$11,000 Budget - Tapeless Workflow

O

Omar Cardenas

New member
I am on a very tight budget for a upcoming indie project, i am planning to do it tapeless although i have my concerns on the technical stuff.

Here is the work flow i think i would like to use:

Camera: Canon XH G1 or JVC PRO GY-HD110U
Lens Adapter: Letus35 Extreme
Computer: Mac Pro Quad 2.66Mgzh 8GB Ram (probably i will go up to 16GB)
Capture Card: BlackMagic DeckLink HD Pro
Storage: CalDigit S2VR Duo-1TB (really dont know if pci-e or pci-x, ??? which is better ??)
Editing Software: Final Cut Pro 6

My idea is Capture directly from the camera, is this possible ?? if so , should i use firewire or in the case of the XHG1 the HD-SDI BNC output directly to the DeckLink HD Pro ???

I have only $11,000 usd which it took me a lot to get , so i do really need to push the limits on this workflow for efficiency and quality, i need to delivery the film to the producers in 24fps and in HD , can be 720p or any other HD format.

Better ideas are more than welcome and comments, sorry for my English by the way is not my primarily language.:)

:dankk2:
 
I am not convinced "tapeless" and "low budget" go together very well.

How many minutes do you plan to shoot, and what codec are you planning to capture with?

Don't forget to budget for a backup hard drive.

really dont know if pci-e or pci-x, ??? which is better ??
Click to expand...

I think with a MacPro you need PCI-e cards.
 
fgiraffe is right. The G1/HD110 is completely wrong for something like this. "Tapeless" in this case means being tethered to a workstation and capturing the footage live. This means that you're limited to a studio environment so to deliver anything that comes close to looking professional you're looking at thousands more in lightning gears. And at roughly 100 mb/sec uncompressed output (or 330 GB/hour), that 1TB hard drive is going to be filled up quickly. Not to mention you're going to need some more RAID drives just to edit the footage. $11,000 don't even come closed to being able to achieve that.

The HVX200 might fit your style better. $5200 for the camera + $1800 for 2 16GB P2 cards and you're ready to go.
 
Last edited:
Thank you fgiraffe, jade8472.

I think i skip to mention that this is a project for a full length movie, 90min.
I know i am very tight on budget, but hey believe me to get this kind of budget here in my country for making movies , is like a having a miracle in front of your eyes.

My idea is a tapeless work flow it may be more expensive, yes , i know, but that is the reason of my post here, i am looking for help or any consult as far making it happen.

I had my eye in two cameras Canon XH G1, and the JVC PRO HD-GY110.
My question will be , if i can use the Canon XH G1 HD-SDI output to capture directly from camera at 24fps ? or using the AGHVX-200 with either a P2 card system or Firestore Fs100 Hard Drive ?
I know JVC is a very good camera for 24p, but may i be able to capture directly via Firewire ?

by the way , thank you so much for your time.
 
Sorry i forgot to mention the codec i would like to use, defenitly will not be uncompress HD, to much for a low budget like this, i need to delivery the movie to my producers in 24fps , as far the codec , i think DVCPRO ? i am really new on this HD video.

Thank you
 
If it must be tapeless than you need an HVX or Firestore for an HVX or Canon A1 (G1 is pointless for that).
 
You can always capture live through the firewire, but then you're limited by the battery life of your laptop and your mobility is reduced. The quality is the same as going to tape. If you have to have the Canon or the JVC then go for a Firestore, and those cameras shoot HDV. For DVCPRO, the HVX with its P2 system is the obvious choice when it comes to tapeless acquisition.
 
I assume you are doing a narrative film from a script (as opposed to a documentary)?

If you shoot DVCProHD at 720p24n on the HVX200 P2/Firestore you can get about 40 hours in 1TB. That might be enough for your masters. If you go the traditional route** (import/transcode into Final Cut) you'll need the same amount of storage AGAIN for the Quicktimes. Plus you'll need some space working/rendering/etc. So you need more like 3.5 TB instead of 1.

1TB - masters
1TB - backup disk for masters
1TB - transcoded Quicktimes
500G - working space


I'm mostly obsessing over your hard drive, because with tapeless you can never have enough! :-)


** there are other ways I hear that avoid this duplication/transcode step, but I have not used them.
 
I see no need in making it hard and more expensive than it needs to be.
We'll all use tapeless when it's ready. Till then, we'll shoot, capture and spit it back out. 11k goes a long way that way.
 
jade8472 i wont be using a Powerbook or either a Macbook Pro, instead i am building a Road Case for my Mac Pro 2.66 ghz 16 RAM and a Internal Raid Card with 3 Sata 500GB HD, plus the 1TB CaldIgit via PCI-e i will be using FCP 6 to capture and cut.

Can i still be able to achieve good quality at 24fps?
In this case , having the G5 as my capture device , should i go with a different setup ? or camera ?

I am flying today at night to L.A to get all the gear for my production, since i am from Mexico Jungle City, that is why my biggest concern, over here is no one knows about a thing of this.

Thank you for your time
OCB
 
I still don't understand why you want to go tapeless in the first place. Going through firewire through a firestore or a Mac Pro yields the exact same quality as going to tape, with a lot more hassle. Imagine being tethered to a computer through an entire shoot, and accidentally yanking the cable off during a take or having your hard drive crap out on you. And if you go with the G1 you just drop 2k on features that you're not going to end up using (HD-SDI).

Go tapeless when you have a good reason to, in this case it seems like you're just doing more work than you need. The HVX sounds like the perfect choice for you because its tapeless P2 system offers many advantages with little of the hassel.
 
I shot a 90-min feature on MiniDV. Used about 30 tapes (though most were not full.) At $4.00 per tape (you can get them cheaper), that's still only $120 total. Why on earth would you spend thousands on hardware to shoot tapeless if you don't have to? Spend money wisely!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top