My latest little experimental video . . .

I got lost in thought one night while riding the Metro in DC.

The music is a piece I composed in my midi studio.

Our videotape services department is still busy all the time. 

So this is a reminder that when sending us or anyone a source or master video tape, it’s just good practice to be in the habit of setting any record tab to “safe” so as to prevent any accidental recording over.

(Sure, we’re professionals, but hey, why take any chances with your media.) 

Such “record inhibit” tabs vary between tape formats.  On most broadcast formats like BetacamSP, dBeta and HDCAM, it’s a red tab on the underside that gets pushed in. (see photo above) . . .

And on other formats, like DVcam or DVCpro, it can be a slide button:

And hey, don’t forget those old vhs tapes you have at home with your priceless family memories.

Just break off the little tab (see photo at left) to prevent accidental erasure of those.

But there is at least one archive format that is different.  It’s the Hi8 video format that was popular in the 1990’s.  Sure enough, the tabs on those tapes have to be slid closed, resulting in the red tab being exposed, in order to be made “safe.”  (see photo below)

As my sales colleague Dave Tierney dtierney@videolabs.net said, “Just another reason why that format was a flop.”  Yeah, what was Sony thinking? 

Oh well . . . regardless of the format, we got you covered here at VideoLabs  www.VideoLabs.net  Contact us for all of your media replication and related multimedia needs.

My info is dryan@videolabs.net,  and I now have a new direct phone line: 240-268-3504  

I invite you to browse these categories of other related quick-read tape-related blogs on this site: 

video production: http://tinyurl.com/ygmmrzt  

video duplication: http://tinyurl.com/ylskb8e 

post-production: http://tinyurl.com/yzwltx2

And follow me on Twitter for exclusive short-term steep discounts: www.Twitter.com/DRMediaSolution

I always welcome your comments.

Recuerda que hablo espanol tambien.

Or perhaps you have played in a rock band, you’ve realized first hand the value of a good drummer.

Or maybe you’ve worked on your car.  You are likely well aware of the importance of the timing belt.

In any of those cases,  if you lose the “sync,” things start falling apart.

Same in video . . .

Ever been in an edit session and have a transition effect between two images jump around or change color?

Or perhaps you have you experienced the frustration of trying to make a dub from one source to another but the picture keeps rolling?

Or how about trying to output a show from a Final Cut Pro or Avid session and you can’t make a proper edit to start the layback?

What is likely happening in those situations is a lack of sync between the devices involved.

As you probably know, NTSC video signal typically runs at 30 frames a second. (ok, it actually 29.97, but let’s keep this simple for now.)  But just because two signals run at the same steady frame rate doesn’t mean that they can mix smoothly together.

My good friend and engineering expert Chris Vazquez likens it to one of those 4 x 400 meter sprint races one sees on the Olympics.  Runners have to be “in sync” for the handoff to go smoothly.

So likewise, to have a smooth transition between two or more video devices, such as in a dissolve between two cameras covering a live event, with a character generator added on top, the signals of each device have to be on the same clock.  In other words, they are “genlocked.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genlock

What is commonly used for video reference in professional setups is an external sync generator.  It is set to put out a black signal that feeds to all the devices in the facility or particular setup.  That black signal, often referred to as ”house reference” becomes the master drummer. (further good info on this subject: http://tinyurl.com/yz9n8pp)

These range from the large sync generators for a facility

to the rack size for a small production company:

to a small one for an edit suite or field setup:

As explained in this well-written web article http://tinyurl.com/ykgcu8m “Genlock performs four main functions: vertical, horizontal, frame, and color synchronization. These features are all normal parts of a standard composite video signal, which allows a TV or monitor to display an image properly.”

Now you might be thinking that you know of situations where there was no reference put into a record tape machine.

And you would be correct.  Some higher end devices do have internal sync generators, and if that is not the case, most devices will adjust to the sync of the incoming video signal if nothing else is available.  But these are not ideal remedies since that type of sync is certainly not “system wide.”

There are devices that have “frame sync generators,” devices that act like a drill sargeant that force all incoming signals, no matter what clock they are on, to get forcibly reconstituted to a particular clock.  That may sound ideal, but there are disadvantages to the use of such devices, one being the possible introduction of a delay to a signal.

