user review
Venom Flashpak
Venom Flashpak Metadata is for connecting a Bluetooth device (such as a Palm Pilot) to imprint data onto each take (DP, shot number etc.) Finally Tools and Settings is the main menu and has 14 settings. The usual things here are outputting the A or B signals, time and date, erase all, set pre roll etc. I found that there were some interesting options here. There is a LUT option for the output. This is not active yet but a simple 3200K/5600K for 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 output would be great. More elaborate LUTs than this can be applied via Speedgrade. Having basic colour correction for monitoring the raw signal in 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 modes, and not affecting the capture, would make a lot of sense to me. It’s also possible to set a pre-roll from 0 to 8 seconds. For me I would prefer continuous recording. Time mode offers 24/12 hour clock time settings, but no timecode. This would have to be provided by a Lockit (or similar). I feel that this is an oversight and having T/C embedded at source should not be a big deal. Audio is captured at stereo or left & right through the
Keeping It Portable DoP Dan Mulligan of Rogue Element Films Evaluates the Venom Flashpak while shooting on Last Of The Summer Wine
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hile shooting with the Viper Filmstream camera on Last of The Summer Wine 2006, Thomson kindly gave me the opportunity to evaluate their Venom Flashpak. This dockable, solid-state recorder extends the capabilities of the Viper FilmStream Digital Cinematography Camera System and LDK 6000 MK II WorldCam multi-format HD camera. With no moving parts, it is a portable production solution. This gave me the chance to see how the Venom worked on a live set under the usual production time pressures. The Venom was used on set to capture some behind the scenes footage for the previews. We couldn’t introduce a Flashpak into the established workflow being used at the time as this would have been too disruptive.
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First impressions It is quite compact and light, weighing 2.6 kilos and measuring 10x6x4 inches. It has a 20-pin multi-connector built in to the side of the Pak that then slides into a bracket. This bracket is then connected to the Viper via its multicore cable and the Sony V-Lock on the top of the camera. It is powered using 4 pin hirose to 4 pin XLR power cable plus a battery connected to the Viper. This is a fiddly set-up and a little cumbersome, but no more than other kit, how else could they have done it? The side of the Pak has a few small buttons. These are for record and playback, selection and menus. The menu structure is very simple. On the side you will see Takes, Metadata and Tools & Settings. Takes lets you scroll down your takes and select the one you wish to view, instantly. There’s no waiting.
october | november 2006 •
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cameras 3-pin XLR. This is poor quality and only good enough for guide. And as its one XLR you will need a stereo lead to get two channels into one socket, otherwise choose left or right. The thing to remember is the menus on the Flashpak run in conjunction with the Viper camera menus. It’s important to check the camera and make sure it is set correctly. Calibrating the camera in its 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 modes HAS to be selected in the camera settings. The drawback here is the capture format is not displayed on the Flashpaks screen. Recording time for the Flashpak is 10 minutes at 4:4:4 and 14 minutes at 4:2:2. This is roughly the same time as a film roll. I know that solid state is very expensive but this means you would have to hire three Flashpaks at a minimum, one capture, one dumping rushes and one spare.
Now For The Good Stuff Since size is a bonus, going hand held is fairly easy, even if it is a little fiddly to set up. You can select record from the Viper or the Flashpak. A recording tally lamp will fire up letting you know you are recording and take times on the small screen will run as you record. Each take is then logged into the Flashpak. This differs from tape in that you have each take logged in its own file. Reviewing the rushes is as simple as finding the take/file you want to review, scroll down and press play, just lovely. The total recording time you have left gets lower as you record more takes and the length of each take you have shot is displayed at the same time, and indeed the total record time so far are neatly displayed in the screen, as well as how many takes you have shot so far. This gives instant feedback on all you have done to date. Once you have shot your takes you can remove the Pak and use it as a small playout deck. Use a 4-pin power adapter and take the Pak to your monitor, plug it in and watch beautiful 4:4:4 images as quick as you’ve shot them, and in an instant too. I like the Flashpak. It has a neat, compact design with very easy to use functions. The menu structure is simple as are the controls on the side for playback. It records 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 without any fuss and plays back any take as soon as you hit play,
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Dan's Viper and Venom combi on set on Last Of The Summer Wine. Below Venom menus and outputs
which is the luxury of solid state recording. The downside is no audio locked into the deck. This is perhaps no problem for most people who are used to using film but these days it’s becoming a requirement for digital. Having no timecode in the unit I feel is an oversight and to have to apply lockit boxes is another hindrance. There’s no information on the side of the Flashpak as to what format you are recording in, which would be nice from a safety angle. Then you have to offload the pictures just captured into another source so you can free up the Flashpak. Supposedly another disk unit, tape system or cloning tool (LTO3). That's your choice. Personally I dumped them onto an SRW1 which is part of my current workflow process which worked flawlessly but STwo disk would work just as well. At this early stage I can see the use of the Flashpak as a one-off hire for portability. When the need arises you can go handheld, in a car, on Steadicam etc. and fire off, very easily, your 4:4:4 capture. Once captured you could dump off the rushes into your main capture source, say STwo disk or SRW1 tape. You now have a very portable capture device, full 4:4:4 uncompressed, and a simple way to off-load these images to the main image capture unit. I am not sure how far the Flashpak can go until more time can be recorded. A 50 minute Flashpak is a different proposition altogether but 10 minutes 4:4:4 makes the unit a bit unpractical at this stage, unless you have lots of money to burn on four or five of them on set and synching audio and timecode later in post. www.rogueelementfilms.com
• october | november 2006
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