Cart signal flow (and components):
I'm using Boom Recorder 7.22 as my primary recorder, running a PD-4 DAT as a backup. (When $ permits, I'll probably head for a SoundDevices recorder, but I'd sure like to see more than 4 tracks from them....)
My computer system is a Mac Mini 1.25 GHz, with AcomData external firewire hard drives. The console is a Sonosax SX-S10. The main outputs (L/R) go to the interface, a MOTU Traveler, channels 1 & 2, which are the Mix.L and Mix.R tracks. Additional main outputs (via the film module) feed a Waves L2 Ultramaximizer, which feeds the DAT via AES. I use the 2 mix tracks in Boom Recorder (as opposed to a mono mix track) because I want the first two tracks to be identical to what is going to the DAT.
Direct outs from Sonosax channels 1-5 are sent to Traveler ch's 3-7, for ISOs. TC source is the PD-4, split and sent to Traveler ch. 8, and to a 1/4" plug for jamming slates.
Here's a recent (sort of) photo.
http://soundfacility.com/location-sound/the-sound-cart-rock-solid-2/39
Boom Recorder Preferences:
-Time source: LTC SMPTE/EBU
-Filename: sc%s-tk%2t_%f_%c which generates a filename like: sc100-tk01_1_poly.wav
The "2" in the %2t defines a two-digit take number, so a leading zero is automatically included for single-digit take numbers. The %f is the file number, and the %c is the channel name. The channel name is only really relevant if you record mono files, in which case your channel name will appear in the filename (ie, MIX, BOOM, etc.) For polyphonic recordings, Boom Recorder converts the channel name parameter to "poly".
Delivery:
If possible, I like to turn in hard drives. If audio is going to telecine for sync, I burn a DVD-R. My customized PDF report is included on the Toast-burned UDF DVD-R; and I email the report to editing later. I am also keeping hand-written reports to accompany the DATs, which go to production.
Lessons learned:
(1) According to Take, the file number (%f) MUST be somewhere in the filename. If you don't include it in your filename, it will default to being at the end.
I made the mistake of using %c (channel name) before the file number (%f), while recording mono files (so the channel name actually appeared in the filename). The tracks showed up in the Mac Finder and in the editing system (FCP) in alphabetical order, not TRACK order, which meant that instead of:
Track 1 / Mix.L
Track 2 / Mix.R
Track 3 / Boom
Track 4 / 2ndBoom
the order, as it appeared in Final Cut Pro was:
Track 1 / 2ndBoom
Track 2 / Boom
Track 3 / Mix.L
Track 4 / Mix.R
And if a different channel name was introduced, it might end up between the Boom and Mix tracks, depending on what the channel's first letter was!
So, if you record mono files, make sure you define the file number %f, is EARLIER in the filename than other parameters you include in the filename, because each of your files will be incrementally numbered.
(2) Also related to file ordering issues... Not too long ago, telecine called to complain that the audio files on the DVD-Rs were not in shooting order; it was taking them much longer to sync than they anticipated, because they had to find each recording individually, finding the shooting order on the sound report.
The issue: the files were sorted by Name in the Finder, not by Date Modified. So when I dragged the files into Toast, they were in alphabetical order by filename. The remedy: I re-sorted the files, appended an incremental number to the beginning of each filename, and re-burned 15 DVDs worth of audio. (Faced with a telecine house that was threatening to begin charging by the hour instead of by the film foot, the producer agreed to pay $300 for the half-day that it took me.) That wouldn't have been possible in the big-budget world, but it worked for this show.
So, if you're not using the Wexler/Perkins "anti-metadata" method of an incremental recording number, and your filenames are scene/take, make sure they get burned in shooting order. It'll make the telecine operator happy.
I'll cut this off now, lest I begin to put everyone to sleep...
-Brian
-the PS section-
Aha! Someone else found the Carnetix P1900 for mini power...I recently posted about that little gem on my site.
http://soundfacility.com/
That's genius. Eliminate the firewire variable from your primary audio drive...
The issue I have to solve is drive noise leakage into the audio. I discovered that when I turned off the external hard drive, the faint whine disappeared. And powering it on, I could hear the drive clicking and spinning to life. It's down around -85 dBFS, lower than your average shooting noise floor, but it's there and I want to get rid of it.