Still, frame syncs are popular in switchers used in remote live situations (like the battlefield or a remote location) where having problems with sync is just not an acceptable situation.

But returning to the main point, most professional video setups and facilities will utilize a black burst sync generator as their house reference.

Ah, but you are thinking, what about SD and HD?

Good question.  Yes, even though both are on 30 fps, remember from above that there are elements other than time that need to be kept in sync, such as color.  The SD signal and HD signal carry color information differently.  And since high end HD decks often provide internal downconversion (HD to SD) or upconversion (SD to HD) features, you’ll understand why on such machines there are usually inputs for both SD and HD sync.

I welcome your comments below.

If you enjoyed this article, you may want to check out some of the perenially-popular tech articles written by Chris Vazquez for this site, like, “Is the Generation Loss In Digital Betacam?” http://tinyurl.com/6yd6gn

Contact me, David Ryan, for your media replication and related multimedia needs.  301-217-0000 x104 or dryan@videolabs.net I follow Thomas Friedman’s “world is flat” model http://tinyurl.com/yhxfrkt, and I work with clients worldwide.  I would enjoy having the opportunity to be of service to you.

See what clients say: http://tinyurl.com/44uw9j

Follow me on Twitter for exclusive short term discounts and other items: www.Twitter.com/DRMediasolution

OK, you are producing a shoot in an office where you are conducting an interview with a high-ranking official of an organization.  She has just exited the office for a bit to allow you and your crew time to set up.

She has left her computer on, and you actually want it to stay on and have it seen in the background of the shot.

As the crew sets up, you overhear that they want to plug in two 600 watt lamps and one 400 watt lamps.  And the question arises, ”Are we going to blow a circuit?”

Uh, a voice goes off in your head crying, “Danger, Danger, Will Robinson!,” as you  recognize, perhaps more than anyone else in the crew (since it was you who spent days setting this shoot up), that being responsible for a black-out in this interviewee’s office  would not be a good thing . . . AT ALL!

But hey, you can impress the crew (and amaze your friends!) by remembering the diagram above, which reflects Ohm’s Law (named for 19th-century German physicist, Georg Ohm http://tinyurl.com/q8k6e6 )

E = Pressure (measured in volts)

I = Movement [or the amount of electricity going by one fixed point at any one time] (measured in amps)

R = Resistance (ohms)

The formula works like this:  E =  I x R or I = P/R or R = E/I

You know that the voltage of wall plugs in the US are 120 volts, so you have the value of E.

And you remember the maintenance engineer saying during the scout (you did the location beforehand with a tech crew member, right?) saying that the office was on a standard 20amp circuit breaker.  So you know somehow you have to be sure you stay under that number.

“But wait a minute,” you say, “What’s about the “watts” of the lamps — I don’t see anything in Ohm’s law about that?”

Well, let’s digress a moment and look at an analogy.

Let’s take the water coming into your house.

The water pressure from the street would be analogous to E.

The movement of the water flow would relate to I.

And let’s say the pipes in their normal configuration create a resistance to the flow of the water by an arbitrary value of 1.

Now, if you were to replace one foot of the intake pipe with a thinner diameter of pipe, you’d in effect be increasing the resistance to the water flow right?  So the value of R would increase to let’s say 2.  And that would lessen the flow or movement (I) of water out the tap, right?  So see, the formula works . . . as the R increases, then I decreases.

“OK, but again, what about the ‘watts’?” you ask.  Stay with me.

We still don’t know how much actual water in gallons is coming out the tap, right?  Or another way of putting it, how much actual “work” or “power” is being generated out of the tap.

That’s where the next formula, Watt’s formula (named in honor of Scottish inventor James Watt http://tinyurl.com/2cszwe ), comes in:

Power (watts) = E (volts)  x I (amps)

Let’s go back to the water analogy to analyze this formula.

If you increased the water pressure from the street connection, more water would come out the tap, right?  Or if you could do something to increase the water flow, that too would increase the end result (aka ”work”), right?

The formula therefore makes sense.

So, using Watt’s Law, we can answer the question of the camera crew.

