*SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentation

The place for questions about shooting with Blackmagic Cameras.
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

Brett G

  • Posts: 37
  • Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:06 pm

*SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 7:08 pm

I shot a live presentation with my BMCC for a client recently. Using firmware 1.2. Was shooting in ProRes film mode at 23.98. Had sound coming in via xlr through a juiced linked riggy box and then into my camera. Was using the most recommended sandisk 480 ssd drive. Shot for approximately 2 hours total, stopping the camera at the hour mark. When I went to import the footage it just wasn't there. There were 2 clips, one was 7 seconds long, the other 2. I'm mortified. Luckily I had other cameras running (canon 5ds) so I'm not totally screwed but what is the problem here? I wasn't operating the BMCC, however, at one point during the event my cameraman took a photo of the display and you can clearly see that the camera is "recording" and the timecode is reading about 36 minutes. This proves that there should have been footage on the card. Anyone else ever have this problem? This is unacceptable and makes me scared to use this camera professionally.
Last edited by Brett G on Sun Apr 28, 2013 2:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
Offline
User avatar

sean mclennan

  • Posts: 1435
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:28 pm
  • Location: Toronto, ON

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 7:25 pm

Post the pic please...
Offline

Brett G

  • Posts: 37
  • Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:06 pm

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 7:52 pm

Not able to do that right now so I'll provide all the info you would get from the picture: it's a closeup of the BMCC touch screen, you can see the whole screen and what it's filming. The info on the bottom reads:

Pro Res f1.4 REC (in red) 01:36:10:01 144(degree) 3200K battery 100%

SInce I'm not near my camera or the footage at the moment I can't check to see if the frame that is in the picture is one of the few frames that I have in the couple seconds of recorded footage. I'll check on that. Regardless, the guy filming it is a trustworthy guy and he is certain the camera displayed that it was recording the whole time.
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 9:12 pm

Brett G wrote:I shot a live presentation with my BMCC for a client recently. Using firmware 1.2. Was shooting in ProRes film mode at 23.98. Had sound coming in via xlr through a juiced linked riggy box and then into my camera. Was using the most recommended sandisk 480 ssd drive. Shot for approximately 2 hours total, stopping the camera at the hour mark. When I went to import the footage it just wasn't there. There were 2 clips, one was 7 seconds long, the other 2. I'm mortified. Luckily I had other cameras running (canon 5ds) so I'm not totally screwed but what is the problem here? I wasn't operating the BMCC, however, at one point during the event my cameraman took a photo of the display and you can clearly see that the camera is "recording" and the timecode is reading about 36 minutes. This proves that there should have been footage on the card. Anyone else ever have this problem? This is unacceptable and makes me scared to use this camera professionally.


May not be helpful, but trying to learn more about what happened:
What is the time code of the two brief clips compared to what the missing clips should be?

When did you see only two clips? Was it when the SSD was in the camera and you were playing back the clips? Was your BMCC LCD monitor set to display in the same ProRes Film Mode that you used for the recording? Any chance you recorded in ProRes Video?

What did you use to import the footage? Which dock, which software? We're you successful recording before the shoot and after the shoot?

Rick Lang
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang
Offline

Brett G

  • Posts: 37
  • Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:06 pm

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 10:33 pm

Rick, these are good suggestions. When I get home tonight I will investigate the timecode and answer the rest of the questions you posted.
Offline
User avatar

Peter J. DeCrescenzo

  • Posts: 2409
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 6:53 am
  • Location: Portland, Oregon USA

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 10:40 pm

Brett G wrote:I shot a live presentation with my BMCC for a client recently. Using firmware 1.2. Was shooting in ProRes film mode at 23.98. Had sound coming in via xlr through a juiced linked riggy box and then into my camera. Was using the most recommended sandisk 480 ssd drive. Shot for approximately 2 hours total, stopping the camera at the hour mark. When I went to import the footage it just wasn't there. There were 2 clips, one was 7 seconds long, the other 2. I'm mortified. Luckily I had other cameras running (canon 5ds) so I'm not totally screwed but what is the problem here? I wasn't operating the BMCC, however, at one point during the event my cameraman took a photo of the display and you can clearly see that the camera is "recording" and the timecode is reading about 36 minutes. This proves that there should have been footage on the card. Anyone else ever have this problem? This is unacceptable and makes me scared to use this camera professionally.


I don't know why you got that unfortunate result, but answers to some basic troubleshooting questions might help determine a cause, such as:

How exactly did you format the Sandisk 480GB SSD before shooting?

What's the longest successful ProRes recording you've previously recorded with your camera & that particular SSD?

How did you power your camera during the 2 hr. presentation?

What would you guess was the approx. temperature of the location during the presentation?

Can your camera do a "long" ProRes recording now using a different SSD, if you have another one available to format & test with? (Don't format the "problem" SSD yet, in case something can be recovered from it.)

Rick's suggestion is a good one: A problem with the dock you're using could have caused a bad SSD format before recording, or a bad SSD read after recording. Try to read the SSD using a different dock (or temporarily install the SSD in an external 2.5" drive enclosure, or install the SSD inside a 2.5" drive bay inside a computer).

Let us know what you find out.
-
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSat Apr 27, 2013 11:01 pm

Brett G wrote:Rick, these are good suggestions. When I get home tonight I will investigate the timecode and answer the rest of the questions you posted.


Thanks, I just hope we can offload your clips that are probably there as long as nothing else disturbs the SSD.

