Neck deep in mind-bending calculations to determine data card / hard drive space for your digital shoot?     Fear not, Comrade… 

I like a challenge as much as the next guy, (more so when it’s creative by nature), but I draw the line when it comes to The Math. Calculating hard drive and data storage space on a shoot is not my idea of a good time. Complex. Difficult. I don’t want to do the voodoo I’d have to in determining the space we’ll need. Necessary, but Oh, What A Drag.

The killer is the amount of variables inherent with crunching numbers for a digital shoot. Once compression settings, resolution, frame rates, camera specs, data vs time/ time vs data calc’s have been factored into the equations(s)… it’s neck-snapping hilarity, it is. This is where a little app that does big things comes to the rescue-

KataData for iPhone is the lighthouse on a dark, stormy nite. It’s so cool, Vincent LaForet dropped a very handy post lauding the app.  Read on!

(By way of  Vincent LaForet)
Here is an incredibly graceful app that allows you to take the mystery out of all of these calculations (and avoid the inevitable headaches that come with.) KataData – for iPhone (and will work on most if not all iDevices I’m sure) is a great app to pull out when you’re out on location and need to shoot a one hour shot of the sun setting – and need to know if you can fit in on the cards within the camera (and perhaps what compression setting to choose to make it fit.)

It’s also great to pull out when a producer asks you what size drives they should purchase for your shoots – if you know the anticipated amount of footage you’ll shoot and specs – you can give an intelligent answer – for almost every single cinema camera out there today. This is particularly useful if you’re deciding on what settings, let alone what cameras – you’ll go with for a particular shoot given the realities of time and budget (not to mention when you shoot with multiple, different cameras.)

It will also give you the runtime of your footage given the amount of data you’ve shot – great for when you’re shooting off-speed. This app works with RED, Phantom, Alexa, HDSLRs – you name it. You can find more information here, and purchase it from iTunes here. You can also watch the video below for more information.

If you’ve not yet been ’round to Vincent LaForet’s blog — Go There. He’s brilliant. Great stuff, heaps of wonderful stuff to be found.

Got some other handy filmmaking app’s to share?    Drop something in the box below-

-M