Server Database

[Mark Raudonis]

Michael,

The key is organization. What kind of file naming system are you using? Many people use a combination of date and camera loads as their filename. For example, 124A05 would be today’s date, “A” camera, fifth tape of the day. Then, when digitizing that tape, any clips would increment up: 124A05-1, 124A05-2. etc. With this kind of system in place, you can quite easily find things based on date, camera, and relative position on the tape. We happen to use “time of day” timecode and therefore, we can easily say “find me everything shot after dinner on tuesday”. (I know that time of day code makes digitizing more diffficult, but we happily pay that price for the benefit of being able to easily find stuff.

What are the specifics of your searching needs? What are you trying to find? Clips based on words (soundbites from interviews)? Picture oriented choices (B-roll, stock footage), Scene based material (Slate, take, performance). Each of these examples require fundamentally different approaches to searching.

Mark

[Michael Calvino]

Thanks Mark,

Actually we work with lots of surf footage, and so usually log clips
with specific info like : surfer, location, competition, date, etc.
we are shooting and capturing everyday, so heaps of footage.

Then I get a request for footage of a particular surfer, or specific location
and have to search by manually viewing clips.

I would love to have some kind of databse search app
that can find clips.

Im not familiar with this sort of thing so do not know
exactly how to go about it.

But we are going to set up a new server and so would like to
have some sort of system that is capable of this function.

thanks again

mike

[Frank Nolan]

This may be of some help.

https://www.squarebox.co.uk/professional.html

[Bryce Whiteside]

In the interest of full disclosure iDive digital video software : digital video cataloging and logging software, analog to dv, video storage, ipod software got some good press at MacWorld.

I don’t know if it is industrial strength, but Wes Plate gave it a fairly good review posted at their web site.

FYI,
Bryce Whiteside

[Mark Raudonis]

Just got home from the LAFCPUG meeting where two logging programs were demonstrated.

You may want to check out: https://www.imagineproducts.com/ They have 4 versions available from $99. up to $500 depending on what you need.

Also a company called “Digital Heaven” from the UK has a product called “Movie Logger” https://www.digital-heaven.co.uk/indexflash.htm

Finally, we use something called “Pilotware”:https://www.pilotware.com/ They make very heavy duty, extremely flexible, Filemaker pro based logging programs that can handle HUGE databases. They aren’t cheap, but the software is bulletproof and definitely gets the job done. I believe they also have a more economical single user version available.

That’s it. All of these suggestions have different strengths and weaknesses. Only you can decide which is best for you. Good luck.

Mark

[Bryce Whiteside]

Final Log is stand alone but they do have Final Log Net at their site that works with Filemaker Pro 7 and 8.

This just popped up on my radar. Lots of nice features.

FYI,
Bryce Whiteside

[Michael Calvino]

Thanks I’ll give it a look…