Student Filmmakers - June 2008 - (Page 36) Tech Focus brand. And maybe they should not be for the same purpose. Consider spreading your money across the spectrum of choices. Buy a majority of equipment for the majority of people and projects you need to serve. But buy other, specialized equipment for other projects and for other uses. A diagram of your purchases might look like a pyramid: you have a large base of everyday gear; fewer specialty items; and some very special gear that you only have one piece of. Rather than thinking that you are making one change, that is, from SD to HD, you may actually have to make dozens of changes, not only in your purchasing habits, but also in technology. Consider the different formats, recording media, and details you are contending with when you jump into HD. the ability or need for either software or firmware upgrades. Imagine buying a camera, and then, six months later, buying media for it only to discover that your camera will not recognize the media without a firmware upgrade from the manufacturer’s website. And it might turn out that the media, once recorded, cannot be edited on your computer because you forgot to upgrade your software. But you can’t upgrade your software because you didn’t have time to upgrade your operating system yet. These realities can overtake you in one afternoon. And that is just the beginning. Detractors of this technology say that it is “destructive media” because you must erase your original copy. That takes faith in the technology, and the first time you try it your heart might skip a beat. However, with practice, training in the medium and equipment, and over time, that anxiety will fade. You must, however, move forward with a proper means of archiving the files. …Backing Up Media Files Whether you will burn back-up copies or data files on optical media like DVD-R or BD-R (Blu-ray Disc), or whether you will decide to save it on one or more hard drives or RAID arrays, you will need to come up with a protocol that is manageable, and that you can act on with robot-like regularity and efficiency. You cannot just hope your files will be there later. (If you were lucky enough to have a computer with no hard drive whatsoever when you were younger, and you understand having three sets of back-up floppy disks, then you will have the patience and the organizational skills required to keep your media in order.) Assuming that you are teaching anywhere from 15 to 1,000 students, depending on Tape Cameras Your choices begin with Mini-DV tape recording HDV (note different data rates and variables by size of image and manufacturer, some of which you may not be able to use together) to higher end pro formats of tape. If in fact you stay with tape, which is a linear medium, you will have fewer problems with workflow because it will make sense to you. And the stock is fairly cheap, unless you invest in higher grade tapes. Formats First, let’s talk about where you have come from: In the old, analog tape world you might have had a number of formats: VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8, ¾”, BetaSP. Even the digital realm of Mini-DV vs. DVCPRO50 vs. Digibeta is just a small bump in the road compared to what we have now. Regardless of what you have come from, you likely had one format you adhered to, and you mixed some of the others into it. It made sense, and could buy one set of equipment and use it for 15 years. Maybe it still works well today. Removable Flash Media Cameras Flash media is used not only in HD cameras, but also by consumer products like cell phones, music players, and for military applications. It can withstand heat, your program, that is a lot of remembering for them, and a lot of room for error. Backing up files is something that a technician or another person in charge must take responsibility for doing; otherwise, you can be sure it will not be done properly. And although you may not have had a hard drive fail yet, it is inevitable that it will happen, too. Back-up external hard drives also need to be turned on and spun up to speed about once a month since the lubrication can thicken and the drive can seize if you just And here is where you are going… The HD camera, deck, and storage device you will buy now is not simply a fixed device; it is subject to maintenance to keep it current. You will probably have vibration, and abuse. This technology is being pushed forward by other industries, and it will certainly become cheaper and cheaper as time goes on. Don’t forget some of the inherent issues, though. You will – you must, in fact – delete the media off of it at some point. studentfilmmakers June 2008
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