Marvin Holdman
Forum Replies Created
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Sorry to hear about your loss. That sucks.
What part of the world was it stolen from?
Any other peripherals? Bag? Lights? Mics?
Any markings?
When was it taken?
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Heh, I agree. But face it, MANY editors have marginal computer skills, EXCEPT for the few applications that they rely on. Unfortunately, some become such experts at using these applications that they believe their knowledge transcends to the entire machine. If effect, their reach exceeds their grasp.
I agree, anyone that takes even a moment and THINKS about what they are doing will not get rid of things they do not completely understand, but I was only replying to your initial “why, oh why” statement. Just giving you my 2 cents as to “why” these things happen. These are unique times we live in. The more time you spend on computers only brings the realization of just how ignorant to the big picture that any of us individuals really are. Collectively, we have a small chance of divining knowledge and the deeper we go into it, the more we’ll have to find ways (like this) to reach out. Philosophically, it’s quite a conundrum. The more empowered we are as individuals, the more we are going to need to rely on each other. At least, that’s the way I see it. But… I could be wrong :-0
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Regarding workflow…
I would look at MXF for NLE, they are cross platform. We usually archive the BPAV as footage and store any working footage with our projects (MOV, MXF, ect).
We also use CatDV to archive finished products, head end mpgs, still images, scripts, audio, pdf’s, ect. It really is that versatile. We’re hoping to develop the HTML side of it to allow access to our folks in the field. Did I mention that it is amazingly versatile?
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
We are VERY happy with the CatDV product. I would HIGHLY recommend getting Calibrated Software’s codecs to use in conjunction with it (calibratedsoftware.com). We run it in a mixed environment of PC’s and Mac’s and it works wonderfully. It is amazing versatile and allows you to manage data in a wide range of styles.
Personally, I’ve been working with it since Hurricane Katrina, at which time I met Rolf (the developer) online and found him to be VERY personable, knowledgeable and helpful. Since then, they have struck up a partnership with Niche Video in Orlando, Florida and brought on a gentleman named Karim Matiff, He is a nice gent as well, and it the rep for the USA.
I will add one other thing…
Whatever database solution you land on, start it ASAP! The backlog of this filebased stuff piles up VERY quickly and is a royal pain to deal with in retrospect. Much, much easier to log your stuff as you go, than going backwards.
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Hi Phil,
I’m Marvin and I’m a cowaholic. Are there any donuts left?
🙂
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Craig,
Why would someone screw with a BPAV folder???
I certainly understand why this happens. As someone who manages 20 year olds, the thing that I notice over and over is the assumption that “because it was that way last time, it will be the same now”.
What I mean by this is that if you are a kid who grew up playing with computers, swapping MP3’s, DIVX, JPEGs ect. Then looking at the Sony system the first time might lead one to think, “Oh, it’s video, I only need the goodies and will trash the rest of this Sony crap”.
I am by no means saying this is good or right (obviously creates angst), but I am saying we all think we know more than we really do. If you don’t believe me, I would have to ask…. do you read the manual for EVERYTHING you purchase? You might be one of the few people that do that, but most, will just start using whatever the device, assuming they “know how it works”.
Oh yeah, Calibrated Software’s MXF plug-in lets you work with orphaned MP4 files. Works great.
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Yes, it’s absolutely true. But you can still retrieve data via the camera and a USB. Hopefully, Sony will get their act together and release a new driver soon.
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Just an FYI for those who are contemplating….
The express slot on the MBP DOES NOT WORK! It crashes the system to plug a card directly into a laptop.
However…
You can still plug the camera in via USB and retrieve files.
Annoying, but not entirely dysfunctional. I, for one, am sticking with Snow Leopard. Got back quiet a bit of HD space and it’s faster accessing external media. Worth it to me.
Whatever you do…
BACKOFF BEFORE INSTALLING!!!
Good Luck!
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
There is also a fair amount of metadata generated by the camera that is nice to keep. The biggest reason to keep it would have to be “future proofing”. While there might not be a lot you can do with your master files now (other than convert them), who’s to say what nifty applications might be developed that will require the BPAV structure?
Better safe than sorry. Petabytes are relatively cheap… why throw media away?
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv -
Although it transfers the footage to MOV’s, they should still have the same file name. The exported EDL from FCP should correspond to the file names of your raw footage. Of course, if you do this, it becomes VERY important that you always generate unique file names in the camera. We’ve come up with a few practices that do this, based on particular camera and the date.
You are just wanting to know which shots your editor is referencing, correct?
Beyond that, there are a couple of different MAM systems that allow that type of two way communication. We are using a combination of CatDV and Calibrated Software to do that now. It works fairly well.
Marvin Holdman
Production Manager
Tourist Network
8317 Front Beach Rd, Suite 23
Panama City Beach, Fl
phone 850-234-2773 ext. 128
cell 850-585-9667
skype username – vidmarv