What’s with those new discs?

We don’t normally spend a lot of time talking about equipment, but we’ve been working with Sony’s XDCAM system for a little over a year, and it deserves a few kind words.

XDCAM started as a disc-based field recording system for standard NTSC. The camcorders now shoot gorgeous HDTV images on discs that use technology similar to Blu-ray DVDs. The real difference is that the video is recorded as individual files, rather than as a continuous stream on a videotape. Each file is recorded twice; you get both a low-res “proxy” file to view or edit and a high-res HDTV file to finish your program with.

The proxy files are easy to put on a disc for screening on a PC, and you can quickly load them into the Avid for editing. In fact, they load so quickly that it offsets a good bit of the extra cost of shooting in HD. As the video is recorded directly on a disc, you have a piece of physical media with your original footage that you can keep on your shelf.

While this may seem trivial, a lot of digital video is now recorded on reusable memory cards and then transferred to portable hard drives for storage. I’ve never been comfortable with this. It’s not unusual for video to be transferred incorrectly and the mistake not noticed until the original memory cards have been reused. Then you’re out of luck. That won’t happen when you record directly to an XDCAM disc. It’s a much more robust solution.

XDCAM is great for mastering, too. While it’s essential to keep a master copy of each project, videotape masters are obsolete. Our solution is to archive projects on XDCAM discs. Not only do we put a hi-res digital copy of the finished video on the disc, we put all the files related to the project on the same disc: the Avid project file, files for a DVD, a video file for the Internet, raw graphics files, etc. So you have everything you need in one place if you need to change the video down the road.

Over the years, I’ve found that it’s good to be skeptical about the never-ending stream of new formats that come along. XDCAM was worth waiting for.

Change, part one

Dan Bailes: Okay, so all we seem to hear about these days is "change." Everyone seems to want change, talks about change and yet so often when change comes, it's disruptive and unsettling. No, I'm not talking about the elections. I'm talking about change in the workplace. Here at GVI we just swapped out our old Avid systems for brand new Avid systems, new monitors, the works. The same, but different, which got me thinking about change.

In my work experience as an editor I've had to master three completely different technologies. First film, then video, and then computer editing. And not only were the technologies completely different, I also had to learn new ways of thinking and approaching how I should go about my work. I want to write about those differences in another post, but for the moment I'd like to focus on something I've learned in the process.

Most of my professional life I've worked on my own, often as a freelancer, although I've also had my own business. Over the years I've developed close working relationships, but always on a project by project basis. So I've pretty much had to depend on myself to shepherd myself through these technology and workplace changes. Fortunately I found that I was pretty adaptable and eventually I was able to thrive within all the changes. Of course, editing is mostly about judgment, creativity and experience and technology is only a means to an end.

But the changes were also stressful. Since I pretty much had to educate myself, there often was no one readily available to ask. Sometimes I'd get stuck or frustrated, knowing there was a better way, but not knowing how to get there. And of course, not being sure or not knowing is a byproduct of change. And that can be quite unsettling.

At GVI, I've had a different experience. We support each other. And that support makes the transition fun and exciting. I'm looking forward to learning about the new features and new systems. And now I have backup, so the stressful part is gone. And thinking about it, it's the same for programs I've produced here, too. When I wasn't sure or didn't know, I had plenty of people here to consult with and brainstorm. And that's the key to making change a positive instead of a negative. Having support and back ups, so you're not in it all by yourself. And then also sharing your own process and what you're learning so that everyone benefits.

Why use a big camera?

Now that you can buy a camera that can fit in your pocket, e.g. The Flip (www.theflip.com), you might ask “Why would you want to carry around anything bigger?”

There are a ton of technical features that enhance the picture and sound on a broadcast camera, but the biggest difference is the lens.

Consumer cameras are designed for ease of use with auto-focus, auto-exposure and slow zooms (the Flip is just an extreme example). While this prevents you from ruining a shot, it gets in the way of getting a great shot.

The large professional lenses on broadcast cameras let you set the shot quickly and the focus is much sharper. You can zoom in closer and zoom out wider. These features aren’t as important when capturing medium shots of your family and friends. But if you’re looking to creatively tell a story – and capture images that really stick in your mind – you need a professional lens. The pictures really do look better.