Well after shooting day one, we're still on schedule. Got through all the pages today. The crew were all on their game and it really went as smooth as could be expected for day 1. Many of these guys have never worked together or with the director. We only had one busted take because of equipment, an Anton Bauer died in the middle of a take. Power was a problem all day, at 44 watts the Viper chews through Anton Bauers like tic tacs.

Special thanks to Richard Welnowski for being the expert on all things Viper with XDR, and handing over some last minute tips.

Shooting was mostly flawless, but a few notes about using the XDR today.

* We were constantly having the script girl get file names after the take because after a power cycle, the XDR doesn't show the last file recorded, but the first file available for playback from the head of the card. We all wished there was a better way to display what file number was about to be recorded. Instead we only know that file that has just been recorded but only when not powering on from off.

* There is no level adjustment for the headphone output. The director wanted headphones and the only output we had for him was out of the XDR but the signal was too hot so we skipped the headphones all together. Of course we could run that into a mixer and attenuate it there but another box to deal with. A proper level adjustment would be nice.

* Even after warning the first AC about the XDR's bionic eject mechanism, we still had a few card ejects go the distance. I'd like to crack this box open and redesign the eject mechanism for CD. Obviously the eject level has way too much leverage, travel or both.

Anyway, here's a few stills from today. Sorry I couldn't get better shots with my blurrycam but I was trying to stay out of the way mostly.

Hi Aaron:
Great pictures. I like the way you have mounted your XDR slant back on your Viper. Glad to see you're pumping out video with your XDR. How's the A/V sync ? How are you doing the time code ? What format are you shooting in ? 24p or 59.94i ? Can your Viper shoot 1080 60p ?

Dear Aaron,

Thanks for posting the pictures.

I will see what we can do to show you the last clip number.

I assume that you are aware that our take numbers are sequential.
The first two digits are you Unit ID, then the three digit Clip number, then 001.


A gentle touch is desirable when ejecting the cards.

I will be checking if we built into the Flash XDR a circuit for adjusting the headphone output level.

I know we have this in the nanoFlash, maybe we just have not yet added the firmware support for the Flash XDR. I will report back.

In the meantime, a simple headphone extension cable with a built in level adjustment may be used. These are generally fairly easy to find.

I carry this accessory on every shoot. I have an assistant stand with it a few feet away whenever I eject the card.
We used to use a catcher's mitt, but the cards kept shooting right through the laces.

I carry this accessory on every shoot. I have an assistant stand with it a few feet away whenever I eject the card.
We used to use a catcher's mitt, but the cards kept shooting right through the laces.

Oh, that is so funny!

LOL @ Doug.

Hi Aaron:
Great pictures. I like the way you have mounted your XDR slant back on your Viper. Glad to see you're pumping out video with your XDR. How's the A/V sync ? How are you doing the time code ? What format are you shooting in ? 24p or 59.94i ? Can your Viper shoot 1080 60p ?

Hi Mark. We're not doing a filmout for this show. We're shooting 23.98 fps so we can send it to DVD, Bluray I think. The Viper is able to send a 24p signal (rather than 23.98) but XDR can not do 24fps to Quicktime (at least not with my firmware).

The A/V sync is perfect, I'm using a tried and true firmware that I've personally done 3-4 hour continuous shots with. After the last firmware snafu, I downgraded and I would not have had time to try the fixed firmware before we started shooting.

Viper can overcrank to 60p but it does so with a 720p output frame. Keep in mind though that the Viper (unlike most camera) will still use every pixel on the sensor even with a 720p output. For each pixel of 720p output, the camera is oversampling using 6 pixels on the sensor. Imagine that.

Also, I'd never shoot in interlaced formats unless I had too. If I wanted 29.97p, I'd shoot that. There's no reason to shoot interlaced since the sensors and output are natively progressive no matter what framerate or size.

Aaron,

Are you doing this in Filmstream mode? If so, I need to ask you a question/favor.

Hi Perrone. We're not shooting Filmstream because we have no way to record it. Filmstream requires Dual link HD-SDI 3Gb/s and a system that can record 4:4:4 full raster 1080p. In other words, a very fast recorder with very fast disks.

We're using the XDR recorder which can't operate with Filmstream mode because it only has a single HD-SDI input. Filmstream requires dual link HD-SDI.

We're shooting in HDStream mode which is identical to Filmstream (raw data, zero processing), but it is 4:2:2 10 bit, of which the XDR can record 4:2:2 and 8 bits of the data.

The pictures look very good. I'm always hesitant to post raw frame grabs from the Viper though since most people can not wrap their head around the raw flat uninspiring pictures. Filmstream and HDStream images require color correction before they can be viewed properly.

I could however do some Filmstream recording with a blackmagic card though.

Aaron,

I forgot about HDStream mode...

What I would like, is about 30-60 seconds of footage to play through a workflow. I've worked with Filmstream capture stuff before, but only stills. I even have presets built to take the "green curse" off the images. :)

I know what you're saying about people not being able to wrap their heads around the images. It's certainly odd looking at the RAW footage. But honestly, people freak on flat footage in REDCODE or any logarithmic capture. I forgot EXR was that way when I did my first EXR exports...

