Are HDD camcorders good enough for filmmaking?

Hi there,



I am in need of expert second opinions.



I am producing/directing an amateur short film to be presented at festivals late 2007/early 2008. The project: 20 minutes, shot in b%26amp;w, no dialogue, with music and sound effects, action adventure shot in a forest.



The short film will be distributed on DVD and available via the web.



Do you think it is possible to achieve a good enough result using a HDD camcorder such as a Sony or JVC? if so which one would you recommend (I have read so many articles I am now confused).



Many thanks for your help



Pascal



--

Pascal Fintoni

Founder

Action Cinema Talents and Ideas Factory



New film coming soon! Land of the Kami - check out the website:

http://landofthekami.wordpress.comAre HDD camcorders good enough for filmmaking?
The problem I see with HDD is that it uses USB 2.0 to transfer and you need to use their special software.



They use a special MPEG2 encoding, which is lower in quality than MINI-DV tapes



The files they generate are not compatible with most editing software. So you are presented with a big problem here and you probalby need to test it out before you go with it.



As for transfer to film, it's going to be 16mm quality.



If you're just doing DVD it will be ok.



But going to the big screen will not work well.



Digital to film transfers for screenings are done from 2MP masters and your stuff is 2/3 MPAre HDD camcorders good enough for filmmaking?
The HDD camcorders record in mpeg2 format - while this is the same format as commercial DVDs, this format is compressed and it's subject to video degradation (due to further compression) if edited and recoded. You best bet is to stick with a mini DV type camcorder.