Love the trailer for your film Robert. Just finishing off editing of a picture I recently directed, though it doesn't look as slick as yours.

I was considering going tapeless for my next feature, though it's obviously more inconvenient to lug around the extra hardware.

Do you definitely reckon recording to hard disk makes little difference when compared with miniDV footage?

Could you possibly tell me what editor system you are using? I'm using Avid Xpress Pro HD at the moment with its built in HDV codec and shooting in 1080 25P (PAL) on my XHA1.

Love the trailer for your film Robert. Just finishing off editing of a picture I recently directed, though it doesn't look as slick as yours.

I was considering going tapeless for my next feature, though it's obviously more inconvenient to lug around the extra hardware.

Do you definitely reckon recording to hard disk makes little difference when compared with miniDV footage?

Could you possibly tell me what editor system you are using? I'm using Avid Xpress Pro HD at the moment with its built in HDV codec and shooting in 1080 25P (PAL) on my XHA1.

Thank you for the kind words.

At the end of the day, if someone tells you that HDV is rubbish and is not a proper "acquisition" codec they're wrong. The HDV footage we shot cut relatively seamlessly into our ProRes footage. However, if you're going to be flirting with under-exposure or very dark scenes then I believe the ProRes footage wins out. The grain/noise is more defined and film like. There is no macro-blocking compression artifacts.

Shooting 90% of the movie in ProRes did give me a lot of peace-of-mind knowing that it's full-raster 1920x1080 10-bit. But shooting HDV sure is a helluva lot more convenient.

I cut the film on Final Cut Pro and mastered it entirely in ProRes.

Thanks for the info Robert.

Think I'll stick with miniDV for now.

Is ProRes an alternative codec to HDV? How does it differ?

I'm using the Avid DNxHD codec at the moment.

ProRes is Apple's answer to DNxHD. They're almost identical codecs and are both DCT compressors (similar to JPEG).

Basically we bypassed HDV altogether and went HD-SDI out of the H1 and into a Kona card. Rather than lug around a RAID we opted to go compressed via ProRes so we could use SATA drives. Brilliant solution, if you ask me.

I understand now. Thanks Robert. Wouldn't fancy dragging a RAID round myself either, I think you'd need a golf buggy to carry a big one!

Hey Robert,

I hadn't checked into your site for awhile, that Blackout trailer looks freaking fantastic. Thanks for generously sharing your experiences. I've been following along since Day11.

Very interesting to hear your take on budgets and distribution. Especially where talent names are concerned. Sadly, I think that it may be easier to sell a piece of crap with recognizable faces, than something far greater with no names.

Keep up the great work. I think this work will catch you a lot of attention that will lead to bigger and better things.

ProRes is Apple's answer to DNxHD. They're almost identical codecs and are both DCT compressors (similar to JPEG).

Basically we bypassed HDV altogether and went HD-SDI out of the H1 and into a Kona card. Rather than lug around a RAID we opted to go compressed via ProRes so we could use SATA drives. Brilliant solution, if you ask me.

Wait- What?! Hold on, I thought SATA wasn't fast enough for Pro-Res HQ. Were these drives a software RAID in your Apple Box? Also, If you are capturing dallies using a Kona board, doesn't that mean the best it can do is 23.98 over 60i HD-SDI? Didn't you still have to de-interlace via AE or Compressor to create your HD-CAM Master (ie remove pulldown from the Kona's card)?

Also, just so I get a ballpark - how many TB are we talking here - over 3TB for your raw footage? Did you offload / mirror this data?
Were you able to use a 500 ft HD-SDI cable so your capture box didn't have to move much?
Did you use a laptop controller over RJ-45 (ethernet) or just plugin keyboard and mouse / monitor.
Lastly, how did you monitor - going out of the Kona's component?

Thanks Robert - your wisdom on these issues will save me time on the next one. I was considering DNxHD but if it means no RAID - I'll go ProRes instead. Although, the Avid can record true 23.98 on injest.

-C

Wait- What?! Hold on, I thought SATA wasn't fast enough for Pro-Res HQ. Were these drives a software RAID in your Apple Box? Also, If you are capturing dallies using a Kona board, doesn't that mean the best it can do is 23.98 over 60i HD-SDI? Didn't you still have to de-interlace via AE or Compressor to create your HD-CAM Master (ie remove pulldown from the Kona's card)?

Also, just so I get a ballpark - how many TB are we talking here - over 3TB for your raw footage? Did you offload / mirror this data?
Were you able to use a 500 ft HD-SDI cable so your capture box didn't have to move much?
Did you use a laptop controller over RJ-45 (ethernet) or just plugin keyboard and mouse / monitor.
Lastly, how did you monitor - going out of the Kona's component?

Thanks Robert - your wisdom on these issues will save me time on the next one. I was considering DNxHD but if it means no RAID - I'll go ProRes instead. Although, the Avid can record true 23.98 on injest.

-C

SATA is definitely fast enough for ProRes HQ. No software RAID at all. Which was very nice and much cheaper. We never dropped a frame. Ever. Not even during editing or mastering.

