ALEXA XR Module Workflows

Transcription

1 ALEXA XR Module Workflows WHITE PAPER 6 March 2013

2 Introduction In 2013, ARRI introduced the ALEXA XR Module which, for the first time, allows uncompressed in-camera ARRIRAW recording. This not only makes for a smaller, lighter and more affordable ARRIRAW camera package, it also simplifies setup and operation while avoiding unnecessary cabling. The result is a faster, more reliable and more versatile workflow on set. This document provides an introduction to the workflows related to the ALEXA XR Module. Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Table of Contents... 2 The XR Module... 3 The Storage Media... 3 XR Capture Drive... 3 XR Capture Drive Format Overview... 3 SxS Camera Adapter for SxS PRO Cards... 4 Camera Setup... 4 Media Access Codex Platform... 4 Uncompressed ARRIRAW Recording... 4 The Codex Virtual File System (VFS)... 4 The Codex Platform... 5 Compressed ProRes or DNxHD Recording... 5 Hardware Options... 5 Single Dock USB Dual Dock... 6 Codex Vault... 6 About the Vault... 6 Access to UDF Volumes (Compressed Recording)... 6 Building your ARRIRAW Workflow... 7 Single Dock Setup... 7 Dual Dock Setup... 8 Vault Setup... 9 Scaling your Workflow... 9 More Information... 9 ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 2 of 9

3 The XR Module All ALEXA XT cameras come with the new XR Module, which was co-developed with Codex. The module is a new camera side panel which brings exciting in-camera recording options and replaces the popular SxS Module. Also being available as an upgrade for all classic ALEXA cameras, the XR Module is another manifestation of the modular upgradeability that ARRI built into the ALEXA design from the very beginning. The XR Module allows in-camera ARRIRAW recording up to 120 fps onto exceptionally fast and rugged XR Capture Drives. By removing the need for the external recorder, it makes shooting ARRIRAW easier and more affordable than ever before. The ALEXA becomes more compact, rugged, and lighter. There are no more cables to worry about and less configuration that needs to be done. The XR Module can also record footage in the popular, ready-to-edit ProRes or DNxHD formats, either onto XR Capture Drives, which provides significantly longer recording times, or, with an adapter, onto SxS PRO cards. The Storage Media Capturing 120 fps of uncompressed ARRIRAW data requires a throughput of almost 850 MB per second, which requires for something more powerful than SxS PRO cards. XR Capture Drive The Capture Drives for the XR Module are equipped with highly reliable solid-state drive technology in a small and rugged aluminum housing. The gross storage space of an XR Capture Drive is 512 GB, but the actual capacity depends on how it is formatted. For ARRIRAW recording, the drives offer 480 GB for recording; for compressed recording, they currently offer 240 GB. The XR Capture Drives share the same mechanical interface as the Codex Capture Drives and Codex Transfer Drives, so they can be accessed using the standard Codex docking stations. The XR Module currently allows recording only to the XR Capture Drives, while support for the Codex Capture Drives is planned for a future software update. Like for SxS PRO cards, the same Capture Drive can be used to record different frame rates and/or compression codecs. Compressed ProRes/DNxHD and uncompressed ARRIRAW, however, cannot be recorded on the same drive because of the two different file systems. XR Capture Drive Format Overview Format Aspect Ratio fps Range Ouput Pixels File Size [MByte/frame] Data 24 fps [MByte/sec] Data max fps [MByte/sec] Rec 24 fps [minutes] Rec max fps [minutes] ARRIRAW 2.8K 4: x ARRIRAW 2.8K 16: x ProRes K 4: x ProRes K 16: x ProRes 422 HQ 2K 4: x ProRes 422 HQ 2K 16: x ProRes 4444 HD 16: x ProRes 422 HQ HD 16: x Notes: - ProRes 4444 at 120 fps and DNxHD recording are planned for a later software update. - ProRes is a variable bit rate codec. The data rates and recording times will vary depending on image content. - For all formats offering up to 120 fps, the camera actually needs to be switched between (regular speed) and fps (high speed) mode. All data subject to change without notice. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 3 of 9

