Like most people, I had no problem with the camera operation part (Well, at least after I found the on switch). After all, camera operation is a form of art. The issue came with how to transfer the video content onto the computer, how to backup terabytes worth of information, and ultimately how to get the work done in the fastest, most efficient way possible.
1. Get the right equipment! When you are working with a small budget for a Quad-angle video production set (4 camera's and 4 computers) you have to settle for the absolute basics to get the work done. However, when you are dealing with high definition footage and a lot of it, like my crew did, you need to pay special attention to connectors, bus speed, RAM, Pixels, External Expansion. If we did not have the basic inputs and outputs to connect all of our devices together, or enough RAM to record our video without causing screen lags, time delays, or even loss of footage that was too big to fit, we could have wasted more time than it would have cost for superior equipment.
There are many resources that you can use when finding a computer that will fit the needs of its primary use. One site that I find to be helpful with video production equipment is a site listed below that provides reviews, downloads, training, and more to anyone who is interested in video.
http://www.videomaker.com/
2. Know your Externals! We originally started the project horrendously underestimating the amount of Hard Drive space that was needed for the entire project. We started the project on a few 16GB flash drives, progressing to 256 GB Hard Drives, then into the higher GB's and even a couple of TB Hard Drives. Had we known that the project would have resulted in 12+ Terabytes worth of High Definition Footage, we could have saved hundreds of dollars and probably a few dozen trips to the local electronics store, by shelling out the dollars from the start on the large External Hard Drives. At one point I think we had all of the footage on about 30 different Hard Drives! Lesson learned - know your stuff! Again, using product reviews and advice from product experts at your local Electronics store will be the best resource if you do not know much about video memory.
3. Back it up! Do NOT risk your files in one place. Two sometimes is not even enough. When we first started our production, we used tapes. Not the best method for a couple reasons. One, tapes can only hold a very small amount of memory, and do run out of time. If you are standing behind the camera and watching it the entire time, you can keep an eye on the tape and the time remaining on it; however, if you set it up on a tripod, it could time out and you have lost the last couple minutes of footage with no backup. Two, tapes are very small, easy to lose, easy to break, easy to accidentally record over, etc..
When you are recording five people on the screen, there may be ten "takes" before there is one that is good enough to keep. When there is finally one that is good, you, the camera operator, do not want to be the one to break the bad news that it was not recorded.
After some weeks of trial and error during the pilot phase of filming, the best method we reached with our resources was to record via fire-wire cable straight from the 4 cameras to the 4 computers as well as the external Hard Drives (2 computers per Hard Drive). We were creating the file on the computer and then an automatic backup on the external immediately afterward. Checking the files at the beginning, middle, and end would then confirm the footage was recorded and that we could move on to the next segment. After the filming, the externals would be taken to a different location to avoid taking the chance with fire, or break-in. The external Hard Drives were also later duplicated and stored at yet another location to protect the footage.
Photo by Karina Mills, Pro Series Studios 2009
