XDCAM Folder Structure / FCP Import / MOV Rewrap

[David Waters]

Rodrigo, I feel your pain. I’m an experienced shooter doing local and national television news, long form work, and commercials with about 16 years or so in the field. I say all that to set up for the fact, that I was shooting a national show, and copied all the data cards but one correctly. I only copied the CLPR folder. I have spent all day trying to recover the footage with time code. For now, the company that is editing has recovered it without time code. I’m testing another option now…

[Craig Seeman]

[David Waters] “I only copied the CLPR folder.”

I can’t understand that reasoning at all. My experience goes back a few decades. Never would I though of ripping a tape from a 3/4″ cassette, betacam, DVCAM. If a camera encasing a file in something (BPAV in this case) I’d no reason to second guess the camera manufacture and discard something they implemented to encase the files.

All that “stuff” in the BPAV are important bits of metadata recorded with the file. Why would one think otherwise?

[Michael Palmer]

I hate this thread, it pains me to read it and know that there will be others who make these same stupid mistakes.

Good Luck
Michael Palmer

[David Waters]

Craig,

I work in the XDCam format on a daily basis for projects for Discovery Channel, Science Channel, PBS Newshour, and other national shows. I made an error with one folder.

You cannot reasonably compare this to tape, and here is why.
Between shoots that wrap at 10pm and start at 5am, there are 7 hours.
In that 7 hours, you have to take these steps:

-Copy off individual data cards from multiple cameras used, including some in other formats
-Standby in front of the computer screen for an hour watching a taskbar move sometimes to make sure the process isn’t interrupted.
-Make a second copy
-Spot check a couple shots if you have a chance.

That said, because of these extensive checks required, you are opening the files in list form. That is literally several thousand opened clips a night. You don’t go back through and uncheck the hundred or so clips you spot checked. So now, the BPAV folder is wide open, with CLPR folder wide open. You are copying every BPAV folder over.

What happens is clear – operator error. You highlight a lower folder accidentally.

We are dealing with several thousand files, not one single 3/4″ tape. That would be easy to make sure the case doesn’t get damaged or ripped. It’s all packed inside the cassette, and no photog has to take 100 to 200 tapes apart overnight to spot check them, then put them back together. Apples and oranges my friend. I’d much rather be shooting on 3/4″ some days.

Until the card speed increases, the copy time goes down, the price goes down, the media management is very painful. CBS News Productions that edits 48 hours had me work a shoot schedule where between 2 days of shooting on several different shoots, I did not sleep because there was no time with the slow contents management.

-David Waters/321-525-1290

[Craig Seeman]

Sony needs to put a warning label on SXS cards.

I’m still waiting for someone to say they opened an XDCAM disc case and pulled the disc out and why can’t their blu-ray drive read it?

[Michael Palmer]

You missed his point, you yes human error is the problem, so maybe your producers should purchase more media so you aren’t over worked to the point of fatal errors.

Good Luck
Michael Palmer

[Craig Seeman]

[David Waters] “So now, the BPAV folder is wide open, with CLPR folder wide open. You are copying every BPAV folder over.”
[David Waters] “What happens is clear – operator error. You highlight a lower folder accidentally.”

Why are you copying these by hand?
XDCAM Clip Browser with CRC On. Shotput is another choice. Copy and integrity check the copy.
https://www.imagineproducts.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=2

[Craig Seeman]

Isn’t that’s what programs like ShotPut help avoid.

[Michael Palmer]

Yes Shot Put would help him, I use now and it works great.

Good Luck
Michael Palmer

[David Waters]

Michael,

You and I are both in agreement. I’m also in agreement with the human error statement, which I was straightforward about in my post. So I didn’t miss his point, I agreed with his point about human error, and that’s why I said in my case, it was my mistake with one folder out of hundreds I deal with a week. He also asked a question in his post, why would this happen? That was what I was answering.

I would love your suggestion to be possible.
It’s not because many of us shooting network television are freelancers.
So even if we work regularly for the same networks and clients, we are the ones who buy ourselves more gear and media, and I am always investing in more.

Last year, I was both Producer and Shooter for a show post produced by CBS News Productions. Sometimes I am Shooter and Editor for PBS. For 11 years, I was TV Reporter/Shooter/and Editor for an Orlando station, and contributed regularly to CNN. So the short story there is, networks are like every other work place, and doing more with less.

That means the digital workload has become enormous. 2 shoots a day, a night flight to a new city, and 2 new stories the next day for a show I did post produced by CBS meant I would stay up all night between the 2 days copying media and prepping gear for day 2.

I do like the suggestion of doing the CRC for confirmation of a good copy, but what I really need, just personally speaking is much cheaper media, much cheaper readers for that media, and much faster media. That will take more advancement in technology, and more competitiveness.

To everyone on this thread, please find me on Facebook. I have a great group of network, production, post production, and film folks I connect with and I’d love the folks here in this chain to connect since we all have something to share. I’m davidgwaters AT me DOTcom.

By the way, at the end of the day, some great guys at SONY walked me through the way to easily fix the situation. I’ll post that below this so there is an answer for future people in this dilemma. -David Waters/321-525-1290