Matthew Romanis
Forum Replies Created
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The idea, Noah, would be to have between 7 and eight HPX 2000/3000 cameras being directed from a central point covering some action on stage. The vision switcher would be operated by the director and the EDL used to lay up the shots as per his direction. Some fine tuning can be done, or story lines changed to suit what needs to happen in post. I don’t want to have to work backwards from a “program tape”. The job is non linear in nature, I just want a useful outcome from the directing on the day that allows for flexibility.
Has any one heard of a vision switcher that can generate an EDL from the cut? -
Hi Peter,
Yeah, Premier can work with the MXF files in a better fashion than FCP, though we keep getting told this will be rectified soon.
Give me a call if you like to discuss archive solutions. We have bought an LTO3a to handle long term storage of the files generated. We have had much recent success in bringing back footage directly from the P2 files and from QT converted files. Media management we have found is a matter of being strict with logging and identifying files as they are shot then transferred. FCP’s log and transfer is actually a rather nice way of dealing with this, all QT converted files and their logged info can be backtracked directly to the original P2 files.
We use a CALDIGIT 1000Gb mirrored drive on set for handling files generated.
I totally agree that the image quality at this level is great. We are really enjoying this camera on all levels with the work we are doing.
Matthew. -
Hi Shahriar,
Is the HPX 300 you are getting enabled with the AVC Inta card? If so, are you going to shoot DVC Pro HD 100 codec or AVC Intra 100. This decision will have the greatest effect on your workflow.
The log and transfer application with in FCP will deal with HD 100 easily enough, if however you are going to shot AVC Intra 100, then FCP will need to convert those files to Pro Res 422 (choice of standard or HI-Res available here.) This is quite a slow process even on the new 8 core processor, let alone a dual core lap top. I have been rather bemused at how long this process takes at times.
It is a very good idea when you are saving the original P2 files to preview them before formatting the cards, either with FCP on the laptop or P2CMS (Panasonic software) to make sure the data is intact.
I had an experience earlier this year with the 32Gb cards getting very hot and transferring errors to the backup disk, luckily we picked up this before formatting the cards for further shooting. We let the cards cool down and had another look at the footage to make sure. If we weren’t previewing on the day we would have had a major problem in post.
Re the variable frame rates, if it’s so important, why are you not shooting Varicam, Red, or other’s? -
Spot on there Helmut.
It’s lucky that my editor is switched on and diligent enough to watch and log individual clips on import. -
Yeah, you’re right Vincent. It’s wrong to call it native. It is what the chipset and processing is designed to handle the best though, where those cameras look their best.
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Or use a camera assistant that can read!!!
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You cold also try globalmedia.com though I cannot vouch for the quality of those lenses. Some doubt has been cast over the source of these lenses recently, if they actually meet factory spec, or are seconds. I know of two that were calibrated and rejected.
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From memory it’s holding down the 4 “soft” buttons in the VTR panel whilst holding down the menu button. You may need to do all this whilst turning the camera on too, not sure though, haven’t got my camera in front of me at the moment (waiting for a late plane at LAX).
You need to remember that this will turn off the factory pixel masking software, so you may see some pixels in this mode, don’t despair, when you re-cycle the camera it will revert back to normal. Just use some pixel re-mapping software in post if you use it in this mode. -
I haven’t tried this particular combination, but have you tried using an Apple Pro res 422 codec for capture and the same time line? If you haven’t got an approved graphics card or processor then make make sure you only use the Pro Res 422 and not the Pro res 422 HQ codec, it will lock out your graphics card and cause no end of problems.
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The CCD blocks in the 200, 500, and 2100 are 720 native blocks. The HPX 3000 is the only P2 camera to have “native” 1080 chips. The other cameras re map pixels to scale up to 1080, so ask yourself if you are seeing sharper image due to edging or true sharpness. So much of this interpretation comes down to individual perceptions. At 720PN you are probably seeing a progressive artefact rather than image softness, but as I said, it comes down to perception. What you like is what you like.