All the "marvelous nonsense"

Dealing with video cameras today reminds me of watching Ghostbusters with my Gran. As Dan Ackroyd's Ray Stantz instructs Ernie Hudson's Winston Zeddmore on the correct way to clean a trap after a catching a ghost my Gran laughingly said, "That is some marvelous nonsense they're talking in this film."

23.98, 24p, 30p, 60i, 720o, 1080i, DVCPro, HDCAM, Red, HDV, down-converting, 4x3, 16x9, P2, XDCAM, 4:2:2, long GOP, intra-frame...

Marvelous nonsense for most people. And it's only going to get worse as formats adapt and we move into newer technologies. For those in the field it's becoming increasingly difficult to get to the root of what a client wants. For those who rent cameras it's a series of phone calls and last minute double checks that the camera that is going out will shoot the format, frame rate and frequency that the client needs.

Here's a popular scenario. A producer calls and says they have an upcoming shoot. They want to shoot with a 900. First question: which 900? SDX900, HDX900, F-900? It should be simple to narrow it down to high definition or standard definition, but that leaves you having to explain the differences between Sony's F-900 and Panasonic's HDX900. Which, in turn, leads to a discussion of the post capabilities: can your edit facility deal with HDCAM or DVCProHD? Once that's done the frame rate will come up. And that's yet another round of discussions.

I knew a professor in college who, at the beginning of an exam, would write four letters on the chalkboard: RTFQ. Read The Fricking Question. Or words to that effect. In production today, with a constantly shifting set of acquisition formats and broadcast standards, the letters need to be updated: ATFQ. Ask The Fricking Questions. Yeah, it gets old but dragging out a phone conversation before the shoot is a heck of a lot better than a phone call after the shoot from a producer or editor freaking out that they can't play back or ingest what you shot for them.

As tapeless begins to get a foothold in the industry (and that's a whole other topic...) the questions are going to become more labyrinthine. Which codec are we shooting in, can your post house deal with a Mac formatted hard drive, are you BRINGING a hard drive, all of these issues are going to rear their head and all of them need to be addressed before the shoot begins.

So, what to make of all of this? In my opinion it is now imperative that the entire production process become a fluid whole as opposed to a simple breakdown between pre-production, production and post-production. The DP for a project needs to be aware of the post-production capabilities, the editor needs to understand the creative reason for a particular format or frame rate, and the production company needs to make sure that everyone is on the same page. This then makes life a lot easier when the project needs to pick up gear in other markets or when a different operator has to sub in for the lead DP -- everyone is educated, informed and able to clearly state what the production needs are. That's how to cut through all the tech speak and "marvelous nonsense."

At least until the next format arrives.