Proxies in Shade minutes after cut, not at wrap.
Shadebox is a small battery-powered box on set. It takes proxy clips from every FX6 over the network as they're recorded and uploads them to Shade. Editors, producers and clients can watch takes while the crew is still on set.
Smaller than a 5" on-camera monitor
A 4.3" touchscreen in a 3D-printed shell, with a V-lock plate on the back and mounting threads top and bottom, so it lives on a stand or arm in village like any small monitor. Drag to turn it around, or open it up.
Open the full 3D viewer with dimension drawing ↗ · Concept render; sizes come from the off-the-shelf parts and will firm up after the first test print.
Why
Proxies wait for card swaps
Today proxies leave set when cards get offloaded, at lunch or at wrap. Post can't start, and clients can't see anything until then.
Offload takes time
Pulling cards, copying and uploading takes someone's time on every shoot day, and it's easy to miss a card or a camera.
Nobody can see what's missing
There's no single place on set showing which takes from which camera have landed in the cloud and which haven't.
Camera → box → Shade, automatically
The FX6 already has built-in FTP transfer for its proxies. Shadebox is the FTP server it sends to, plus an uploader that sends each clip on to your Shade drive.
Roll
The camera records to its own cards as usual. When a take ends, the FX6 sends its proxy to the box.
Land & queue
The box only queues a clip once it has fully arrived, records a checksum, and files it by camera and shoot day. Flagged takes jump the queue.
Upload & verify
The box uploads each clip to Shade and checks that what arrived matches. If the internet drops, clips wait safely and upload when it's back.
The box is never in the live video path: the village monitor feed is untouched, and the box only ever sees finished proxy files.
This is the on-set screen. Try it.
The box has a 4.3" touchscreen. Below is its actual interface running in your browser, with three simulated cameras rolling takes. Tap around the screen, or follow the tour.
Make something happen
Six screens, built for gloves and glances
Big touch targets, a dark screen that won't light up the set, and status you can read from across the cart.
Home
- A card per camera with a big status colour
- Received, queued and in-Shade counts
- Last take and live upload progress
- Pause and hold-until-wrap within reach
Clips
- Filter by camera, status or flagged
- Play on screen or on the village monitor
- Flag, rate and add notes
- Re-upload, or free up local space
Network
- The FTP address to set on the camera
- Choose cable, box Wi-Fi, camera Wi-Fi or set router
- Uplink status: set Wi-Fi, phone or cell
Shade
- Project, shoot day and folder template
- Bandwidth limit and hold until wrap
- Upload XML sidecars, or skip them
- QR code that opens the folder
Settings
- Unit A, B or C, which sets its network address
- Camera names
- Brightness and sleep
- Storage use
System
- One-tap FTP and internet self-tests
- Event log for every clip
- Updates, reboot and safe shutdown
Built not to lose a clip
- Only complete files count. The box queues a clip once the camera has finished sending it, never a partial.
- Checked on arrival. Every clip is checksummed when it lands, and its size is verified on Shade after upload.
- Outages are expected. Clips wait on the box and upload automatically when the internet returns, without counting as failures.
- Power cuts are safe. An upload interrupted by a dead battery restarts on the next boot.
- Low battery shuts down cleanly before the box browns out.
- Nothing is ever deleted in Shade. "Delete local" only frees space on the box, and asks first if a clip isn't uploaded yet.
Five ways to connect. One address on the camera.
On most jobs one box on the set router serves all three cameras: each FX6 logs in as A, B or C. Every box has a fixed address, so a camera keeps the same FTP target in every mode. Extra boxes cover wired cameras or units working far from village.
| Mode | Camera ↔ box | Internet | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wired, USB-C adapter | FX6 → USB-C Ethernet adapter → box | Box Wi-Fi to set router, phone or cell | Most reliable; handheld or rigged |
| Wired, USB-C direct | FX6 USB-C straight into the box | Same | Fewest parts (in research) |
| Wi-Fi: camera joins box | The box makes its own network | Second radio, phone or cell | Anywhere, no set router |
| Wi-Fi: box joins camera | The camera makes the network | Second radio | Fallback |
| Wi-Fi: shared set router | Camera and box both on the router | The router | Studio days, three cameras |
| Unit | Set FX6 FTP server to | Camera address | Box Wi-Fi name |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 192.168.66.11 | 192.168.66.21 | SHADEBOX-A |
| B | 192.168.66.12 | 192.168.66.22 | SHADEBOX-B |
| C | 192.168.66.13 | 192.168.66.23 | SHADEBOX-C |
With a single box, all three cameras point at box A (192.168.66.11) and log in as A, B and C. Cameras keep their own addresses: .21, .22, .23.
One 5G router. Everything connected.
A small travel router with its own 5G modem goes in the case with the box. It brings its own internet, runs the camera Wi-Fi and keeps every device on the right address, so a location needs nothing from the venue.
Power up
Router and box run off the same V-mount. The router takes a short D-tap cable, or rides on the box's top ¼"-20 thread.
Cameras join themselves
Each FX6 keeps the set Wi-Fi and its fixed address saved. Switch on, and it's connected. Nothing to type on set.
Check one screen
The box shows A, B and C linked, the 5G signal and which internet it's on. Uploads start on the first take.
Built-in 5G modem
The router carries its own SIM, so there's internet anywhere with cell coverage: rooftops, trucks, parks. GL.iNet-class OpenWrt routers come with 5G built in.
Never lose the internet
It uses venue internet when there is some, and 5G when there isn't, switching on its own when a link drops. A phone hotspot is the last fallback.
Uploads get priority
Proxy uploads keep moving when crew phones share the connection, and a cap protects the venue's internet and the data plan.
Ready out of the case
Pre-configured once: the 192.168.66.x addresses, a camera-only 5 GHz network kept apart from crew devices, and a crew network if wanted.
Router status on the box
The box reads the router: which cameras are connected and how strong, 5G signal, which internet is in use, and data used today.
Remote help, local viewing
An optional secure link back to the office for support, and a short address so village iPads can find the box and play proxies with no internet.
In the case
- Shadebox, with stand or arm mount
- 5G set router, pre-configured, with SIM
- V-mount battery and a short D-tap cable
- USB-C Ethernet adapter, for a wired camera if needed
About data
Proxies are small next to camera originals: roughly 4 GB per camera per hour of recording. A busy three-camera day can still run to tens of GB, so plan on an unlimited or high-cap data SIM. The box shows data used per day.
Off-the-shelf first, pocket-sized later
Version 1 (proposed)
- Raspberry Pi 4, chosen for its hardware H.264 playback
- 4.3" touchscreen and HDMI out for the village monitor
- 512 GB high-endurance card: days of proxies for three cameras
- Runs off V-mount, with clean low-battery shutdown
- Fully enclosed. One box covers A, B and C over Wi-Fi, with extra boxes for wired cameras
Later: tiny version
- Custom board around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module
- Small status display plus buttons, with full control from a phone or iPad
- The USB-C Ethernet adapter built in, so it's one cable to the camera
- Roughly a third of the size
Where it stands
What we'd like your input on
What would you change?
Maddy, Poncho, Chris, Alex: leave a note about anything you like, don't like, would adjust or wish it could do. Notes are shared, so +1 the ones you agree with.