Hi everyone, in your opinions what is the best video format to shoot in? I dont own a 4k tv and i dont want to film in 4k yet so if I was just to produce really top of the range webvideos for you tube and vimeo what would you use?

Thanks, Dave

1080p / 60 frames will be great for all your productions.
over that quality there are not many devices to use with.

If you shoot in 4K, what is the best software to convert it down to 1080p without going in and doing a full render? I've seen people shoot in 4k but then you can view it in youtube in HD1440 which looks awesome and is still HD. Maybe that would be an option if I can find a good converter.
Any suggestions?

I shot my first movie in 4k accidentally. Using iMovie for the first time I found it can go a great job of converting to 1080.

geox Posted at 2015-1-31 16:20
1080p / 60 frames will be great for all your productions.
over that quality there are not many devic ...

I do not see a 1080/60 option in iOS
the highest option I see is 1080/50

jamess3430 Posted at 2015-2-1 03:14
I do not see a 1080/60 option in iOS
the highest option I see is 1080/50

I think I saw some video that showed you can't scroll down on the iOS app to see all available options.

JakeLikesStuff Posted at 2015-2-1 04:33
I think I saw some video that showed you can't scroll down on the iOS app to see all available opt ...

Thanks for that, i will have a look when I start her up tommorow

JakeLikesStuff Posted at 2015-2-1 04:33
I think I saw some video that showed you can't scroll down on the iOS app to see all available opt ...

Thanks, I will have a look when I start her up tomorrow.

I shoot 4k 30fps, but down sample it to 1080p as it looks great.

I probably have a different workflow to many, but I actually apply a slight blur to my 4k footage a little before down sampling it, as doing so all but removes most of the noise in the footage.

Ideally, I'd like to use the negative sharpening values in the app for this, but they are way too aggressive at the moment, even -1 sharpness is way too soft.

I personally would only shoot at 1080p 60fps if I wanted the option for smooth slow-motion in my project.

It doesn't matter if you don't have a 4K display. Regardless if you're going to down res to 1080 shooting in 4k if you don't need the slomo will ALWAYS look better than shooting in 1080. Always shoot highest resolution possible. I shoot in 5k with my epic and down-res to 1080. It looks 100x better than if I shot it at 1080.

My 2 cents

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-1 08:08
It doesn't matter if you don't have a 4K display. Regardless if you're going to down res to 1080 sho ...

I completely agree...

Which is better file? .mov or mp4

They are about the same just a different compression mothod.

If the camera is set to NTSC you'll see 1080/60P. However if it's set to PAL, you'll see 1080/50P.

.mov and .mp4 are identical as far as the recorded image is concerned. Different wrapper is all.

nzvideoguys.gma Posted at 2015-2-1 10:51
.mov and .mp4 are identical as far as the recorded image is concerned. Different wrapper is all.

Thanks I wasnt sure read alot where one said it compressed more than the other.

pauldean85.emai Posted at 2015-2-1 06:59
I shoot 4k 30fps, but down sample it to 1080p as it looks great.

I probably have a different workfl ...

I will second "I personally would only shoot at 1080p 60fps if I wanted the option for smooth slow-motion" I've been pretty much shooting this and have been very happy......

Mike

Whats the best render settings in your opinion, normally i use either h.264 or quicktime with photo Jpeg, whats better options to use?

I can see there are a lot of drone experts but not a lot of cinematographers in this forum thread. Shoot in the highest resolution possible always. If you need slow-motion you will have to shoot in 60p and add to a 23.98 timeline.

It will always look better (even in 1080 on vimeo/youtube etc) if it was shot in 4k vs 1080 and rendered at 1080. Final Cut Pro is probably the easiest (more professional) editing software to learn, also very similar to iMovie but with a lot more creative options. I personally use different programs for different projects.

RED-Cine-X for red footage into Premier or FCPX and will roundtrip into Resolve for Color-grading.

Bottom line, shoot in 4k and downres to 1080 or render out a 4k file at h264 format. It will look amazing. Let vimeo compress the file to 1080.

h234, mine says h264 same thing ? Also 4k only goes as high as 30fps so is it better to film in  a lower res and higher fr for slow mo

thanks for the advise too, i appreciate it

david.spencer.b Posted at 2015-2-2 02:11
h234, mine says h264 same thing ? Also 4k only goes as high as 30fps so is it better to film in  a l ...

Yes I was typing too fast. I corrected it to H264.
If your goal is to slow down your footage you will need to record in a higher frame rate (i.e. 60fps). The inspire camera max resolution at this frame rate is 1080. The other option which works in a pinch for short scenes is to use the feature in FCPX called "optical flow" which essentially analyize the footage and recreates a smoother effect to allow you to slow your footage down as if you shot it in a higher frame rate. I wouldn't use all the time but for a scene here and there it can be pulled off. In this situation you could shoot 30fps in "4k" (UHD) and use optical flow to slow your footage down.  

youtube "optical flow fcpx" for visual examples.

Hope this helps.

Good thread. Thanks for the advice @scooterlam.

Any advice for exposure settings if you don't have a meter? Auto seems to overexpose a lot.

Hello

I have some problem of sharpness
I 'm worried about that, the sharpness is not good !
Do you have the same problem ?

If I am using a computer that does not have a graphics card to support 4K, will I be able to still scale down to 1080p? And if so, what would be the purpose of doing this?

As someone whom has used Photoshop for years and years this is a good post for information as to what formats and setting to use for different settings.  Thanks Scooterlam

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-1 08:08
It doesn't matter if you don't have a 4K display. Regardless if you're going to down res to 1080 sho ...