P = E x I

or said another way, P/E = I

Plug in the numbers:

1,600 watts / 120 volts = 13.3 amps, or well under the circuit breaker limit of 20 amps.  (Please note: commercial building standard circuit breakers are 20amps, most home setups are 15amp breakers, except in kitchens which are usually 20)

Now it pays to be cautious here.  For example, what about the computer and printer your interviewee left on?  And how about the camera and monitor?

Your crew should be able to tell you how many amps their gear pulls, and for anything else on in the room, you can look at the small print on those devices. 

With whatever info you find, either expressed in amps, ohms or watts, by applying the two formulas, Ohm’s Law & Watt’s Law, you should be able to figure out the total electrical “draw.”

Now if you read this far, ok, yes, there is an easy online calculator to help you figure this all out:  http://tinyurl.com/pua2yc  But hey, you wanted to know the logic behind it all, didn’t you?  That’s why you are a producer — you are naturally curious! (smile)

As always, I welcome your comments below.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also be interested in Chris Vazquez’ article explaining what “anamorphic” means:  http://tinyurl.com/59jtfd

Need captions for HD tapes? http://tinyurl.com/6bpxje

Contact David Ryan at dryan@videolabs.net or 301-217-0000 x104

Follow me on Twitter @ www.Twitter.com/DRMediaSolution

1080i, 720p, 24P . . . oh my!

30 frames, 60i, 25 frames, 50i, 29.97, 23.98.  Somebody help!

Here are links to two in-depth articles on the web that I found that does an excellent job in explaining what all these terms all mean: http://tinyurl.com/ysxs4h   http://www.answers.com/topic/24p

But if you want a quick-read summary, I’ll give it try.  Please read on:

Let’s start by asking, what makes you sense motion on film or television?

Well, it’s a series of still frames projected fast enough so that you perceive the result as one continuous motion. 

How fast do the frames need to be projected?

Well, for most of the history of film, the projection rate has been 24 frames per second.

But when television came in, being an electronic medium, it made sense to the developing engineers to base the frame rate of that to match the electrical systems around the world.  And the electrical system of the US is based on 60 hertz, or cycles, per second.

If you have traveled internationally, you know that the electrical systems in some other parts of the worl are based on 50 cycles.

So you might think it would have made sense to have 60 frames of video in the US and 50 frames elsewhere.  But that was thought to be overkill and take too much broadcast bandwidth, so the developing engineers came up with an ingenuous way that called for the scanning of every other line of the picture frame. 

The result was that within the 60 cycles of every second, the cycles would alternate such that one would scan only the odd numbered lines of a frame and the next one would scan the even numbered lines.  That process is called “interlacing.”  Do the math, and the result is 30 complete frames a second, still faster than the 24 frames per second of film.   And you can see then that in the countries with 50 cycle electricity, the result was 25 frames a second.

The quest was then on over the years to try to get television to look like film.  Well, the advent of high definition television has made that goal finally achievable.

First, the shape of the high def 16×9 rectangular wide screen matches that of a theatre film screen.

Then the high resolution of HDTV (many more lines per frame than standard definition) now rivals that of film.

While some HD formats utilize an “interlacing” line scan approach (e.g. 1080i), others are able to use a sequential line scan approach that is called “progressive.”  The thought is that a “progressive” approach provides a even clearer picture quality.  An example of that is the HD format 720p.

A final step in striving to achieve a film look for video, was when modern camera technology allowed for the shooting of HD video at 24 frames per second.  These video cameras and recorders still work off of regular 60 cycle electricity, but they manipulate the picture digitally (via a 3-2 pulldown process — again, refer to above link for more details on that) with the result being that 24 video frames are recorded in one second. 

OK, that takes care of the 24.  But what is the “P” in 24P all about? (notice it is usually written as a capital “P” when used with 24)

The “P” here does indeed refer to a progressive scan rather than interlaced, but this is not to be confused with the the “p” and “i” in the scanning of the lines in the original frame.  24P means that the the resulting frames created in the “pull-down” process mentioned above are scanned progressively. 

To demonstate the point further, consider this — it is possible to have a 1080i HD tape that has been recorded  in 24P.

