how come i cant find any metadata in premiere that shows me what camera model this footage came from

Report · Oct 03, 2022

how come i cant find any metadata in premiere that shows me what camera model this footage came from?

See attached screenshots. I've skimmed the metadata window, i've skimmed the "info" window. i've even taken it into adobe bridge and i'm not seeing it.... in the past, with other files, somes there will be an XML file that has a bunch of code that you can sift through to see the camera model but this footage dump didnt come with that.

File name: A002C001_220919_R4P6.mov Producer says camera is: mini Arri

Report · Oct 03, 2022

Did you import it any differently? There are multiple ways to import footage in Premiere. for example, when I had a problem with importing scanned clips, I was told to use the media browser... Didn't make any difference..

might be a camera setting...

Report · Oct 03, 2022

i drag in the clips and i dont use media browser. i suspect its a camera setting

Report · Oct 03, 2022

Many cameras record camera data in their still image headers, but for some odd reason don't in their video file headers. I've got one like that.

In Bridge, the stills always show the camera and even the lens data.

The video files created by that camera do not carry the camera and lens info in their headers. And yes, I've checked with file header 'reader' apps. It just isn't there.

That could be the issue here.

Neil

Report · Oct 03, 2022

man.... so even though the shooter didnt enable it, the metadata isnt smart enough to know what kind of camera the footage came from?

Report · Oct 03, 2022

If the camera does not put the information in the file, how is any "downstream" application supposed to be able to guess it?

On my camera, that isn't an option, as it doesn't have options for what meta it records to files. It just does what the manufacturer set it to do.

Neil

Report · Oct 03, 2022

As Neil suggested, if there are thumbnails (I'm guessing still image headers are the same thing) on the drive that has the video media on it, you may find the meta data on the thumbnail and can extract that information maybe using Adobe Bridge... Worth a shot.

Every camera is different and the manufacturers don't always make it simple to customize the settings. Some sony cameras by default with 8 channels of audio which can be a nightmare if you don't understand how to "interpret" the audio when importing into Premiere... Always a good idea to have a conversation with the DP or the DIT about file formats, etc. before the shoot if possible (and I know it's not always possible, but I can dream can't I?).

Report · Oct 03, 2022

And wait a second, if you drag the folders containing the video media and the thumbnails into premiere, the thumbnails are often imported and may allow you to access the metadata within Premiere... I seem to remember seeing camera files in which the video and thumbnails are stored in the same folder...

Report · Oct 03, 2022

if i attached this screenshot here, is this the thumbnail that would have the metadata name in the corner???

Report · Oct 03, 2022

maybe this is the place you were talking about. looks like lens and camera are empty

Report · Oct 03, 2022

Look at your camera original. Select a clip in the bin in premiere, and control click and choose reveal in finder (on the mac) and reveal in explorer (on windows I think)... See if there are jpgs in the same folder... If so, they are probably the "still image headers" that Neil is talking about. When I have a few moments, I'll see if I can find some camera original folders and see what's what.

Report · Oct 03, 2022

no. no still images in the folder i was given. the folder has MOVs in it, and a .ale file (for avid) and a .bin folder for avid. weird they give me that since i'm using premiere so im guessing the camera generated that. but those are the only files in these folders. i see lots of footage from lots of cameras these days and its rare when i see still images on the external hard drive where the footage is.

Report · Oct 03, 2022

What camera was it shot with? With that info, we might be able to determine if the camera actually records any metadata...and if so, where it's stored. Sometimes people just pull the video files out of the folders and just send them to you and ignore all the other material... so the only thing I can suggest is to reach out to the dp...

Report · Oct 03, 2022

The stills I was talking about are when you shoot still images and not video. As, for many cameras, you can do either.

For some cameras, in Stills mode, they record extensive information on camera make, lens make, lens mm used if zoom, f-stop, and so on. Which they do not record when in video shooting mode.

I work with a lot of colorists routinely, who naturally want to know exactly what camera shot X media. And are frequently frustrated with 1) no meta in the flippin' files and 2) the DP didn't record anywhere which models of which cameras were the A, B & so on cams.

"Well, most of the A shots are a Venice, but I think we used the Arri LF for a couple; oh, one pickup scene all we had was ... I think an As7 ... not sure ... and b-cams, well ... the assistant had access to several on-set, I don't recall which ones were used"

And that ain't helpful. So I sympathize thoroughly with anyone frustrated by this. In my own projects, well, I can track by media type right? But when using media from others, I run into this also.

Neil

Report · Oct 03, 2022

I always assumed that when I saw jpgs in the same folder as the video clips that they were thumbnails. guess not.

In the midst of cutting something that was partially shot on the sony fx3. I did get all the files and there are xml files in the same folder as the mxf files... So it's possible that rachinc1 did not get everything that the camera generated...