Three Angles From Just One 4K Shot – Odyssey 7Q Titan Video Tutorial

by Jonathan WarnerJune 19^th, 2017

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Convergent Design recently released the Titan update for their Odyssey 7Q and Apollo lines that allows you to extract different HD angles from a single 4K live source. In this guest post, UK-based filmmaker Jonathan Warner runs us through the benefits of using this workflow.

In all spheres of business, the competitive landscape generates significant pressure for companies to remain profitable, or even stay afloat. Perhaps for this reason, some corporate clients have acquired a tendency to further tighten the purse strings. However, as content creators it’s important that we provide exceptional value for money so our clients remain happy and are more likely to keep commissioning work from us! That’s why I’m always looking at ways to streamline the workflow, or wring out as much productivity from the equipment I use as I can.

For example, one of my clients requires me to record business presentations that involve demonstrations of thousands of products over the course of a few days. The presentations need shooting for live projection around the conference room and, in addition, the recordings need to be uploaded to the client’s corporate intranet quickly after each presentation. In all cases, on-screen text needs to be generated on the fly for each product. Each product presented needs to be shot with a combination of wide and close-ups, which would ordinarily require multiple camera setups with two or more operators, increasing the cost. But there is another option.

The Titan feature for the Convergent Design Odyssey 7Q+ – 3 angles from a single 4K source

I recently purchased the Titan feature for my Odyssey 7Q+ which allows me to switch to multiple HD outputs from a 4K source. This means being able to go from a full wide-shot to cropped windows, effectively mimicking the effect of having a multi-camera setup. As the single camera stays in the same position, the perspective remains the same, but the ability to switch between wide and close-up very quickly as a single operator is certainly a boon.

The Titan feature gives you two cropped HD windows that you can move anywhere within the 4K frame with your finger on the touch screen. You can even change their position before cutting to one of them, allowing you to frame up your shot in advance. You can also move the window of the shot that’s currently selected, simulating a pan move.

In order to add on-screen text and graphics, I also use a Roland V-1HD vision mixer, which allows me to take the output of the Odyssey and mix it with graphics outputted from a laptop. Sometimes I use the output from Adobe Premiere, or if it’s just text I’ll use PowerPoint. In both instances, a black luma key on the Roland removes all the black parts of the image, leaving just the graphics that I want.

And that’s just one example of how to use the Titan feature of the Convergent Design Odyssey 7Q+. Since having this gear, I’ve been asked by a number of other clients to do similar work. The idea is to try and become as indispensable and useful as possible, providing that added value that customers demand.

For more information, visit the Titan info page HERE.

Does the new Titan feature sound like something that would benefit your workflow? Let us know in the comments below!