How many Andromeda DVX's?
- Thread starter Justin_Kirch
- Start date
Tom Marshall
Actor!!!!!!
Hey Kholi, it's just money... 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara
Veteran
Machinist, I meant recording to the computer.... if I tell the computer to record and then stick the thing in a backpack.... every time I want it to stop or start recording again, would I have to take it out of the backpack and fiddle with the computer program?
Or is there a way to start/stop record while everything is tethered in the backpack.
That is what I meant.
Or is there a way to start/stop record while everything is tethered in the backpack.
That is what I meant.
The Machinist
Respected Member
Yea i was wondering the same thing myself actually.
And unfortunately i haven't read about anyone addressing this issue or trying it out.
Justin_Kirch
Runner Up.
You would have to take the computer out of the back pack, and what's that 5 seconds lost time? Not a big deal in my opinion. File Storage is getting cheaper so 5 seconds of an external or internal harddrive wouldn't matter much.
Ryan Patrick O'Hara
Veteran
eh 5 seconds is quite the estimate.................
You have to set everything down, get the backpack off, open it, open the computer, stop the software, wait for the next shot, start recording, put back in the backpack, put the backpack on, then pick up the camera and start adjusting and prepping to shoot. If you are not on a narrative set and are doing a documentary or something that can have spontaneous action you are pretty much screwed.
I guess having a custom made bag might work. I would build a backpack that can be accessed without having to open. Perhaps mounted on the front of the operator instead of the back, the software could be started and/or stopped more easily.
You could always have a PA walk along the operator with the computer.... haha
You have to set everything down, get the backpack off, open it, open the computer, stop the software, wait for the next shot, start recording, put back in the backpack, put the backpack on, then pick up the camera and start adjusting and prepping to shoot. If you are not on a narrative set and are doing a documentary or something that can have spontaneous action you are pretty much screwed.
I guess having a custom made bag might work. I would build a backpack that can be accessed without having to open. Perhaps mounted on the front of the operator instead of the back, the software could be started and/or stopped more easily.
You could always have a PA walk along the operator with the computer.... haha
Last edited:
MojoTrancer
Well-known member
Kholi said:
That's all fine and dandy... Whenever it comes out...
For someone wanting to shoot now, the Andromeda is a viable option. I'm considering it myself. I hate waiting on the next big thing to arrive. I'd rather make movies now with what's available than hold off for bleeding edge tech on the horizon.
The Machinist
Respected Member
With a mac that's a pretty quick process.
But i agree for documentary run and gun situations its definately not an acceptable workflow.
Jared Meyer
Veteran
I want to like this idea...I love the images folks are getting from the mod.
But the workflow sounds really hairy to me.
(Someone please correct me if I'm wrong) I believe I read that the footage is not immediately available to view. I guess the SculptorHD capture software captures individual .tiff frames which have to be rendered out to a quicktime file?
EDIT: Virum has posted below that this is not quite accurate. Thanks for the clarification!
So you'd have to throw the .tiff folder (which has got to be just huge) onto whatever machine you wanted to render from before you can even look at the footage...Assuming that you won't render on the laptop. I guess you could record to a firewire drive, but that's yet another parallel flopping around. Anyone know how long it takes to render?
I'd love to hear Matthew Bennett or any other Andromeda owners shed some more light on the workflow, and whether it's worth it to them. Unless I'm misunderstanding it, I think it sounds incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming. Not to mention...how many high cap. drives are you going to need and how much time are you going to spend making backups? And on to what? DVD's?
But the workflow sounds really hairy to me.
(Someone please correct me if I'm wrong) I believe I read that the footage is not immediately available to view. I guess the SculptorHD capture software captures individual .tiff frames which have to be rendered out to a quicktime file?
EDIT: Virum has posted below that this is not quite accurate. Thanks for the clarification!
So you'd have to throw the .tiff folder (which has got to be just huge) onto whatever machine you wanted to render from before you can even look at the footage...Assuming that you won't render on the laptop. I guess you could record to a firewire drive, but that's yet another parallel flopping around. Anyone know how long it takes to render?
I'd love to hear Matthew Bennett or any other Andromeda owners shed some more light on the workflow, and whether it's worth it to them. Unless I'm misunderstanding it, I think it sounds incredibly cumbersome and time-consuming. Not to mention...how many high cap. drives are you going to need and how much time are you going to spend making backups? And on to what? DVD's?
