time code jamming

M

MRFilm

Active member
Hi,

Jan, have any thoughts? >>>>>>

OK I've used the time of day method for jamming where I just set each camera one at a time and then start them as close as I can "in sync" with the previous camera.

I'm going to be doing another shoot on Sat. multicam and will use the remote to start them all at once.

I'm probably NOT the first to think of this, but missed any thread about if so.

My thought (and tried it yesterday) was to use the "chain recording" hook up to jam the second camera (in VCR mode) to the first which works perfectly. Unfortunately once you power down and disconnect the firewire cable, when it comes back as a camera the time code is entirely different, switching back to VCR mode you wtill have your jammed timecode.

So any remedies for this from Panasonic?

I know buy the camera that cost $20K more, right? no wait that's Sony's pat answer! ;-)

Thanks,
MR
 
Re: time code jamming

Put up a slate for all cameras and then sync each shot in post. It's not that time consuming and much cheaper than several $10,000 plus professional cameras (not prosumer like the DVX). ;)

The only drawback is if you have takes longer than 15 minutes you will probably start to get some sync drift but again that can be easily discovered and corrected with a tail slate.
 
Re: time code jamming

(refering to previous post) sure that's what we do.

Usually we have the sound guy recording to a Deva (Diva??) and we'll shoot a Time Code slate AND clap it. It would stop some complaints from post production if we could jam all of the cameras, AND not get rushed changing batteries and causing TC jumps, and. . .

We get a fantastic looking camera for less than $4K and then everyone else wants to complain. . . w/o the pretty pictures it would just be radio, afterall. . . ;)

I just hoped perhaps this was a software patch or slight hardware mod that could be implemented in future models.

Maybe a firmware update?

There has to be only one TC generator. Just "fix" whatever makes it treat VCR TC and Camera TC as two different things. . . Of course then someone will hotswap the FireWire cable and blow up their camera(s). . .

OY!

I love my DVX and was just fishing for a remedy for some static I'd gotten. Fortunately if we can just keep them "in the ballpark" the cutter that usually has to deal with this is happy enough.

Thanks,
MR
 
Re: time code jamming

BTW EVEN the high $$$ Pro cameras will drift during the day. Which is why they resync periodically. The ONLY way to get two (or more) timecode gnrators to stay perfectly locked is to feed them both the same genlock source (usually black from a sync generator) which would require a cable run to each camera from a central source.

Doing a film shoot a couple of years ago, we used the Aaton XTR Prod the C+ Master TC Clock and the stand alone Aaton TC Generator. (The Sound guy was offended that we wanted to supply him with TC rather than just Jam his DAT to our TC) when we checked sync (with the C+) after lunch the camera was dead on while the TC for sound had drifted 1/100 of a frame, which we then fixed. SO about 6 hours after we'd ajmmed everything this specialized set up had some drift, negligable but still SOME drift. . .

MR
 
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