Avid – Alexa, RED, and LUT question.

[Dermot Shane]

ummmm… maybe a LUT in your monitor, or in a box like the BMD HDlinkPro before your monitor?

very simple & elegant answer really…

d

[Oliver Peters]

“Before it slips away I wanted to ask about another method we came across. Are you familiar with either of these devices; Sound Devices PIX 240 or an AJA Ki Pro Mini?”

Yes, and I’ve had mixed results. I do not advocate using these (outside of back-up or video assist) UNLESS they are the primary recorder. The on-board cards would be back-up. With Alexa you can record Log-C to the SxS cards and REC709 out via SDI to an external recorder. The devices can be set-up to be triggered by TC, so the recording will USUALLY match the start/stops to the cards and match TC. Sometimes there is a several frame differences in start/stop/durations and sometimes the actual a/v will be 1 frame different than the cards, thanks to internal processing. Several problems, though:

Clips names will not match and reel IDs will not match.
Sometimes clips are missed.
Sometimes the recorder hiccups in the middle of long takes and you’ll miss part of the recording or get two clips.

Some cameras do not put out the same signal via SDI. The Alexa will record and output 23.98 simultaneously. Not sure about RED. The C300 OTOH will record 23.98 onboard but only put out 29.97 with 3:2 via SDI. In a recent production we used a PIX240 as the prime recorder with a C300. It worked well, but I had to rely on the PIX240’s internal processing to correctly remove 3:2 and get back to a proper 23.98 file. In that case, the PIX240 was the main recording and the camera cards were only back-up.

You will be MUCH happier if editorial has complete control of prepping the media.

Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Michael Phillips]

I agree with Oliver’s points, and everything needs to be tested. As I mentioned, I have only seen files from the RED camera and the filenames do match, but I do not believe the same works for Arri Alexa at this time. The Arri needs to send that info down the HD-SDI as part of a future camera firmware update.

But there is still nothing better than working with the original camera originals in order to know that those files are all correct, not corrupt with a card transfer, etc. Same as the film days – the camera tap was nice, but it wasn’t what you were shooting. 🙂 Digital certainly makes that closer, but knowing the original files work, and play all the way through is comforting.

Michael

Michael Phillips

[Andrew Thompson]

Thank you both for your time and input. Hopefully I can repay the generosity someday.

[Oliver Peters]

[Michael Phillips] “I also don’t know for Arri whether it sends the 8 character Reel_Name or the entire Filename”

The ALEXA assigns a clip name like this: A001C001_120613_R259.mov
The reel ID it embeds for this is: A001R259
This reel ID corresponds to the card ID.

To my knowledge, this doesn’t come across when you record to a KiPro or PIX240. The operator has to manually assign reel and clip numbers on those devices. I’m not 100% sure about the operational particulars of each device. As I recall, on the full KiPro, which records to a hard drive, the reel ID assigned to clips is based on the hard drive name, usually 001. Since the hard drive can hold more media than the SxS cards, you could have more clips on the hard drive than on any given card. Therefore, not only would the reel ID be different, but the relationship of media between cards and hard drives would be completely different. This, of course, varies when you use the KiPro Mini, which records to CF cards.

Clearly by going this route, you put a lot of burden on the production crew, camera assistants, DIT and/or data wrangler to get it right. That’s a recipe for disaster if the production (and post) is constrained for time and budget.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Andrew Thompson]

In Resolve(lite) the framerate inside RENDER PROPERTIES is locked in to 60 FPS. Is there a way to render at 24?

[Glenn Sakatch]

Did you set up a 24 frame project before you started? Resolve can’t change its project frame rate after the fact. Your initial setup needs to be set correctly (according to what you need it to be)

Glenn