Camera Card workflow on set

in this segment we're gonna answer one of the most asked questions by the new di TS or new asset managers or people that want to get into this business and that is physically onset how do you handle the media what do you do what's the process you use it's really quite simple and it is a process that has steps and those steps need to be adhered to exactly the same every time if you break this rhythm you do stand the chance of forgetting what you've done which is a time waster and possibly losing camera cards or data that's a really bad thing you're going to get a few tools and the tools are really quite simple we'll start off with post-it notes is really valuable to keep quick short-term notes stick them on things pair of scissors pretty obvious here a sharpie and a black Expo marker we're gonna talk how these two work together in just a minute you're gonna need some tape electrical tape to be exact make it inexpensive it could be paper tape you need a couple of colors you're going to need green and red it's mandatory if you have more than one camera on the shoot then you're going to need some other colors I've got blue here you're gonna need some bins little plastic bins and I've got the one marked green and red we'll go into why that's marked that way got these at the bottom of the five-and-dime store you could use a little card box or something like that just something you can mark and put your cards into you're gonna need a tape type machine p-touch machine we use the tape on this to mark our cards and for various other things pretty common in camera departments you need something to carry your cards around on set now here's a Pelican case it is really bad news to take the card out of the camera and just put in your pocket that's absolutely can't be done so picking up something that could continue to hold the cards you have multiple cameras this can hold you know five or seven or eight cameras if they all do a mag change at the same time say on a reality show so we need something to protect that now at at bare minimum here's a CF card and it comes in a little case so you need to have your cards in a case when you're transporting them and you're going to need a little book of some sort to write down notes of the production now you can do this on a spreadsheet as well on the computer that's perfectly OK in fact it's really quite nice at the end of the day to send that to post so they know what you've done and what's happening and where other the stuff you've done in the past it's all well organized it's easy to understand but I always do a written copy that I've got with me all the time but on my computer I can always pull this out I kind of call it my cya file but I do do a written one and I do an electronic one so let's step through the process let's start at the camera cards been ejected from the camera and we're going to take it right through backing the cards up and how they're handled at your workstation here's a quick overview of the process steps first establish camera colors then agree with the camera Department how full mags will be marked and handled move the full mags to the workstation place the incoming mag in the red bin set up your offloading checksum software grab the first mag from the red bin and start the backup log that mag into the record book or a spreadsheet once the backup is done log the total amount of recorded data on the mag and the number of files pull the completed mag from the reader visually check the backup on the hard drives place green tape on the completed mag place the mag in the green ready to go bin and start a new mag through the process well now let's do this in this shot you see an re camera with a mag loaded now take note that the first assistant camera has the camera name and mag number already written on the tape and the tape is stuck across the card slot on the side of the camera they know visually there's a mag loaded and the proper mag number is already applied next to this on the camera body is a stack of pre-made bits of tape ready for the next mag change this is more a camera person thing but it's a helpful tip you can suggest and pass along to a less experienced crew at a camera mag change which is announced over the radio on set the mag is pulled and the tape is applied over the connectors on the mag often the mag is put in the case and then the tape closes the case make sure the mag and the tape both have the same camera and mag number that way you'll always know what mag you're working with if the mag in the case becomes separated now how do you mark the mag well this is where the P tape comes in most mags have a slight indentation in the case so you can put it in the camera without the tape jamming the camera slot now never assume this will not Jam test the mag and the camera first use sharpie to mark the card camera letter first and then the mag number now we won't go into the ins and outs of numbering schemes here you could refer to this and a lot more in the digital imaging book listed below now here's a cool thing about P tape it's a smooth surface like a white marker board the Sharpie ink doesn't penetrate the surface to remove what you just wrote on the mag use a black Expo brand marker scribble over the Sharpie markings and then rub off the dry erase marker it dissolves the Sharpie ink transport the mag back to your workstation in a case it can be as simple as the original card case or something like this Pelican brand case at your work station set the red bin on the left of your work area and the green bin on the right if you work off a mobile cart you might want to put velcro on the bottom of the bins and the tabletop so they stay put now here's a really important to pay attention to when you pull the mag marking tape stick it on top of the card reader and immediately insert the card then immediately start the backup I'm so picky about this step that if my phone rings or someone just has to talk to me during this step I pull the card put the tape back on and set the card back in the red bin why there are two very specific points in this process that require absolute focus on your part this is the first start the backup or bail on the process until you can do it without distraction this is a good time to log the mag into your spreadsheet and logbook there's a simple log sheet listed below for you to start using and modify basically you need the production name the date the camera the card number the number of files on the card and the total data backed up now if the card is a serial number it's a good idea to note that now here's a shot from the set where the incoming cards are being logged into a book once the backup is completed you can pull the card from the reader this is where I place it above the keyboard and I kind of call this no-man's land you do not want to let cards linger here for very long I then go to my backup drive and visually confirm that the files did copy now once confirmed I will then use that x-bow marker to erase the mag numbering then put green tape on the mag or the mag case with the mag inside and drop that mag into the green bin and you're now ready to return it to set if I have time I'll put the mag back into the reader and erase and reformat the mag now remember when I said there there's two important times that you need to focus this is the second time if you put this mag back into the reader and go into a utility to erase that drive remember you're erasing everything on there you need to think carefully is everything backed up and I erase this mag am i good to go this erasing of the mag is a double safety for the camera crew to know you have the data off the card and they are good to go with a mag now what about the post-it notes and the other uses for the P touch printer here's the workspace of a di T on a reality show on the monitor there's a post-it note with things that have been discussed with the camera crew or post editing and a quick checklist stuck right to the monitor using the P touch tape many di T's save all the camera card tapes until the end of the show most are more organized than this shot but it's just another backup proving you did backup all the cards and that's about as difficult as it gets a key takeaways here one have a system never break that system lay out your desk your workspace when you're on set your way and never change it do it show after show after show always keep notes always think about what you're doing before you do it especially when you're erasing those cards and if you get on a show that has more of them just a couple of cameras let's say a reality show where it's entirely possible to have a dozen or more cameras things get exponentially more difficult to track I would highly suggest that you work under a DI t as an intern or as an assistant on one of these shows before you ever tackle one it can be a nightmare and it can get out of control very quickly but all these same principles we've talked about with one and two cameras all work there it's just on a bigger scale paramount to making this work is that you have your system you would here to your system you never change your system so that you can confidently say I got that card I handled that card the card is clear to go back to set you won't lose media that way your date will go hold on [Music]

Channel: LearnDIT

Views: 5,038

Keywords: DIT, Digital Imaging Technician, data management

Id: _IwMNp78VdI

Length: 11min 4sec (664 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 08 2020