DV tape question

[Steve Eisen]

You can tell just by looking at the footage. It’s that simple.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

[David Roth weiss]

Austin,

The answer is simple, proper labeling of media by the people who shoot them is an essential part of the production process, it’s not an option. Anything less is simply laziness on the part of the camera crew, and it should not be tolerated, but unfortunately, it is.

As a professional editor, it’s your responsibility to enforce and reinforce these kinds of matters with those persons supervising the projects you work on. That should include invoicing them for any additional time it may have taken you to fix their problem. So long as you simply take it on the chin and eat the time yourself, and don’t immediately complain about it to the producers and directors the very minute you discover the problem, these things will continue.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

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[Austin Reedy]

I’m not sure I know what you mean. Looking at 24pA stuff through a deck or camera shows up as 29.97, so how do i know by looking at it that i need to do the pulldown…or not if its just regular 29.97?

I can see when there is the problem after the fact, but would love to avoid having to see it done wrong and recapturing to fix it rather than just knowing i’m doing it right to start off.

Austin Reedy
Freelance Post
Austin, TX

[Austin Reedy]

Understood. Yeah I think I need to take this learning experience and recognize these issues BEFORE I even start. Always ask if not told about these details so its not an issue I feel responsible to fix. I just wish there was some way to find out without having to ask people to provide info they may not have….have been given stuff to capture and the operator didn’t know what they shot…and while i know they should…I just want to figure out a way to do it right without relying on someone who may not know the details i need. thanks for the advice, i gotta be more proactive i guess!

Austin Reedy
Freelance Post
Austin, TX

[David Roth weiss]

[Austin Reedy] “would love to avoid having to see it done wrong and recapturing to fix it rather than just knowing i’m doing it right to start off. “

That is and should be the primary objective in production and post.

When I teach filmmaking, I always start by discussing the Hollywood film factory techniques that were put in place in the 1920’s at the very beginning of the business and that are still adhered to today by most professionals in New York and Hollywood.

The principle has always been that anyone working on a project should be able to successfully hand off that project to anyone else, anywhere in the world, without speaking with them.

Now that film factories have become smaller and anyone can call themselves a professional, the tried and true methods that work so well are being lost or overlooked. The fact is, they still work, and where they are adhered to you don’t see the kinds of problems you’re encountering. It’s that simple.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

EPK Colorist – UP IN THE AIR – nominated for six academy awards

A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.

[John Fishback]

David’s absolutely right. We have a simple form the DIT/video engineer has on location that includes all the info an editor will need to know back in the studio. It’s a laminated index card that travels in our camera case so there are never any questions like this after the fact. During the shoot he makes sure the shooting log is annotated with this info. You could also request it t be on the slate (if they use one). If your company isn’t responsible for the shoot, you might still ask the principals of your company to make sure that companies who book your services get a short list of the technical info you need to succeed.

John

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[Shane Ross]

If the shooter doesn’t know what they shot then they have no business shooting video. That is pure incompetance. Those are the shooters that you don’t hire again.

Shane

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[Austin Reedy]

I’m just trying to figure out a worst case scenario work flow I think. If for some reason someone can’t give me any information about what I’m working with. Do I just need to train my eye to recognize the differences in proper and improperly captured stuff, do capture tests and go from there?

I have been told that if I capture 24pA stuff wrong, at 29.97, there is something I can do without recapturing. Is this true? Do I need to run it through cinema tools and apply the 2:3:3:2 pulldown, or is the problem only fixed by capturing right the first time?

Austin Reedy
Freelance Post
Austin, TX