PDZ-1: Your flexible friend

I am often surprised when discussing XDCAM with other owners of this system at how little Sony's free XDCAM software, PDZ-1, is utilised. In its initial incarnation the software was extremely bare-boned, with many of its more useful functions restricted to an ethernet connection to XDCAM equipment. For users who did not have the ethernet adaptors this was a major pain.

Sony have been listening though, and with the release of XDCAM HD that does not have an ethernet ability they have now incorporated all of the FTP features of PDZ-1 into FAM (file access mode). For those not familiar with these different functions of XDCAM I shall explain. XDCAM is file based; and while it is possible to dump footage to an NLE via SDI or Firewire it is not how the system is meant to function at its best. Being file based means that every clip that is recorded with an XDCAM camera is stored as an MXF file. This is a format that contains both the video and metadata (information that can be used to describe the clip, contain editing notes, etc). This system means that with the right software XDCAM footage can be browsed and transferred to a computer in a similar way to a digital stills camera. XDCAM also records proxy files for every clip. A proxy file is a low resolution, highly compressed version of the high resolution footage. This enables fast transfer for browsing, or indeed offline editing for conforming later. One use for proxy files when XDCAM was first released was for footage to be emailed back to base so that editing could commence while the crew were on their way back. Another use is for easy collaboration on edits where long distances are concerned.

PDZ-1 from a user perspective

Some NLE systems such as AVID and XPRI allow the browsing of XDCAM discs directly, and also allow the editing of proxy files. XPRI for example will allow the proxy files to be edited and then allow the timeline to be conformed to the high resolution footage using only the portions that are actually needed, thus saving storage space.

In my opinion however PDZ-1 is a valuable tool for making footage browsing and transfer efficient and convenient. The user interface is not the most friendly or intuitive, but it works, and it is free. So what can PDZ-1 do for the average XDCAM user?

Lets say I record a live event, or a documentary, or even a lengthy interview. In all those cases there may well be a heck of a lot of redundant footage. In the case of a long interview or the live event there may well be one big long clip. Do you really want all of that on your hard drive? Do you really want to have to manually sift through it in your NLE to find the bits that you want? PDZ-1 can help in two regards depending on how you wish to work.

The first way of working will apply to people who wish to have all the footage that they recorded accessible from their hard drive or server. Using this method requires that the NLE can read essence marks created by XDCAM. If you have a long clip of an event or interview PDZ-1 allows you to create a new essence mark, and give that mark a name. An essence mark is a marker that, as the name suggests, marks a point of interest in the video. XDCAM automatically creates a 'Record Start' essence mark for every clip. The camera operator can also insert a 'Shot Mark 1' or 'Shot Mark 2" essence mark while recording. Generally those two essence markers are taken to mean 'Good Shot' or 'Bad Shot' respectively. The PDZ-1 software however allows you to create your own custom essence marks and place them at will within the video. These new essence markers can then be written back to the XDCAM disc itself for a permanent reference until you may wish you change them or delete tham at a later date.

With such essence markers in place you will be able to easily find the parts of the video that are of interest, as long as your NLE can read them. Vegas 6 is one of the NLE's that can do this.

Cliplists

The second way of doing things, and this is my preferred method, is to create cliplists of all the useful footage that I want. Cliplists can serve a few purposes. A cliplist is in effect an EDL of sorts. It can be used for assemble edits, or it can be used as a way of grouping clips. Cliplists can also be created in camera so that you can more easily arrange things. If you were shooting drama for example you could create a cliplist for each scene. If used for an assemble edit some NLE's allow the cliplist to be dragged straight onto the timeline from which point the edit can be tidied up.

A cliplist now serves another useful purpose, especially now that PDZ-1 v2 has ben released with more FAM functions. Once you have read the disc from with PDZ-1 and all the proxy files have been transferred a user can create a new clip list for that disc. They can then go through all the clips on the disc and mark in and out points for the various clips and place them into the new list. Note that a cliplist is non-destructive and does not affect the original clips in any way or form. You can also create multiple references to the same clip within a cliplist too, so you could repeat shots, or show a different portion of the same clip, all within the same cliplist. Once you have created a list it can be exported back to the original XDCAM disc for archive purposes.

Now for the good part. Using the 'FAM Partial File Copy Based On Editlist' option from within PDZ-1 one can automatically transfer only the high resolution video that is needed to the hard drive you will use for editing. PDZ-1 allows you to choose exactly where to put this footage, and creates new MXF files based upon the Cliplist. This can save a heck of a lot of disc space, and as preparation for editing can also save time in the long run. If there was only one minor drawback it is that PDZ-1 will not allow you to choose how to name these files. The latest firmware for XDCAM does allow clips to be named, eg "Johns Wedding 0001" etc, but although these appear in PDZ-1, they do not show on the resulting file transfer filenames once they are copied to the hard drive. Perhaps this will happen in a later revision thus making editors lives even easier. One last aspect is that every cliplist can be assigned its own timecode.

PDZ-1 can also help you in the field in this way. If you are out on a longer assignment whereby you are away for more than a few days, why wait until you are back at the editing suite to start logging and organising your clips? It is sometimes better to start doing this while things are fresh in your mind. PDZ-1 will not only allow you to start organising your clips on a lowly laptop, but it will also allow you to perform rough edits on location to see how things play together. Sure, you could take the likes of Media Composer or Avid Express on a laptop too. But then there are issues of storage space (especially if Avid has to convert the MXF's to Quicktime) and other overheads and risks that may not be worth taking the time and effort over on location.

Remember that I mentioned the small size of the proxy files earlier on? With the right NLE you could email your cliplists and proxy files back to someone at your editing studio and have them start editing the programme while you are still out in the field. Making rough edits while on location using PDZ-1 might also alert you to any shots that you may have missed or need to acquire in order to make an effective edit. I utilised PDZ-1 in this fashion when I was out on a shoot in the Welsh mountains, and also while shooting action sequences a long way from base. This didn't overwhelm me with work as I was able to sort out the footage in my down time over a cup of coffee.

For bigger productions the live logging feature of XDCAM could also be utilised. XDCAM also now allows proxy files to be stored on a Memory Stick (XDCAM SD only at this time) via a device that fits into the expansion slot near the rear of the camera. Several discs worth of proxy files can be stored this way and allows even faster, more convenient logging of clips within PDZ-1.

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