Is your head starting to hurt yet? 

Well, just one further thing to make it swell a bit more.  When color television came in, there were technical interference issues in introducing that element to the NTSC television signal such that the nice and logical 30 frames of video had to be slightly adjusted to 29.97 frames per second.  And brother, have we “non-rocket scientists” had to work hard in wrapping our heads around that one! 

So sure enough, as a result. in our NTSC world, for all intents and purposes, what we call 24P is really 23.98 frames per second.  (Now there are exceptions to this where true native 24P can be carried through in the production workflow to display – see above mentioned in-depth articles for more on that)

Whew.  I hope that helps make things at least a bit clearer.  (I am sure some of you are saying, “Yeah, sure, David.”  Oh well, I tried.)

Regardless, just know that we can handle your 24P tapes here at Video Labs, both in dubbing and editing.

Please contact me with any questions.  dryan@videolabs.net

I also welcome your comments below.

You may also want to check out that Video Labs also offers HD captioning: http://tinyurl.com/6bpxje

. . . and SpoTTrac encoding: http://tinyurl.com/6yq8zo

I’ve been filming – or attempting to film – red foxes in my neighborhood for one of my new independently-produced segments for Maryland Public Television’s weekly series, Outdoors Maryland. It occurred to me during my stalking endeavors that pursuing foxes is not unlike pursuing viewers of a media production, whether documentary or corporate, video or website.

In both cases you have a “quarry” who is preoccupied with their industrious lives. Finding a way to grab their attention – and winning consent to your themes or messages – requires ongoing research.

In other words, know your prospective audience. I’ve walked up and down the street day after day talking to neighbors about the habits of our fox family – where the male and female and two pups roam and when they seem to be most active. Many have a theory about where the foxes have a den. Others have seen them carrying hapless squirrels.

Researching your viewers means more than simply knowing their principle products or general interests. Find out the current issues specific to that enterprise, including struggles, successes and goals – get to know the neighborhood.

Surfing the web is a good way to start. Read news accounts about the industry or association. Scrutinize their publications. Most importantly, talk to people on the ground. If you can, visit the offices or organization to get a sense of the culture.

Incorporate technology and jargon, but don’t overload and outdate your production with passing fads. I’ve learned that the yard the fox runs through today may not be the yard he or she runs through tomorrow. You need to figure out the range of your target audience’s interests.

Keep in mind, these concerns are not necessarily the same thing as the key messages or themes your client or funding agency want delivered. The interests of both client and audience need to be reflected if you are to engage your quarry productively.

In other words, don’t assume that the viewer will be interested enough to act just because you’re out there with an urgent message vaguely related to their field.

One mistake I made early in the pursuit of foxes was staking them out in areas where I thought, after diligent research, that the foxes had a den. I spent hours and hours waiting in a camouflaged hunting blind, alone with a camera or with a second cameraperson. During this endeavor, I captured not one frame of video of a fox. I did get one or two shots of squirrels and a deer.

The footage I do have so far was captured by driving or walking around — camera ready — and rolling when we spotted our moving target. Don’t expect your audience to come to you.

Happy hunting. I’m still on the trail….

You may reach Susanne Stahley, Writing Consultant, at scstahley@verizon.net

Read about Susanne’s recent Emmy award: http://davidryanmediasolutions.com/davids-website-picks/

Kaye was an Executive Producer at Denver’s PBS station, KRMA-TV.  She hired me back early in my career to be Cultural Affairs Producer for the station.  Soon after arriving,  she enlightened me with one her work slogans, otherwise known as the “6 P’s:”  “Proper Planning Prevents Pi**-Poor Production.”  I laughed.  I knew I had found a kindred spirit.

(photo of Kaye Lavine from a feature article ca. 1984)

Both Kaye and I had begun our careers as mutli-camera television directors.  As a general overview, television production follows two different forks in the road.  There is single-camera film-style production and live (or live-to-tape) production.  I have had the privilege of working in both.  Both are fun and exciting (that’s why one goes into this field, right?)  And each requires a great deal of preparation. 