4 SxS Camera Adapter for SxS PRO Cards With the optional SxS Adapter, it is also possible to keep using SxS PRO cards for ProRes and DNxHD recording in the modes that were available from the SxS module, except for simultaneous output to two cards (dual recording). Camera Setup Without an external device to mount and no extra cables to run, rigging the camera for an ARRIRAW shoot takes no longer than setting up the recording for SxS cards. It is that simple. All settings only need to be configured once and some settings even disappear, as the recorder is no longer required to offer options for other cameras. As a matter of fact, all the operator needs to do is to set the 'INTERNAL' recording Mode (formerly called 'SxS CARDS') to ARRIRAW, ProRes, or DNxHD, pop in an XR Capture Drive and be ready to shoot. Of course, the camera also needs to be set up for time code, ASA rating, white balance and such, but changing the frame rate, for example, or switching the sensor between 16:9 and 4:3 does not require a trip into the recorder's menus. Media Access Codex Platform Depending on the recording mode of the XR Module uncompressed ARRIRAW or compressed ProRes/DNxHD a capture drive is formatted with different volume mappings (file systems). Uncompressed ARRIRAW Recording When the XR Module is set to uncompressed ARRIRAW recording, an XR drive is initialized as a Codex volume, offering 480 GB of high-performance drive space. This allows for 47 minutes of 16:9 ARRIRAW recording at 24fps or 9 minutes of ARRIRAW at 120fps. The Codex Virtual File System (VFS) When a Capture Drive with ARRIRAW footage is loaded on a computer, it shows up like a regular external drive. Operating underneath, however, is the Codex Virtual File System (VFS). The VFS can present, for example, readily processed DPX files, MXF/DNxHD and/or QuickTime/ProRes proxies next to the original ARI files on the Codex volume. Except for the recorded data on the drive, none of these additional files actually exist. It's only when these files are requested, that they are generated, on-demand, and on the fly. Hence the term "virtual". The file formats, file naming and directory structure that will be presented by the VFS are fully configurable through the Codex Platform software. This makes the VFS a highly flexible tool for providing exactly the material you require, when you want it, without redundant processing and storage overhead on your drives. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 4 of 9

5 The Codex Platform You could call it Codex's universal Ethernet remote control. The Codex Platform software is used to control recorders, manage recorded footage and metadata, configure the VFS and manage storage media. To learn more about this software, it's best to visit and read their documentation. Three guides that will give you a good overview of the software are: Main Tab Guide Storage Tab Guide VFS (Virtual File System) Guide Once you understand the main concept, there are a number of more in-depth guides covering the details of the whole setup. To see what the Codex file workflow looks like in an ARRIRAW production, you should continue reading "Processing ARRIRAW with the Codex Transfer Station". Compressed ProRes or DNxHD Recording When the XR Module is set to ProRes 2K/HD or DNxHD recording, an XR drive is initialized as a UDF volume, providing 240 GB storage capacity. This equals over 100 minutes of 16:9 ProRes 4444 in 2K or three hours of ProRes 422 HQ at 24 fps. Using the UDF file system maintains compatibility to the established ALEXA ProRes/DNxHD workflows, meaning that little to no time is required to adapt existing workflows to the capture drives. Capture drives or SxS PRO cards containing ProRes 2K/HD or DNxHD material can be accessed directly, without the need for (but also without the benefits of) the VFS. The file names and directory structure created on the drives or cards are the same for old SxS Module and the new XR Module. Hardware Options To access the contents of Capture Drives, ARRI and Codex offer two types of docks that need to be setup with a Mac, or the turnkey, location-based device named 'Vault' which operates as a standalone unit. Single Dock USB3 The Single Dock accepts one XR Capture Drive, Codex Capture Drive or Transfer Drive at a time. It connects to a computer via USB 3.0 and is shipped with a basic version of the Codex Platform software (Mac only). The basic version provides a fixed VFS configuration, presenting only ARI files and shot metadata, following the ALEXA file naming convention and the directory structure that is already known from the SxS recording. Full VFS configuration options are available as a software upgrade from Codex. The Single Dock USB3 is available from ARRI or Codex. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 5 of 9

