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Short Primer to Nonlinear Production Sound
  • The word tape has now been replaced with the broader term media
  • The media commonly used at this time includes:
    • Hard Disk Drives (HDD), typically the 2.5 inch types used in notebook computers.
    • Optical Disks: DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and CD-R
    • Typically, the Optical disks are turned into production while the HDD is kept for safety.
  • Nonlinear refers to the method that information is recorded to and retrieved form the media. The information may be accessed randomly from the media, which makes any part of the recording instantly available for playback.
  • Nonlinear production sound recording is replacing linear tape recording for three primary reasons: (1) It saves time and money for post production, (2) It greatly increases options that aid in the creative process, (3) It saves time and money for post production.
    • Saves time: 2 hours of 4 or more tracks can be transferred in just a few minutes, and with the proper equipment, syncing with picture can be instantaneous.
    • Multiple tracks (currently up to 10 with the Deva 5)
    • Metadata (helpful text that can be recorded with each take)
    • Safety (a single recorder can create copies that are kept with the recordist)
    • Instant playback, of any track, from any take, on the set, without fear of erasing anything.
    • Many more advantages are detailed in the links below.
  • The Fostex DV-40 has become the most common post production machine for transferring non-linear production sound tracks. The DV-40 is a direct replacement for studio timecode DAT machines such as the Sony 7040, Fostex D-25 and Tascam DA-40. The DV-40 is becoming the postproduction workhorse that the Nagra T once was.
  • The standard is no longer a piece of hardware, but a file type: BWF (Broadcast Wave File).
    • While the DVD-RAM is currently the most common media being turned in for nonlinear production sound recording, the standard is no longer a certain recorder or a particular tape or other hardware. A benefit of non-linear production recording is that it doesnt matter what recorder is used, or what media it is recorded to, as long as the recording is in the form of a BWF file.