Last edited:
Ryan Patrick O'Hara
Veteran
That is news to me jaustere, I never used one. I think this is the main reason for the confusion and curiosity. We need someone here who has one to speak up.
MojoTrancer
Well-known member
jaustere said:
Well I guess you could record to tape at the same time, that way you'd know what you're getting. And you always have the LCD and/or monitor to see while you're shooting. I never look at my footage till I edit anyway. I've had several close calls with recording over footage due to carelessness when reviewing it.
It might be wise if the andromeda/sculptor combo could use something like the cineform intermediate codec. That might make the workflow more manageable. just my $.02
JoshuaNitschke
Well-known member
Not quite, it's captured into a proprietory format, one file. You select it and render it out in any format you want, Could be .mov with any of the available codecs your machine has, jpg, png, tiff sequence, etc.jaustere said:
Juan addede a dailies algorithm which is a lot faster than the quality render. I've done a quick render on set to make sure I got a shot. It takes a few minutes, but the actors appreciate the break sometimes.
As for why I bought this instead of the hvx:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=623506&postcount=37
I capture sound via firewire and an Edirol Fa66
I love the workflow, but I have never done run and gun shooting, so it doesn't really cramp my style.
Last edited:
Jared Meyer
Veteran
Ah, thanks for the correction, Virum. So about how long does it take to render, say, five minutes of footage, with your iMac?
JoshuaNitschke
Well-known member
Dailies, about 5-10 minutes I'd say.jaustere said:
Highest, about an 45 mins to an hour maybe. I haven't done a lot of rendering and I usually just batch it up and go do something else while I wait. And the takes I've rendered out usually aren't that long. (I'm really winging it cause I don't have time to check everything).
Mathew could give more accurate times.
Justin_Kirch
Runner Up.
thanks for chiming in Virum...i'm glad to hear from someone who already has andromeda.
i'd like to say a few things in regards to the tethered comments:
how is it that being tethered for a documentary is more cumbersome than taking a few takes of scene in a regular movie? in MOST cases, documentaries should be keeping their cameras rolling so they don't skip a beat. this shouldn't be a problem for a documentary. just start capture on the external drive (about 100 minutes for every 100 gigs or so) and you have plenty of time to switch out drives, mark it as so and so, and then put a new drive on there.
to keep pushing this, i think the workflow for the andromeda is a alot less cumbersome when it comes to documentary footage than the HVX. you can look at the rise and falls of P2 cards and being tethered, but overall, isn't it more convenient to having a drive contantly capture than having to swap out P2 cards every 8 minutes? that just seems like a pain to me.
this debate can go on and on, as it has in the past....it's just interesting to see other peoples points of view on this subject. i'm liking the andromeda. i wonder if i can get a student discount on top of the already reduced price?
i'd like to say a few things in regards to the tethered comments:
how is it that being tethered for a documentary is more cumbersome than taking a few takes of scene in a regular movie? in MOST cases, documentaries should be keeping their cameras rolling so they don't skip a beat. this shouldn't be a problem for a documentary. just start capture on the external drive (about 100 minutes for every 100 gigs or so) and you have plenty of time to switch out drives, mark it as so and so, and then put a new drive on there.
to keep pushing this, i think the workflow for the andromeda is a alot less cumbersome when it comes to documentary footage than the HVX. you can look at the rise and falls of P2 cards and being tethered, but overall, isn't it more convenient to having a drive contantly capture than having to swap out P2 cards every 8 minutes? that just seems like a pain to me.
this debate can go on and on, as it has in the past....it's just interesting to see other peoples points of view on this subject. i'm liking the andromeda. i wonder if i can get a student discount on top of the already reduced price?
I asked Virum about the student discount. The cost is $2000. That's VERY affordable.
Hello everyone,
I've read over the posts and I'll try to cover as much ground as I can at once.
The first thing I need to point out, is that an Andromeda DVX works more like a film camera than a video camera, and as such the workflow can be different from that of a highly-compressed video system. Compressed video systems are usually designed such that the material can be edited and then broadcast/distributed very quickly. This is completely different from a movie workflow where quality, not speed is of utmost importance.
