[Matthew Romanis]

You could try one of two low tech solutions.
1- Use a flash or strobe across the set each time the two cameras roll, then in post use the 1 frame with the flash to visually sync the two cameras. Of course this only works when both cameras are rolling on the same subject at the same time.
2- Use an audio source, like a two way near the mics, or a clap, to sync the cameras. In post you use the audio wave forms on the time line to sync the two cameras to the same point. This has worked well for me in the past when the cameras are shooting the same subject but are placed along way apart. I have used some two way radios held close to the camera mics to broadcast an audio sync (across a mountain side in the snow) to get a series of cameras synced together. Then in post we used the audio wave forms in multicam edit mode to sync all cameras. As long as all the cameras roll and cut at the same time it’s fool proof.

[Matthew Romanis]

The HVX only has component, Y/C video, and composite as out put options. The 1700 has multiple inputs but only the SD/HDSDI is a dual source input with individual switching available. Since the HVX does not offer SDI/HDSDI as an option, this won’t help you.
You need a source switcher, multiple inputs and one output.
If the input sources are not genlocked, then when you switch there will be a 1-2 second delay as the internal sync in the monitor cycles to catch the new sync pulse form each source. To avoid this you will need a source switcher with internal sync of it’s own.
Some computer suppliers have an RGB source switcher available which can accomplish this, you will need to to alter the D9 plugs though to RCA or BNC.
Another option is a cheap quad source switcher from a security CCTV supplier. This will allow you to use either the composite or S-Video (Y/C video) output from the HVX to route to to the 1700 screen. The advantage form this is that in Quad mode you will see both sources at the same time on screen (screen will have 4 partitions of which two will be your cameras) or you can use the quad switch between sources full screen. Be careful though as some of the cheap models look a bit “ropey”, decent money spent on this (read $200-$400) is a good investment if you are doing multiple camera work often.
Check these out.
<https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/246202-REG/AV_Toolbox_AVT_8120_ATV_8120_Quad_Splitter_with.html>
<https://www.gaotek.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=116_92_78&products_id=232>

[Matthew Romanis]

Question- How many art directors does it take to change a light bulb?
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Answer- “Does it have to be a light bulb???”

[Matthew Romanis]

Did you have the camera in save mode?
The front switch save/standby turns the flip out monitor on or off.
Matthew.

[Matthew Romanis]

Of course there is a difference, especially in reading fine detail. Almost none of the features that make a good dedicated scope such a great tool are evident in the FCP scopes, they are merely a good guide. You do need to know how to read it and how to interpret what is being displayed.
The suggestion to use them follows on from your comments that you do not have access or budget for a good scope or quality monitor.
There are many ways to achieve what you need to do, I would strongly suggest some trial runs and test footage to key, there is only so much help that you can get from a forum, you need to trial some of these methods for yourself.

[Matthew Romanis]

Connect the HVX to the Mac book (there may be a menu item you need to check in the HVX, I’m not sure), launch FCP, select the easy set up to suit the codec you are originating in (in your case DVC PRO 100 and the flavour you want), and open the log and capture window. You may need to select “Non Controllable device” from the device control tab.
Now click on the “Clip Settings” tab and select the “video scopes” button to see the scopes. They won’t show you real time, delayed by about 4-6 frames, but it is certainly good enough.
If the scopes window looks too small, close the log and capture window, make the canvas window as large as your screen can handle, then open the Log and capture window again making the same selections as before. The windows should now be much bigger.
Control click on the wave form and you can select between saturation and raw target data.

[Matthew Romanis]

Hi Rick,
The short answer is “yes”, and “you can’t”.
This has been a subject of much contention in the past, there are some adjustments in camera to be made that soften or enhance the detail features in processing, but none of them actually allow you to turn off this detail processing like you can in most ENG/EFP professional cameras.
The best idea if you are not sure of what you are doing is to use the camera in factory default mode.
Remember that the HVX is a very good prosumer camcorder, but lacks some of the features that professional cameras have as standard. Using it when what you really need is a fully functioned professional camera, is generally going to be a compromise.
I gather from some of your previous posts that you are trying to pull some clean keys? Your lighting is going to be the most important thing you will have most control over, and will make or break you on the day.

