DavidBeier
Veteran
It seems like every time someone wonders onto these boards wondering if they should buy a HVX200, the biggest problem is P2 workflow. Well the camera has been out for about a year now so I figured why not those of us who have taken the plunge share the experience we've had with P2. I'd invite anyone to add how they find the workflow and also any FS-100 users to weigh in since it too is a very viable option.
My own experience has been overwhelmingly posative. One thing which I keep hearing is, "P2 may be OK if you've got a huge crew but I don't work for a big production company or anything." Well, I'm pretty low tech myself. I purchased my HVX200 after graduating from film school. I'm currently operating in a middle of no where town untill things look to be stable enough back in New Orleans. I don't have access to big crews either. It's just me, the camera, and whatever skills I have as an operator and editor.
Despite all this, I've loved every minute of P2 workflow. Currently, I've shot one recruitment video, two training videos, and one videographer for hire job (which I did use tape on since it was a small thing). I was initially very nervous about the using P2 but everything has worked out great. Untill you've really experienced tapeless, it's hard to describe how fantastic it is. Being able to review your clips, delete what you want, not have to worry about digitizing, and being able to easily archive them on DVDs with icons and descriptions of what you have on there is a practical and organizational dream come true.
My last project was the two training videos for the NCPTT which were to be shot on three all day shoots. Initially, I was going to shoot them on tape out of nervousness with constantly hot swapping cards but, my love for the tapeless process won out and I went with P2. Despite my constant worry that something would get earased, everything turned out fine. My girlfriend brough her laptop to the shoot and offloaded my two 4 gigers as we went on while another friend manned the boom mike. On one day, my girlfriend even managed double duty, managing botht he boom and the cards (and she's never messed with any of this stuff before in her life). Nothing was lost during the shoot and we NEVER had to stop to wait for the P2's to finish offloading or anything like that. It also didn't require me hireing a bunch of expensive guys.
While I'm a bit embarassed at how gheto my recent production was, (it's been rather hard to find a solid crew since Katrina), I think it serves as an example of how you don't need to be a big budget job to fully take advantage of the HVX200 and P2 workflow. Seriously, think to yourself how many people you know who have a laptop (you may well have one yourself). It's not hard nor difficult to offload and the benafits are well worth it and, in the long run, better for a lower budget type operation. With tape, one would not only have to invest in decks and worry about mechanical part breakdowns as well as archiving footage on tape. With P2, all that goes away. Honestly, small DVD archiving is a MUCH nicer option than having a bunch of tapes with God knows what on it. As I was finishing editing the promo video the other night, I realized that I wanted to include a shot of the NCPTT building and the American flag outside it. The shots were from an unrelated project I put together months ago but I needed them desperatly since it has been raining here almost non-stop for the last week. If they had been on tape, I wouldn't have known where too look and probably not bothered. On DVD though, I could quickly look at the ones dated from that time, browse the icon files, and find the shots I needed.
My own experience has been overwhelmingly posative. One thing which I keep hearing is, "P2 may be OK if you've got a huge crew but I don't work for a big production company or anything." Well, I'm pretty low tech myself. I purchased my HVX200 after graduating from film school. I'm currently operating in a middle of no where town untill things look to be stable enough back in New Orleans. I don't have access to big crews either. It's just me, the camera, and whatever skills I have as an operator and editor.
Despite all this, I've loved every minute of P2 workflow. Currently, I've shot one recruitment video, two training videos, and one videographer for hire job (which I did use tape on since it was a small thing). I was initially very nervous about the using P2 but everything has worked out great. Untill you've really experienced tapeless, it's hard to describe how fantastic it is. Being able to review your clips, delete what you want, not have to worry about digitizing, and being able to easily archive them on DVDs with icons and descriptions of what you have on there is a practical and organizational dream come true.
My last project was the two training videos for the NCPTT which were to be shot on three all day shoots. Initially, I was going to shoot them on tape out of nervousness with constantly hot swapping cards but, my love for the tapeless process won out and I went with P2. Despite my constant worry that something would get earased, everything turned out fine. My girlfriend brough her laptop to the shoot and offloaded my two 4 gigers as we went on while another friend manned the boom mike. On one day, my girlfriend even managed double duty, managing botht he boom and the cards (and she's never messed with any of this stuff before in her life). Nothing was lost during the shoot and we NEVER had to stop to wait for the P2's to finish offloading or anything like that. It also didn't require me hireing a bunch of expensive guys.
While I'm a bit embarassed at how gheto my recent production was, (it's been rather hard to find a solid crew since Katrina), I think it serves as an example of how you don't need to be a big budget job to fully take advantage of the HVX200 and P2 workflow. Seriously, think to yourself how many people you know who have a laptop (you may well have one yourself). It's not hard nor difficult to offload and the benafits are well worth it and, in the long run, better for a lower budget type operation. With tape, one would not only have to invest in decks and worry about mechanical part breakdowns as well as archiving footage on tape. With P2, all that goes away. Honestly, small DVD archiving is a MUCH nicer option than having a bunch of tapes with God knows what on it. As I was finishing editing the promo video the other night, I realized that I wanted to include a shot of the NCPTT building and the American flag outside it. The shots were from an unrelated project I put together months ago but I needed them desperatly since it has been raining here almost non-stop for the last week. If they had been on tape, I wouldn't have known where too look and probably not bothered. On DVD though, I could quickly look at the ones dated from that time, browse the icon files, and find the shots I needed.
