Going Digital in the Field

Going digital in the field involves more than just renting the latest digital camera. You must also think ahead to the nonlin-ear editing phase to make sure you are capturing your source material properly in order to save time and effort later. You also have new options available for cap-turing shot log information and tracking the production phase electronically while you shoot.

Chapter Topics

• Field Production Practices

• Logging in the Field

• Project Template Workshop: Log-ging in the Field

• Project Tracking in the Field

Setting Field Timecode

Instruct the camera and/or deck operator to set the timecode genera-tors according to the following guidelines. Using RECORD RUN Versus FREE RUN Timecode generators in the field provide two methods for handling continuity of timecode at a camera cut. When you edit on nonlinear editing systems, RECORD RUN (REC RUN) is the preferred type of timecode to record in the field for efficient digitizing in the edit suite.

• RECORD RUN records timecode only when the camera is run-ning. RECORD RUN is the preferred timecode setting for nonlinear editing. In this mode, timecode runs only when the camera is recording. The tape records with almost no breaks in the time-code. When you digitize your footage, the nonlinear editing sys-tem can cue the tapes and input footage in a highly automated way, saving you time and money.

• FREE RUN timecode records time of day, with timecode continu-ing to run while the camera is turned off. Some news reporters like to use FREE RUN to take timecoded notes in the field by referring to their watches. However, every time you power down the camera there is a break in timecode equal to the elapsed clocktime. FREE RUN causes problems for computerized editing systems: At each of the breaks, the editor may have to intervene in the input process to manually cue the tape for the edit, taking more time.

Using Drop Frame Versus Non-Drop Frame

Most nonlinear editing systems work with field tapes recorded with drop frame (DF) or non-drop frame (NDF) timecode when working in NTSC (this issue does not apply to PAL projects). A sequence can be created as a DF or NDF sequence. In fact, you can shift between these modes at any time. When timecode counts 30 frames, we call it one second. Actually, 30 frames of video play slightly (.1 percent) longer than a second. We call 108,000 frames one hour, but we have an extra 3.6 seconds of information compared to the timecode reading. To match timecode and clocktime, you have to drop this extra 3.6 seconds every hour. Drop frame timecode performs this operation.

• DF: 1 hour of TC = 1 hour of playtime • NDF: 1 hour of TC = 1 hour and 3.6 seconds of playtime The preferred setting for video shoots varies according to the appli-cation.

• DF timecode is used most often for broadcast video, where it's crucial for the tape's playtime (measured in timecode) to corre-spond exactly with clocktime.

• NDF timecode may be preferred for animation and film projects (where frame count must be precise), non-broadcast programs (where exact correlation between playtime and clocktime is not crucial), and short programs (such as 30-second commercials).

Because the choice of DF or NDF timecode depends on numerous variables, check with your editor for his or her preference for camera setting.

Recording Pre-roll and Post-roll For safety

Remember to record pre-roll and post-roll during your shoot. You will need them for inputting footage into a nonlinear edit-ing system, particularly footage with timecode breaks. Remember, even with REC RUN you will have breaks in the tape when the field camera is powered down.

Naming Tapes

Your tape naming scheme should be consistent from the shoot through the edit. When you are in the middle of the edit and need to digitize a single B-roll shot on one of a hundred tapes, you want to make sure you have a 1:1 correspondence between tape names logged in the computer and tape names written on the tape box.

Shooting B-Roll Footage

In the linear editing environment, some producers shoot alternate visuals on separate physical tapes for dissolves and other effects to avoid dubbing images that are on the same reel. Nonlinear editing makes this procedure unnecessary.

Production Magic's Shot Loggerª

• You can instantly label shot as NG (no good), good, better, or best with the tap of a pen.

• You can quickly input repetitive data such as notes or clip descrip-tions from customizable pop-up windows.

• You can use a built-in stopwatch (accurate to the second, but good enough for many producer uses). • You also have the option of using handwriting recognition/transla-tion capabilities or you can access an optional portable keyboard or a virtual keyboard.

• You can set it up so that the takes are defined by the camera start/ stop trigger, and if you touch the face of the MessagePad, it incre-ments the scene number as well.

• At any time you can sort and sift the list, and output only one cat-egory of takes. You can also check off only those takes that you want included when digitizing.

• You can reload the project with character names, scenes, take def-initions (CU, zoom out, XCU, WS, etc.), and reel names so that the amount of data entry is minimized.

• You can upload your logs and further manipulate the information on either a Mac or PC.

• You can prepare and import your logs to many popular nonlinear editing systems such as Media Composer, Avid Xpress, Adobe Premiere for Windows, and Media 100.

Project Template Workshop:

Logging in the Field The Advanced Project Templates allow you to start your logging on location, if equipped with a laptop. In addition, unlike other logging applications, you can begin to transcribe the content of interviews or other sound-on-tape right away, without waiting for the post-produc-tion phase.

Starting a Record

• Date: Updates automatically each time you alter any of the records in the database

• File Name: Created from the first three letters of the project name, the reel number, and the record number. File names become the names of the clips digitized from the shot log

• TC IN: SMPTE timecode format based on the number in the Start Hour box and the time you enter for the IN point. Two zeroes are added for frames, rounding off time to the second.

• TC OUT: SMPTE timecode format based on the Start Hour and time you enter for the OUT point. Two zeroes are added for frames, rounding off time to the second.

• Duration: Calculated from the TC IN and TC OUT

Building the Shot Log

1. (Option) Enter the name of the subject of the shot into the Subject text box. For example, you can enter the name of an interview subject,or a specific location. This helps with sorting and printing later.

2. Choose a Shot Type for the current shot from the pop-up menu. This is not a repeating field and should be chosen for each shot. The shot type appears in the logs and in scripts.

3. Enter an IN point for the shot in minutes and seconds using the format shown in this example: 05:25 (non-drop frame) or 05;25 (drop frame)

4. Type a description. This should be a brief visual notation, appro-priate for the Video column of a typical A/V script.

5. Enter an OUT point for the shot in minutes and seconds using the following format: 05:25 (non-drop frame) or 05;25 (drop frame) Note that TC IN, TC OUT, and Duration are automatically calculated based on your entries for IN and OUT.

6. (Option) Enter miscellaneous notes about the shot into the Com-ments text box.

7. Choose a status for the shot (such as Good, No Good, or Use) from the pop-up menu. This information helps with sorting and capturing the appropriate clips. You can enter this information later, after you print out and organize the shots.

8. (Option) If you know that you want to print out the shot you just logged when printing card

9. Press Command-N for each new shot, and repeat steps 1 through 8 for each additional shot.

Project Tracking in the Field

Because schedules and logistics can change drastically from shoot day to shoot day -- or even minute to minute -- tracking the progress of your production and making adjustments and calculations along the way is an essential part of any successful shoot. Bringing a laptop into the field can be extremely useful for this purpose, and if you are trav-elling to a distant location with no chance of racing back to the office, a laptop can be indispensable. Depending on how deeply you go into the digital production work-flow, you might find yourself with any number of computer-based tools and documents you can use to frequently update and recalculate the details of your shoot plans. Here are a few tips for working suc-cessfully.