Yes, the Kona card captured the 23.98 over 60i. And yes all the footage had to be reverse telecined via Cinema Tools (that was the hardest part). We did this to all of our footage before we started editing. That way our edit timelines were 23.98 and our subsequent mastering was also 23.98. However, you can do batches in Compressor.

We shot about 2.5TB of raw footage. Our edit system has about 7TB. We backup all shot footage to internal SATA drives (cheaper) using a hard drive enclosure and then had those drives put in a bank vault.

Our longest HD-SDI cable was 80 feet I think. Maybe 100.

We had a digital capture guy/gal run the FCP station which was a wheeled cart. He would listen for "roll camera" and basically hit "capture" on FCP. Then they'd open the clip and control playback for us. FCP would send the HD-SDI signal back to a HDLink box hooked up to a 23" Cinema Display. Worked wonderfully.

I know the G1 adds pulldown flags to the stream. I don't know if the H1S adds flags to the stream. I've heard it doesn't, but does include audio now and is 10-bit. And those flags are the only real missing component of making a H1/ProRes/IO-HD or Kona solution perfect.

I wondering if this is the same movie available on netflix?

Netflix Online Movie Rentals - Rent DVDs, Classic Films to DVD New Releases (http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Blackout/70110567?trkid=226870)

I don't believe it it. The movie on Netflix is Blackout. The movie in this thread is The Blackout.

I believe the viewfinder issue is one that I've run into several times. the cable actually works itself out of the port on the camera body. If you fully remove it then slowly push it back in , then feel for the snap of the internal locking ring it usually fixes the issue for some time. The main problem is if you look at an XL2 and H1 side by side you will notice that they have the 90 degree cable coming out and going slightly forward on the XL2, the H1 has the 90 degree going straight up, then turning another 90 degrees back out the front. This produces extra stress on the cable under normal use and works the cable out. causing weird viewfinder issues.

Otherwise congrats on the feature, love your work flow. thanks for adding all the details.

I read elsewhere on this forum that a loose viewfinder cable on an FU-1000 caused it to go (and I quote!) "poof!" That morning, a wrapped my FU-1000's cable to the handle with a Zip-tie.

And here's something I learned the hard way: I broke not one, but TWO, shoulder pads while mounting the Canon "Adapter Holder." The threaded sleeves at the top/rear of the shoulder pad, into which you insert two screws to mount the Adapter Holder, are not held in place by much more than thin coatings of plastic. I mightily overtorqued the first one, and that caused the insert to spin and crack the surrounding plastic. Got it repaired at Canon: $292.00. I carefully torqued the replacement, using a thin lock washer as a torque gauge. Guess what? Broke that one, too! ANOTHER $292.00 repair bill!

Anyone else have this happen, or am I just a gorilla? This sure wouldn't have happened on my old Sony DSR-570!

I wondering if this is the same movie available on netflix?

Netflix Online Movie Rentals - Rent DVDs, Classic Films to DVD New Releases (http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Blackout/70110567?trkid=226870)

Unfortunately, no. That's not my movie.

"The Blackout" will be available internationally and Canada very shortly. U.S. domestic and broadcast is being negotiated right now. Looking at attending Fantastic Fest this year.

I read elsewhere on this forum that a loose viewfinder cable on an FU-1000 caused it to go (and I quote!) "poof!" That morning, a wrapped my FU-1000's cable to the handle with a Zip-tie.

And here's something I learned the hard way: I broke not one, but TWO, shoulder pads while mounting the Canon "Adapter Holder." The threaded sleeves at the top/rear of the shoulder pad, into which you insert two screws to mount the Adapter Holder, are not held in place by much more than thin coatings of plastic. I mightily overtorqued the first one, and that caused the insert to spin and crack the surrounding plastic. Got it repaired at Canon: $292.00. I carefully torqued the replacement, using a thin lock washer as a torque gauge. Guess what? Broke that one, too! ANOTHER $292.00 repair bill!

Anyone else have this happen, or am I just a gorilla? This sure wouldn't have happened on my old Sony DSR-570!

The AC on our film over torqued the tripod screw and the sleeve ripped right out of the base of the camera. Because the camera frame is titanium it couldn't be reseated and the whole frame needed to be replaced. $895.

"The Blackout" will be screened at Cannes on Thursday, May 14th at 5:30pm and on Sunday, May 17th at 1:30pm (both screenings in the Gray 4 screening room). Contact Michael Paszt at Cinemavault Releasing for more information at the Cannes Booth Riviera G5/H8 +33 (0)4 92 99 32 15.

WOW!

Congrats Robert.

WOW!

Congrats Robert.

Thanks John. It was a massive effort. But we got through it.

Wow! CONGRATS!
Distro will be assured.
BTW - we just sold Bio-Dead. Thanks for your insights earlier.

-C

All International rights, including Canada, have been sold to Cinemavault Releasing. We're hoping to nab a U.S. distributor there. Fingers crossed. Sony is hovering.

Very exciting.