Volkers’ Digital Media Blog

Now that we’ve gone Hi-def (High Definition) we need to create an entirely new workflow. One of the great things about this line of work is that the playing field is contantly shifting. Just when you get a set of tools mastered and are feeling pretty good about how it all works and feeling comfortable with your own skill level, major changes take place and it’s time to adjust.

It’s a built-in-complacency-buster.

Now that we shoot onto P2 cards rather than tape (still all digital, just different media) it means no more capturing, and that’s one of the hug +’s to this system.

Capturing by tape is done in real time. If you come back from a shoot with 10 hours of digital footage on digital tape, it will take you 10 hours to capture that footage into the Avid.

That same 10 hours is more of a drag-n-drop process in the field, eliminating TONS of time in post. One potential negative to the system is that you now have a few more pieces of equipment to take on shoots: laptop and external hard drive.

When a 16gig or 32gig card gets full, you slip the P2 card into the laptop’s card reader and copy it to your hard drive. Then you make another copy (backup, backup, backup) onto an external drive. Then and only then, do you erase the contents of the P2 card and continue shooting with it.

Ideally, you’ll have an assistant with you who can empty cards while you continue shooting. In the real world, many shoots are done alone so get used to doing it yourself.

Remember what I said about change at the beginning of this blog entry? Well, while Hi-def is exciting and definitely the way to go, some production houses are now moving to the Red camera, which can shoot up to 5k. These are enormous files, shot in a 35mm environment, but all digital. If/when this catches on for the masses, you’ll be reading a blog entry here about how Dordt is now part of the Red revolution.

Until then, we stay current with the developing technology and exciting developments in this field so that our clients get the best product they can get, and so our graduates are cutting edge and as marketable as they can be.

Hi-def shot in 720p format has twice the information as SD (standard-def). Hi-def in 1080 has four-times the information.