inexpensive new DV technology, their desktop com-puter, and off-the-shelf software to create fully-realized, marketable feature

produc-films The Digital Filmmaking Handbook is targeted at anyone who wants to

use their desktop computer and DV camera to create professional-qualityproductions (Figure 1.1)

3

Using a small, DV-equipped film crew doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality Modern DV equipment can deliver results that are a good substitute for expensive analog video or film.

F IGURE

1.1

Although this book covers everything the independent filmmaker needs

to know to get a feature-length film made, it’s also ideal for industrial andcorporate producers who need to create training videos or trade show pre-sentations Multimedia developers, meanwhile, will find answers to all oftheir video-production questions, ranging from how to shoot special effects

to how to optimize video for distribution via CD-ROM or the Web.This book is meant to be both a start-to-finish production guide and a ref-erence for learning more about particular tasks While we can’t spend toomuch time covering the artistry of writing, shooting, and editing, we will giveyou some suggestions of where to learn more about such non-technical issues.For more experienced users, we’ve included details on the latest technologies,tips and guidelines for transitioning from older video or film technology, andsuggestions and strategies for using digital equipment and digital workflow toreduce your production costs From sophisticated titles to complex com-

positing, The Digital Filmmaking Handbook will show you how to create

shots and effects that are rarely associated with low-budget production

This book assumes you will be using a Macintosh or Windows-compatiblecomputer Some familiarity with your operating system of choice will be re-quired, as well as a video camera of some kind Guidelines for selectingequipment are provided in Chapters 5, 6, 10, and 11 (Figure 1.2)

We also assume that you are familiar with some basic computer terms—RAM, kilobytes, megabytes, clock speeds, etc A glossary is included in Ap-pendix A

Finally, though we assume no formal training in video or film production,

we might—on occasion—use production-related terms These are also cluded in the glossary You might be surprised to learn how much you alreadyknow about video production Watching movies is the best way to learn the vi-sual literacy required of a good filmmaker, and most people have seen a lot ofmovies At times, we may illustrate a concept by referencing movies available

in-at your local video store Careful study of these min-aterials is a grein-at way to learn

The phrase digital video is very confusing because there are many things that

are, technically, “digital video.” A QuickTime movie downloaded from theWeb is digital video, as is an animation generated by a computer graphicsprogram A video hobbiest may use an inexpensive digitizing board to pour

C HAPTER 1 I NTRODUCTION

video from her home video camera into her computer, while a big film dio may use special scanners to transfer 35mm motion picture film intohigh-end graphics workstations The results are all “digital video.”

stu-Things get even more complicated when you consider that some peopleuse the term “digital video” to refer to very specific pieces of equipment (a

“DV camera,” for example), while others use “digital video” as a broaderterm that encompasses any type of digitized video or film

If your computer has a Firewire interface built into it, your computer

sales-man may have said something like “with this Firewire interface, this computer

is a great ‘digital video’ machine.” But what does this really mean? Can youplug any old camera into it? Is the machine ready to create a great new digi-tal video feature-length movie? Unfortunately, the answer to both of thosequestions is no However, such a computer can be used as one component of

a system that can take video from a video source, edit it, add special effectsand graphics, and then output the results to a video or film recorder In somecases, your source video will be a special digital video camera or tape deck Inother instances, it might be a traditional analog camera or deck The maindifference between a digital and an analog camera is that a digital camera dig-

5

Typical editing setup showing a Macintosh computer with a computer monitor,

an NTSC monitor, speakers, and video camera connected to the computer through a Firewire cable.

F IGURE

1.2

itizes video while you shoot, and stores it on tape in a digital format, while an

analog camera stores video and audio on tape as analog waves

For the most part, when we say “digital video,” we’re referring to thebroadest definition: a process wherein your source video is “digitized” atsome point so that it can be manipulated and edited on the computer

WHAT I S DIGITIZING?

A digital video camera is a lot like a flatbed scanner, in that both devices itize” an image A flatbed scanner, for example, divides a page into a grid of

“dig-tiny pixels and then samples each pixel Each sample is analyzed and assigned

a numeric value—a digit, or series of digits—that represents the pixel’s color

A frame of video can be digitized using the same process However, sinceone video frame is composed of an average of 720 ×480 pixels (or 345,600pixels), and each second of video requires 30 frames, you need a fast com-puter with a lot of storage

A digital video camera digitizes video on-board and simply stores the sulting numbers on a tape Consequently, if you use a Firewire connection totransfer video from a DV camera into your computer, you don’t technically

re-“digitize” the video, because the camera has already done that for you.Rather, you simply copy the numbers (which represent the digitized images)from the tape into your computer

On the other hand, if you’re using an analog video camera, the digitizingprocess will happen inside your computer, rather than inside your camera.You will need special hardware in your computer that can change the analogvideo signal from your camera into digital information and store it on yourcomputer’s hard drive These “video capture boards” also compress the videobefore storing it and decompress it when you’re ready for playback Videocapture boards can be expensive and require a fast processor and very fasthard drives (Figure 1.3)

We’ll discuss the details and merits of both systems later in this book

Obviously, video technology has been around for a while and has been ing just fine, so what’s all the fuss about all this new digital video stuff? Dig-ital video technology has three advantages over traditional video editing andproduction equipment: quality, function, and price

work-Why Digital

Video?

