monster multicam

[Walter Biscardi]

[jason levy] “Our hardware is totally inadequate for using the FCP multicam function with that many cameras. “

What hardware are you using? You should probably have the latest Octo Core with 10GB RAM and a Kona 3 along with a very fast SATA or Fibre Array running 400 to 500MB/s.

[jason levy] “Is Avid the way to go for this sort of thing? “

How is Avid going to help if you don’t have the proper hardware for FCP?

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.

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[Nick Meyers]

is it FCP, or is it your drives, i wonder?

the obvious question is what format is your media in?
and can your drives cope with 10 streams of it?

nick

[Jason Levy]

No they can’t.. Faster storage and beefier computers clearly are part of the new plan. But exactly what?

I guess what I am wondering is if we do get the proper hardware will it work properly? That will be a very large investment in order to test out the FCP multicam function. The local dealer doesn’t have anything like that just lying around for you to try out. I was hoping to hear from anyone who is doing something similar for a report on exactly what gear they are using and what the performance is like.

[Francis Hughes]

If your footage is SD (and I hope it is) as 10 cameras a HD that will be a hell of a computer you would need. You can help your self out a lot by changing your RT settings to low quality play back also frame rate but that would make editing hard. Also look into offline editing that may help a little (you capture at a lower quality). Im on an G4 1.25GHz and I can run 3 cameras but changing between cameras is sluggish. I would also recommend using activity viewer to end as many system processes that you can (please google each process if your not sure what it is, especially if you ending processes that are ‘root’.)

Hope that is of some use.

[Nick Meyers]

well i haven’t had to deal with 10-angle multiclips.
3 is about all i ever need, and i’m not having any show-stopping dramas with them.

FCP has had multclips for quite a few years now, and if it was totally inadequate, i guess we would have heard about it.

still, you have to ask.
but you aslo have to give more info yourself.

what format do you hope to work with,
what gear do you have, etc, etc

“I was hoping to hear from anyone who is doing something similar”
similar to what?????

“a very large investment”

maybe not.
if you work with Offline RT, for instance, you probably wouldn’t need an Xsan.

nick

[Mark Raudonis]

Jason,

we are currently doing 14 episodes of a one hour, multicam show, that regularly uses 12 camera angles. Large scale multicam shows ARE possible. We’ve been doing them for years.

Here’s what you need to do.

#1. Stop nattering about Avid!

#2. Spec and install systems that are up to the task. (RAM, Drives, CPU speed)

#3. Design a workflow that plays to FCP’s strengths, not weaknesses.

#4. Give up the idea that you’re going to be able to use FULL RESolution… use off-line RT instead.

#5. Have people, resources, and policies in place to handle the Off-line > online process.

#6. Understand that a project containing a 12 camera multicam sequence is going to be TWELVE TIMES BIGGER than a straight cut sequence… watch out for project size memory issues.

#7. Have a realistic idea of the extra time required for all of the above and plan your post schedule accordingly.

#8. Test media manager, and be comfortable with how it works. Understand where it breaks down and what those implications are for an “off-line to on-line” workflow.

#9. Understand the implications of “off-line” resolution (320 x 240 vs. 720 x 486) and what this means for translating grfX.

#10. Go visit someone who has this kind of set up in place and understand what you need to make it work.

Good luck.

Mark

[Jason Levy]

what format do you hope to work with,
what gear do you have, etc, etc

Format- originals are DVCProHD but we’d offline in DV.

“I was hoping to hear from anyone who is doing something similar”
similar to what?????
To what I mentioned above – a multicamera show with up to 10 cameras.

“a very large investment”

maybe not.
if you work with Offline RT, for instance, you probably wouldn’t need an Xsan.”

We think that DV quality offline is the minimum…

[Jamie Pickell]

My co-worker cuts a music show of live performances and some of his shows have had up to 10 cameras. (He’s cut about 30 shows using multicam.) He shoots in HD (to future-proof the show), but cuts in DV50 off of firewire drives daisy chained via firewire 800 (not ideal, but getting a different storage solution is out of his control). He’s cutting on an Intel Mac that’s about 1 1/2 years old (not sure the specs on the machine, I think it has 4GB of RAM). He hasn’t had any issues that I’m aware of with the mulitcam feature. He does his media management and then sends the show out of house for someone to color correct using Color.

If your show is delivering in HD, then you should definitely offline in a low-rez codec and then online in ProRes 422HQ. Fast drives and a lot of RAM will do wonders to the speed of your work-flow.

Hope this helps,
Jamie
OS 10.5.5
FCP 6.04
2×3.2GHz Quad-Core
8GB RAM
XRaid
Kona 3

[Jason Levy]

[Mark Raudonis] ”
#1. Stop nattering about Avid!
OK!

#2. Spec and install systems that are up to the task. (RAM, Drives, CPU speed)
Yes, planning all new gear for next season.

#3. Design a workflow that plays to FCP’s strengths, not weaknesses.
Could you give me an example please.

#4. Give up the idea that you’re going to be able to use FULL RESolution… use off-line RT instead.
Not even DV?

#5. Have people, resources, and policies in place to handle the Off-line > online process.
Yes.

#6. Understand that a project containing a 12 camera multicam sequence is going to be TWELVE TIMES BIGGER than a straight cut sequence… watch out for project size memory issues.
Yes ok. How much ram do you use?

#7. Have a realistic idea of the extra time required for all of the above and plan your post schedule accordingly.
Yes.

#8. Test media manager, and be comfortable with how it works. Understand where it breaks down and what those implications are for an “off-line to on-line” workflow.
Seems to work ok except for speed changes which are permanently broken I gather.

#9. Understand the implications of “off-line” resolution (320 x 240 vs. 720 x 486) and what this means for translating grfX.

#10. Go visit someone who has this kind of set up in place and understand what you need to make it work.”
I’d love to. Can’t find anyone here in MOntreal. Anyone?

[Jason Levy]

I appreciate that info. Thanks.

jason