Student Filmmakers - June 2008 - (Page 34) Tech Focus From a Teacher’s Perspective: Transitioning to a New Workflow with HD Cameras Includes 7 Questions to Ask before You Buy New HD Equipment by David Kaminski You have probably been reading magazines, searching online, estimating your budget, and wondering when to buy a camera, a deck, or a new studio equipped for HD. The truth is that with all electronics, you will always regret not having some new feature on the latest piece of gear. It never ends. However, the (slight) difference with HD cameras and camera equipment is that the standards for HD have been mostly settled and in print for more than a decade. That great effort at democracy helped create opportunity for many manufacturers to pursue their own separate visions and technologies (23.98fps, 29.97fps, 59.97fps, 1080i, 720p, and the list goes on) while at the same time opening up the field for newcomers. What has changed is that new (and old) ideas, technologies, materials, protocols, and test equipment have come into play. There has also been great attention given to the minutiae, so that buyers are scrutinizing every detail and option. This, combined with much lower prices and the rush to bring equipment to the market has created a blizzard of equipment. The History of How We Got Here You might be old enough to have made the great transition from black and white to color. Maybe you wish that you could retire this year before HD is mandatory so you could avoid having to go through any aggravation. Maybe you are glad that you are still in the profession, and are embracing the change. Let’s hope that whatever your circumstances, new or experienced, you are flexible, fast on your feet, and interested in the details. And that you are practical, a good problem-solver, and have the patience to see this new technology through its infancy and into its adulthood. A decade ago, it used to be the wisdom that digital was going to be easier than analog. Non-linear easier than linear. Pick up an old magazine, and you will read people extolling the virtues of the new technology. That remains true, to a degree, but if you look at the faces of people who have been weathering the storm, you will see that it is not as easy as everyone hoped. Or let’s just say that parts of it are much easier, but there are so many different fragmentary pieces and details now that they are almost impossible to keep track of. Walk into a classic studio and you will see distinct pieces of legacy equipment each with its own function and limitations. Each has its own engineering specs that are clearly defined, and you might have a few rows of DIP switches to toggle a function on or off. Or maybe a knob with clearly marked increments. Those days are over. Now, nearly every piece of equipment has become an electronic contraption with a deeper and much more complicated electronic menu (and submenus!) that you can get lost in. The marriage between computers and broadcast equipment has brought more functionality than you might ever need, and certainly more than you can remember—unless you use the equipment several times a week. The most important menu item you will want to find is “factory re-set” because you have forgotten all of the changes you have made to your camera or deck, and you want to start from scratch again. If you are lucky, you have set up different user menus, but studentfilmmakers June 2008
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