Written by Nigel Kettle
At Kettle Media Concepts, we are frequently asked by our clients if the should should in 4K for finishing in full HD or just shoot in standard HD?
The Short Answer:
Yes, we strongly recommend shooting in 4K, even if your final delivery is going to be in full HD. Think of 4K as twice the resolution of full HD. This means that you can zoom in a full 50%. Your image quality will look just as good in HD. This is a great substitute for the absence of a second camera. This can be very helpful in covering jump cuts that is an annoying problem that plagues all one camera shoots. As a matter of fact, if you are only shooting with one camera, it is imperative that you shoot in 4K, if it is an option. This will save you so much heartache later in post.
It is worth noting the camera angle is always the same on the zoom when you shoot in 4K. While this may seem obvious, I am often asked by clients, if it can’t be used as a second angle. No, it cannot. The bottom line is, shooting is 4K cannot be used as a substitute for multi angles shoots, but it can be used for close-ups. Note that your zoom range is roughly 50%. This comes in very handy when working with interviews and b-rolls.
Most edit programs, including Avid Media Composer and Adobe premiere have easy-to-use built-in workflows for this. The process is very simple. I will address the various workflow in an upcoming blog.
See below if you are interested in some of the technical jargon behind my recommendation.
