We return the next day to load out. We send the VistaBeams off with Alan
(his Ford Windstar is big enough for the road case, and he can use the Vistas on a gig), and send one data drive off with Tim
and two with me (we had transferred each card to a drive with XDCAM EX Clip Browser; made QuickTimes
with XDCAM Transfer, and then duped the data onto two additional backup drives). Tim and Alan return
gear to Chater and DTC; I return gear to Videofax. We all go home and catch up on sleep.
Over the weekend, I make yet another backup of the clips, and Tim picks up his now-repaired MacBook Pro
(all fixed under warranty) from the Apple Store.
What's next? Last Monday, Aaron picked up the master data drive, so it's off to
Rob's crew for post. Some day, we may see it. And I hope to post
some frame grabs next week, after CineGear Expo.
After a week of recuperation, my thumb is back to about 75% functionality. That danged composite cable
really mashed some nerves! I don't plan to use the EX1 handheld with that cable plugged in again, and
I suggest you avoid doing so, too.
We found that Sony's own XDCAM EX Clip Browser was a good tool for marching data off the SxS cards and
onto disk; it has CRC checking to increase reliability, and the workflow is both fast and simple.
We did find, also, that making QuickTimes ASAP, before releasing the cards, was essential: we had one
system crash of unknown etiology during a transfer, and while the transferred clips looked OK, they could
not be converted to QuickTimes: we got a "metadata missing" error. As the card had not yet been erased,
it was simply re-transferred without incident, and QuickTimes were then made from the fresh transfer.
No clips were lost to operator error during six days of shooting, with about ten hours of total recording
across 34 SxS loads. Establishing good procedures is an essential part of the workflow. Exposed cards
were always placed to the left of the MacBook Pro; erased cards to the right. Tim made sure to take a
card all the way through the process before turning his attention elsewhere.
The EX1 lets you set the REC REVIEW function to play back the last three seconds of the previous clip,
the last ten seconds, or the whole thing. On several occasions, Aaron or I would press REC REVIEW
accidentally, between takes, and have to wait for the playback to complete before we regained control
of the camera. Based on this, I'd suggest using the three- or ten-second settings only. If I had had
the camera set for "entire clip", and had pressed REC REVIEW after that 25 minute take? Heck, we'd still
be sitting there in Mill Valley...
Similarly, the EX1's ASSIGN 4 button, below the lens, is unassigned by default. I had in my wisdom set
it up for DELETE LAST CLIP, thinking it would be handy to have. On a couple of occasions, after
manhandling the camera around on the DvRig, I saw the message, "Delete Last Clip?", with "Execute"
and "Cancel" choices in the EVF. I was so freaked out, I simply powered off the camera, just to avoid
accidentally moving the highlight to "Execute" before pressing the selector button. After only three or
four such frights (I'm a slow learner), I went into the menus and unassigned that button. Alternatively,
I could have set it to something innocuous, like "take up knitting", or "count sheep", but clearly,
DELETE LAST CLIP was not the right thing to have assigned to an out-of-sight yet easily-pressed
button.
The EX1 is a beast to operate; the lens, when fully wide, has too much distortion; the wide-angle adapter
is prone to flare. But despite all my whingeing, the cameras really came through. The EX1's handling of
tone and color were consistently pleasing, and its ability to handle contrast was jaw-droppingly amazing.
The zoom rocker's ability to creep the lens along at a snail's pace came in handy several times, as did
its smooth ramping and high top speed. Even with detail off, the pictures are almost distractingly crisp
at times, and the pix lack the chromatic aberration that plagues many low-cost HD cameras.
I wound up using the EVF for focus most of the time, even though the LCD is sharper. The EX1's digital
peaking signal wasn't useful, as we often didn't have enough sheer brightness in areas of interest to
trigger it, but the expanded focus function was universally helpful in nailing the focus point.
I set the cameras up to a standard profile, with the following changes:
- Detail: Off
- Gamma: Cine4
- 1080p24, HQ recording.
- Shutter: Off (1/24)
That was it: no fancy matrix settings or anything like that. I used a 1/24 shutter to increase motion
blur and reduce the staccato look of a 180 degree shutter; Rob liked the smooth fluidity of 60i, and I
thought that 24p with a 1/24 shutter would be a good compromise between 24p-ness and smoothness.
Rob seemed to like the look, and as long as he's happy, I'm happy.
[1] As this is one of the very, very few times we've ever wrapped any time close to schedule,
please indulge me as I glory in the stunning accuracy of my prediction.
[2] OK, I'll stop now. Really.
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