A trained DIT can set-up a network connection and
remote-control software for the Phantom VEO 4K which makes workflow
significantly faster for location commercials or studio applications.
https://vmi.tv/training/useful-stuff/Using_the+_10Gbs_network_to_improve_the_Phantom_VEO_4K_workflow
The remarkable imaging qualities and 1000 fps 4K RAW capture
of the Vision Research Phantom cameras are hard to beat (Phantom FLEX 4K and
VEO 4K) but it is the data workflow after shooting to transfer your media to
hard drive ready for edit which has always caused the most consternation.
This is an article about configuring and using the built-in
10Gbit ethernet interface of the Phantom VEO 4K to take advantage of the
most efficient and fastest workflows from internal RAM to hard drive, which can
be even more efficient than the workflow of the Phantom FLEX 4K.
Short bursts of filming create enormous file sizes and the
capture process involves multiple stages – a workflow inherited from scientific
image capture.
However, the introduction of 10Gbit ethernet (Phantom VEO 4K
only) means that you now have a faster alternative to transferring to internal
CFAST card with an appropriate PC/Mac* and makes the data workflow even more
efficient than with the Phantom Flex 4K.
“Because of its legacy and because of the volume of data
it’s recording, the Phantom is unconventional,” explains James Marsden, one of
the UK’s leading Digital Intermediate Technicians and an expert in handling the
Phantom’s workflow. “With most cameras, once you’ve shot a take, you can move
on to another take or the next shot. With the Phantom you will typically
trigger record after the action and then decide which part of the cached clip
to keep. Then you save the footage and that is the process that takes
time.”
With most cameras, once you’ve shot a take, you can move on
to another take or the next shot. With the Phantom you will typically trigger
record after the action and then decide which part of the cached clip to
keep. Then you save the footage and that is the process that takes time
Both the original Phantom FLEX 4K and its more modern and
compact brother Phantom VEO 4K are capable of recording 1000 fps in 4K using
the same super-high speed internal memory. While the VEO’s reduced size and
weight – and price - combined with its frugal power requirements make this a
popular option for many productions, the data workflow post-capture, is
different on both cameras.
The FLEX 4K uses a CineMag transfer, which docks to the
camera and is very fast. It takes around 20 seconds to offload a take of about
55GB of RAM. But having transferred it to CineMag you will need to transfer
again to offload to a hard drive on location. Also, CineMags are very expensive at around
£10,000 each, so spares are rarely an option.
In contrast the Phantom VEO 4K offloads internally to
removable CFast-2 cards. These offer convenient large storage but the offload
time is slower, so the regular route is to trim the clip in-camera and then
transfer to the card, which might take 20-30 seconds for a short clip. You are
then free to transfer the CFast-2 cards to a laptop in the evening with little
inconvenience once the shoot has wrapped.
Whilst this is a sensible workflow, sometimes the entirety
of the shot is demanded in order to save decision making until post and since
downloading an entire take from VEO 4K to CFast might take 10 mins, the VEO
offers a super-fast network port to speed things up.
The VEO has an advantage over the FLEX as it incorporates a
lightning-fast 10Gbit LAN port (a chargeable option when purchased and included
as standard on all VMI Phantom VEO 4K cameras).
Tether the camera to a PC/MAC with a fast enough SSD and
transfer over 10Gbit ethernet and the VEO is actually faster than using the
Flex and also means that you only need to transfer your media once, not twice
as well.
Detailed explanation
The large data file sizes required to capture 4K RAW files
meant that until now, Gigabit ethernet (1Gb/s) was simply too slow to make
direct transfer from the camera to hard drive practical but the availability of
the VEO 4K to transfer 10Gb transfer speeds to an appropriate PC/Mac means that
transferring media is now five times faster than using internal CFAST
cards.
This workflow is actually faster than using the CineMag
system of the FLEX, since the data transfer only needs to be transferred once,
rather than twice with the FLEX 4K workflow (once from internal RAM to Cinemag
and then again from Cinemag to hard drive).
Marsden has looked at ways of speeding the workflow up for
studio-type applications and found an elegant solution specific to the Phantom
VEO 4K that not only permits extremely fast data downloads using the 10Gbit
connection but also provides a more user-friendly means of controlling the
camera itself.
Marsden explains, “Offloading the entire unedited 72GB data
cache from the VEO to the built-in CFast-2 card takes about 10 minutes. But if
you use the 10GB ethernet connection and a suitably fast hard drive (RAID or
SSD with at least 400 MB/s read/write rate) then you can transfer the footage
in just two minutes.”
Note that if you are using a laptop, then you will need a
Thunderbolt port with appropriate 10Gbit ethernet adapter. It is really
important that you find a compatible interface and check that it works with
your hardware and the VEO 4K as well.
Marsden used a 2014 Macbook Pro Retina with AKiTiO Thunder2
10G Network Adapter supported by Phantom control software Seance 3 for Mac.
[Akitio also make Thunderbolt 3 10Gb adapter but Marsden has not tested this].
Phantom’s Windows Software is free to download and Marsden
has used this with a Boot camp Windows 10 install of the same Mac Book Pro and
with the same adaptor.
“In both cases you need to know how to manually set-up the
network connection,” he advises. “It is not plug and play. With drives it is
never the connection standard it is drive speed which is important so the
minimum is a two drive RAID like the Sony’s Pro RAID HDD with capacity ranging
from 4TB to 12TB (£379.74 - £589.85).
The read/write Sony Pro RAID is about 400MB/s whether USB or
Thunderbolt 2 is connected. Marsden says USB 3 tops out at about 600MB/s and
USB-C/3.1 at 1200MB/s.
“The latter would get you a 2-minute download as this is the
speed of the SSD in the Mac Book Pro,” he says.
An experienced DIT will be able to configure the set-up and
workstation with a 10GBit adapter, such as Thunderbolt, and at the same
time give operators full control over the camera with the VEO’s remote control
unit.
The optional Phantom camera remote control unit (called
Cameo PCT2+) allows the operator to access and control all the VEO’s functions
including triggering start and stop, change frame rate, playback, choosing
start and end stops, deleting clips and transferring media.
“The camera’s remote software is fully featured and gives
you a full screen window for adjustments and for quickly top and tailing clips
in order to reduce the data, which is not as easy from the camera’s monitor or
viewfinder,” says Marsden. “That’s even more the case when the camera is
difficult to access, perhaps rigged in on a jib, in a hide or on a gimbal.
Amazingly, it is even possible to playback, trim and offload clips to the
CFast-2 storage all wirelessly with the PCE2, so that potentially all of this
can be done while the camera is mounted on a drone or crane.”
The VEO 4K has the form factor of a location camera,
suitable for field use and designed for field acquisition and location transfer
to internal CFast-2 card, which are not ideal conditions for using a PC/Mac for
higher transfer speeds.
In this case, convenience will trump speed of transfer.
“However, trying to operate the Phantom like a normal camera is not really
possible,” Marsden continues. “But under suitable conditions if you want to
work as quickly as possible then the best method is run a 10Gig connection to a
download station for speedy transfer speeds direct to disk and use the PCT2+
remote interface for camera control.
However, trying to operate the Phantom like a normal camera
is not really possible but under suitable conditions if you want to work as
quickly as possible then the best method is run a 10Gig connection to a
download station for speedy transfer speeds direct to disk and use the PCT2+
remote interface for camera control.
It is important to gauge the type of shoot, quantity of data
to be transferred, speed of shooting required and suitability for location DIT
operation and then choose the most appropriate camera and data transfer method.
No comments:
Post a Comment