Zoom F8 - VERY CONFUSED - New to syncing timecode - PLEASE HELP

[Andrew Allsbury]

Hey guys, just picked up a Zoom F8 and I have never used any form of timecode syncing in my productions. I also picked up the red "tentacle" control cable (Y,G,W).

Could someone please walk me through the exact basics of setting it up?
In a perfect world I would like to hit record on the epic and have it automatically record, using the same timecode, on the zoom, but now after doing some research I am not even sure if this is possible...

Thanks a ton!

 

[Domenic Barbero]

sent you a message. gimme a buzz.

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

Thanks Domenic, you were a huge help!

Does anyone know how you would trigger record on the zoom without a proIO or time box? Is there some kind of a way you could capture the record flags from the SDI feed? Thanks!

 

[Christopher Mills]

I don't think the current firmware allows the SDI flags to trigger recording.. HOWEVER, the Free Zoom F8 app allows remote control, and there is a 6 second pre-record buffer available as well.. so... roll sound from your IOS device...

 

[Marc Wielage]

You basically need to hire a human being to do this. That's what sound mixers do: put the microphones in the right place, set the levels correctly, and go into record and stop. (There's a lot more to it, like controlling sounds on set, dealing with multiple microphones, feeding a temp mix to the camera, etc.)

In order to slave timecode on a timecode-capable camera like the Red Epic, you need to get a timecode jam box like the Ambient or the Denecke SB-T, jam the box to the sound recorder's time-of-day timecode, then strap the timecode jam box to the camera and let it jam all day to that. Ideally, you would also get a timecode slate that jams to the box once or twice a day. That way, the slate, the camera, and the sound will all be exactly in sync with each other.

 

[Domenic Barbero]

after chatting with him earlier, what hes actually looking to do is have the epic trigger the zoom to record. So as he hits record on his epic, it also starts recording on the zoom. I dont believe this is possible. Could be wrong though.

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

Yeah, we have the time code synced up perfectly thanks to Domenic, now I am just trying to see if there is a way to link the record trigger function. After further research it would make sense that the white cable on the Red sync breakout cable going into the in port on the F8 would trigger recording, being that the white cable is labeled as a trigger. However I have not been able to get this to work as of yet. I guess a good piece of info to have would be, does the Epic send a trigger through this cable or receive only like timecode?

In other news, if I want to use a bnc splitter to run a 2nd timecode signal to our Scarlet MX would this work? My only concern would be signal degradation due to the splitter.

Thanks guys!

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

Anyone know on the BNC splitter question regarding time code? Would love to know this.

 

[Dave Winder]

That white bnc on the RED cable is for trigger IN to the camera. There is a tally out on the CTRL port. you can use another 3bnc-lemo cable and the yellow connector to access it. Be sure to configure it as general purpose out in the GPIO/Sync configuration menu. It will be high while the camera is recording and low when not recording.

Splitting the timecode signal generally works , but it depends on what the Zoom signal is like. It is known to work with Ambient ACL TC generator family.

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

Thanks Dave!

 

[Marc Wielage]

All I can say is: the first time the auto-record fails will be the time you wish you had a human being hitting the record button. Don't trust anything automatic, particularly when it comes to sound.

Note often that sound levels bounce up and down all over the place. You will definitely, positively need a sound mixer to adjust levels take to take, scene to scene, and even between different actors within the same scene.

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

On the productions where we would be using this setup we would be running a three man crew for interviews with 2 cameras and 2 mics (1 lav, 1 boom). Camera A (Dragon - Wide) operator would be running the Dragon and keeping an eye on the physical Zoom F8 mixer, another operator would be running our Scarlet MX (cu) and I would be managing/directing with a wireless monitor to cam A, fool control to cam A and the Bluetooth app for additional management / override of the Zoom audio levels. Also, on the zoom we run each channel fairly "warm" with soft knee limiters and backup tracks running a -12db (ish) adjustment. This is fairly similar to how we have run sound in the past and to date we have never lost a shot to audio levels. The reason for wanting to add the timecode and trigger features would be to make everything cleaner in post. I would never have sound or cameras running without humans having eyes on the controls. This automation would just make life a little easier.

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

We tested today with the splitter and so far everything looks good, thanks for your input guys!

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

We tested today with the splitter and so far everything looks good, thanks for your input guys!

So you did get the camera to control the start and stop of the zoom f8? If so, how did you do it?

 

[David Peterson]

He is using this cable:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...l_cinema_790_0154_3_bnc_to_00_sync_cable.html

White is for the Start/Stop Trigger,

From the RED Rep above, this is for the camera so not relevant to starting/stopping an external audio recorder.

Yellow for Timecode,

This will work if the camera can send out TC (if the recorder is then set to Ext TC), however I think it might only be for going in not out?

and Green for Genlock.

Again, no help for starting/stopping the recording.