Well another NAB show has come and gone, and we have seen a whole new batch of cameras from manufacturers, some old and some new. With the industry ‘s push to 4K, I think it might be time to slow down and take a little pause to let the rest of the business catch up.
The industry is in such a rush to get out the next bigger and better thing, it makes it almost impossible for everybody to keep up. The last couple of months it seems like every production that I’ve been a part of has had “missed communications “ on what the client wants or needs as the final deliverable as well as how that data has to get to the post house. Does the client want camera original files or do they want, for lack of a better term, “edit friendly” files? Does post want ProRes files or DNX, or something completely different?
And then after finally figuring out what the client really wants, now comes the other question…. “Can you just FTP the files to us?” Well that’s a possibility, but now the file is five times larger and it’s going to take about 4 to 5 hours to upload it.
With the advent of 4K, RAW files, Mpeg 2, 4 , 2000 and such, some of us in the industry have a hard time figuring out what we are doing, let alone someone from an agency or corporate group.
The best answer to this dilemma is “communication.” Production is a group effort, from the Producer on down to the Camera, Editorial, and Distribution departments and we all need to be on the same page if the project is going to be a hit.
Now that that the soapbox is done, NAB this year showcased a number of new cameras and support gear. Each one has its pluses and minuses. And I’m sure that all of you have been reading all the stuff coming out of Vegas. I’d be happy to sit down with a cup of coffee and hash out the pros and cons of each system. For some of us old veterans in the business we’ve seen many new cameras come and go, so I’m waiting to see who’s back next year.
Good production turns on making sure that you know the best tool and how to use it for the job, educating the client on why it’s the best tool and then taking the time to do the best job you can.
Hey can anyone remember Ikegami’s EC-35?