Here's the long explanation from Joe Rogan to the Neutrino community at large.
Hey all,
I'm just writing to offer a report on how our Neutrino Project went. Overall, it was a complete success, and the kids had a fantastic time. We did, in fact, film the entire project using FlipCameras. We used a total of 10 cameras (one for each scene), and just had the runners run each camera to the booth, instead of a tape or SD card. The picture quality was surprisingly good (especially the one HD FlipCamera we used), but the sound quality was terrible. During rehearsals, though, the kids learned they had to speak incredibly loud, and it worked out in the end (we just couldn't film in echoey rooms, and we had to move most scenes inside if it was windy).
Connor can probably do a better job of explaining what he did in the booth, but I think I can provide the basic details. One of the other teachers suggested we try the VJ program "QLab," which we ended up using for the show. We purchased a temporary license for the program, at only $2 per day. He had a total of three computers running throughout the show. Two of the computers ran QLab, and a third was playing a continuous loop of B-Roll (the rotating N) and transition music just using Quicktime and iTunes. All three computers were routed through a video mixer, which sent output to our projector/sound system, a preview monitor, and a recording device. As cameras came in, they were hooked up to the QLab computers, which placed the files into simple playlists (the files were played right off the cameras, and were not copied onto the computer hard drives). This gave the cinematographers the ability to do some in-camera editing, and if any mistakes were made (like the actors weren't ready at the start of a take, or the director says "cut" at the end), the runners could relay a message to Connor, and he could adjust the start and end times of the files (I'm pretty sure he had the ability to preview these changes on his monitor). QLab also allowed Connor to see exactly how much time was left on each scene, but we still asked the cinematographers to start and end each scene on static images. After each scene, we transitioned to the B-Roll, mainly to add some music to the show, and because Conner says the B-Roll computer reduced the amount of simultaneous button-pushing required to transition from scene to scene. I think, though, that if we had more time to play around with QLab, we could have figured out ways to add background music to the clips themselves, and we might have eliminated the B-Roll altogether. We also could have had a computer just dedicated to background music, but this probably would have required a second technician. It might also have been possible to eliminate the need for a second QLab computer and video mixer, and run the whole thing off a single computer.
I can't really speak for Connor, but it seems like the difficulty of this setup (using cameras that record to solid-state drives) is on par with using miniDV tapes, and the solid-state setup may even provide some benefits that miniDV doesn't offer (e.g. no need to rewind tapes, and greater control over editing in the booth). With practice, I predict that technicians might even be able to add sound and video effects to scenes with this approach. The biggest benefit, though, was the cost. I won't say that our setup was cheaper, but rather that it was cheap for us to put together. I don't know a ton of people with miniDV cameras, but I do know plenty of people with laptops and flipcameras. Almost everything was borrowed at no cost. Our only expenses were cables/connectors and the software license. Most groups would probably have to fork out cash for the video mixer, but this is true for the miniDV setup, as well. Plus, this setup is scalable. If a group wanted to start with FlipCameras, they could add more advanced cameras (either solid state or miniDV) into the mix one piece at a time.
Thanks to everyone for your comments, suggestions, and support. I hope our experiences were useful to you.
-Sincerely,
Joe Rogan
Forums
