sibte hassan

Hello,

 

Somebody's DP dropped out of their movie 3 weeks before shooting and I was called in, at the last minute, to replace them. They plan on shooting on the HVX200 recording to the P2 Cards...I have never done this before and I wanted to get some info about the workflow.

 

HVX200 records to P2 Cards...

 

Now to get that info off the cards onto a Hard Drive I have several options. I can conect it with firewire to a computer and download that way (which I've heard is slow)

 

I can use an older Mac PowerBook with an available PCMIA slot that accepts the P2 Cards (which, allegedly, is faster)

 

I can record to a Firestore Device with a firewire cable. (which costs more money)

 

Here's some questions:

 

The firestore seems like the best idea since it has more storage capacity and costs roughly about the price of two 8GB P2 Cards...but is it that dependable? How often should I download the footage to make sure that there aren't any glitches? Or is this even necessary?

 

Should I view my footage constantly to make sure I'm not getting any computer glitches?

 

Do I need a special program to view the files once they have been downladed onto my computer? Will FCP play these? And also, do I need a special program to download these files onto my computer?

 

I've heard people say it takes about as much time to dump footage off a P2 card as is does to do a mag change...but others have said, it takes 5-10 minutes...I'd get fired if a mag change ever took that long...

 

I've been reading a lot of threads, here and elsewhere, but I still had some questions...

 

What's the cheapest and most efficient workflow solution out of the bunch? I feel like I'm leaning towards the PowerBook with P2 capabilities...

 

Thanks for reading this barrage of questions and chatter...I appreciate any and all info...

 

John

 

P.S. The Production doesn't have very much money, i.e. $0. So elaborate, expensive schemes won't work.

John,

Two 8GB cards, MacBook G4 with PCMCIA Slot. You should have enough space on the laptop otherwise i carry my 60GB ipod to dump footage. A good AC will do the trick. I have heard horror stories about FireStore and P2Store. Also if you want to make sure all the files which are being downloaded are without any glitches then ideally have FCP 5.0.4 on the laptop so you or your AC can convert the MXF files rightaway. That will save you and your production alot of time and money.

I have been practicing this workflow from the last 7 months and thank God i havent had one problem.

sibte hassan, that is a very long shot. Are you using multiple camera angles?

 

I loved the pan backwards as the man walked to the confrontation. Excellent!

 

PS. - The one father, who took his anger out on the man...excellent acting B)

For this feature, overall I am trying my best to keep least amount of cuts.

Yes actors are great, extremely dedicated to this project. Great acting just makes the shot looks so much better!

Gentlemen, gentlemen ... don't bash the manufacturer just because you couldn't balance the rig with the camera. Personally, I think any "handheld" stabilizer is a waste of time (and energy.) Your results WILL be much better when combined with the Smooth Shooter system.

 

Dave

i agree and I have seen paparazzis running with their little 3 chip sony cameras. they are the ones who benefits the most out of glidecam 2000 and 4000.

Also once i balanced my camera i just have silver marker marks on the rig. it takes 10 minutes from opening the box to the first run. Its pretty cool!.

Just a question. You mentioned using the HVX and redrock adapter on the Glide cam. My friend asked me this the other day too and i wasn't sure if it would work. When shooting on with the M2 adapter, the image is inverted right. So you need to mount an on board monitor to view the image the correct way up. So after the adapter, lens, mattebox, camera, monitor and monitor battery is attached to the glide cam, what kind of weight are we talking about. can the glide cam take that kind of weight?

 

Just a question i had

Regards

Ken Minehan

i wish GlideCam can take that much weight. Its meant to carry 6-9lbs max.

Wow, that's a pretty long shot. The HVX200 is quite heavy. Did you have a smooth shooter vest? How much did the whole rig weight?

I got the whole system and with the complete camera, battery, arm, weights and vest, its like 20lbs. I insisted in taking one long shot and this was my 4th take and the last.

I have a friend who just ordered a Glidecam. I assume it's the 4000 because he plans on using it with an HVX. I should be able to report on some tests and maybe post some footage in the next couple of weeks.

Hey Guys

I shot this on my HVX GlideCam 4000. Remember this is my first day using my glidecam. Love to hear from you guys.

http://www.sibte.com/shot.mov

Can someone tell me please exactly what files need to be transfered from P2/Firestore and maybe how, so that this never happens to me?

From the P2 cards, copy both, the 'lastclip.txt', and the 'contents' folder onto your hard drive. What happened with me was that my assistant messed up the lastclip file and that, only for FCP, makes the footage not readable. With Avid, it works.