Single-camera production requires thinking through, before arriving on location, the most efficient way to shoot a story – and doing so by incorporating the technique of ”shooting out of sequence.”  In other words, a field producer/director must be well-prepared in not only knowing what elements the story needs, but also directing the shooting in such a way that minimizes setup, crew and talent time.  So, the result is that the middle or end of a story are often filmed or taped first; hence, again the phrase, “shooting out of sequence.”  One of the beauties of single-camera production is that if the field production is done efficiently, the post-production process can be a fun time of putting the “puzzle” together — and even perhaps playing with the footage to try out some alternative ideas.

As I mentioned above, Kaye and I both had a strong multi-camera directing background as well.  This is used when covering live events.  In that style of production, a number of cameras are used and the director and his/her team sit in a control room that displays all the cameras.  The director basically becomes a live editor, using production jargon to give commands and guidance to the crew.  The director must juggle his/her attention between watching what is happening live and also preparing the camerapersons, audio personnel and control room team for what is coming up next.  Unlike single camera editing, there is no “fix it in post,” so you can see how successful multi-camera television directors become strong believers in Kaye’s “6 P’s” principle.

I have learned some further interesting lessons from all this as well.  People have asked me, “Well, what happens if the event being covered doesn’t follow the script?  Was all the pre-production preparation a waste of time?”  My experience says quite the opposite.  I have found time and again over the years that even when the script got completely ”thrown out the window,” the “proper planning” provided me with a foundation that allowed me to better react to any fluid situation.

Of course this is not unique to media production.  The same tenets apply to successful people within a wide range of vocations: like the trial lawyer, the home builder, the surgeon, the space mission control team, the wedding planner and of course, the military combat commander.  

And I have found that it also certainly applies to the media replication and multimedia sales person as well.  Many of my clients come to me facing one or both of the following: a time crunch or a technical challenge.  Tackling those projects efficiently and successfully usually requires strict adherence to the “6 P’s.”  So if you catch me with a slight smile while working intensely on your project, there’s a good chance I am hearing Kaye Lavine’s voice in the back of my head.

I don’t even remember the topic of the script anymore, but this was an actual conversation I had with a client that still echoes in memory.  I do recall that the manager was determined to cram as much data into the video as he could, and either didn’t realize, or didn’t care, that his intended audience would tune it out, overloaded into apathy. Important messages would be lost in an unrelenting deluge of instruction, whether the audience – his company’s employees – was required to view the video or not.

As a television writer and producer, I grapple with the problem of how much information is too much information all the time, and it’s a dilemma whether you’re writing documentaries or instructional how-to’s.

I believe that I’m thought of as a quick study and a meticulous fact-checker, great credentials to be sure in a documentary producer or a corporate video writer.  And having a consuming curiosity is always an essential trait in any creative endeavor.  For me the hard part is not grasping the material, but finding a balance between what the audience needs to know and wants to know.  As a writer, producer, or manager hiring such talent, it’s important to remember the need to engage both the intellect and imagination.

Here are a couple of techniques for keeping your production both engaging and informative:

Maintain an organic process of brainstorming and structuring throughout the process.  Outline the flow of the information or the unfolding narrative, and keep the momentum moving along that through-line, but don’t allow that structure to pre-empt new concepts or creative ways of visualizing the material.

It’s essential, and yet sometimes near impossible, to maintain this kind of flexibility when you are working on a project by committee, especially if new members join the advisory group mid-way.  There’s a tendency – quick study and responsible “creative” that you are – to internalize all those voices so that finding your way back to the basics can be difficult.  Remind yourself, and your supervisor or the consultants, that the ultimate committee is the audience.  If the intended viewer needs to know something, you need to make them want to know it by piquing their curiosity, engaging their emotions, and making clear what’s at stake if they don’t have this information.  Simply seating someone in front of a television or computer screen does not automatically lead to understanding. 

Trust your instincts – what catches your interest or stirs your emotions will probably do the same for the audience. To be sure, you can get sidetracked by arcane detail that will bore your audience, or you may need to present arcane detail that you fear will bore.

If you’re awash in research or detail, try laying out all the minutia in rough form, then look for repetitious sentiments or data, and choose the quote or piece of information that is most potent.  Set yourself a goal of reducing the content in this way by thirty percent or even fifty percent.  Give yourself limited time to do this – ten minutes for a ten minute script, for instance.  You’re relying now on gut instinct and experience.

