[Bob Cole]

Not sure what you meant by that, and I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t think you can deduct a “n/c” from income. If you just mean your internal accounting, that is a very interesting idea.

[Bob Cole]

[Michael Slowe] “Yes Bob, the main disadvantage with only archiving files is that on re import you don’t get all the audio tracks, only left and right.”

When I’m pretty sure we’ll be updating the show, I wind up exporting a mix for the client, and versions with “narration only,” “sync and effects only,” and “music only.” Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to export about 6 separate tracks?

[Bob Cole]

[Bill Davis] “I now think of these as “fishhook agreements” – easy to get into – but darn hard to stop. “

Very true. I use direct withdrawals for credit cards, but not for Comcast. When my mother-in-law tried to end her Comcast service, they were very happy to cut the service immediately, but it took months to stop the withdrawals.

[Bob Cole]

Registering on the Do Not Call List is useless. The worst telemarketers simply hide their numbers and refuse to identify themselves, in case you want to sue them. And I think that many org’s are exempt, including businesses with whom you do business.

It puzzles me why any company that makes money from telephony would make us avoid telephones.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

All good points. Years after a production, I’ve had requests like “her entire speech at the Lincoln Memorial, not just the parts we used.” Or, I’ll need an establishing shot of a location, and “Oops, we didn’t use that shot in the edit.” Admittedly, those instances are rare.

I like your approach. Do you also make split track masters? On occasion I’ve gotten a request to re-edit a show. When that happens, it really helps to have all the elements, to avoid problems with dissolves and discontinuous music.

I am trying to wean myself off FCP7 and migrate to Premiere Pro. Maybe there’s a utility in PP that will gather up all the elements in a show for archiving? Camera start to camera stop?

As for LTO, I have an LTO-3 drive. For years, I was convinced that it was the way to go, but now I’ve stopped using it. It’s slow, it has low capacity, making off-site copies doubles the time, and worst of all, it’s mechanical, and I’ve had to have it rebuilt. If I’d had an urgent need to rebuild a show, I would’ve been better off with pairs of hard drives than with a drive that was out of commission for two weeks.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Ian Cook] “I’d strongly recommend using Content Browser instead of the older EX Clip Browser.”

I’m using an old Mac Pro (1,1) as my Archiving Central, and keeping OSX 10.7.5, so I don’t think I can use Content Browser on it. Why do you strongly recommend using Content Browser?

Yes, your procedure of drag-and-drop is the one I’m using, in order to consolidate all the XDCAM clips into one folder. The main reason for this is that for archiving, I’ve decided to go with multiple hard drives, as opposed to LTO tape. Once I make one backup, I’d really like to simplify creating the “dupe.” With Clip Browser it’s a lot easier to make a duplicate of one large folder than many small ones.

One related thought: I have to archive all sorts of media, from GoPros, DSLRs, edited files, stills, and Sony XDCAM. I’m curious as to whether anyone is duplicating their media using Finder and ShotSum. If I use the Sony backup software, I have to also use Finder to duplicate the non-XDCAM files. If I just use Finder for everything, and check with ShotSum, I could save a step. Any problems with that?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Very interesting comments. Thank you all. Glad to find that I’m not the only one who does this.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Both of those LED lights look a bit small and perhaps underpowered. The larger the source, the softer the light. I’d recommend a KinoFlo Diva 4-light, which allows both tungsten and daylight.

You may be better off going very simple, if you don’t have a big budget. Or even if you do! Simple can be beautiful. If you can get away with only tungsten, pair a softbox (Chimera “small,” which is quite large) with any old Lowel fixture (eBay!), Tota-light, DP, or Omni. Add a 100/200 watt “Pepper” for a hairlight or side/backlight for separation from the background. Don’t forget some nice C-stands. Cheap! Nice!

But there is always natural light, if you can get it just right. Some of my most memorable interviews have been shot with light from an open barn door, or backlight with a reflector. Sometimes you can get more relaxed “performances” when you don’t confront your subject with a lot of gear.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Sorry for the delay in responding.

Yes, the card had the BPAV structure — I was always able to offload the media from the card, from the Express Card/34 slot in my 2008 MacBook Pro. As a precaution, I took the card out of service during my shoot. Since then, I’ve tested it some more, with these results.

1. Inserted into Slot B. Got same warning.
2. Tried same card in Slot A. Worked perfectly.
3. Re-inserted same card in Slot B. Worked perfectly.

I do not recall for sure whether I switched slots earlier when the problem first arose. I think I did, but I can’t swear to it.

I haven’t tried Enrique’s technique of blowing air into the slot. Is that a recommended procedure? If so, canned air or airbulb?

Ian, given that the card now works, but that it did not work, should I send the card in, or not? Is there some sort of diagnostic procedure I could run here to evaluate the card and the slot?

Thanks.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Bob Zelin] “PreRoll Post does NOT support tape libraries (only single tapes), so if you need library function, it’s a no brainer – you choose Tolis BRU. “

Hi Bob, I know this is a dumb question, but I’m not sure what you mean by this. Are you saying that PreRoll Post won’t span between two tapes? What exactly is the “library function”?

Bob C