Video and audio QC right after the card offload

Footage review while the crew is still on set: the app looks through the picture and listens to the sound of every file. A place it finds can be played and marked “Fail” or “OK”, and the editor gets it as a marker on the timeline.

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Other systems: Mac with Intel or Windows

What the check finds

Picture

  • Whole clip is black, black head or tail, black frames
  • Frozen picture, picture breaks up, damaged frames
  • A stuck sensor pixel, the “Show the stuck pixel” button
  • Clipped highlights: a tenth of the frame or more is white with no detail
  • The file ends earlier than the length in its header

Recorder and camera sound

  • Clipping, sound lost, silent channel, clicks
  • Very quiet recording, 50 Hz mains hum, rumble
  • Radio mic dropouts
  • Channels in opposite phase: mixed to mono, the sound may vanish

Card

  • A gap in clip numbering, unreadable and empty files
  • Variable frame rate (VFR), the frame rate or frame size changed on the card

“Footage”: all your footage in one table

After the copy the app looks through the picture and listens to the sound of every file, recorders and cameras alike. Every place it finds can be played and marked “Fail” or “OK”.

  • A clip table with ISO, shutter, iris, white balance and lens; compare up to four clips side by side
  • Picture: black and frozen frames, a picture that breaks up, damaged frames, a stuck pixel, clipped highlights, a file that ends early
  • Sound: clipping, lost sound, a silent channel, clicks, a very quiet recording, mains hum, rumble, radio mic dropouts, opposite phase
  • Card: a gap in clip numbering, unreadable and empty files, variable frame rate (VFR)
  • Issues are shown on the waveform of the right channel and in the day report

What the check looks for

Black framesFrozen picturePicture breaks upStuck pixelClipped highlightsClippingSound lost50 Hz humRadio mic dropoutsOpposite phase

QC issues reach the edit as markers

The editor gets the issues right on the timeline: fails as red markers, undecided ones in yellow. On export you can take everything found, fail and not decided, or fail only, and leave clips marked “Fail” out of the sequence.

  • Premiere Pro (XML), DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro (FCPXML) get markers, EDL gets locators
  • The marker text starts with the decision: “Fail:”, “Check:”, “OK:”

Markers in the sequence

◆ Fail: Clipping · ch3◆ Check: 50 Hz hum · ch2◆ OK: Frozen picture

How it works

  1. Copy the card

    The check runs by itself after the copy, as the next stage on the card: “Picture, sound”. It is turned on in the project setup, “Footage” section.

  2. Open “Footage”

    All footage in one table. The “Issues” view shows only what was found: what, in which file, at which second.

  3. Look and decide

    The place is shown in the frame or on the waveform of the right channel. Play it and mark it “Fail” or “OK”.

  4. The editor sees a marker

    A fail reaches the editing app as a red marker, an undecided issue as a yellow one. The result of the check goes into the day report.

FAQ

How do I check footage for faults right on set?

Yes. After the copy (if it is turned on in the project setup, “Footage” section) the app looks through the picture and listens to the sound: black and frozen frames, a picture that breaks up, damaged frames and pixels, clipped highlights, a file that ends early; clipping, lost sound, a silent channel, clicks, mains hum, rumble, radio mic dropouts, opposite phase. The sound recorded by the camera is checked too. Every place can be played and marked “Fail” or “OK”.

How do I check a camera for dead pixels?

The footage check finds a stuck sensor pixel right in the clips you shot, and the “Show the stuck pixel” button shows where it is in the frame.

What is opposite phase and why does the sound vanish?

If two channels are recorded in opposite phase, they cancel each other when mixed to mono and the sound may vanish. The check finds such channels and flags them.

Is the sound recorded by the camera checked too?

Yes, if it is turned on in the project setup: the camera sound (the built-in mic or a lav into the camera) is checked too, not only the recorder files.

How do the issues reach the editor?

As markers in the project for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro, and as locators in EDL: fails in red, undecided in yellow. The issues are also in the day report.

Does the app change my files?

Never. Source media is only read. Copies, proxies, sequences, corrected sound and reports are created as separate files.

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