Reel numbers/Force Reel (revisited)

[Mike Prevette]

That'd work fine until the loader or runner stuffed it in his or her pocket with 20 other cards. Or set it on a desk net to 5 other cards and picked the wrong one.

I JUST WANT TO TELL THE CAMERA WHAT ROLL I'M ON.

Just like film, dead simple, understood system by everyone on set. Film making is hard enough I just want simple so I can get back to shooting.

 

[Dylan Reeve]

The camera is the only device that should be in charge of numbering the cards - but a tag in the XML for offload apps to write to (like number of copies made for examples) is something a few of us have suggested.

 

[Cail Young]

Here's a tricky one.

Why doesn't 'Force Reel' reset the reel counter?

Example:

Start new project (by switching framerates and then back again)
Format media (A001)
shoot stuff
Format media (A002)
shoot stuff
Format media (A003)

Now, if I want to start another project, and I force reel to 1:
Format media (A001)
shoot stuff
Format media (A004) - WTF?!

Currently the only way I can reset that counter is to do the framerate change trick. Is this the right way?

 

[Brook Willard]

The "force reel" menu needs to be redesigned. The checkbox just doesn't make the changes obvious. As it stands, you must check the box, roll the joystick to your selected reel and then reformat the magazine. It's a bummer.

There need to be two buttons and a reel selector. First select the reel, then click either "force all reels" [which would force the reel to your selected number and continue the sequence afterwards] or "force individual reel" [which would force the reel to your selected number but return to the prior sequence afterwards].

For example:

Camera just shot A004. I put in a card which I want to be A009. I put in the card [camera labels it A005], go to the force reel menu and select A009. I select the "force individual reel" button. The camera relabels the empty card from A005 to A009. I shoot out the card and reload. The next empty card I put in is labeled A005 by the camera.

Or, conversely...

Camera just shot A004. I wrap one project and start on another, wishing to start with A001 again. I put in the card [camera labels it A005], go to the force reel menu and select A001. I select the "force all reels" button. The camera relabels the empty card from A005 to A001. I shoot out the card and reload. The next empty card I put in is labeled A002 by the camera.

These should be two separate buttons and not checkboxes. A button gets a result, a checkbox toggles an option. Since I see this as more of a result operation, a checkbox doesn't make sense to me.

Furthermore, I should be able to change the mag reel number without reformatting the magazine. I can change the camera letter without reformatting... why can't I change the reel number? Formatting isn't a big deal on CF cards, but it takes 30-60 seconds on a RED DRIVE. All of this should be able to happen instantly.

Thoughts?

Please?

 

[Dylan Reeve]

What Brook said...

 

[Trevor Meier]

Yes, please. This is a real pain in the ass - shooting three cameras on a network TV show, and have had to swap out two bodies for various reasons. I can't just label these D & E bodies... they replace A & C. But to avoid duplicate filenames the boys have to sit there and format a card a dozen times or so to get the reel number of the new bodies to match the old ones, which is ridiculous.

 

[Adrian T.]

[edit] wrong thread, sorry. :wink:

 

[Cüneyt Kaya]

any news...changes?

 

[Brook Willard]

I think that build 16 is so dramatic that most of the little things we're asking for may show up in it. If the rewrite required to make 16 is as dramatic as RED is making it seem... I bet it'd be the perfect opportunity to rethink all of these little points based on the feedback they've been getting here.

Consider all the little bugs in build 15. Will they be fixed? Probably not until build 16 comes out. Why bother dropping manpower on rewriting a build whose code will be antiquated in such a short period of time? I mean, I'm not saying I wouldn't like it sooner... but I understand the logic behind not touching anything until 16.