Shooting with multiple EX Cams

Bruce Rawlings · November 13th, 2008, 03:51 PM

I think Peter Kraft has the best fail safe by putting an audio track back to each camera this gives a good sync reference when things fall apart. I am editing a client's camera job where production recorded to 8 track hard disc and had no sound at all on some material! The grand plan was to sync it up later without having accurate time code on Z1s. There is always a challenge in life.

John Fante · November 13th, 2008, 04:18 PM

On a recent shoot with 4 EX1's, since we couldn't genlock the cameras, we used a plain old clapper board. This let the editor sync all the cameras precisely in post. A bit more work, but at least it worked. Timecode can be off, regardless of the source and it is more precise to use a sync mark from a clapper (analog or digital) for perfect sync. The clapper board also gives you scene and take info (if you bother to include it) that is not necessarily there in the TC, something that editors appreciate.

Tony LeHoven · November 13th, 2008, 06:19 PM

Sigh . . . I guess you're all missing the point. We know about genlock and reference. The point was that if you could start all the same cameras at the same time running the same frame rate the images should match. Hey the timecode may be off but who cares . . . this is the new paradigm. Yeah I know all about broadcast do's & don'ts but if you had told me five years ago that we'd be shooting full hi-def resolution to SD cards and Kensington adapters, I'd a laughed out loud.

So back to my point. Starting 5 cameras rolling with one remote doesn't work. Will it work in the future as technology advances? You can bet on it!

Thanks for the discussion,
Tony

Ted OMalley · November 13th, 2008, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony LeHoven

but if you had told me five years ago that we'd be shooting full hi-def resolution to SD cards and Kensington adapters, I'd a laughed out loud.

Ha! Good point, Tony!

Alister Chapman · November 14th, 2008, 01:45 AM

IR remotes are not the way to do it. There are too many other factors that can affect IR remote performance, ambient light, distance, obstructions, reflections etc. Even if you use the very best broadcast cameras they will still drift.

Piotr Wozniacki · November 14th, 2008, 02:00 AM

In my recent 3 EX1 project, just before we started shooting, our timecode was set to free run, and reset "simultaneously" on "one, two three..."

It was good enough to perfectly synchronize all 3 of them, using the loud sound at the beginning that all cameras recorded. In Vegas, once I aligned the three tracks basing on this sound "peak" in the sound wave, I had all remaining events synchronized for several hours of recording (the rehearsal, and the main performance that we shot).

November 13th, 2008, 04:18 PM	#17
John Fante New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Posts: 15	Clapperboards still have a place On a recent shoot with 4 EX1's, since we couldn't genlock the cameras, we used a plain old clapper board. This let the editor sync all the cameras precisely in post. A bit more work, but at least it worked. Timecode can be off, regardless of the source and it is more precise to use a sync mark from a clapper (analog or digital) for perfect sync. The clapper board also gives you scene and take info (if you bother to include it) that is not necessarily there in the TC, something that editors appreciate.

November 14th, 2008, 01:45 AM	#20
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	IR remotes are not the way to do it. There are too many other factors that can affect IR remote performance, ambient light, distance, obstructions, reflections etc. Even if you use the very best broadcast cameras they will still drift. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

November 14th, 2008, 02:00 AM	#21
Piotr Wozniacki Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poland Posts: 4,086	In my recent 3 EX1 project, just before we started shooting, our timecode was set to free run, and reset "simultaneously" on "one, two three..." It was good enough to perfectly synchronize all 3 of them, using the loud sound at the beginning that all cameras recorded. In Vegas, once I aligned the three tracks basing on this sound "peak" in the sound wave, I had all remaining events synchronized for several hours of recording (the rehearsal, and the main performance that we shot). __________________ Sony PXW-FS7 \| DaVinci Resolve Studio; Magix Vegas Pro; i7-5960X CPU; 64 GB RAM; 2x GTX 1080 8GB GPU; Decklink 4K Extreme 12G; 4x 3TB WD Black in RAID 0; 1TB M.2 NVMe cache drive Last edited by Piotr Wozniacki; November 14th, 2008 at 02:43 AM.

November 13th, 2008, 03:51 PM	#16
Bruce Rawlings Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK Posts: 410	I think Peter Kraft has the best fail safe by putting an audio track back to each camera this gives a good sync reference when things fall apart. I am editing a client's camera job where production recorded to 8 track hard disc and had no sound at all on some material! The grand plan was to sync it up later without having accurate time code on Z1s. There is always a challenge in life.

November 13th, 2008, 06:19 PM	#18
Tony LeHoven Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Kilauea, HI Posts: 27	Sigh . . . I guess you're all missing the point. We know about genlock and reference. The point was that if you could start all the same cameras at the same time running the same frame rate the images should match. Hey the timecode may be off but who cares . . . this is the new paradigm. Yeah I know all about broadcast do's & don'ts but if you had told me five years ago that we'd be shooting full hi-def resolution to SD cards and Kensington adapters, I'd a laughed out loud. So back to my point. Starting 5 cameras rolling with one remote doesn't work. Will it work in the future as technology advances? You can bet on it! Thanks for the discussion, Tony