6 Dual Dock The Dual Dock offers two slots for loading XR Capture Drives, Codex Capture Drives or Transfer Drives. The dock needs to be connected to a Mac Pro workstation using Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) for the data channel and USB 2.0 for control. The Dual Dock ships with a full version of the Codex Platform software, offering full VFS options. The dock's second drive slot can be used to clone the contents from one capture drive to another, or to a higher capacity transfer drive. The Codex Dual Dock is available from ARRI or Codex. Codex Vault The Codex Vault is a modular, location-based media management system, which works as a standalone unit with an easy to use touchscreen interface. The base unit offers a media port for the larger Codex Onboard M Datapack, four slots for Capture Drives, and additional ports for two SxS cards, a 1.8" and a 2.5" SSD drive. The Vault can clone the contents from a Datapack or Capture Drive to one or more Codex Transfer Drives, or the optional internal storage. The base module also offers SAS, ESATA and USB 3.0 connectors that can be used to connect shuttle drives for offloading the recorded footage. With the optional dual LTO-5 module, it is also possible to incrementally archive the camera footage directly on location. The Vault is available from Codex. About the Vault The Vault is designed to simplify and standardize workflows. Before a Vault is sent off to a production, the configuration of the media management tasks is done by an expert user (admin). This could be a workflow supervisor, who knows which files will be required, or a rental technician, who has been briefed accordingly. The 'Generate task', for example, controls which file formats will be created, the image dimensions, text overlays (burn-ins), output color space, file name convention, and the directory structure that all files will be offloaded to. The operators of the Vault are guided through their tasks as they follow the pre-configured, standardized workflow with a simple user interface. All complexity that results from the versatility of file-based workflows has been taken off their minds by the expert user's configuration. Once a Vault is prepped, it can be operated by a user who only needs to be thorough about his/her work, but does not need to decide about all of the above. Unless the user is handed administrative access, it is not possible to deviate from the predefined workflow. This makes the entire process very safe. Unload a Capture Drive from the camera and replace it with an empty drive. Take the camera footage to the Vault and run all media management tasks. Start over. Create a daily report sheet and archive of the original camera footage. This is probably as close as we can get back to the original job of the 2 nd AC or clapper loader. Access to UDF Volumes (Compressed Recording) XR Capture Drives or SxS PRO cards containing ProRes or DNxHD footage are formatted using the UDF file system. They can be accessed without going through the Codex Platform software and VFS, using e.g. the Single Dock (for XR Capture Drives) or standard ExpressCard/34 card readers (for SxS PRO cards) like the Sonnet Qio E3 esata reader, the Sonnet Echo Pro ExpressCard/34 Thunderbolt Adapter, or a built-in ExpressCard/34 reader, which can be found in several PC Notebooks and some of the older 15 and 17 inch Macbook Pro Models. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 6 of 9

7 Building your ARRIRAW Workflow Whether you are on a production with a small budget or on a big feature film, recording ARRIRAW to the XR Capture Drives opens up a number of options that will allow you to manage the camera footage. A light weight setup, like a MacBook Pro, a Single Dock, and some hard drives, will get you started on small scale projects. To get the performance for larger projects, you should to replace the MacBook with a Mac Pro and go for the faster Dual Dock. If you need a more compact and rugged, yet high-performance setup, you should consider the Vault. On a feature film with different camera units, there could be a combination of Mac Pro/Dual Dock for work in a studio and a Vault for location shooting, or multiple Vaults. Although some consistency in workflows is important, every production is different, so it is difficult to present you with the "one workflow to rule them all". The following examples illustrate just the basic setups that you could put together with a Single Dock, the Dual Dock or the Vault. This will mostly affect how the data travels from the "media station" to editorial or to the screening and how the data will be backed up or archived. Single Dock Setup Functions: Copy Capture Drives to external storage Checksum verification Generate.ARI files for post production Clear the data from the recording media Optional Features: Codex Platform upgrade, to gain full VFS features when generating files Codex Offloader option, for verified copies to external drives ARRIRAW Converter (ARC) A new 15" MacBook Pro (USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt) with a Single Dock and RAID-protected storage could be the light-weight setup for backing up ARRIRAW footage to e.g. a RAID and shuttle disks. With the basic version of the Codex Platform software, the VFS is limited to output.ari files, CDL data, codex shot list and audio files for delivery to post. An upgrade to the full version of the Codex Platform will enable generating other file formats. In order to create dailies, additional software running on a dedicated machine would be required. Please note that this setup will provide basic access to the camera footage and will be sufficient for small scale projects. In a regular production that produces several TB of data per day, creating backups and deliverables will require one of the setups described below. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 7 of 9

