Super 16 or HD for Extreme Sports Filmmaking?

[Dory Breaux]

Hey there, some of you (I know David will) know me from Cinematography.com...

I have a dilemma:

I shot extreme sports stuff, skiing, snowboarding, downhill and freeride mountain biking, blah blah blah. Right now I am using the local community access TV station's equipment, but that isn't going too well (they take pretty crummy care of their equipment and then whine if it isn't brought back in perfect condition, it's always hard to get it for prolonged trips, if I break it I am screwed...), so I am looking for my own equipment. I would like to shoot 16mm, but it is on the edge of too expensive. The immediate advantages I can see are:

Real slow motion
24fps
all the look and feel of film
can run in cold weather
more robust than video equipment

But, if I go HD...:

in-expensive after the initial purchase
faster and way less expensive to edit
accessories are more readily available
WYSIWYG (mostly)
Don't have to worry about burning film
Audio directly onto the tape/easier to do interviews


Anyway, the cameras I have been eyeing are:

Film:
Arri 16S/B
Arri SR (HIGHLY unlikely)
K-3

HD:
Sony HVR-V1U
Canon XL-H1
JVC GY-HD100 or HD500

Other than the camera, I will really only need a good mic, headphones and tripod for what I do. I already have my editing system setup for SD, I have Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 and After FX 7.

Thanks,
Dory

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Super-16 may prove better in the long run, both quality-wise and flexibility-wise in terms of shooting and post options, but if it's not affordable now and you opt for an HDV camera, it won't necessarily be your last purchase in your career, so I don't think this is a make-or-break decision. Someday you may be able to afford to switch to a higher-end HD camera or shoot Super-16.

 

[Dory Breaux]

Good point. I think since the 16mm cam I was looking at is about 4-5 grand for a new one with the accessories that I wanted, it would be better to get a good HD cam for now and get a super16 later. You agree?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Well, I think so... but you should really find someone doing similar professional work and find out what are the common camera and delivery formats being used. For example, I would prefer a 24P HD camera because I shoot narrative fiction work -- but perhaps a lot of the sports documentary footage being shot these days is 60i HD.

Another possibility is to shoot both some 16mm and some HD, depending on which is best-suited for the shot.

I must admit that I'm not an equipment owner so I may not be the best person to advise you on this.

 

[Dory Breaux]

I know the pro-choice for this type of film is s16, and generally the Arri SRIII or Arri S/B is used, but that's by the guys who have the big name sponsors (check out www.warrenmiller.com and nwdfilms.com)... I am really liking the look of the Panasonic HVX200 (I think that's it)