Clacker Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 I was on a commercial shoot the last couple days. Cameras were 2 x Canon C300's that I had synced using Zaxcom ERXT's. I checked them periodically throughout the days for sync. On the last shot series of the second day I noticed one of the camera's timecode was off by a few seconds! I soon discovered that the timecode BNC cable (a locking connection) was now magically plugged into the genlock BNC connection. I plugged it back into the correct connector, timecode instantly synced and we finished the day. As I was driving a PA home from the out-of-town shoot, I asked him if he had any clue what might have happened. It turned out that he had been instructed to unplug the video VTR cable (also BNC) when the camera was moved and had accidentally unplugged my timecode connection and obviously plugged it back into the wrong connector. My question is how exactly would you proceed from here in terms of alerting/explaining to production what happened? We also were using a smart slate, and thanks to the wizardry of Zaxcom, we also had a mono scratch track of audio going to each camera. I get no pleasure in "ratting" anyone out (and this PA had been otherwise helpful throughout the production), but obviously at times out professional reputation is on the line. Clearly production must be alerted, but the question is how and in what words? Thanks in advance for any level-headed input, as things like this are apt to make my head a bit un-level:) Best, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominiquegreffard Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 I d just explained the exact situation to the Pm right away. The fault is not on you and maybe it was not the best idea to have PA deal with the camera. Post is gonna fix this easy. I would nt worry about this too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Norflus Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Tell it like it is - if not you will be taking the blame no sense in ruining your reputation. If you had a scratch track and a slate all should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrider Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 +1 to the above replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clacker Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Thanks, guys! Much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Norflus Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 If anything the camera department should be to blame - asking a pa to assist with the camera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afewmoreyears Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 PA even touching the camera?... really? Foul.... If you had audio going to camera, and you say it was....and (or) used a time code slate... don't sweat it... don't even mention it.... If they actually call, let them know a PA was dealing with camera set up... nothing you could of done... I am SURE post worked right through it with no issue... they deal with that all the time... We're not 14 anymore.... LOL... It's not "Ratting".. It's an actual explanation of what went down... They ask, you let them know what happened... Pretty simple... As our friend always says... "crap happens" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Most ACs don't let anyone near the cameras, even soundies working on their own gear. The PA did right to fess up, and you are doing right by letting the posties know ahead of time so they don't flail looking for a cause for the change in TC. BTW, your camera>audio and camera>camera sync was only approximate anyhow since you didn't supply both cams with an external sync signal in addition to TC. philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 clacker: " I asked him if he had any clue what might have happened. It turned out that he had been instructed to unplug the video VTR cable (also BNC) when the camera was moved and had accidentally unplugged my timecode connection and obviously plugged it back into the wrong connector. " ah, the great american blame game... well my first reaction is that a PA should not be instructed to unplug and replug a camera unless under direct (training) supervision and observation, so this PA was acting outside her/his scope of responsibility... the blame, if it really must be assigned, goes to whoever instructed the PA... " Clearly production must be alerted, " I don't believe so, and agree with AFMY. if it even comes up, just clearly, explain what you know to have happened, in as non confrontational (non-blaming) manner as you can muster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clacker Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Thanks for all the sage advice! This helps a lot:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirror Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 What's everyone getting so worked up about? Who's to blame? What to do? Nobody's losing a job over this. It's easy to fix and has a lot of redundancy built in to the work flow. Why are people always looking to blame someone? Make a quick note and go grab your pizza slice. You're going to shorten your life with the "who's to blame" attitude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Yup. I agree. I wouldn't even mention it. But if you feel compelled, you could email post, if that person even exists, and tell them one of the cameras will have incorrect time code for a bit. At some point in the day you noticed the TC cable had been moved to the genlock input. No reason to assign blame. They're not going to care. Shit happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Ear Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 This is what reports are for imo. Put it in your sound report what shots you think what cameras tc is off, maybe in scripty's reports too. Then worry about the next shot. Post will have documentation and will move past it. Not worth making something out of such a minor mistake, much bigger challenges are a daily occurrence on set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze Frias Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 This is what reports are for imo. Put it in your sound report what shots you think what cameras tc is off, maybe in scripty's reports too. Then worry about the next shot. Post will have documentation and will move past it. Not worth making something out of such a minor mistake, much bigger challenges are a daily occurrence on set. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted March 24, 2014 Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 RPS: " At some point in the day you noticed the TC cable had been moved to the genlock input. " quite diplomatic... excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Lewis Posted March 26, 2014 Report Share Posted March 26, 2014 This same thing happened to me on a job. 2 F5's one was out of TC sync with the other. TC out on SBT was plugged into Genlock on camera. It was an inexperienced AC's doing and I knew it. Made a note of it in the sound report. Pulled the AC aside privately and kindly reminded him to double check connections when plugging and unplugging things. Shit happens, especially when being rushed, which is the norm these days anyway. There was useable audio on camera so no point in raising hell about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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