Understanding. AVCCAM Workflow. Getting Started With. Acquisition. when it counts

Transcription

1 Understanding AVCCAM Workflow Getting Started With Acquisition when it counts 1

2 AVCcam Workflow - acquisition Shooting stunning high definition footage with Panasonic s AVCCAM camcorders is easy and very affordable. This paper will discuss the acquisition workflow when using the AVCHD format and Panasonic professional video camcorders. This paper is concentrated on the AVCHD Workflow for Acquisition. What is AVCHD? (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) AVCHD is a highly efficient codec for acquiring and displaying high quality high definition images. It is also known as the H.264, MPEG-4 part 10 standard and was jointly developed by Panasonic and Sony to provide a high quality, low cost, high definition format. AVCHD is based on a long GOP (Group of Pictures) compression and as such is supported by the majority of both consumer and professional non-linear editing systems. Because of its superior efficiency, AVCHD requires far less bandwidth than the MPEG-2 based HDV format. To meet the increasing demand for affordable, professional HD content production, Panasonic has developed a professional implementation of AVCHD called AVCCAM. Panasonic AVCCAM camcorders record high definition directly on widely-available, consumer SDHC memory cards. Currently, Panasonic offers the incredibly-small, 1-pound AG-HSC1U high defintinon camcorder that literally puts the power of HD in your hand. AG-HSC1U shown with standard 40GB battery-operated hard drive (model VW-PT2ZP) and 4GB SD card For applications where a more traditional, professional looking camera is desired, Panasonic offers the AG- HMC70, the first shoulder-mount 3-CCD AVCCAM camcorder. It features auto focus, image stabilization and professional audio and video connections including XLR inputs and BNC outputs.. 2

3 And coming this fall, Panasonic will be selling the AG-HMC150 handheld 1/3 3-CCD camcorder. This advanced, versatile 16:9 3-CCD camcorder records in the AVCHD format on widely-available SD/SDHC cards in i/30p/24p and p/30p/24p. It will offers four record modes: 21Mbps, 17Mbps, 13Mbps, and 6Mbps, and provide XLR audio input and HDMI and USB2.0 outputs. Panasonic AVCCAM presents the incredible power of HD images at an affordable price and opens a new world of possiblilites to event videographers, schools, churches, web site producers, law enforcement and other professionals who are serious about the quality of their HD image acquisition. The AVCCAM Advantage Four key benefits of the AVCCAM solid-state recording system includes: Excellent Quality -- Panasonic AVCCAM camcorders have three progressive CCD imagers that ensure high sensitivity. This results in high color resolution, with natural hues producing stunning HD images. Solid State Acquisition -- In the Panasonic AVCCAM camcorder, there s no moving parts in the record process; the HD images are recorded directly onto solid-state SDHC memory cards. Not only is this extremely reliable, but it allows for higher capacity and lower media cost. You can record 360 minutes of HD (1080/60i) material on a 16GB SDHC Memory Card. SDHC cards are widely available at consumer retail locations. Simple and fast workflow -- Because the HD images are recorded on a solid state SDHC card, there is no need for a playback deck and no time wasted digitizing a videotape into your non-linear editing system (as you must do with the older HDV videotape-based format). This means that you just copy the files from your SDHC card to your computer and you can begin editing HD immediately. Lower Cost -- Capitalizing on the innovations of the consumer AVCHD format, Panasonic is able to bring professional features to AVCHD at very affordable prices. The AVCHD Workflow Acquistion RECORDING ON INEXPENSIVE SDHC CARDS. Widely available, inexpensive and re-usable SDHC memory cards are a replacement for videotape and they open a host of new features for a videographer. 3

4 You can easily transfer your footage off of the SDHC card and into your computer or onto the portable hard drive, model VW-PT2ZP, which is included with your Panasonic AG-HSC1U AVCCAM camcorder. This is one of the major advantages of recording AVCHD on SDHC cards! Unlike tape, AVCHD recording allows you to instantly review any shot in the field on the camera s viewfinder with nonlinear access. You can even choose to delete bad takes, freeing up space on the AVCHD SDHC card. Approximate recording time on SDHC memory cards. The AG-HSC1U handheld camera and the AG-HMC70 shoulder mount camera can both record at various quality settings that will determine the quality and length of time the card can record. There are three settings: HF (highest quality), HN (normal quality) and HE (extended quality, and longer recording). A 16GB SH/HC card will record the approximate times, based on these quality settings: at HF 2 hours, at HN 3 hours and at HE 4-1/2 hours. transferring YOUR AVCHD FOOTAGE From the camera to your computer. Once you have recorded your footage on your camera it is very easy to transfer it directly to your computer for editing. Step 1 Connect your camera via USB to your computer. (as shown below) Note: You will need to also connect your camera to an AC power supply. 4

