Studio production recording
Dec 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By David Austerberry
Video servers are ousting the VTR, speeding turnaround and lowering costs.
The production server has brought a flexibility to production that was not possible with the VTR.
An essential part of capture is to log all the shots as they happen. Slate data, scene name and take number (auto-incrementing if required) can be entered in one place, automatically associated with all the parallel record clips. Recordings can be started, stopped and even aborted from a unitary control interface. This replaces VTR remotes and the PA's notepad. The PA can freely enter notes during a shot automatically tagged with time code for later use by the editor.
Production staff previews shots at will, making selections and annotating. During the logging operation, the notes and markers are automatically linked to the media clips to present to the craft editor. This greatly eases the editor's work, helping the editor avoid mistakes with handwritten notes and linking those notes to tape numbers and time codes.
This seamless interworking with craft editing workstations is where production servers score over VTR-based production and deliver process efficiencies.
Multicam
In multicam recording, several cameras shoot the scene from different angles simultaneously. One popular way of working is to record the live mix from the production switcher, plus iso or sync feeds from the individual cameras. Recording to a multiport server system rather than VTRs means that the separate camera clips are automatically linked to each other, not separate iso tapes to be ingested.
A multicam server can represent a big cost-savings over individual VTRs, and adding another camera channel just requires an extra port on the server. Typical productions need four to six VTRs, which can be replaced with one or two servers.
Time code becomes just control metadata for the system. For the operators, clips are identified by production data, such as take number, scene number and markers.
Summary
The production server is replacing VTRs for fast turnaround shows, especially with multiple cameras. As well as the obvious cost-savings, it offers the production crew the opportunity to improve its operational processes and streamline the interface with post production. As field acquisition moves to file-based media, and studio production moves to disk, we move inevitably to a broadcast production chain where the only tape is data tape.
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