F IGURE

1.3a

Video is digitized by special hardware in the computer

G4

In a typical analog editing workflow, analog video is sent to the computer, where it is digitized for editing and converted back to analog for final output to tape The computer also takes care of sending an analog signal to an NTSC monitor for playback.

F IGURE

1.3b

Price Check

The following chart shows two rough price comparisons (circa January, 2000) between feature production using analog video, digital video, and film In the first chart, we present a rough “ideal” situation: analog pro- duction using high-quality BetaSP, digital production using MiniDV format and a three-chip camera, and 16mm film production.

In the second chart, we present a more affordable comparison: analog video production using a single-chip Hi8 camera, digital video production using a single-chip MiniDV camera, and film production using a pre- owned 16mm camera Note that although there may be changes in qual- ity from system to system, all of these are suitable for feature-film or documentary work.

Rough Production Hardware Costs

Ideal

Analog Digital Film Computer $4,000* $2,800** $4,000*** Analog digitizing card $1,000–$5,000 N/A $1,000 Camera $30,000 $4,000 $6,000 Analog deck $12,000 $1,000 $2,000 Speakers, NTSC $500–up $500–up $500-up monitor, cables

Editing software $400–$1,000 $400–$1,000 $2,000 Stock $700 $300 $10,700 ? Telecine transfers N/A N/A $5,000

Total: $48,600+ $9,000+ $31,200+

*Macintosh 350 MHz G4 computer with 128MB RAM, 36GB Ultra2 SCSI with terface, 17 ″ Apple monitor, Zip drive, DVD-ROM drive, 56K modem, three built-in Firewire ports.

in-**Same as analog system, but with a 27GB Ultra ATA hard drive instead of a SCSI drive.

***Figures based on film projects using analog-based editing systems as described

in * with the lowest quality digitizing card and additional film matchback software.

C HAPTER 1 I NTRODUCTION

Though “inexpensive” may not be the first word you’d use to describe thethousands of dollars you’ll need for a computer and digital video equip-

ment, trust us, it’s much cheaper than what you’d spend on traditional video

or film With digital video, you don’t have the film stock and processingcosts that you’d face if you were shooting film, and your computer can takethe place of whole racks of equipment you’d need if you were shooting tra-ditional analog video And, digital video formats can potentially delivermuch higher quality than traditional analog formats, and can be edited andcopied with no loss in quality from generation to generation

In addition to being less expensive than film or video, your desktop puter can perform functions that are normally not possible using traditionaltechnology (or only possible with very expensive dedicated equipment andteams of skilled craftsmen) The difference between digital and analog videoproduction is as profound as the difference between using a typewriter andusing a word processor

com-Finally, with digital video, you no longer have to think in terms of and post-production With laptop computer-based editing systems, for ex-

pre-9

Really Low Budget

Analog Digital Film Computer $4,000* $1,300** $1,300*** Analog digitizing card $1,000–$5,000 N/A N/A Camera $750 $1,300 $2,000 Analog deck $2,000 N/A $1,000 Speakers, NTSC $500–up $500–up $500–up monitor, cables

Editing software $2,300 $400 $1,400 Stock $300 $300 $10,700 Telecine transfers N/A N/A $4,000

Total: $10,850–up $3,800–up $19,900-up

*Macintosh 350 MHz G4 with 128MB RAM, 18GB Ultra2 SCSI with interface, 17 ″

Apple monitor, DVD-ROM drive, three built-in Firewire ports.

**iMac DV with 400 MHz G3 processor, 64MB of RAM, 56K modem, 10GB drive, two Firewire ports, DVD.

***Figures based on a film project using a DV-based editing system as described in

**, a used 16mm camera, and additional film matchback software.

ample, you can edit as you shoot, trying out rough edits on-set, making iteasier to ensure that you’ve shot what you need.

Linear versus Non-Linear

The non-linear editing that computers make possible is a great boon, but don’t get confused by the linear and non-linear nature of different media The digital media that you “digitize” or “capture” into your computer is non-linear, which means you have random access to any part of it Digital

videotape is a different story Because it’s on a piece of tape, it’s linear To

access a given point in your digital videotape, you have to roll forward or backward through the tape, just like you do on analog VHS tape.

