106 Operation of The Camera
File naming scheme
ALEXA automatically names files as they are created on the SxS card. While
it is possible to change the file names later on a computer, it is not
recommended, as the ALEXA naming scheme has been developed to
minimize the risk of duplicate file names.
The file name consists of 6 parts:
Camera Index: One character, A-Z. User assignable, should match
the camera unit.
Reel Counter: 3 characters, 001-999. Auto-assigned to each card,
increased by one for each new card. The user can change the counter
to be given to the next card. This should only be done on special
occasions, like after changing the camera body in the middle of a
shoot.
Clip Index: One character, fixed to C. Main use is to separate the reel
counter from the clip counter. If more than 999 clips are recorded to
one card (not likely to happen), it changes to D.
Date: Current date, in order YYYYMMDD, as set in
Menu>System/Time/Date
Camera ID: Consists of a 1 letter prefix, user adustable between R
and L, and the camera serial number encoded in 3 letters Base36 (0-
9, A-Z).
The date is separated by underscores at the start and the end.
The reel counter shall be set to 001 at the start of a shoot. The camera will
then automatically increase the reel counter whenever a card is recorded for
the first time after formatting. If a previously recorded card is used again
(comparable to a short end of a film roll), this card will keep its reel count and
the camera will remember how far it has counted. If the reel counter has to
be changed by the user, it can be done via Menu>Project>Next reel count.
Note that this is only recommended for special occasions.
Example
A typical file name could look like this:
A004C010_20100610_R1JL.mov
What it tells the user is that this clip was the tenth clip recorded on the fourth
card used. It was recorded on the 10th of June 2010, and the camera had
the Base 36 serial number 1JL, which translates into the decimal serial
number 2001 (Plenty of Base 36 to decimal converters can be found on the
Internet, for example here: http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/units-
converter/numbers/calculator/decimal-to-base-36/
http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/units-
converter/numbers/calculator/decimal-to-base-36/).
Additional recommendations
To ensure correct card handling and reduce the risk of data loss, ARRI
recommends the following procedure for card and data handling:
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