FAQ / why this?
When and why shoot tapeless?
Before i can get into the nitty gritty not every production can benefit from a tapeless workflow. A few aspects to keep in mind before venturing into tapeless:
- Locations are you going to be in a remote location and unsure of the electric situation?
- How many days production do you have in mind, and how big is your camera department?
- Do you have the necessary computer equipment and knowledge to ingest and archive footage. Along with the afore mentioned will you be out of the country?
Tapeless cameras shoot either to cards, hard drives, or tethered optically to flash magazine away from the camera. The formats and cameras range from Panasonic’s P2 (.mxf) to RED’s (.r3d) which use specific codecs that unlike tape their recording formats can be changed easily in camera to accommodate production needs for deliverables. Tapeless requires most the time an onset content manager or DIT to handle all the data; think of them as bridging the gap between production and post. Having the right computer either laptop or desktop on set the content manager can provide director and producer instant proof of content for reference or continuity of shots. Not all tapeless formats are bomb proof, but neither is tape. Although a few companies and many more coming record to a solid state media that is durable; i have even heard cards going through the wash and the data is still intact along with the clothes.
What is a digital negative?
Usually after film is processed you keep keep negative canned under lock and key for long-term storage for future reference. Digital files are similar your raw footage is data that has to be taken care of properly and archived for future reference. Often times digital files are put onto a hard drive and live together with your editing files, artwork, DVD authored video TS file, and put on a shelf. Powering the hard drive years later could result in loss of footage. Also tape technologies have changed drastically over the last 20 years, and many formats just aren’t supported now.
What do you have in mind for workflow?
Digital workflow varies with the project; ultimately we want to have a streamlined process from conception with delivery method in mind. We deal with the logistics process, and making a tapeless workflow that cuts budget cost down.
How does shooting all digital affect my budget?
Keep in mind: what is the deliverable?
Examples of Tapeless Media.
- .R3d workflows (Red ONE)
- .mxf workflows (Panasonic's P2)
- xdcam ex workflows (Sony's Cinealta EX cameras)
- .Raw Cineform SI-2k workflows (Silicon Imaging)
- .ari Arri D20 workflows (Arriflex D20 and D21)