8 Dual Dock Setup Functions: Clone Capture Drives to transfer drives, maintaining the VFS Checksum verification Generate files for review, edit and post Clear the data from the recording media Optional Features: Codex Storage option, to keep footage in VFS for several days before clearing Codex Offloader option, for verified copies to external drives or LTFS tape A Mac Pro with an internal RAID-protected storage and a Dual Dock can be used to backup files and generate deliverables on shuttle disks. The Dual Dock can also be used to clone Capture Drives to Codex Transfer Drives. Cloning creates verified, identical copies and maintains the VFS. This setup offers several options to optimize the performance in different production environments: Add the Codex Storage option to provide up to 6TB of internal RAID storage as Codex volume. Capture drives then can be cloned to the RAID, maintaining the VFS. Connect the Mac Pro via e.g. 10 Gig Ethernet network to enable direct VFS access for postproduction tools through a network share. Add the Codex Offloader option to create verified copies of the VFS to connected external disks or to LTO tapes for archiving. Depending on the amount of footage per day, the internal RAID storage provides enough space for a few shoot days worth of ARRIRAW footage. This gives a production a few days buffer to confirm that the material is OK before the storage needs to be cleared. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 8 of 9

9 Vault Setup Functions: Copy Capture Drives to internal storage Clone Capture Drives to transfer drives, maintaining the VFS Checksum verification Generate files for review, edit and post Clear the data from the recording media Product detailed production reports Optional Features: Vault S Storage option, to keep footage in VFS for several days before clearing Vault S Archive, for automated verified archiving to LTFS tape The Vault S Process base unit can be used to clone Capture Drives over to Codex Transfer Drives or an optional RAID protected internal storage. Cloning creates verified, identical copies and maintains the VFS. The Vault can also generate a number of different deliverables to connected shuttle discs. The base unit can be expanded by adding different modules to optimize the performance in different production environments. The Vault S Storage expansion unit provides 7 TB of additional RAID protected storage, which can be used as intermediate storage for data prior to archiving and/or file generation. The Vault S Archive expansion unit contains two LTO5 drives for automated offloading to LTFS tape (Linear Tape File System). Depending on the amount of footage per day, the internal RAID storage provides enough space for a few shoot days worth of ARRIRAW footage. This gives a production a few days buffer to confirm that the material is OK before the storage needs to be cleared. Scaling your Workflow To overcome a situation where you will be faced with more footage than a setup can handle, the obvious solution is to add a second setup. Sometimes, it may be more beneficial to combine setups including a Single Dock and a Dual Dock or a Dual Dock and a Vault, and to use the different feature-sets to distribute the workload. Sometimes (not even related to the amount of footage) higher efficiency may be gained by splitting tasks between location and post production. One example would be creating multiple deliverables for editorial, dailies projection, streaming on the web, ipad, etc., which can be done more efficiently using a dedicated dailies tool. Archiving to LTO tape also does not necessarily need to happen on location, especially if postproduction is close by and possibly connected over e.g. 10 Gig Ethernet. More Information For more information about the ARRI ALEXA, please visit For more information about Codex products and workflows, please visit If you have comments or questions about this document, please send us an to digitalworkflow@arri.de. ALEXA XR Module Workflows - White Paper Page 9 of 9