Shoot in 23.976fps or 24fps for distribution of a feature film?

[SUNILPREM]

We shoot 24Fps for theaterical relaese. 25Fps for broadcast.

Thanks
Sunil Prem

 

[Stacey Spears]

a little too smooth and video-ish to me, which I attribute to the conversion from 25fps to 29.97 for PBS in America.

I see the same thing.

 

[David Peterson]

I have seen many sad and horrible disasters that start with this premise, particularly over the last 20 years. Trust me on this. Nail down your post workflow now and make sure it will work for what you have to deliver.

I agree, I would like to have more time, but is out of my control!
The shoot date is set in concrete, otherwise we lose the location if it is delayed.
And our post guy is out of the country for the next couple of weeks, so can't have him here to do tests with me anyway.
So am just trying to make the best of the situation that I can, to be prepared as possible in what little time I have between now and Friday.

 

[Simon Dunne]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned 50P yet.

23.976 converts nicely to 29.97. Look at the world wide box DVD sales and you'll see the US is at the top. Horrible format though, but that WAS the standard they made for, as that's where the money is spent.

Now there's no reason to not shoot 24P - It's supported as the main DCP standard for cinema, and if viewing on the web, doesn't make a difference.

In PAL land, shoot 24P for film, or 50P for tv. That way, you can do a nice 50i OR 25P master, then in 3 years, do a remastered version at 50P with Rec2020 colour for the new HDR channel.

Job done.

As for aspect ratios, ask a DoP.

 

[Marc Wielage]

In PAL land, shoot 24P for film, or 50P for tv. That way, you can do a nice 50i OR 25P master, then in 3 years, do a remastered version at 50P with Rec2020 colour for the new HDR channel.

Rec2020 / 2084 all work just fine with 24fps and 23.98fps material as well. In fact, so far all the HDR / Rec2020 demos I've seen have been 23.98, except for the ones in theaters, which have been 24.00fps.

To me, the answer is probably best determined by the distributor who's going to deal with the material. If it's primarily going to the U.S., then I'd stick with 23.98; if it's primarily going to Britain or Europe, then I could see going with 25fps. If the main destination is theaters, then I could see going with 23.98 or 24.00fps. Workflow can be a long conversation, and it's one that editors, sound mixers, VFX artists, and colorists should all be part of.

 

[Raphael Madeira]

Hello everyone,

Sorry for bringing this old thread back to life but I preferred doing that than needlessly create a new one with a very similar subject.

I'm currently going to film my first feature film as a director, a self-funded film, and try my luck at getting represented by sales agents at some of the major film markets like AFM or EFM.

It's a Thriller film entirely in english with the goal to get as many sales in as many countries and the largest audience as possible, as anyone would try to in this situation.

My question is, not knowing what might be the most common distribution method picked by distributors for this film, what frame-rate would be most welcome for a film shot in 4K DCI?

What do you guys think that as of this moment is more relevant for worldwide distribution, 24fps or 23.98fps?

Thanks for sharing!
Cheers!

 

[Craig Parkes]

Hi Raphael - as someone who has produced their own low budget film and lives in a PAL / 50 HZ country - my choice for shooting was 23.976fps.

The reasoning is this: 24fps material will only ever be delivered to DCP for festival and your theatrical distribution (if you are so lucky to get one) - it won't be delivered to any other platform / distributor. As such, if your mix is done in 23.976 you will easily be able to create additional outputs for distributors later on down the track if they are requested without one other step.

If you make your project at 24fps and master audio direct to 24fps then all later outputs from 23.976fps will need a small additional conversion - it's not a big deal - but in general keeping the most numerous output that doesn't require normal conversion the default shooting format is, in my mind, the more logical workflow.