CASE STUDY

Focus FS-100 Portable DTE Recorder Enables IMA Interactive To Tell A Client’s Story In Time Lapse Video


Challenge

Part advertising agency, part production house, and part story-tellers—IMA looks to the latest tools and technology to help their clients connect with consumers in new ways. In September 2006, the agency was presented with a unique project. Their client, a high-end kitchen remodeling company, specialized in quick transformations—giving customers a brand-new look in a short time. Charged with delivering the company’s story, IMA turned to time-lapse video as the perfect tool for emphasizing their client’s quick, relatively non-invasive remodeling service.
 
The idea was to use time lapse to follow a remodeling job in its entirety—allowing potential customers to see first-hand an actual project from start to finish in a matter of minutes. However, the decision to use time lapse was not without its challenges for IMA. As Jeff Conlon, CEO of IMA, explained, “We needed to come in on day one with the camera, set it up in the corner, and then just let it roll for five days straight. We definitely did not want somebody wasting the whole day, and night, just sitting with the camera.” IMA wanted to use the Panasonic HD AG-HVvX200 camera for the project, but knew the storage capacity of the P2 memory cards was too limited for their needs. “At 16 GB per card, we knew there was no way we could do this project with P2 cards,” Jeff said.
 

Solution

After discussions with colleagues in the production community, Jeff and IMA turned to Focus Enhancements’ FS-100 Direct To Edit® to give them the disk space and recording time required to run the camera unattended for one week. Designed to work with the Panasonic AG-HVvX200 P2 camera, the Focus FS-100 enables users to record DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO 50, and DVCPRO/DV streams to disk via FireWire. The Focus FS-100 comes standard with a 100 GB hard drive that provides 1.5 hours of DVCPRO HD recording time—at a price that’s far less than purchasing several P2 cards.
 
The Focus FS-100 DTE® also supports advanced features, including time lapse. “I’ve been used to doing all the time lapse controls on the camera, so it was really novel to have it all happening on the FS-100,” Jeff explained. “I was really impressed by how easy it was to set up the time lapse and change frame rates on the drive.” The Focus FS-100 lets users configure time lapse intervals in frames, seconds, minutes, and hours. Jeff and his team ran several tests the morning of the shoot, and decided to shoot one frame per second.
 

Results

With the Focus FS-100’s 100 GB hard drive, the IMA team was able to capture the entire project length on a single drive—recording 24 hours a day, for five days straight at one frame per second. “We had about 14 minutes to spare at the end, so it’s a good thing our calculations were correct,” Jeff added. Most importantly, IMA saved time and money, as no one had to return to the remote film location in order to change drives, tape, or memory cards.
 
“Overall, the FS-100 performed flawlessly for us,” said Jeff. “We didn’t have any dropped frames and transferring the files to Final Cut Pro couldn’t have been easier. It was so great to see clips, instead of logging tape.” The IMA team ended up using the footage directly from the drive, with minimal editing. “We dropped it into sequence, edited out the footage at night, and that was about it. We didn’t have a lot of money to throw into post for this project, but we really didn’t need it,” he explained.
 
“At the end, the client was thrilled. The video is a perfect education tool for their customers and uniquely gives them a first-hand glimpse into how the whole thing works,” Jeff said. “This project would have been impossible with P2 cards. We’re definitely looking forward to moving to tapeless acquisition for other projects in the future, since it’s so much easier.”



About IMA Interactive Media Agency

A new kind of creative agency, IMA strives to make advertising more effective, engaging, and entertaining by fusing new internet video technologies with more traditional forms of media advertising. The interactive agency helps each client tell their story and communicate with customers—whether it’s through online video, television, interactive, mobile, web, and print.
 www.imainteractive.com

About Focus Enhancements, Inc.


Innovation, efficiency, and superior quality are the foundation on which Focus Enhancements builds its products. A world leader in advanced video production, digital asset management, and digital signage solutions, Focus delivers products that perform superbly day in and day out, and backs them with unparalleled service and support.



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Focus FS-100 Portable DTE Recorder

Weighing about one pound and only 1.5 inches thick, the Focus FS-100 is an HD recorder designed to work with the new Panasonic AG-HVvX200 P2 camera, supporting DVCPRO HD and DVCPRO 50 QuickTime files for direct import into Final Cut Pro, and DV/DVCPRO recording formats as well. The FS-100 provides long recording times and improves workflow with Direct To Edit® technology. It can also be used with other Panasonic DVCPRO/DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD devices that have a FireWire port.


"Overall, the FS-100 performed flawlessly for us. We didn’t have any dropped frames and transferring the files to Final Cut Pro couldn’t have been easier. It was so great to see clips, instead of logging tape."

Jeff Conlon, CEO, IMA Interactive