Prime Time Television Frame Rates

[Richard Lowther]

Hi,
I am having the same old argument I am sure a lot of you have had, that is, is it best to shoot 25 fps or 50 fps for Pal Television? So I have more ammunition is it true most Prime Time TV shows are shot at 24fps?
Didn't James Cameron do a test where he had a viewing of a 48fps film next to a 24fps film to see if the audience liked the 48fps better. Does anyone know how this went which frame rate did they like better?

Thanks Richard

 

[Liam Hall]

PAL is 25fps standard definition with two fields per frame. So, for PAL you shoot 25fps whether it's for primetime or any other time. If 1080p/50 becomes a broadcast standard then you'll be able to shoot either 25fps or 50fps for broadcast.

 

[Ben Holmes]

Although PAL should really only refer to composite, analogue signals of 625i50, it's frequently used in HD-world as a shortcut for 1080i50 - so that's interlaced 25fps.

As this is so close to the frame-rate used for films and major TV series (24fps) it's common practice to simply speed up the movie or series by 4% to match the framerate. US actors watching clips of their films or TV shows in the UK occasionally remark how their voices are higher - I believe in music terms it's about a semi-tone.

In addition, most PAL region DVD players can play 24p DVDs natively like this - mastering in 24p makes for easy 'pull down' conversion to 60i and to 25p.

Hope that helps - as will Google probably.

 

[Richard Lowther]

Thanks....yes this helps

Richard

 

[Troy Smith]

I think the original question was do people prefer 25P over 25I,
if prefer 25p look that is closer to a film motion look then shoot 25p,
if prefer the classic video 25I look, then shoot 50fps and interlace it to 25i

 

[Liam Hall]

I think the original question was do people prefer 25P over 25I,
if prefer 25p look that is closer to a film motion look then shoot 25p,
if prefer the classic video 25I look, then shoot 50fps and interlace it to 25i

Just for clarity: You mean 50i. PAL is 625i/50; 25 frames, 50 interlaced fields per second.

As for the Cameron reference in the OP: Cameron is shooting Avatar 2 at 48fps. Peter Jackson is shooting the Hobit at 48fps. They are intended to be projected at 48fps to deliver greater detail. Some people advocate shooting/projecting at 120fps or even with variable frame rates. Whether one is deemed better than another is a moot point. There was a discussion on it here:

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?46046-ARRI-48fps-test

 

[Troy Smith]

Yes, 50i vs 25 P