G1 Workflow

[Meryem Ersoz]

what is the most stripped-down workflow for shooting uncompressed footage using a G1?

i've never shot uncompressed footage for any reason (my clients, to date, do not tend to have a use....), so assume i'm an idiot and know nothing.

my situation is: i've been invited to take a two week trip to a very remote place and shoot footage for a travel agency. they want to deliver their product on the web and also on DVD.

for their purposes, HDV is adequate.

meanwhile, i have an opportunity to shoot a documentary of my own using some of the footage that i will gather. if i go, i'll have access to some very inaccessible places which have never been filmed before. i'd like to get uncompressed footage for this doc. because i don't have a delivery plan for it (this came up two days ago), therefore, i would like to maximize the quality and gather uncompressed. i'm thinking the G1 form factor, uncompressed, would be ideal. then i could deliver in any number of ways, after i have had a chance to explore options.

how would i do it, under these very on-the-fly non-studio, in-the-field conditions using a Macintosh platform. is it possible?

the RED i have on order would be perfect for this, but the trip is in April and it will most likely not have shipped by then--and even then, it's too experimental and there may be some lens issues to figure out, so i am thinking the G1 might be the next best thing for getting the best possible footage.

thanks in advance.

[David W. Jones]

The only way to get uncompressed HD out of a G1 is to use the SDI out while you are shooting, as everything that goes to tape gets the HDV compression.

And I can't imagine toting about a computer and raid setup capable of capturing uncompressed HD to "inaccessible places which have never been filmed before."

[Matthew Nayman]

In all honesty, the HDV compression looks about 90% as good as the SDI (IMHO)

[Meryem Ersoz]

the shorthand version is: can this be done without the RAID?

[Juan Diaz]

Have you looked at this?:

http://www.wafian.com/

It's the most portable solution I can think of and has the RAID built in, but you still have to plug it in so you have to have access to power and since it records to the cineform codec, it's really ideally suited for a Premiere workflow, not Final Cut Pro.

If you're going to really inaccessible locations I'm not sure there is a workable portable solution. And yes you have to have some kind of RAID because there's currently no other way to store the 1.4 Gbps stream that comes out of the SDI spigot.

[David W. Jones]

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

the shorthand version is: can this be done without the RAID?

Not in the year 2007!

[David W. Jones]

IMHO, If you have the $20K to spend on a Wafian HR-1 setup,
then you are probably shooting on something more substantial than a G1.

[Juan Diaz]

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

IMHO, If you have the $20K to spend on a Wafian HR-1 setup,
then you are probably shooting on something more substantial than a G1.

I don't disagree. I figure if you can realistically look forward to shooting uncompressed HD in a remote environment then, again, you're contemplating having a decent budget for your production.

[Meryem Ersoz]

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

IMHO, If you have the $20K to spend on a Wafian HR-1 setup,
then you are probably shooting on something more substantial than a G1.

scott billups seemed to think pretty highly of the Wafian/XL-H1 combination...and the G1 is an upgrade from an H1 minus the interchangeable lens mount, so i'm not sure why this would be a bad combination for what i'm considering, portability being of paramount importance. and a smaller form factor, non-intrusive camera being a huge plus....

"remote" setting doesn't mean that the location lacks electricity, i'm not talking about a jungle here--it means primarily closed to Westerners....

is there anyone else with suggestions regarding how/if i *can* do this, instead of telling me why i can't?

[David W. Jones]

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

is there anyone else with suggestions regarding how/if i *can* do this, instead of telling me why i can't?

I don't recall anyone telling you that you can't do this.

If you have the budget for an HR-1, and can shoot your documentary while shooting less than 36 hours of footage, then great.

If you need additional shooting time then you will need to bring additional drives to offload the footage.

Good Luck!

[Peter Ferling]

Originally Posted by Matthew Nayman

In all honesty, the HDV compression looks about 90% as good as the SDI (IMHO)

Agreed.

Meryem, the wafain and a good monitor is about as 'stripped down' as it gets. I thought about using one, but since I'm going cineform ingest, I considered just dragging my workstation along anway. It fix's in the same sized box. It's more of a personal choice. Either way you'll be tethered to something big and heavy.

Not a dumb question, but why do you need that extra data? Do you intend on doing heavy color and post work? Will HDV from an A1 do the job?

[Meryem Ersoz]

well, perhaps i don't need all that extra data, is what seems to be emerging. but then again, why not?

this would be the perfect project for field-testing RED, especially because of the opportunity to capture any critical project data with a 2nd cam, but the timing is a bit off...

[Peter Ferling]

Originally Posted by Meryem Ersoz

well, perhaps i don't need all that extra data, is what seems to be emerging. but then again, why not?

this would be the perfect project for field-testing RED, especially because of the opportunity to capture any critical project data with a 2nd cam, but the timing is a bit off...

I hear you. One day in the near future that problem will be solved. But not today. Not when you have work to do. The G1 made perfect sense, both format and dollar wise. (Especially when my local competition is still scratching their heads about switching from BetaSP to DV, and the world has moved on to HDV already).