Those who don't shoot in 4K now, will be dissapointed when the time comes
when they buy a 4K TV or display.
Watching your old videos on your new 4K display, but in HD... hmmmm

wolftj.mindspri Posted at 2015-2-2 21:36
Good thread. Thanks for the advice @scooterlam.

Any advice for exposure settings if you don't have  ...

Typically you want to double your frame rate in your shutter speed. This will help with rolling shutter (jello) and appear more natural and cinematic. The auto setting tends to jump all over the place as the shutter speed is constantly changing along with the ISO to accommodate the change in exposure readings (facing sun/away from sun) -- I personally use manual, expose for the highlights and let shadows fall into place naturally. I will keep my shutter speed constant and adjust ISO up or down. If it's too bright, use your ND filter (I use mine almost 95% of the time).

geox Posted at 2015-1-31 16:20
1080p / 60 frames will be great for all your productions.
over that quality there are not many devic ...

I agree with your settings. Some times I use 30 fps andI can't see any difference in the 30 vs.the 60. But then again I am not doing any slo-mo Post Processing either.

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-2 02:05
I can see there are a lot of drone experts but not a lot of cinematographers in this forum thread. S ...

I agree on the Final Cut Pro.Great program from Apple just like Keynote is far superior than Power Point. If this may help anyone Izzy Video has some great lessons and FCPX has some great plugins that are very inexpensive.

tpallai Posted at 2015-2-9 22:43
If I am using a computer that does not have a graphics card to support 4K, will I be able to still s ...

There are ways of working with 4k footage without a sufficient graphics cards depending on your NLE (video editing software). If you have FCPx, using the proxy method when working with 4k is a fantastic way of working with large size files and being able to view and playback without dropping frames while editing.

Most will downscale to 1080p right now because this is the format that the 2 main video hosting sites (vimeo + youtube) format to best. Youtube does support 2160p (they call it 4k) however most peoples internet connection is not fast enough to stream a video in that resolution without severe interruption. What I do is I always shoot in highest resolution possible, edit in my NLE of choice for the complexity of the project, rough cut my footage timed and synced to music of choice, will render out a rough cut to check timing etc, color grade, add titles, logos, out to final render in h264 in the original resolution I shot in. Then I will upload to vimeo/youtube and let the video hosting upload handle the rest. Vimeo does a great job and compressing the video to HD 1080p and Youtube does as well. This way you have the highest quality video prior to the compression. Hope that makes sense.

jamess3430 Posted at 2015-2-1 03:14
I do not see a 1080/60 option in iOS
the highest option I see is 1080/50

The reason for that is that you are using PAL, the European standard. If you select NTSC in the Pilot App, you will have the 1080/60p option and 30fps in 4K.

brianmlevy.me Posted at 2015-2-13 08:42
The reason for that is that you are using PAL, the European standard. If you select NTSC in the Pi ...

If I am shooting sports (aka skiing) what frame rate would I shoot at?

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-2 02:05
I can see there are a lot of drone experts but not a lot of cinematographers in this forum thread. S ...

Best advice yet. You can sample down to 1080, but not so much the other way.

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-13 04:37
There are ways of working with 4k footage without a sufficient graphics cards depending on your NL ...

Vimeo also has the most professional and easiest view options, IMHO. Embeds well.

What about formats? 4:3 vs 16:9. What is best to photo and video?

tahosrfr Posted at 2015-4-10 01:26
What about formats? 4:3 vs 16:9. What is best to photo and video?

I use 16x9 for video and 4x3 for stills.

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-13 04:37
There are ways of working with 4k footage without a sufficient graphics cards depending on your NL ...

Interesting... so you are exporting 4k h.264 from FCPX and uploading straight to vimeo to let them do the conversion??? I have always used compressor to compress the file... but I am never completely satisfied with the compression... I have slow internet so I always try to upload smaller files to save time... but you are saying the vimeo compression is good? Am I understanding correctly? Also I thought I read in a blog somewhere that vimeo is available in 4K now... however I never see anywhere to change to anything higher than 1080...and it usually defaults to 720 unless I go in and change it to 1080... given that my internet is so slow I think I will stick to my method for now and just upload compressed 720 but it is interesting to know that the other is an option....

Marktho1 Posted at 2015-4-10 02:04
Interesting... so you are exporting 4k h.264 from FCPX and uploading straight to vimeo to let them ...

Yes, most of the time I will render a master in 4K or UHD resolution in ProRes Proxy or H.264 and let Vimeo handle the compression for me down to 1080p.

What I said in my previous post is that Vimeo is on their way to 4K stream. They allow for Plus/Pro users to upload 4K content (although it streams now in max resolution of 1080p) it can be downloaded in its original format and when they make the full conversion to 4k stream, all original 4k Videos will be available in that format. Again this is from what I've read via Vimeos forums from their moderators.

Pulling a still from 4k video?  Lots of good info here, thank you.  Has anyone pulled a still from the 4k video?   I need to get a  still shot (from overhead) of a water boarder jumping through a wake of a boat.  Since the Inspire only does 7fps for stills in burst mode, I'm thinking of shooting video at 4k instead and then pulling a still from a frame.  IMO, 7 fps is marginal as I've done this with 35mm cameras (non aerial) and it works best at 10fps or higher - there's a good chance to miss the shot at 7fps. Any advise would be appreciated.

Scooter, do you shoot in LOG mode on the inspire? Or does it matter? From what I hear you saying is that the highest quality footage I could get would be to shoot in 4K 30fps and import those files directly into Final Cut Pro to do my color correcting and editing, then exporting directly to Vimeo/YouTube to let them do the compression. Correct? Thank you for your expertise on this!

If I did need to down convert to 1080p prior to editing, do you suggest I still import my 4k 30fps footage into FCP, color correct and then export 1080p Apple ProRes HQ 30fps clip files before I start editing those clips together?