En lille manual

Filming with Christianshavns Kvarter

Preparation
• Check all equipment before leaving home: are batteries charged, are cards erased, is the front lens clean, are camera settings reasonable?

Shooting
Tech stuff
• We have the best experience using 25p for the ex1. 50i may result in movement streaking in the image.
• If you lock the AGC and the shutter, watch for overexposure. Use the zebra stripes, then. Check picture quality. Sometimes it looks terrible. This does not seem to happen if you let the automatic handle it.
• We aim for high quality sound. Use camera sound for background sound purposes only. For interviews: use microport, shotgun or interview mic, whatever works best. Use blimp in windy surroundings.
• Don’t leave batteries in the camera when not in use. It will drain them rapidly even if the camera is shut off.
• Close front lens protection between and after shooting. Spots on the lens are very clearly visible on the footage.
Style
• Use a tripod whenever possible. For telephoto it is mandatory. For interviews a monopod will do. If there is much movement in the picture, you can get along without.
• Zoom and panning works best for home video. If you use it, have a clear idea.
• If possible, use extra light for indoor interviews.
Last but not least
• Keep all liquid at least 2 meters away from the camera. Protect it against rain or snow or even moisture.
• Make sure you have packed everything before going home. Even the tiniest part missing can pose a huge problem to the next user.

Data management
• Before job:
1) Verify that the content of the memory cards has been securely transferred to hard drive storage
2) Delete both memory cards before you start shooting a new job. You can’t delete files you don’t want on the computer (and in the camera it is tedious), so if you don’t clear the cards, it means waste of hard drive space when storing BPAV dirs with unwanted footage.
• After job (logging):
Copy BPAV dir from card to HD1. Verify integrity of content.
Copy again BPAV dir from card to HD2. Verify integrity of content.
Clear memory cards
Recharge camera batteries
• Converting mp4->mov
Make a new directory. Copy all BPAV dirs to subdirs.
Use the XDCAM transfer program for converting mp4->mov. Files which are spread over two cards: Highlight both cards, highlight both incomplete files (SPI) and press import. The program ligates the two (or more) fragments.

Editing
• Keep coffee and other liquids FAR away from editing computer.
• Fcp: Make new scratch-dir (a total of 4) for each project (system settings)
• For large projects:
– back up the fcp project regularly
– verify that it you can reestablish everything on another computer

Rendering for Youtube
• Export using quicktime movie – Video: H264, 1980×1020, frame rate 25, Key Frames automatic, deselect Frame Recording. Audio: MPEG4 AAC Low Delay.