If he's only using his Macbook for transferring the files over to an HD, couldn't he just drag & drop the files from the P2 card directly into his HD without even having to work with FCE?

 

I'm completely new to the P2 workflow, but since it's filebased, this should be a possibility, right?

You can use your laptop for accessing the p2 card, and then store the data in separate folders on internal or external hard drives. I havent used FCE so i dont know if you can or cannot import p2 footage. Anyways, once you are done copying files, then you need to import these folders to FCP 5.0.4 (minimum version)

All the LASTCLIP.txt does is help you with spanned clips.

How are your trying to import footage?

I have been trying the usual way in FCP. Nothing different, I have shot and downloaded more than 200 hours. Its just my luck that the txt files are corrupted. Anyways i did find another way, that is, take it to a AVID machine as it doesnt require .txt to import. A friend of mine is helping me out with it.

Thanks for the help from all.

Do you have all the original files

in the CONTENTS folder?

All the files are in their respective folders. Just the .txt is the problem.

Do you still have the CONTENTS folder???

 

LASTCLIP.txt is easy to re-build

here is an example

 

0008OH (This is the name of the lastclip without the .mxf extension)

1.0 (This number is always 1.0)

9 (This is the number of clips +1)

 

Make a new folder on your HD.

Then copy the CONTENTS folder and the LASTCLIP.txt

file you made with texteditor.

 

Then in FCP (I assume that is what you are using?)

Import P2>the new folder

 

e-mail if you need any help beyond that.

I tried exactly the way you described, but it didnt work.

Hello All,

My AC lost the .txt files which you get once you copy the P2 card on your computer. Now FCP cannot import it at all. There is logic behind the content of those txt files, does anyone know the algorithm.

Or

Is there any utility which can covert .mxf to quicktime. I shot everything in 1080i/24pa.

thanks

I had this problem once, the first week when i bought it, and then rather than erasing and or formatting the card in my Mac, i do it in camera, and I have shot more than 200 hours without a glitch.

Hey Justin

my question might sound stupid but how did you manage the colors of the lights in the background merge with the key?

Sorry for the previous reply. What was I thinking?

Which stock did you use, was there any particular setting on the camera you had when you shot? as in gamma, master pedestal etc. How much did it cost? Did you just do a test?

I performed a film out test at 720P and it looked fantastic - so I am sure 1080P will also

Can you post clip(s), any possiblities?

I dont think I am in the wrong forum and before I go in the labs I need to know what to ask for, is there any particular stock to use or etc. thats all. When i said 1080p I mean straight 1080p, my bad, it does 1080i with 2:3:3:2 pulldown 24pa. thanks for the link, its quite helpful. Also, I am based in New York

i think that the first thign is to make sure you use 1080p instead of i.

 

Unless you need variable frame rates which only work in 720p mode.

I dont think that my camera can do 1080p

Is there a checklist of things to cover while you do a 1080i to 35mm blowup test. I am using my HVX to shoot a feature "salud", rumor has it that we might get funded and my director wants to see how it would look like. Any suggestion as to what settings shall i have on my camera while i shoot certain scenes. Which stock and lab will be good for this kind of test? Any sort of help is appreciated.

Kelly,

Goodluck with your project. My 2 cents would be to stick to your shooting schedule and get a good AD. Someone who can keep you on track. DPing and Directing on shorts is fine but it will take toll on your skills when you are shooting everyday. I know you dont have money but it wont hurt to ask or to post if someone is interested in shooting for you. If you were in NYC area I would have given you atleast 3 people who would love to shoot film. Think about it. One last thing, besides a good warm thankyou at the end of the day you can really get your crew's determination/dedication with good craft services. I was shooting a short last month and we didnt get lunch ontime, it really gave off a bad vibe, which should always be avoided.

watching the video, i had one word, beautiful. You cant have a film out of a video camera. But what you have done with HVX is awesome. I love your other work too. inspirational!!!

What i make out of reading this article is that M2 is much better when it comes to quality and price. Does any one agree to it. I was considering buy M2 adapter and I think I inclining towards it more but need to see what you guys think.

No, it does not.

Mitch, can you elaborate, thanks.

Chad,

Do you use PCI to express card adapter? how much did it cost. i'm interested in getting one.

"Are you at all worried about the extra wear and tear mileage using your camera for

playback for capturing?"

In P2 workflow there is no moving parts, P2 is high speed flash card and once you are done shooting you change the mode on the camera to act like a FireWire or USB drive and connect to your laptop and then import footage using FCP 5.0.4 or higher, its all digital. No playback, even if I was playing back it would be all digital again no wear or tear.