[Aero]

I just got a a minidv and import it to imovie and made a dvd using idvd. I was watching the original tape as well as the dvd that I made. I was wondering why it sucks lol. The quality of the picture is not that good. Maybe the color or maybe the lighting but I want to make it similar (not actually equal) to the videos I see on TV. Is there a way to do this, using imovie? or do I have to shell a few hundred bucks to buy final cut so that this can be achieve. I know that I am aiming a little high for a cheap minidv camera and comparing it to thousands or maybe hundreds of dollars worth or video camera. But here's hoping.

[sonicularulus]

well, when working with video, there are a lot of things to consider.
To create something of similar quality that you see on television, expect to shell out a few thousand bucks.

Besides a tripod and a camcorder, first thing you would need are the proper lights and how/where to place them during filming. A basic light set up consists of three lights: a key light, a fill light, and a back light. This set up shouldnt cost you too much (compared to everything else you would need).
After that, you would have to shell out the extra money to buy good audio equipment (different kinds of microphones) to get professional quality audio. That might run you another few hundred dollars.

However, if you want me to get into the dream area, to get very very close to the television quality and movie quality videos....here is a list of things i would recommend you to get:
-A 3 chip camera (also know as 3CCD)...popular brands in this region are the Canon XL2, Panasonic HVX-200, and the Panasonic DVX-100...
-A boom mic with a boom pole...
-A lav. mic for great sounding interviews.
-An omni directional mic
-A shotgun mic
-A nice steady tripod with a fluid head for smooth pans and tilts (its worth the money). this may cost you a few hundred dollars
-A nice little system called the glidecam
-Plenty of different lighting equipment
-Different monitoring tools for color management...
-And of course, an Avid System..

lol...did i get your hopes to high? I got mine pretty high also..lol...

Anyways, if you have bad video footage, having a great editing suite like final cut pro is useless. If you subscribe to podcasts via itunes, may i recommend that you check out Izzy Video. I subscribe to them and they provide a lot of tips for improving your video quality.

[Aero]

OH... I can't even afford Final Cut Pro. I was aiming at Express

Thanks for the tip


BTW: The picture quality of the minidv cam that I'm using is like comparing a pic from a 2 mp phone camera to a 2 mp digital camera.

I guess its impossible to have a good quality picture other than buying a better gear

[stevesnj]

Make sure in iDVD the setting in the preferences is set for Best Quality not Best Performance

[k_munic]

Originally Posted by Aero

:...The picture quality of the minidv cam that I'm using is like comparing a pic from a 2 mp phone camera to a 2 mp digital camera..

a consumer camcorder, recording under "good" light circumstances, connected via chinch to a TV should show a much better quality then a phonecam...

don't forget:
miniDV and iMovie are meant for TV!
don't judge pic quality on a Mac - a computer has a totally different concept of displaying "video" content (e.g. interlacing), a computer's monitor shows 4x to 8x the res of a telly... etc...

so, in addition to sonic's commend:
* consumer products show consumer quality
* a miniDV video is much more compressed then - as an example - 4:2:2 digibeta signal
* Golden Rule No. 1: **** in, **** out - if you record in low light conditions, you never get a brilliant pic...

[Aero]

You misunderstood me.

I'm comparing the quality

cam phone - digital cam
minidv - broadcast cam


"don't judge pic quality on a Mac "
That's why I played it in the TV, using a DVD that I made as well as the original tape.

[sonicularulus]

Just to be honest, you do not really have to buy anything. Probably, i would recommend final cut pro (or at least express) to improve your editing needs.
however, before going out to buy things, learn your camera. Learn what lighting is good for your camera and practice getting steady shots.
I would recommend that when you shoot, use two hands to hold the camera and keep your arms together. When moving, make sure your legs are "bent" in a why so that when you walk, you minimize the "bouncing" that you get on your arms...
Im in school right now and the class is about to end, so ill get back to you later...hehe