[Matthew Romanis]

Rick, you will find yourself in many situations where there is even light and saturation all over the location you are shooting in, and other times where the light on your subject is unique, or at least different.
You will need to be able to tell the difference so you know if you can perform an overall balance, or be more specific to a particular position and angle. If it is the latter, then walk the camera over to the subject location and balance there, then return to your shoot position.
In no situation should you balance on the long end of the lens, wide or mid lens is OK, but the natural “port holing” that occurs in all zoom lens’s on the long end narrows the colour frequency of light entering the lens, the result is that the light being measured by the CCD/CMOS sensor is slightly different. You can measure this on an RGB parade.
White balance in some situations is not as simple as just pointing the camera at white and balancing, you have to pay attention to the angle of the white card, reflected light on the card, colour differences across the set, and the position of the card to the camera.
It is very important to use the same source of “white” all the time, that’s why using a source card such as the ones suggested by Noah is such a good idea.
So often I see cameramen looking for white in the location they shoot in, it may be a piece of paper, or the side of a fridge or a white car. All these “whites” are different, so each time the camera balance’s it’s doing so with a different ratio of red and blue to green (green is always the reference colour and blue and red are individually adjusted to make a blend of all three signals to produce a standard white).
Many other factors of camera set up have a bearing on this, but let’s keep it simple.
Do a simple test yourself, from your house get a white piece of paper, a white ice cream container lid, and a white T shirt. Place them together under the same light source and observe the difference between them, which one is correct?
The answer is none of them, but to be consistent you have to pick one of them.
You’ll notice that one of them has a slightly green tinge to it, this means that the camera will balance with a bit more red and blue blending to even out the difference. The resulting image will be slightly rosey or even a bit mauve in tonal colour.
If the white source is blue in tone, then the camera will add red and remove blue resulting in what people often call a “warm” tone.
If the white source is red in tone, then blue will be added and red removed resulting in colours with a blue tone.
True white, the kind of white with all the tonal qualities that the camera was originally set up with in the factory, can be bought but it is quite expensive, and changes consistency when exposed to ultra violet light.
So the best idea is to buy a couple of source cards, use one regularly and keep an eye on it’s tonal quality by comparing it to a “safe” one that you keep in a light and dirt resistant pocket.

[Matthew Romanis]

Hi Rick,
I normally use a good grading monitor and scope when I do Key work, however there are times when the old chroma flexi has to come out on light fly away gigs, so I decided a several years ago to sit down in my test area and set a standard that worked with the above “bush” method.
The values you seem to be questioning are the result of playing around with the cameras zebra settings to meet what I normally try to achieve in studio on a wave form monitor. Setting the upper limit 1st at 51% and adjusting the lighting so you see no zebra means it is less that 51% more likely 50% so the mathematical difference is 3%, that’s what I set as a benchmark to achieve when keying with a scope. 3% differential is very flat.
The numbers are not arbitrary, they were achieved with a lot of testing to match the scope, then in being keyed. Numerous successful jobs with this method have been shot in the past.

Another method you may consider is attaching the HVX 200 to your lap top via firewire and using the scopes in your NLE’s capture window. There are cheap programs such as Monitor Magic that can also do this.
Matthew.

[Matthew Romanis]

Remember that zebra is only going to show a lower level on luminance, not the colour saturation which is almost more important to know. Too much saturation and the key will have a frequency range too wide.
I use this method sometimes for quick keys on professional cameras when there is no scope available.
First set the F stop to your desired stop, then on a camera with two stage zebra set the lower value to 47% and the upper value to 51%. Light the screen to see it covered with zebra 1 but no Zebra 2. Once you have done this, the lighting on the screen will be very flat and even with at most a 3% fluctuation.
Don’t adjust the F stop, adjust the 2nd zebra to 70% or your personal setting for average reflective skin tone, now light your foreground talent to your desired levels (you may have to turn zebra 1 off), then drop the 2nd zebra level back down to 51% to make sure that none of the talent light is spilling onto the screen and make any alterations such as shielding or flagging lights.
If you are using a camera with only one zebra that cannot be dropped below 70%, drop the F stop by 1 full stop, light until the the zebra is just filling the screen, then set the zebra 5% higher and make the lighting adjustment to the point where all the zebra is just not displaying, go back to 70% to make sure you haven’t gone too far, then open the iris back to the original setting and take care lighting your talent not to spill any extra light on the screen.
It’s always a good idea to have as much separation between the talent and screen as you can achieve.
This is very much a bush method, but yields satisfactory results.
There is another bush method for keeping an eye on saturation levels of the green screen, but it is too difficult to describe without a hands on demonstration.
Matthew.