I am running a workshop at Jigsaw in Nottingham on Tuesday. If you would like to attend this free workshop please contact Jigsaw for further details. http://www.jigsaw24.com/
I have updated my EXperience presentation slides. They now include information on both XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD422 as well as links to video tutorials on many of the subjects covered. CLICK HERE to view the presenation.
I had some interesting discussions at my workshops at PEC and Top-Teks. One of the subjects raised at nearly every workshop I run is the one of “which format will win the format war”. Well lets look at this in more detail. First off what is a modern day format? Is it a tape, physical media, a codec or a combination of these or something else?
If we look back a few years the answer was much simpler, a format was a physical media and the signal recorded on it. Formats were things like BetacamSP, DVCPRO or HDCAM, basically they were a type of video cassette. In the past production companies were tied to specific formats because you had to have the correct player to be able to play that format along with the infrastructure to handle the signals that came off the tape. If you had invested hundreds of thousands of pounds on a DigiBeta edit suite you weren’t going to want your camera crews shooting on DVCPRO as this would require you to spend even more money renting or buying DVCPRO decks. This isn’t a dig at DVCPRO by the way, I’m just using it as an example.
As a result of this camera crews needed to have the most popular format of the day to maximise their return on investment by being able to work for as many production companies as possible. In addition production companies needed to use a common format as if they wanted to share material with other production or facilities companies they needed to be using the right kind of tape. But this is not be the case any more.
Lets look at P2 for a moment. P2 is not a format. It is a physical storage medium used in Panasonic cameras to store data files that contain video information. XDCAM HD is a format that records on to Sony’s Professional Discs, the discs themselves are not XDCAM. It’s the same with XDCAM EX. EX is the codec and the data is stored on SxS memory crads. The common denominator between these different systems is that the video is saved as a data file. Because at the end of the day it is just a data file, that file can be copied like any other data file to an alternate memory device, hard drive or another computer very easily.
The upshot of this is very significant. Just about every professional level, non-linear edit package can accept AVC-Intra, DVCPRO HD and XDCAM files. In some cases a simple importer application may be required, but these are normally free from the equipment manufacturer. The files can be stored on the production facilities raid array or network and then archived to data tape or optical discs at the end of the project. Because of this there really is little reason for production companies to have to restrict themselves to the use of any one “format”.
Instead of insisting on the use of one particular “format” productions should be choosing the appropriate camera or system for the project. Camera operators should be able to go to production companies and not have to worry about whether they chose Panasonic, Sony or JVC etc. Provided the camera meets the minimum specifications required for the job and provided it produces acceptable images it shouldn’t matter whether it is P2, XDCAM or some other system.
Of course there will still be some cases where it will be important that specific cameras are used, for example on a multi camera shoot where all the cameras need to match. What this should mean for cameramen is the choice of format will be less important in the future as it was in the past. This should be good news as it means that cameramen will be able to buy the camera that suits their style of shooting and fits their personal requirements. The problem though is that it needs the owners, producers, editors and engineers at production companies to think differently, to stop thinking “format” and start thinking “appropriate”.
Spent the weekend at Goodwood shooting the historic aircraft. Brilliant event, everyone dressed up in period dress. Got some really nice footage with the EX3 and NanoFlash. Also had the HXR-MC1 in Spitfires, Mustangs and the Vimy (Replica World War 1 bomber). Really got some special footage of what may be the last public appearance of this fantastic Bi-Plane. I’ll put together a short edit in due course.
Tomorrow I’m running and EXperience event at Top Teks, with another in for PEC in Dean Street on Wednesday.
I have been asked to show how I mount my NanoFlash on my EX3 so below are a couple of pictures of the full rig with some details of some of the various items that I use.
1. This is my Petroff 4×4 matte box with bellows hood. I love the old fashioned style bellows lens shade as you can adjust it in and out very quickly to eliminate stray light. A french Flag can be added if desired, but I find in most cases that the bellows shade is fine. Stray light causes reflections both between filters and within the lens, this can reduce contrast in the image so a good lens hood is essential for getting the best pictures. The Matte Box has 2 rotating filter holders. I often use some very gentle blue or grey grads to help with bright skies.
2. The standard EX3 lens. This lens is a remarkably good lens. Keep it between F8 and F2.8 for best results. The sweet spot is F4. Never use the Iris at F16 or F11, your pictures will be soft due to diffraction limiting. This is not a lens fault but something that would happen with any lens and 1/2″ sensors (it’s even worse with smaller sensors). The beauty of the standard EX lens is that it incorporates automatic chromatic aberration correction which means no nasty blue or purple fringes around areas of high contrast.
3. SxS Cards. Even though I was one of the first people to work out how to use low cost SD cards with the fabled Kennsington Adapter I still use SxS cards. The reason is simple: reliability. If you look around the forums you will find lots of people having issues with SD cards. For example a wedding videographer that lost a large part of a service he had shot. If he had used SxS then that just would not have happened. I am a professional and my reputation is vital. That reputation could easily be destroyed if I came back from a shoot with nothing but corrupt data because I had tried to cut corners.
4. Kata Camera Glove. Protects the camera from everyday knocks and bumps as well as unexpected rain or dust.
5. The Cheek Pad. I know many EX3 users don’t fit these. It looks flimsy, but in use it’s strong enough and it really helps to stop the cameras tendency to want to tilt to the left. It makes the camera much more stable and really is worth trying.
