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Dropouts/digital snow
Just a heads up for any new HD operators.
We mostly shoot “Good Eats” on a Steadicam rig so weight and cable flexability are always a concern. Part of our workflow involves recording our master to a 1200a deck so we always have a HDSDI cable running from the rear output of the “H” model.During this round of shooting I needed a 150′ cable run and while watching the rehersal on my Panny 17″ HDSDI monitor noticed pronounced dropouts. I had been on the set watching the same scene on a Sony 9″ HDSDI monitor and had seen none of the dropouts.
1st lesson, never trust the 9″ for critical decisions. One I learned well last year but bears repeating.
2nd lesson, no mater how good your cable is there are always weak points. The weak points here was the smaller, less shielded jumper cable the operator had put in line to minimize cable torqe. Also this introduced a barrel connector. Once discovered, removing the offending jumper/connector restored the expected clean signal.This jumper worked fine with a 100′ run but the extra length was just too much.
While shooting a night exterior I discovered another digital gotcha. I left the script supervisor/deck/audio/1200a deck and personel inside the building while I moved my 17″ monitor outside into the cold to be close to the action for supervising lighting. When originally connected directly to the mo0nitor from the deck the monitor would not lock up. After routing the feed from the deck through my 5750 scope and into the monitor I was then able to see a picture, abet with some dropouts but useful for lighting and focus pulling.
Again, I am sure most of you are aware of these basic issues but just a heads up for anyone going from just recording to the camera to a double system situation.
Good shooting, M
Marion Laney
Director-DP-sometimes Editor
ideaWercs, inc.
Atlanta, Ga. USA
Producing in HD&35mm&SD
Food Network series “Good Eats” and others. -
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