Publishers of technology books, eBooks, and videos for creative people

Home > Articles > Digital Photography

This chapter is from the book

Assignment 9: Making a Log Book

Right now, get any old three-ring binder, no more than 1 inch thick. You can either design the cover and log sheets yourself or use the ones that are on my Web site at www.nonlinear.info/logsheet.pdf and www.nonlinear.info/logcover1.pdf. Place the cover sheet under the plastic on the front of your notebook.

Now print out about 20 copies of the log sheets and place them in your notebook. Use tab dividers to separate the blank log sheets into two or three sections: one marked M for “master,” one marked S for “source,” and (if you need it) one marked A for “analog.” Now you have a handy log book to keep track of your first tapes.

Your logging station

You don’t need any fancy setup to log your tapes. In fact, in Chapter 5 I advise doing it away from your editing system, mostly to break up the process physically. (I think it’s healthy to cut back on your time in front of a computer.) Logging does not require a computer or even a TV set, although you could use both or either if you so choose. Figure 4.4 shows my logging station.

Figure 4.4

Figure 4.4 This is my friend Laura pretending to log one of my tapes, while actually demonstrating excellent logging setup and position. You can do it anywhere, and all the materials you need (videotape, log book, pen) are close at hand.

  1. Sit down somewhere comfortable with your camera and log book. Place the log book in your lap and open it to a blank page.
  2. Flip out the camera’s LCD, and turn on the timecode and data code displays (for date).
  3. With a nice pen, write the reel number at the top right corner of your new log sheet (so that you can see it easily while flipping pages). Try to write legibly.
  4. Rewind the tape to the beginning, and press Play.
  5. You should be able to log the tape in real time, as it plays, without making any stops. (You can stop if you want to; you just shouldn’t need to.)
  6. Keep your notes short but descriptive. Focus on scene changes—actual events of shooting and the dates shot—not on the detail of the content from each shot or setup.

That’s all there is to it.

The time to make a log is the first time you sit down to watch a tape. You can probably tell why you need continuous and ascending timecode; how useful is a log if every series of shots begins again at 00:00?

How much detail to log?

I try to be pretty casual with my logs. The more accurate you try to be, the slower the process and the more likely you are to bag the whole exercise. For S tapes, the most important distinction is to note the scene changes. Don’t get too caught up in precisely noting the timecode; it is only there to help you find material on the tape. For instance, ignore the timecode unit of frames. Also, you need to be only reasonably close with the seconds, but do get the minutes right. With a little practice, you can do this while the timecode is displayed, without ever stopping the tape after you press Play. There is nothing wrong with starting and stopping the tape to be more accurate in your logs, but it will slow down the process and establishes a degree of accuracy that is unnecessary. And so, after a little practice, your list might read as follows:

00:00-

11/24/08

Thanksgiving with family

12:30-

11/25/08

Jonah learns to ski

15:40-

12/01/08

Airport coming home

16:30-

12/12/08

Jonah makes a kite

Notice that I didn’t use any end times (I only use end times on the clips recorded onto master tapes), and I’ve kept my descriptions very general. A more accurate but laborious log describing the shots in more detail may or may not help make material easier to edit. For instance:

00:00-

11/24/08

Thanksgiving cooking

02:15-

Dog eats beets sequence

04:10-

Grandpa arrives

09:35-

Cutting the turkey

12:30-

11/25/08

Drive to Ski Mountain

14:10-

WS Summit, Jonah turns

15:40-

12/1/08

Airport, coming home

Peachpit Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from Peachpit and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about Peachpit products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites; develop new products and services; conduct educational research; and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email ask@peachpit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by Adobe Press. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.peachpit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020