Honestly, the footage could be just while the camera is rolling during setup. I don't want anything identifiable (slates, actors, etc.) Just something to mess around with.

Hi Mark. The Viper is able to send a 24p signal (rather than 23.98) but XDR can not do 24fps to Quicktime (at least not with my firmware).....Yeah. I think CD added a QT True 24 p selection to the latest or was it the last firmware, so I'm assuming it's still there. Mike or Tommy, or Dan jump in here and confirm or correct me if I am wrong, but I thought I saw true 24p QT file capture ability added.

Perrone. I grabbed a few seconds of footage. It's 200mb. Will let you know when it's uploaded.

Much obliged sir!

Perrone, I sent you a private message,

The guy who was supposed to get the Zeiss lenses, did on day two. So we pulled off the ENG lens and we'll be shooting with Zeiss the rest of the show, although I won't be there except the Saturday shooting day. Also notice in the picture trusty black and decker power source. These things are proving invaluable on the shoot. A very cheap source of power.

Digiprimes FTW!

Hey brotha.. got a spare $40k I can borrow? :)

Here's something I've always wondered. If Zeiss lenses can set their backfocus with a Sharpmax, why can't other lenses do this. It seems like EVERY lens would want this.

Wow...that much camera attached to a small footprint high hat, resting on a stack of 4 apple boxes, sitting on a dolly.

Waiting for a PA to back into the rig in the dark with his/her posterior while rolling up the measuring tape...

Here's something I've always wondered. If Zeiss lenses can set their backfocus with a Sharpmax, why can't other lenses do this. It seems like EVERY lens would want this....Hi Aaron: Now you're talking ! I probably won't get any appreciation for brining this up (Again), but imagine Ziess Digi-Primes+27 Megapixel Viper+XDR+10 bit Uncompressed Capture = True Digital Cinema out to 35 mm negative !!!

I promise you this Mark, I will do some full raster 4:4:4 10 bit log uncompressed captures. It just won't be with the XDR.

Aaron:
You're one blessed guy indeed ! :-) To have a 27 Megapixel Viper as your production camera. Sweet ! When we have our first working prototype of our recorder ready to test, then we want to test it with your Viper :-) Our SSDR will do both 10 bit 4:2:2 and Dual link 4:4:4 as well as 3Gi in 12 bit all uncompressed. We are desperately trying to get the skeleton finished by the end of the winter. We are progressing, but at a pathetically slow speed and at a pathetically high rate of cash output. We may never offer any form of compression unless our software engineer designs our own codec. Anyway, why bother with codecs anyway- just let the box playout everything uncompressed by the SDI sockets and if folks want compression, then they can play it into their ioHD's or Avid MOJO DX's and use the available compressions of FCP or Avid Media Composer. SDXC format is on the way ;-) Sorry, I digressed again.

Hey Mark, you already have your own form of compression. It's called 4:2:2 uncompressed. It's half the size as 4:4:4. I'd say 50% smaller is pretty good compression.

Here's something I've always wondered. If Zeiss lenses can set their backfocus with a Sharpmax, why can't other lenses do this. It seems like EVERY lens would want this.

According to this guy, he's used a sharpmax on non-Zeiss lenses with great results:

From the article:

6: When is sharp sharp? | Leitner’s Cinematography Corner (http://blog.digitalcontentproducer.com/leitner/2009/11/12/6-when-is-sharp-sharp/)

With Sharp Max, perfect backfocus at infinity is achieved readily, with confidence. The back-illuminated Siemens star seen in the camera’s viewfinder leaves no doubt when best results are achieved. Since Sharp Max was designed as a complement to DigiPrimes, it attaches directly to them by means of a clamping ring. But I’ve tried holding it in front of a variety of other lenses, such as a Fujinon 7.6-130mm HD ENG zoom, which works remarkably well.

Hmm. Now only if the sharpmax didn't cost more than my LENS!

Today we brought out the techno crane. I've just added the techno crane to my list of things I want for christmas. I didn't get any really good shots of the crane fully extended but it gets really far out there. Frankly, it was hard to get the whole thing in frame at all. The shots from the crane looked awesome though. The AC controlled focus, zoom and iris from a wireless handheld controller. The DP was running the pan and tilt via hard wired panel with gears from inside a little tent made of duvatyn.

There's a very cool mini version of the technocrane called something like the technojib. Smaller, much easier to setup and tear down, and much better suited for smaller shooting areas. I've used it on shoots (or I should more accurately say, it's been used on shoots that I've worked on), as well as the original large technocrane. A couple of friends of mine own one.

Having a crane that (itself) zooms, as well as pans and tilts, makes for some amazing shots.

Billy

The techno-jib looks equally cool. The shots that they got with the techno crane could not have been obtained any other way. It started as a tracking shot down the street and then went overhead, then back down to street level and tracking in another direction, all in one shot. It was a pretty awesome shot.