5 Step 2 - turn the camera to the PC on position STEP 3 COPY THE AVCHD FOLDER. Your computer will recognize the camera as an external drive. Copy the AVCHD folder to your computer or external hard drive. STEP 4 SEEING THE CONTENTS OF THE AVCHD FOLDER 5

6 Open the AVCHD folder, it contains two folders -- AVCHDTN and BDMV. Open the BDMV folder. Here you will find 3 more folders. Open the Stream folder. The Stream folder contains your AVCHD footage. 6

7 Each nonlinear Editing System (NLE) has specific steps for importing the footage. These will be discussed under the workflow of each NLE. USING THE PANASONIC SD CARD READER WRITER Another way to get your AVCHD footage from an SD card into your Windows-based PC computer is to use the Panasonic SD Card Reader/Writer. This plugs into a USB port on your computer. Simply remove the SD card from your camera and insert it into the Reader Writer. Your computer will see this as an external hard drive. Then just copy the files onto your computer. You can also use this Reader Writer to write your edited footage back to the SD card from your editing application. 7

8 HD Writer software If you are working on a Windows-based PC, you can open the HD Writer Software that is included with your Panasonic AVCCAM camera. HD Writer allows you to copy your images to your computer. Once your images are on the computer, you can write the data to an SD card or DVD disc. You can also delete unwanted scenes or create a DVD menu from HD Writer. HD Writer is an easy way to view your AVCHD footage on your computer, without opening an editing application. transferring sdhc card data to the VW-PT2ZP SD MEDIA Storage unit. The AG-HSC1U camera comes with an SD Memory Storage device that is a 40GB battery-operated hard drive with a special SDHC card slot. This means that you can take the SDHC card out of your camera, insert it into the SD Media Storage Unit, and transfer files to the portable hard drive right in the field. This allows you to reuse the SDHC card again and again. If you re recording on 4GB cards, this means you can transfer 10 card s worth of video (or approximately 900 minutes of HD footage). Note: You cannot copy files from an SDHC card to the media storage unit while if it is plugged into a Mac or PC. 8

9 Step 1 Place the Media Storage Unit on a flat stable surface. Step 2 Plug the unit into power WITH THE INCLUDED AC POWER SUPPLY. If you are in the field, make sure you have sufficient batter power for the copy. Step 3 insert the SDHC Card. Step 4 Turn the power on. Make sure that the copy light comes on green. Step 5 Press the copy button. The copy light will flash green about every two seconds. When the Copy is complete, the copy light will stay green. Step 6 Remove the SD/HC card. 9

10 transferring schc card data from the SD MEDIA Storage unit (VW-PT2ZP) to your mac or pc Step 1 Plug the Storage unit into an ac adapter. Step 2 Connect the Media Storage Unit to your computer via the USB cable. Step 3 Turn on the unit Step 4 Find the folder containing your data. When your computer recognizes the drive, open the folders in the following sequence: Pana > a file that contains numbers (the first two numbers are the year, the second two are the month, the third two are the day and the following numbers indicate the number of the clip) > Private > AVCHD > BDMV. Here you will see a folder named stream. This folder contains your AVCHD clips, so copy these onto your computer and the hard drive of your choice. Formating your sdhc cards. Once your footage has been transferred to your computer or the media storage device, you will want to reuse your SDCH card. To delete your old footage, you must reformat the card. Step 1 Insert the card in the camera Step 2 rotate the mode dial to the movie or play select position. Step 3 Press the Menu button. Then select SETUP > FORMAT CARD > YES and press the cursor button. At the confirmation messages select YES. 10

11 Step 4 When the formatting is complete, press the MENU button to exit. Your SDHC card is erased and now ready to use again. AVCCAM Acquisition workflow is simple, QUICK, flexible AND INEXPENSIVE! About the Author: Bernie Mitchell is an Emmy nominated producer/director, a multimedia person of the year and member of the DVD Association Hall of Fame. He is president of Silver Platter Productions, Inc. 11