1080 60i or 720 30fps for FCP

I will have to edit some footage that will be shot on a small handheld HD cam (Flip type, mounted on a helmet).
I have the option to chose between a camera whose specs (per manufacturer) are:
either 1080 60i for one
720p 30fps
This is exactly the way the specs are given on the website

My question is: what would give the less headache and the best results to work with FCP 6?

Tough one there. Both works alright, as long as you get the workflow right. More importantly, what other formats will you be cutting against, and what are your delivery specs?



www.strypesinpost.com

strypes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> what
> other formats will you be cutting against, and
> what are your delivery specs?

only the footage from this handheld cam
delivery specs: web and DVDs

There are extra criteria in this case other than what looks best. How much storage do they have on location, and how much footage do they need to shoot?

If a camera has multiple frame-size and frame-rate settings, the higher you go, the less you can store. Make sure you take their storage capacity into consideration.

> only the footage from this handheld cam
> delivery specs: web and DVDs

They say that, but as post-production, we have to consider the possibility that the master may need to be better than these two destinations. If you have an HD master, you can always make a lower-quality copy; if you only prep for these two (super-low-quality) formats as the endgame, if the clients change their mind later and need something better, you could find yourself in a real jam because your post pipeline was only designed for web and DVD.

Normally, when somebody only asks me for these two deliverables, I allow for at least SD broadcast-ready specs, usually higher than that if the source is already HD. Unless you don't have the budget (time, storage, system speed etc.) to make an HD master.


www.derekmok.com

Since it's for a helmet cam I assume there is going to be a ton of movement which makes me lean towards 1080i60 because the higher temporal resolution should translate into smoother looking motion. The downside is that it's interlaced. 720p30 might look to strobe-like or jittery depending on how violent the helmet cam gets knocked around. 720p60 would be ideal, IMO, but unfortunately that's not an option.


-Andrew

interesting points
thx