Why do people write the roll on the clapperboard, when no one uses rolls of film anym

[Ryan Elder]

They still write down the rolls and I do not understand that, so I was just curious.

[Brian Drysdale]

In this case it would be a memory card or solid state memory or tape number. It's just a handy way of breaking things down into smaller units when working with large amounts of media. The contents of each card being a roll that's downloaded with 3 copies made before the card itself is reused.

It's a handy term for the paperwork and logging.

People still call productions shot on video or digital formats films, no difference.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, since the card is going to be reused the next day of shooting, I never bothered to write down the rolls on my own projects. Even when you make copies of the contents, and empty the card, I can still tell which scene it is, but the footage anyway, and label the scene accordingly after. But if it helps the crew, we can write down the card numbers.

[Paul R Johnson]

History really - after all in UK TV we still call audio playback 'grams' - and we haven't used gramophones for a very long time.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Ryan Elder

since the card is going to be reused the next day of shooting...

No serious production should ever do this.

There was a time, about ten or twelve years ago when card sizes were usually 8GB or 16GB, and *if* the number of set-ups per day was very high and *if* the number of available cards was very low, that they would need to be wiped and re-used on a daily or bi-weekly basis.

These days, however, there's really no excuse for re-using a card on a daily basis... especially if you're working with high-capacity SD media, as cheap as it is. It's your camera original and it should be treated as such... and prices are so low now that you shouldn't have a need to re-use them; they should go straight to archive and stay there until some point long after the edit master is finished.

[Brian Drysdale]

The workflow is different with a Codex Datapack

"Once the Codex Datapack has been filled it will travel to the data lab with the camera report sheets (CRS). At this level the Datapack will be mounted on the proprietary docking station via SAS and all metadata will be checked against the CRS and changed if required.

The Codex volume is then mounted as an Arri-RAW file and undergoes a checksum copy to external raided storage where it is parked for processing and external dual backup to LTO5 tape. All material is then Quality Controlled (QC’d) for data errors.

Using the CDL values located in the metadata, these are then referenced against the 3D LUT which replicates the on-set processes and in turn takes the 2.8K 12bit ArriRAW into the on-set colour ‘look’. From here the deliverables are made. These will have the on-set ‘look’ burnt into them and are then delivered to the assistant editor, ready for sound sync.

Once this process is complete the Datapack is formatted and returned to set. "

[Chris Hurd]

Well, sure... that's a proper workflow for a Codex.

I think at Ryan's level he's probably working with SD cards though.

As cheap and prolific as they are, it should be a use once & archive situation.

[Ryan Elder]

So you are saying it's bad to re-use cards then? Why is that? Even if a card lasts a whole shoot, after the shoot, you can wipe it and use it the next day, can't you?

[Josh Bass]

Its the same concept as protecting with your life film or tapes...thats your original footage that cant be replaced if God forbid something happens. Like they said you ideally keep it untouched til movie is in the can.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh yeah, but if you make three copies from the cards on three separate harddrives, isn't safe to wipe the cards, if you have already made 3 copies?

[Chris Hurd]

The memory card is the *least expensive* component in the production chain. I can't understand why you'd want to wipe it and re-use it on a daily basis. It's your camera original, and should be treated as such. Have your DIT make two copies, and keep it as an archive.

It amazes me that a 32GB Extreme Pro costs less than $15 these days... at that price, it's a consumable.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Like everyone said its a carryover from film days.

Leaving the original footage on the card and not reusing it until the project is done is simplest form of backup. As soon as you import the footage to your computer it’s automatically backed up in two places, the card and the computer without needing to do an additional step. When filming for someone else, I record in dual card mode, mail them one card, hold on to the other until it’s received.

I don’t use my 32 or 64gb cards anymore. I have 8 128gb in rotation

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay, it's just I thought if I made three copies of the footage, then is it really necessary to need a 4th one. I figure instead of buying more cards, I might as well re-use the card, since I already have 3 copies made. Sure the card is a second copy, but when you already have three, then it becomes a fourth copy. Do I need a fourth then?

[Paul R Johnson]

I’ve never reused a tape ever since I started because they are so delicate. When we moved to cards I carried on simply because even when they were expensive they were the most reliable. I now have a box full of external drives and when I got to Z I started labelling them as AA AB etc and finding anything is a total pain AND they fail. The box of numbered cards is a great archive. At sd prices why not just use them?

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

It amazes me that a 32GB Extreme Pro costs less than $15 these days... at that price, it's a consumable.

That's less than a Super8 cassette of Kodachrome (processing included). with inflation factored in. Those lasted 3 minutes 20 seconds at 18 fps or 2.5 minutes at 24 fps.

It was only news that reused tapes in broadcasting (they were wiped before going out again, being used up to 5 times), programmes used new stock.