Rick Lang
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang
Offline

Brett G

  • Posts: 37
  • Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:06 pm

Re: BMCC major fail while shooting a presentation

PostSun Apr 28, 2013 2:44 am

Home now and able to investigate further... It seems the culprit is the ssd drive :/ I tried playing back the clips on the camera and they are only a few seconds there. I let the camera record and after about a minute the REC started flashing. When I tried to stop the recording by pressing the record button it went back to showing regular red REC, not flashing, but timecode wasn't moving. It just sat like this until I shut the camera off. I took the drive out and put in another identical ssd drive (sandisk 480) and let it record. After 6 minutes it hadn't missed a beat.

I had just purchased and formatted both drives the day before so I hadn't done any extended testing on them, just a quick test roll at the shoot that day. Shame on me. Well, lesson learned. Thank goodness I was rolling the back up cameras.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
Offline
User avatar

Thomas Schumacher

  • Posts: 750
  • Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2012 11:14 pm
  • Location: Germany

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostSun Apr 28, 2013 3:19 am

There's no shame on you.are we expected to record 8 hours of nonsense before we use a so far well-proven SSD to do a job? That'd be a PITA if not hilarious.
https://www.gernemehrfilm.de/
Offline

Taikonaut

  • Posts: 203
  • Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 6:36 am

Re: SSD & BMCC failed shooting a presentation

PostSun Apr 28, 2013 8:03 am

Whether it is the SSD drive at fault or not if it is not recording properly the camera should refuse giving the impression it is recording or at least thow up an error code to show there is a malfunction. We all expect some form of self troubleshooting in electronic gadgets these days but maybe not this one.

I consider BMCC as a "enthusiast" camera. If you do professional works make sure you have a reliable backup camera with a proven track record.

popcornflix

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostSun Apr 28, 2013 9:58 am

gmf wrote:There's no shame on you.are we expected to record 8 hours of nonsense before we use a so far well-proven SSD to do a job? That'd be a PITA if not hilarious.


Actually, it's not such a big deal. In the days of analog tape (or so my grandpap tells me :D ) you had to stripe an entire tape with black and timecode before you put it into the camera. SOP for every tape.

Even when I use DSLRs, I burn in every new SD or CF card before it goes int the field. I usually point the camera at a CRT TV set, because the scanlines produce a high-detail recording. You get a high data rate, and there's always something moving on the screen. After the card fills up, I spot check the results and wipe the card.
Offline
User avatar

AdrianSierkowski

  • Posts: 929
  • Joined: Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:59 pm
  • Location: Los Angeles.

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostSun Apr 28, 2013 12:31 pm

Ahh I remember those days of "put the lens cap on and hit record and call me in the morning."
Adrian Sierkowski
Director of Photography
http://www.adriansierkowski.com
adrian@adriansierkowski.com
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostSun Apr 28, 2013 3:17 pm

Brett G wrote:Home now and able to investigate further... It seems the culprit is the ssd drive :/ I tried playing back the clips on the camera and they are only a few seconds there. I let the camera record and after about a minute the REC started flashing. When I tried to stop the recording by pressing the record button it went back to showing regular red REC, not flashing, but timecode wasn't moving. It just sat like this until I shut the camera off. I took the drive out and put in another identical ssd drive (sandisk 480) and let it record. After 6 minutes it hadn't missed a beat.

I had just purchased and formatted both drives the day before so I hadn't done any extended testing on them, just a quick test roll at the shoot that day. Shame on me. Well, lesson learned. Thank goodness I was rolling the back up cameras.

Thanks for all the suggestions.


A lesson for everyone and thankfully you had other footage you could use. Perhaps the problem would have been minimized if the cameraman noticed the timecode was not advancing, but if it really did fail initially after more than an hour and a half of continuous shooting and all that footage was lost, it is understandable that he assumed all was well. You may have the distinction of being the first person here to report an experience of such catastrophic failure of the Sandisk Extreme 480GB SSD.

There is recovery software and security forensic services that will pull data off a hard disk when the directory is lost. I don't know if it works the same on an SSD, but it may. If you wanted it, you can likely get that hour and a half back but it will cost you.

Rick Lang
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang
Offline
User avatar

sean mclennan

  • Posts: 1435
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:28 pm
  • Location: Toronto, ON

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostMon Apr 29, 2013 2:24 pm

Well, I just discovered some issues formatting my SSD when I played around with the allocation unit size option.... I would run a disk check on the SSD then do a full format again and try it again. I've never heard of a sandisk having such a catastrophic failure. :?:
Offline

Dennis Nomer

  • Posts: 113
  • Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:54 pm

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostTue Apr 30, 2013 5:48 am

It's my understanding that the BMCC will blink the red 'REC' label if frames are being dropped. Timecode shows, which is helpful if you accidentally got it in Time Lapse mode.

Using a few different SanDisk Extreme 480's formatted ExFat on Win 7, myself and a friend have not yet had any sort of problem with one. But if there is some way to have a problem with one, it would be good to know.
Dennis Nomer
Offline

Brett G

  • Posts: 37
  • Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:06 pm

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostTue Apr 30, 2013 6:00 am

I formatted both identical sandisk drives with disk utility (os x mountain lion). One works fine, the other not. I haven't tried to reformat the drive that messed up and try again. I will do that soon and report back if that fixes the problem.
Offline
User avatar

rick.lang

  • Posts: 17175
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:41 pm
  • Location: Victoria BC Canada

Re: *SOLVED* ***SSD (not BMCC) failed shooting a presentati

PostWed May 01, 2013 4:54 am

Brett G wrote:I formatted both identical sandisk drives with disk utility (os x mountain lion). One works fine, the other not. I haven't tried to reformat the drive that messed up and try again. I will do that soon and report back if that fixes the problem.


Did you format them exFAT or HFS+ in Mountain Lion?

Rick Lang
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Rick Lang

Return to Cinematography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 92 guests