1) Do I need to record to DV tapes or can we plug into a laptop and record straight from there without having to use tapes?
2) Is there a way on iMovie to edit out the audio that the DV cams capture? or is there a way to turn the audio off on the cams?
3) How long do DV tapes last?
4) Can we synch audio with video in iMovie?
5) Are there any other programs we might need? Most likely this will be a 2-3 man crew.
Thoughts:
- if you get the SBD, make sure to get AUD too or you'll regret it.
- You can usually record straight to lappy if the cam can do passthrough through the firewire cable. Might I suggest that even if you do capture that way, that you still capture to tape simultaneously -- that can be a real lifesaver sometimes. Me personally, I'd just record to tape, and deal with capture in post.
- Someone mentioned that tapes go 60 and 90 minutes. That's true, but a couple of others things are worth noting. For starters, there are actually 80m SP tapes out there (usually have to buy online, you don't see them in the wild too often). This can be exploited in LP mode to get a full 120 minutes on a single tape. However, you should note that although LP mode captures the exact same quality as SP mode, you can have cross-cam/deck compatibility problems with LP tapes. Also, over time, the cam that actually shot the SP video in the first place might even have tracking problems with an LP tape. So, this is just a trade off: longer record time, shorter shelf-life and possible compatibility problems. Usually this won't matter if you capture your tape and never use the tape again, so just something to think about. If I were filming with multiple cams, I'd get 80 min tapes and shoot in SP mode, making sure that the cams don't all require the "flip" at the same time.
- Not sure about syncing in iMovie, but definately in Premiere. Also, if you know you are recording audio for intregrating with MiniDV later, I'd record in 16/48 (not 16/44), as this is the format used in DV, and it'll help you keep sync for longer periods of time, and you can always drop it to 16/44 in post if you want to make CDs. Otherwise, if you record in 16/44, make sure to first thing upsample to 16/48 BEFORE you try to sync it in your NLE (video editor).
- Also, if possible, I'd get all the cams together, start them going at the same time, and then do a "clap" with your hands with all of them together. Make sure you are getting audio, any audio, into the cams cause without it syncing to your DAT will be impossible (you use the cam's audio to get in sync, then you get rid of it, or just mute it in the NLE). After that, KEEP ROLLING on all cams no matter what -- DO NOT stop and start any of the cams until you have to (the "flip"). This will make it way easier in post when syncing (at least for the first tape). You can just lay down the complete high quality audio track, lay down the complete a/v track from cam #1, and lay down the second cam's complete a/v track all on the timeline. Then get them all synced at the start with the hand clap. Then check at the end if they are in sync still. If not, do fine adjust at the end of the timeline by "stretching/compressing" the tracks that aren't in sync. Once, everything is all synced up, you can mute the cam audio tracks and start editing cuts between cam #1 and cam #2 by "cutting away" the cam you do/don't want to use in the timeline. It can also be helpful to lock one cam down on a tripod with a wide angle view of the whole band/scene, then let the other cam move around a lot, get super closeups, shots of the audience, etc. Then in post, you can use the wide locked-down shot as your "Master Scene", the thing you can always go back to, you can always count on that shot being usable, whether cam #2 was getting good stuff or not. Then you can cut from that tried and true cam #1 shot back to the wandering cam #2 shot whether cam two was getting some good stuff. There are other ways, but the point is to MAKE ABSOLUTE SURE that at any one point in time that at least one of the cameras is getting a good shot... Otherwise you'll be fucked. If cam #1 is getting shaky cam footage and moving, and cam #2 is also getting shakycam and zooming in or something like that at the same time, then when you're editing, you'll be choosing from two crappy shakycam shots. So work out some sort of signaling system, so that cam #1 stays put while cam #2 is moving around, and then vise versa -- the videographers MUST BE conscious of each other in that regard.
Hope those tips help...