Then set aside the long-winded and the compact versions for a time, even if it’s only for a lunch break.  When you return, read or view the short version first – you are putting yourself back in the position of the audience who is seeing it for the first time. Chances are you won’t remember what’s missing — though your client might.  Add back only what is too vital to lose and be sure you covered the client’s key themes.  Remember that with video and other visual media productions, information and emotional cues are also powerfully conveyed by visuals and sound effects, including appropriate music.

Keeping creative within the constraints of deadlines is always a challenge.  It helps to begin honing the closing statements early on – maybe not before you write the open but soon after.  You’ll be more efficient in organizing the rest of the material toward that grand finale – and you won’t be too tired to inspire by the end. 

Susanne Stahley can be contacted at scstahley@comcast.net

One surefire way to make your style more dynamic is to use the active rather than the passive voice in your sentence structure. Yes, this sounds old school, but it actually works. Simply explained, in the active voice the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb. So, the subject is emphasized, becomes the star of the sentence. This makes a difference if you want you or your product to shine.

Active voice: Our new software program compresses vast amounts of data in seconds.
(“Our new software program” is the key player.)

Passive voice: Vast amounts of data are compressed by our software program in seconds.
(“Vast amounts of data” is the subject that is acted upon by the software program, which takes second billing)

Here’s a link to more fine examples of passive and active voice: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html

Another quick, but not necessarily painless, way to sharpen your sentences is to read your writing out loud. Often you can pick up awkward phrasing that interrupts the flow or confuses the reader. So, in the first sentence of this paragraph, I would drop the phrase: “not necessarily painless.” Note that this is not the same as making your language totally, like, conversational or full of slang, whatever. Not unless you’re looking to insert humor… but that’s the subject for another day.

I invite you to share your comments below.

Susanne can be reached at scstahley@comcast.net

Re-recording the Timecode… Most professional video tape recorders have had the ability to insert new time code. Typically the longitinudinal TC track was accessed via insert edit function and restriped with the desired timecode. All DV formats have timecode recorded in the allocated digital data sectors. The Sony HVR-1500 deck has the ability to perform a “timecode insert” on an existing DVCAM recording. The procedures for the TC insert are listed on pages 68-69 of the HVR-1500 operations manual. The link to download a copy of the manual is provided at the end of this article. Unfortunately, the TC insert feature is not currently available for the HDV format.

Timecode Regeneration – Avoiding Problems… If your DV camera or VCR has only basic TC control settings, each new tape will start at 00:00:00:00. To ensure continuous TC the “regen” option must be turned on. Typically, this requires adjusting a switch, or activating a menu function on the camera. With the TC generator set to “regen”, previously recorded video must be played for a moment to allow the TC generator to read the existing TC on the tape. When the TC generator sees the existing TC, it locks to the playback TC (jam-syncs) and generates new matching timecode. The camcorder must perform a back-space edit to allow the TC generator to see the last second of the existing TC before switching to record for the new video. Although uncommon, some camcorders provide a menu setting to de-active the “back-space” function. If the back-space function is off, a break in the TC may be created every time the recording is stopped.

Check the TC Number Display… If TC regen is working properly the TC display should change from 00:00:00:00 to a new running time code when playing an existing recording. If your back-space function is not working try manually cueing the tape to the desired edit point, with tape in pause press the record/play buttons. In essence we want a series of clean assemble edits, with internal regen timecode to avoid discontinuous timecode problems.For additional information take a look at the following links…

Sony HVR-1500 Operation Manual, pages 51-54 & 68-69 http://www.visionaryforces.com/downloads/Sony_HDV-1500_HD_VTR_Operating_Instructions.pdf

Sony HVR-Z1U guide, pages 76-77 http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/docs/manuals/hvr-z1u.pdf

Feel free to share any questions or thoughts you may have in the comments below.

Watch for more about video engineering with Chris here on DavidRyanMediaSolutions.com

Chris Vazquez can be contacted at chris.designsmith@verizon.net or 301.953.1427