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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

On Set Processes

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SandeepDey

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Now that we are readying ourselves to begin our first serious shoot. I just want to hear what the RED pioneers have to say about the On Set process. Essentially, what should the DIT be looking out for while setting up the camera, prior to the shoot and finally while backing up the media and releasing for reshoot. Any other caveats to look out ofr are also appreciated.

I have put together a checklist but constantly feel I am missing something.

I thank you all in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience.

-Sandeep
 
From the experience of our 6 camera shoot of the Sirens of TI, shot 3 times in the duration of 18 minutes each, @ 4k 23.98 2:1, 3k 60 2:1 and 2k 120 2:1, I can tell you that two very important thing are first, when RED Alert use the Command line so you can get all 8 CPU's on a MAC PRO like ours to render full speed or it will take a long time, second have several TB of space to process, the data compression on the R3D is great, but you need still have lots and lots of TB's.

We also found that, giving we recorded all in RED Drives, it is best to have your DIT downloading the Drive on set instead of waiting to do so after, as we did, given that our studios are so close to the Strip and shooting location, but is sucks to have to then spend hours downloading and finding out that you might not have a shot that you really wanted to begin with, fortunately Gibby was still here i Vegas, and together with Weedowee and Benberry, I went out and shot with 2 RED ONEs the show again, and all was good, but lesson learned.

NEVER shoot W/O a DIT on set downloading your captured data, have a quick look at your shots, and be ready to reshoot in case you don't have what you were looking to get out of your shoot.

Peter, also fortunately has a fantastic deal on EVO2 HD, which we now also have here at KETCHFRAME, with 8TB + 6TB and we are almost finished with the rendering and getting ready to do the first edit, but the RAID capacity is also almost gone, hehe.

ciao
 
SandeepDey said:
Now that we are readying ourselves to begin our first serious shoot. I just want to hear what the RED pioneers have to say about the On Set process. Essentially, what should the DIT be looking out for while setting up the camera, prior to the shoot and finally while backing up the media and releasing for reshoot. Any other caveats to look out ofr are also appreciated.

I have put together a checklist but constantly feel I am missing something.

I thank you all in advance for sharing your knowledge and experience.

-Sandeep
Click to expand...
Hi Sandeep,
Could you post your checklist?
That'd be gold.
Thank you.
Duncan
 
I am not "pioneer " :) but i can also share some info .

Better to use 1 Man , DIT AC only for Checking and backup footage . It can seat near from set and work only for it .
Not share work as Camera man and DIT together , i have bad experiences with it ,
because in 9 hour of job , some body can just forget to copy file :)
Or just reformat card.
Camera man must mark CF card with Real Number every time and send it to DIT.
Also just have 2 CF readers and some extra cables ready on set.
Dit must check all shoots and it will have time for it .
 
Just bought 2 Nexto Extreme and they work wonder! This plus a CF Xpress Card adapter on the Mac gives you 3 backups onset. Need an external HD with Tb'z as well...

My checklist would be this:

-2 Red drives (for swapping)
-CF cards (I have 10 so datas can stay longer on card in case)
-2 Nexto Extreme (double backup of CF)
-1 CF/Xpress card adapter (for the Mac)
-External HDs (like 1Tb minimum, and have many, like 5)
-A Macbook pro

Nexto is great because it vacuums the CF cards really fast and also checks datas to make sure the copy is intergral (does a checksum...)

Cheers
 
Thanks for your responses so far. It all helps.

Duncan, Let me gather & incorporate what I can from the post and I will put up a checklist here.

-Sandeep
 
I agree, AC, Data Capture, and Video Assist are three different positions and each should have separate operators. This will reduce the chance of error and also ensure efficient workflow on set.

Also, on union shows, these positions should be hired from their respective union's rosters.
 
Biba said:
Also better to buy R3D data manager, you will like it , software can check CheckSum , and also manage CF database.
Try it , you will like it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Biba,
First time I hear about it, and belive me, I really need it.
 
First copy the shots from the REDdrive, and do not even look at them before the entire back-up is finished. We had an R3D file open in REDAlert while copying the files, and played around with the colors a bit. Afterwards we found out we could no longer open the file. Neither from the RED-drive, as well as the back-up disk. I think I've seen warnings on this before, but I had to check for myself ;)
 
I use two REDdrives which I swap regularly and backup. I don't format the drives on a days shoot. Say I shoot to lunch on Mag01, to dinner on Mag02, and shoot to wrap on Mag01 again (continuing on from the morning).
My problem with R3D manager is that I have to re-transfer the mornings footage again (which is already backed up). Is there a way to change this. Re-Transferring this footage is excessive and timeconsuming, as i alreadu have three backups. Any thoughts?
 
til said:
I use two REDdrives which I swap regularly and backup. I don't format the drives on a days shoot. Say I shoot to lunch on Mag01, to dinner on Mag02, and shoot to wrap on Mag01 again (continuing on from the morning).
My problem with R3D manager is that I have to re-transfer the mornings footage again (which is already backed up). Is there a way to change this. Re-Transferring this footage is excessive and timeconsuming, as i alreadu have three backups. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Choose the "ignore all" option of "if RDC folder exists". That will allow you to copy only the new RDC folders. This option has been there since day 1.

However, I would point out that by shooting again on a mag you have already downloaded, it makes it harder for the editor and others down the post process to find footage. They now have to check on different rolls where footage is. In addition it can lead to errors with the ACs and Script Supervisor.

Really, there is absolutely no reason that once you have your footage backed up in duplicate (at least) to format the drive to a new drive number. This will help a lot of things flow better and easier - and more people are used to it, since its just like film.
 
Thanks Conrad.

I totally agree with you. It's just a confidence issue with some production companies.
 
This may seem like an insignificant question, but how are you guys marking your CF cards on set? Do you write on them with a permanent marker? Will a dry-erase marker work to change the name of the reel throughout the day?

Also, what's the difference between R3D Media Manager and Clipfinder? Can I do the same thing with both?
 
Julio Quintana said:
This may seem like an insignificant question, but how are you guys marking your CF cards on set? Do you write on them with a permanent marker? Will a dry-erase marker work to change the name of the reel throughout the day?

Also, what's the difference between R3D Media Manager and Clipfinder? Can I do the same thing with both?
Click to expand...

Bright ORANGE TAPE on every MAG, or two colors for two Cameras
 
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