[Colin Morris]

Hi Angelo- There are 2 other issues you should consider. Make sure you have a quality power conditioner and UPS (not just a surge protector) to plug the raid array into. Arrays are sensitive to power fluctuations etc. Another thing you should consider is paying a bit more for Enterprise class hard drives as opposed to desktop drives. They are faster and fail far less. You should not have a problem with 2TB drives-especially if they are enterprise class. If you want to edit on more than one machine (render on one, edit on another etc) with access to all the footage, you may consider Network Attached Storage (NAS) which will have an ethernet connection. A NAS is usually configured as a RAID array of some type, with several drive bays. Any computer on that network segment can access NAS. Stephen is totally right about hot swapping- It can lead to complications with RAID. Hope that helps.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

I think there are some definite codec issues because from what I have seen you need a $200 plugin to get the RAW footage into AVID and Premiere. So it’s not a drag and drop on the timeline workflow. The original Blackmagic camera has the RAW workflow pretty seamless because of the included Davinci Resolve software.
I generally wait until there are 5-6 serious shoots done with the camera-then I call the DOP and ask questions. Sometimes the local Sony reps or rental houses will have info on who has actually shot a pro project with the camera. There is no substitute for talking with someone who has had to use the camera under pressure. Hope this helps.
Colin

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Hi Will-here is a link to the latest workflows as of April. I would continue to check with Sony because the cameras are new and it seems that camera manufacturers are leaning towards more frequent firmware updates then we have seen in the past. (Kind of RED style)

https://community.sony.com/t5/F5-F55/Workflow-Latest-information/m-p/68083#U68083

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Hi Calvin,
The first thing you will notice with Vegas is that it ingests raw footage from many more cameras than FCP. You can just drop it on the timeline and you are good to go. Overall, the learning curve is far less steep than FCP-and it will be even easier for you because you have already been trained on a Non Linear Editor. Just download the 1 month trial and get your hands dirty. I would also highly recommend checking some of the video tutorials from Sony and Creative Cow to get a feel for more advanced workflow.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Hi Sam,
I would recommend a multitrack audio hardware recorder that can do a mixdown to CD. I own an older Yamaha but now I would recommend the Tascam D-24 https://tascam.com/product/dp-24/
You need something that is not dependent on a computer. The Tascam is simple to use. As far as updating your cameras-you probably should upgrade to identical cameras that use SD memory. You can remix everything in Vegas if necessary.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Hi Brian,
I own a VG-10 and we have been able to use the HDMI out to a rented Marshall 7 inch monitor that had a through connection. We could then connect an additional monitor to the Marshall’s output for the director. The LCD would be disabled, but we could still get 2 monitors working to frame the shot. Not sure of the Marshall model number. I would bring the camera in to a rental house or big dealer and try it. Hope this helps.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Ron, One technique you can use is to create two separate audio files and apply a different plugin to each. You can then combine the two to create a final file.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Hi Roger,
As mentioned with the Zoom recorder, you should be able record the input on the D-50 and use the line out or headphone out to feed the camera audio input. This gives you a double system. You would still plug your headphones into the camera, so you can monitor. I do it all the time with tascam recorders. I have found that the recorder output does not cause the camera auto gain to kick in very much. Another useful tip is to record one channel hot and one low on the recorder so you have a margin of audio level safety. Some recorders have that feature built in.
Colin

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

That’s a good point Norman. I’d forgotten about that. I am using Edirol and M-Audio interfaces that use ASIO drivers to output the sound, then I go to KRK or M-Audio monitor/speakers. Pro audio interfaces usually come with ASIO drivers so the audio quality is greatly improved over a stock motherboard or soundcard. ASIO also helps a lot with computer latency(delay) when you are overdubbing.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca

[Colin Morris]

Hi Matthew,
Steve is totally correct. Generally you have to make sure that your master is at the desired level before you mixdown/render. Usually the problem is the opposite(avoiding clipping) There is a chance you could have some phase problems if you are mixing down multiple stereo tracks. Sometimes they cancel each other out. If you set up the project like you would on a hardware mixer (all tracks mono) and then mix down to stereo, it would clear things up.

Colin Mendez Morris
ArsMusica
http://www.arsmusica.ca