Is it okay to start a documentary with a mini dv Sony DCR-TRV103? Once we acquire sponsors (with the footage shot in the mini dv) then we will like to move into the pro digital cameras. Will the mini dv footage be good enough so that we can transfer it to film along with the pro digital footage? Is mini dv footage good enough for major festivals? Comments and suggestions welcome.

-- Lissette (neonvenus@earthlink.net), July 06, 1999

Answers

Lissette,

The answer to all of your questions is yes, provided that you take special care to light and compose your shots properly.

DV footage can look spectacular on video, and is even acceptable when blown-up to film but you have to light it well.

Check out 'The Big One' by Mike Moore at your video store. It was shot entirely in DV then transferred to film.

You can see that with the shots that were lit well, the footage looks good, but where the lighting is uneven, so is the end product.

Contact me for more info. I can give you some tips and hints.

J.D. Wilcox

-- J.D. Wilcox (Jdwfilmz@aol.com), July 08, 1999.