High-quality uncompressed footage takes up more space than highly-compressed decimated 8-bit video, that's just the state of technology. This is the same case with 2k(or 4k, etc) film scans, which are handled as image sequences. The uncompressed image-sequence workflow is the cleanest possible workflow for digital images which originate from an RGB imaging process, because there's no compression, decimation or conversion to another space such as YUV. Andromeda and SculptorHD allow users to work in a film-like workflow using uncompressed image sequences, or to export the data in a Quicktime format, thus allowing for a more video-like workflow. Any professional software package that is designed to work with film(such as FCP, Shake, Combustion, etc) can handle image sequences natively.
Being tethered to a computer/recorder/monitor is another aspect which is common-place to film sets, but may be unusual for videographers who are used to carry the entire system in the palm of their hands. There is no doubt that the setup and handling during the shoot will be different for a tethered camera, and this is something that all prospective users should take into consideration. The system will fit into a studio or movie set a lot more easily than a run-and-gun situation. Then again, few would choose a Panavision Genesis to shoot handheld run-and-gun documentaries in a war zone for example. In such a situation there are other camera characteristics that take precedence over the quality of the footage.
About shooting with the computer in a backpack: the SculptorHD software has shortcuts for recording, which means you can use something like a USB numeric keypad to trigger recording. SculptorHD also has user-defined feedback sounds which reflect the state of the recorder without having to look at the screen. One important thing to consider is that laptops require ventilation, so any portable setup should allow for this.
The current price for an Andromeda installation if you already own a DVX is $2500 ($2000 for students or educational institutions).
Please post any other questions you have and I'll answer them as soon as I see them.
Cheers,
Juan@reel-stream.com
I've read over the posts and I'll try to cover as much ground as I can at once.
The first thing I need to point out, is that an Andromeda DVX works more like a film camera than a video camera, and as such the workflow can be different from that of a highly-compressed video system. Compressed video systems are usually designed such that the material can be edited and then broadcast/distributed very quickly. This is completely different from a movie workflow where quality, not speed is of utmost importance.
High-quality uncompressed footage takes up more space than highly-compressed decimated 8-bit video, that's just the state of technology. This is the same case with 2k(or 4k, etc) film scans, which are handled as image sequences. The uncompressed image-sequence workflow is the cleanest possible workflow for digital images which originate from an RGB imaging process, because there's no compression, decimation or conversion to another space such as YUV. Andromeda and SculptorHD allow users to work in a film-like workflow using uncompressed image sequences, or to export the data in a Quicktime format, thus allowing for a more video-like workflow. Any professional software package that is designed to work with film(such as FCP, Shake, Combustion, etc) can handle image sequences natively.
Being tethered to a computer/recorder/monitor is another aspect which is common-place to film sets, but may be unusual for videographers who are used to carry the entire system in the palm of their hands. There is no doubt that the setup and handling during the shoot will be different for a tethered camera, and this is something that all prospective users should take into consideration. The system will fit into a studio or movie set a lot more easily than a run-and-gun situation. Then again, few would choose a Panavision Genesis to shoot handheld run-and-gun documentaries in a war zone for example. In such a situation there are other camera characteristics that take precedence over the quality of the footage.
About shooting with the computer in a backpack: the SculptorHD software has shortcuts for recording, which means you can use something like a USB numeric keypad to trigger recording. SculptorHD also has user-defined feedback sounds which reflect the state of the recorder without having to look at the screen. One important thing to consider is that laptops require ventilation, so any portable setup should allow for this.
The current price for an Andromeda installation if you already own a DVX is $2500 ($2000 for students or educational institutions).
Please post any other questions you have and I'll answer them as soon as I see them.
Cheers,
Juan@reel-stream.com
Ryan Patrick O'Hara
Veteran
Very cool.pertierr said:
Justin_Kirch
Runner Up.
Juan, THANK YOU for chiming in. Your product is awesome. Give me another month and I'll be your customer! thanks again. great input!!!
Justin_Kirch
Runner Up.
In regards to the ventilation of the laptops, you could just buy one of those MESH backpacks instead of the solid fabric. This way air will be able to travel more freely with all the ventilation holes.
Man, I never thought the student pricing would only be $2000. That makes me incredibly happy. Now I'll be able to get my Macbook at the same time!
Man, I never thought the student pricing would only be $2000. That makes me incredibly happy. Now I'll be able to get my Macbook at the same time!