Neil Randall

Cheers, mate. From my audio-engineering days, it was always necessary to clean the tape heads with isoprop once a day but the hire co. has told me it'll be done before it goes out and that we should only need a lens and body cloth. The built-in cleaner sounds like it's replaced the need for every-day cleaning. Gues we'll leave it alone! Thanks again, NR.

We're six days from production now and I thought it prudent to ask about maintenance. We're shooting for four-and-a-half days, aiming to capture two hours of footage for a fifteen-minute film. How often should we clean the heads (assuming the SDX comes to us clean)? Based on my audio engineering background, before use every day, but I'm not so sure with cams. Either way, do I need the cassette or can I use the classic isopropynol/earbuds combo? Any other care tips, send them this way too. Thanks, NR.

I've tried Avid DV Xpress 3.5 but found it impossibly hard to use compared to Vegas or even Premiere. I've also found a third-party codec that allows Premiere and Vegas to process DVCPRO50 and HD files natively and in real-time. It's called Raylight. Think I'll investigate that. Thanks again, NR.

Ta. I replied in the other thread.

I'm hoping to capture DVCPRO50 footage shot on a SDX900 to a Win XP PC, via an SD93 VTR. Does anyone know what file format the footage will appear in Win as? I've asked in my other thread but no-one's replied. Thanks.

Having just reread your comments, I see it's the software you refer to first . My previous post may not have been plain, so to clarify, are you saying Sony Vegas on a PC is incompatible with DVCPRO50 footage sent over FW? I assumed the data spat out by the SD93 would be captured by Vegas as a Windows-native uncompressed format, say AVI. I want to shoot as high quality as possible (50) but not at the expense of trapping the footage on the tapes forever, cos my NLE is incompatible. It's a luxury just to have the SDX and post is not an option, so given my setup, what would you do? Thanks in advance, gov.

Cheers! Now to find out if I have talent or not...

I'm not sure, but there's been no mention of compatibility problems from the rental house. The geezer there is lending us an AJ-SD93 to whizz it over to my laptop via FW. He mentioned it'll only support DVCPRO25 but suggested we shoot PRO50 anyway, in case we ever get to o/p to film. All I need is an uncompressed AVI for editing - too much to ask? I'll have a butcher's at the Matrix A file, too. Thanks for the heads-up, mate, NR.

Got a polariser, set of NDs, ND Grads, and Promists. 12 filters, £7 each per day. About $13. Soon adds up on a student budget!

...so even if they're not included, the rental house should have them, I suppose.

Bloody hell, you did didn't you? I'll find out about ND grads. And avoid cokins. What's the deal with Hoya? It does come with a mattebox, but there's been no mention of filters. That said, being new to this renting malarkey, it could be filters are an unspoken extra, hence there being no mention of them. But I had to hire the batteries, charger and AC unit separately, so I just assumed we'd provide our own 'consumables' - stock, filters, lens cloth, cleaning casette, etc. Don't forget - this is rip-off Britain we're talking about! Ta, NR.

Thanks again Dave. We've got CUs of a woman, but of a 21-year-old with pretty-much flawless skin. Polariser - yep, that makes sense. Don't think we'll need a colour grad. I'll research detail and edge-enhancement and maybe look at a 1/8 Black Promist. But at a hundred notes a pop, something tells me we'll be using Cokins not Tiffens! Cheers, mate, NR.

Ok, so after all my questions, we got a sweet deal from the hire company (albeit 120 miles away). Some people have recommended using a Tiffen Promist Black 1/4 to take the 'video' edge off the footage. Having glanced at the literature for the filter, I think it looks like a soft-focus filter and noticeably so. Again, I'd rather leave the footage neutral/flat then soften in post. We're shooting in June with int/ext locartions, all natural. We'll have redheads, blondes, 330w unknowns and (if we're lucky) a Fresnel. There will be tungsten and flourescent on the sets. There's no water, but grass, glass, wood and carpet, so a variety of reflective qualities. Anybody like to recommend what we should have in our kit (UV, ND, Pola, Skylight) ? Any advice is gratefully received. Thanks again, NR.