6. Convergent Design NanoFlash. This incredible little box allows me to record from the HDSDi output at upto 160Mb/s long Gop. At 100 Mb/s you can’t tell the compressed from the uncompressed. By shooting with this I can grade and color correct my footage, make dubs, go multi generation without seeing any drop in quality. It also means my footage is accepted for HD broadcast by the BBC and the majority of other HD broadcasters. The EX 35Mb footage is good, don’t get me wrong but the 100Mb is sweet. It uses inexpensive Compact Flash cards and by recording to both SxS and the Nano at the same time I can be sure that even if I were to get a card failure I have a backup.
7. IDX V-Lock batteries. One of these will run this rig for around 5 hours. I am also looking at getting some of the Swit EX batteries with the Power-Con/D-Tap out to run the EX and NanoFlash, but by putting the battery out behind the camera the overall balance of the rig is improved. In fact without this larger battery the matte box tends to make it very front heavy.
8. Quick release shoulder pad. This is a home brew affair that incorporates a shoulder pad the V-lock battery adapter and NanoFlash or Radio Mic mount. It can be removed without tools in seconds. Perhaps one day I will get some Zacuto rails or similar, but they are rather expensive and this setup works very well for me.
9. Sony ECM-680S. This is a nice Stereo/Mono switchable gun mic. It is great for capturing nice stereo ambience and effects sound. Flick the switch and it becomes a useful interview mic.
10. DM accessories EX3 reinforcement plate. This is a MUST HAVE item. It provides you with a much stronger tripod fixing with both 1/4″ and 1/2″ threads as well as a host of other threaded holes for various applications. It makes the camera feel so much more solid on a tripod. I really can’t recommend it enough. below this is a cheap, Indian made Matte Box rail kit. It works, but again I could really do with some Zacuto rails or similar.
11. Chamois leather viewfinder cover. Much nicer against your skin than hard rubber. Also absorbs sweat and moisture which helps prevent the viewfinder from fogging. Another option is a small sweat band.
I have uploaded an extract from an exhibition video that I shot and
produced in 3D for one of my clients. The video was shown at the 2008
Photokina show , projected onto a large screen at full 1920×1080 HD.
Most of the product shots were done using a pair of Sony XDCAM EX’s
(actually an EX1 and a EX3). The whole thing was then edited in Final
Cut.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw9PkEP7OuI&fmt=18
I have uploaded some of my XDCAM EX 3D clips to YouTube 3D.
Tornadoes and hail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkSxYq1DBis&fmt=18
Norway and the Northern Lights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_jD72q6nwc&fmt=18
Iceland, Glaciers and Geysers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3u5FDnQgkk&fmt=18
With IBC coming to a close I have had a skim around the various news
sites and to be honest there’s not a lot going on, with perhaps one
exception. 3D. It still seems to be more talk than anything else but
with Sky TV announcing that it will start 3D broadcasts next year and
Sony and Panasonic launching new ranges of 3D ready TV’s it look 3D
will be coming to a home near you. Much of this has been driven by the
recent spate of 3D animated movies, which have been big hits raising
additional revenue for the producers. But to go from 2D to 3D with
animation is pretty straight forward, shooting live action in 3D is
much harder. You need special hardware such as camera mounts or mirror
rigs, you need to learn a completely new set of skills, you must
understand the limitations of 3D and have some idea of how your
programme will be shown before you start shooting. Then in post
production you need 3D monitoring, 3D edit and post production tools
and finally a way of delivering your programme in 3D.
The transition to HD was pretty straight forward as the camera
manufacturers and software companies provided the tools you needed. It
was expensive to be an early adopter, but the tools were there. With
3D it’s not so simple. You can’t just go to your equipment dealer and
buy a broadcast quality 3D HD camera, they just don’t exist. You have
to use complex rigs with multiple cameras sourcing parts from various
small vendors.
The road to 3D is not easy. 3D documentary production for example is
going to be much harder than 2D. I’ve put together several 3D shorts
and corporate videos and I can tell you know that it’s a steep
learning curve, but if you do take the plunge it’s very rewarding to
see your finished production in three dimensions not just 2.
One project I had a small part in was “New Work” which is now being
shown in the South Gallery of Newark Museum. I provided initial 3D
consultancy and 3D guidance for the producers. I’m really please to
see their film getting great reviews. http://www.newarkmuseum.org/NewWork.html
Next week I am running some XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD workshops as part of
the Sony EXperience campaign. Contact the dealers for more info. Then
in February I am running a couple of week long masterclass workshops
in Iceland and Norway. These will be fun adventures where we hope to
film the Northern Lights. In Iceland we will also visit the Geysers
and Glaciers while in Norway we will travel across the fjords and then
arctic tundra by snow mobile. While all this is going on there will be
classes on all aspects of HD video production.
Convergent Design have released a firmware update for the NanoFlash that adds the ability to record .mpg and m2v files that are ready for direct burning to DVD or BluRay. This gives the users of HDMI or SDI equiped cameras the ability to very quickly create content on discs that will play in domestic players. By recording .mpg files there is no need to do any rendering or processing prior to authoring the DVD or BluRay disc. For simple clip trimming you could use a free tool such as Mpeg StreamClip to trim the mpeg files. One application could be to record the main material in the camera and then to feed the NanoFlash with video with embedded timecode, thus creating viewing copies of the footage very quickly and easily.
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