First FS4 Pro recording (nearly had a heart attack!)

[PerroneFord]

So today, I used my new FS4 for the first time. Live statewide broadcast, client in the room, subject giving 2 hour speech. Natural tape break about 40 minutes in. No problem, hit pause, change tape, come out of pause and firestore starts up. Ask client when second break is due, she indicates in about 45 minutes.

Well, 45 minutes rolls by, as does 50 minutes. She comes over and announces that he's running behind and probably won't take a break. Now I'm stuck. I'm supposed to be running a miniDV backup for this (I had a third backup rolling just in case but it was mpeg2.

I can't stop the tape because it will also stop the firestore. Will it continue to run when the tape stops?! Zero minutes remaining runs by on the tape. I'm watching the LCD and the firestore TC counter. A large red END flashes, but I still have timecode rolling! Thank GOD!

This is why they say not to use new, untested equipment on a big job. I had a third tape ready to roll if the Firestore stopped but it didn't. However, I left myself at the mercy of the new technology without the DV backup rolling.

For future reference, should I have run the firestore in manual mode? Is there anything I need to change in the camera so that it doesn't stop the firestore from recording when I hit pause?

Thanks for your thoughts.

-P

 

[ash]

Hey dude,

I have not used the firestore device, so can't answer your question but I advise you to take it easy. Don't take anything to your heart... Nothing's worth it!! Believe me. Best of luck for other projects.

 

[PerroneFord]

It's cool. I figured out how to do what I wanted with the Firestore. In this case, the client was a co-worker and a friend. They have hired out this kind of work in the past, and in 4 attempts they have not gotten anything useful for different reasons. Her back was to the wall, she'd spent thousands with nothing to show for it, and this was basically her last shot at getting something to prove to her boss that her projects weren't all junk.

There was a lot invested emotionally, and it's tough when you're trying to help a friend keep their job.