Blackmagic Forum

I think I already know the answer to this question, but is there anyway the I can actually display a time/date stamp on a clip? I know all kinds of work-arounds for my other cameras, but was wondering if there was a way to do this with the BMCC. I just did a shoot early this morning using my HVX and the BMCC of a legal recreation of horrific train accident in Arizona. You would think this would be a fairly easy firmware upgrade since the start and end time for each clip is in the Meta Data. There are many benefits of having this not only for timing, but for high end legal work. What I did on this one was put the exact time in the beginning and end of each clip, but that's just for reference.

warmly,
eric

It's so ridiculously easy to do in post, why would you want it in camera?

I would think accident/crime scene recreation, you would want to display the date/time of the accident, not the recreation? no?

When I read you comment I immediately thought of camcorders from 1998.

sean mclennan wrote:It's so ridiculously easy to do in post, why would you want it in camera? I would think accident/crime scene recreation, you would want to display the date/time of the accident, not the recreation? no? ...

It depends on what the client requires, and what exactly is meant by "... a legal recreation of horrific train accident ..."

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In Resolve you can 'burn' in time and date information, position them too etc.

I'll second Marcel,

easiest and most professional-looking way is to use Resolve. any data you want, wherever you want it. Al in the metadata..

SK

I really thank everyone for their thoughts, but I think the point was missed. Whenever you do anything "legal" the time/date stamp has to be embedded right onto the actual footage. It can't be added in post. While that would work for a clients reference, it just isn't accepted by the courts.

ericcosh wrote:I really thank everyone for their thoughts, but I think the point was missed. Whenever you do anything "legal" the time/date stamp has to be embedded right onto the actual footage. It can't be added in post. While that would work for a clients reference, it just isn't accepted by the courts.

I don't think the Blackmagic can do that in camera, (Possibly) using Media Express?

I'm sure there are a few portable recorders that have a similar function, but from what I know, the camera doesn't 'burn' any information onto the footage.

ericcosh wrote:I really thank everyone for their thoughts, but I think the point was missed. Whenever you do anything "legal" the time/date stamp has to be embedded right onto the actual footage. It can't be added in post. While that would work for a clients reference, it just isn't accepted by the courts.

In stills cameras, you need a special adapter to encrypt the file for "legal" use....to ensure there is no tampering with the file.

What you're asking for is something that anyone can modify/lie about. You can set the date/time on the camera to whatever you want. You can set your footage to 2025 if you wanted, so how is that a viable legal requirement?

Frankly, I never understood that legal requirement...just like insisting on faxes for time/date stamps that can be completely false and misrepresenting.

I guess that does describe our legal system though, doesn't it!

ericcosh wrote:I really thank everyone for their thoughts, but I think the point was missed. Whenever you do anything "legal" the time/date stamp has to be embedded right onto the actual footage. It can't be added in post. While that would work for a clients reference, it just isn't accepted by the courts.

That's why most countries aren't using material captured digitally as admissible on those grounds - it's so damn easy to change the data..

As the others say, I think that's a no-no