GH2 File Management

StevenBills

StevenBills

Active member
Hey everyone,

We are in pre-production for a short promo for an Android app, and I was thinking about managing all of my files coming out of the GH2.

Every time you format a card, the clip numbering starts back at 000, then 001, 002, etc... So when you dump all of that footage into the computer, and then load it into Premiere, you end up with 5 or 6 clips numbered 000 (one from each card).

Anyway, I was wondering if there was a way to make the file numbering continuous (within the camera) to avoid this confusion?

Thanks,

Steven
 
StevenBills said:
I was wondering if there was a way to make the file numbering continuous (within the camera) to avoid this confusion?
Click to expand...

Hey Steven, I don't believe there's a way to do that, but I'm not 100% sure on that (don't have the time to test it yet). My typical workflow involves splitting up cards into folders, i.e. Card_1, Card_2, and so on (even if it's the same card just formatted and used over again).

I do agree that the filenaming on the GH2 is one of its weak points.
 
Thanks for the suggestion Gary.

I do wish that the GH2's file numbering would be continuous. That would make life easier.

Steven
 
I use batch renaming apps (i use them on my mac... not sure if your on pc or mac but i'm sure there are freeware options on both platforms) to rename files. I split them up into folders as well, but I like to give them name prefixes so that they have a unique name. So rather than 001, I'll include a "REEL - DATE - 001"

That way if my editor will never have any problem finding a file, should it get disconnected.
 
there are several of them for the mac. file list and name mangler are two of my favorites. they are both either free or cheapware...
 
Jim Simon said:
That's a bad idea for anyone using Premiere Pro, which works best with the full folder structure left in tact and untouched.
Click to expand...

That's fair. I don't use PP so it doesn't apply to me... but I also keep my original disk image backed up until I'm done with a project, so I always have the original if something were to go wrong.
 
Speaking of file management, how do you guys typically archive footage? Is external drives and raid storage systems the norm presently?
 
I use PP CS5 and have never had a problem just dumping the actual MTS files (without the accompanying file structure) into "Card_1", "Card_2", etc. folders. I then rename individual files to correspond with the slate and edit from those. I've done 2 features and a boatload of music videos and corporate projects that way without issue, sometimes dealing with upwards of 1500 MTS files for a single project.
 
The problem that happens with renaming or not using the original folder structure is when you do file spanning and there will no longer be a seamless playback at that point between the spanned files.
 
I've never run into that issue. I drop the raw MTS files on the timeline right next to each other and I get seamless playback every time with no sync issues. I don't know what problem people are referring to. I've done 4 or 5 multicam concerts this way (in addition to long-take narrative stuff) and haven't ever had a problem with spanned files playing back correctly. This is using a combination of patches, framerates, film modes, etc.
 
I should have said that the renaming problem happens in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. Not sure what happens with other video editing software or other versions.

The other problem is when you retain the correct folder names and file names. Importing multiple spanned files into Premiere will result in one file in the Bin that uses the name of the first file in that series of spanned files. If you change the speed of that single file in the Timeline, it will cause different parts of the video to play around the seam point(s) of the what would have been multiple files.
 
stefancolson said:
I've never run into that issue.
Click to expand...

Then you've been lucky. The Adobe forums are filled with folks using several versions of PP that have had issues when they didn't keep the full folder structure in tact, even without spanned clips.

The point here is that you can theoretically play Russian Roulette forever and never lose. But with that bullet in the chamber, the chance of losing will always be there. But if you take the bullet out, there's no possible way you can lose.

Same here. If you leave the folders intact and unchanged, there's no possible chance of that causing an issue.

The best method here is to copy the PRIVATE folder in full to a folder on your hard drive named Card 1, Card 2, etc. Then when you import, do the same. Bring the Card 1 clips into a bin named Card 1. etc.
 
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