This book follows the traditional filmmaking stages of pre-production, duction, and post-production Throughout the book, we’ll show you how tothrow out the traditional approach and begin to mix and match the differ-ent stages of production to take advantage of DV technologies

pro-Chapters 2–7 cover the traditional stage of “pre-production,” the part ofthe process where you make all the decisions necessary to start shooting:writing, planning, financing, budgeting, scheduling, storyboarding, andchoosing basic equipment

Chapters 8–10 cover the traditional stage of “production,” the principalshoot of your project: lighting, set design, shooting and recording produc-tion sound, including tips for special shooting situations such as blue-screenphotography

Chapters 11–18 cover the traditional stage of “post-production”: editingroom equipment, advanced editing techniques, sound design, special effects,and delivery of the finished product—everything from streaming video forthe Web to getting your 35mm release print

If you’re seriously thinking of embarking on a video production, you’re about

to begin a very complicated process The more you know before you start,the more smoothly things will go for you Before you dive in, you shouldknow the answers to these questions:

Pop Quiz

What this Book

Covers

C HAPTER 1 I NTRODUCTION

• What is your final product? Projected 35mm film? Home video?Broadcast television? DVD? Live Webcast? CD-ROM? Foreign re-lease? Corporate/educational use? (Chapters 4 and 18 can help youunderstand the technical specifications for these different formats)

• What peripheral products will you be creating? Work-in-progress VHScopies, trailers, press kits? Outputting different formats requires moreplanning than a project that sticks to one type of output

• What equipment do you already own or have access to that you canuse to produce your project? Consider this question carefully, as someolder equipment might be more of a hindrance than a help

• How much time and money do you want to spend in tion?

post-produc-If you take the time to make some hard decisions before you shoot, you’llsave time and money throughout the process You don’t have to know all theanswers, but you should at least know the questions that will come up dur-ing the course of your production

11

2 Planning Your

Project

13

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Before you start

• Writing for DV Projects

• Scheduling Your Project

• Budgeting

• Paying As You Go

• Budgeting Can Be Fun

All video productions begin, of course, with a well-written script and a lot ofplanning Good planning involves everything from pitching your idea andscheduling your shoot to budgeting your production Because pre-production

is where you’ll determine much of the look and quality of your project, goodplanning weighs heavily on your production and post-production success.Fortunately, there are a number of digital tools available to help with all aspects

Unfortunately, the “writing-scheduling-budgeting” model is a drastic simplification of the pre-production process In reality, each of these processesaffects the others, and all three are intertwined and interrelated Our goal is tohelp you understand what questions you need to ask yourself, and where youmight be able to find some answers before you dive in

over-No matter what your finished product will be—feature film, documentary,corporate training video—you have to start with a written script A script ismore than just a description of what people will say and do during your shoot.Your script is also a description of what locations and props you’ll need, as well

as what special effects, graphics, and sets you’ll have to create A finished script

is required to start pre-production budgeting and scheduling and will serve as

a reference point that you will follow all the way through post-production

Writing for DV

Before You Start

D IGITAL F ILMMAKING H ANDBOOK

14

Don’t skimp on this all-important first step No amount of production can save

a poorly written script!

WRITING

No matter what type of production you’re planning, your first writing task is todecide what your story is about Industrial and corporate presentations, musicvideos, documentaries, and marketing or advertising pieces usually have simple,well-defined goals If you articulate these ideas before you start, you’ll have aneasier time focusing on what needs to be written It’s equally important to have

a clear thematic idea when writing a fictional piece or feature Though thesethemes or goals are often more abstract or complicated than in a simple indus-trial video, you still need to have some idea of what it is you want to say

Before you start writing your script, consider your overall story It will bemuch easier to write the actual scenes and dialog if you have a sense of thewhole story before you start Obviously, in a character-driven piece, it cansometimes be difficult to know what the ending will be before you’ve taken thecharacter through the beginning and middle, but you should still, at least, have

an idea of the overall tone and structure of your story

di-a tredi-atment might help you secure some funding.

Once you’re comfortable with the idea of telling your story visually, it’s time

to start thinking about the structure of your story Hollywood screenplays ically have a three-act structure In act one, the characters and major conflictsare introduced In act two, the conflicts are complicated and in act three, theconflicts are solved An easier way to look at this is to say that the story has abeginning, middle and end This simple structure is a good form to use for anytype of script-writing and you should carry the beginning/middle/end form allthe way through your script Each act, every scene, even individual shotsshould have a sense of beginning, middle and end