RushPlay XD Overview
RushPlay XD Overview
RushPlay XD Overview
Rushplay XD is a better way of creating HD dailies for the executive in their office and for the Directors and Producers on set of their production. The tool solves some of the challenges in post production which have plagued other dailies deliverables in the past. Here’s a brief list of benefits-features RushPlay XD offers for post production:
•It requires only a simple dub created by a non-specialized tape operator.
•As it requires only a one-step dub, which can be ganged with other dubs taking place at the same time, it does not require specialized machine control.
•The dub is created on a ruggedized VTR supported by a major manufacture, i.e., Sony
•The time to process the RushPlay XD dub adds virtually no additional labor time to create the dub. It is comparable to he amount of labor it takes to make any tape to tape dub.
And to the production:
•HD 1080p is fully supported
•Playback is accomplished with a dedicated player--just plug it in put the disc in and hit play.
•As with a DVD, there are “next” and “previous” buttons for instant jumping to a given scene and take.
•As with a VTR, there is a jog shuttle.
•The player is a ruggedized, very cost-effective unit which is very portable and lightweight.
•The system is supported by a major manufacturer, i.e., Sony
The process leverages hardware created by Sony electronics called the XDCAM HD. This XDCAM HD is a VTR which records video and audio to a rewritable professional Blu-ray disc called the Sony Prodisc.
RushPlay XD is the software used by post production to author Prodiscs which are usable as “dailies” by productions. The software communicates with the Sony XDCAM HD, and writes the appropriate metadata to the Sony XDCAM Prodisc. After the disc is written, it is then delivered to the client for playback on any other Sony XDCAM HD product.
The Workflow – RushPlay XD
The Theatrical Film Process:
1.Film is shot and delivered to the lab and developed.
2.Film is scanned and telecined to an HD master tape.
3.Simultaneously, and as part of the dub process for all required deliverables, a Sony XDCAM HD prodisc is recorded
4.Once the disc is recorded, RushPlay XD is used to author the disc with the appropriate chapter points which correspond to the metadata associated with the shot sheets for the production.
5.The authored disc is then delivered to the screening room, editorial, executive offices, or onsite production screening room for random-access playback.

In the case of a production which is shot in HD, instead of film, the process is simplified to the following process:
1.As part of the dub process for all required deliverables, a Sony XDCAM HD prodisc is recorded.
2.Once the disc is recorded, RushPlay XD is used to author the disc with the appropriate chapter points which correspond to the metadata associated with the shot sheets for the production.
3.The authored disc is then delivered to the screening room, editorial, executive offices, or onsite production screening room for random-access playback.
RushPlay XD is fully automated, and requires no interaction by personnel other than to start the process. A critical component to the tool is that the “authoring” process literally takes less than a few seconds to process a Sony XDCAM HD Prodisc. In short, RuishPlay XD takes advantage of the new video file formats, ie, MXF, and a through understanding of XML data structures; it streamlines the processing of metadata from one part of the post production process, e.g., telecine, to another part.
Here is a real world example of delivering dailies using the new workflow, new recorders from Sony, as well as of course the RushPlay XD tool itself:
1.40 minutes of film arrives from production at 3am.
2.The film is telecined and audio is sync’d to produce a HD tape.
3.At 7am, the HD tape is ready to be dubbed to one of a numerous formats including Sony XDCAM HD.
4.At 7:40am the Sony XDCAM HD Prodisc is processed via RushPlay XD.
5.Literally one minute later, at 7:41am, the Sony XDCAM HD Prodisc is ready for the client.
6.At 8am, as the client arrives at the screening room, they can screen the HD dailies, jump to any scene and take instantly, and fast forward, or scrub through any portion of the content. The client may even review shots, via a shot sheet, which was printed, scene by scene, as a result of the RushPlay XD processing.
Without RushPlay XD, the resulting dub would be a single, linear dubbed recording of 40 minutes of content without the ability to quickly jump to any given scene or take. Furthermore, there would not be any other metadata, such as scene or take name associated with any of the video. In short, the dub would have the same usability of an old VHS tape.
