Wave count
Also known as: waves caught, session count
How many waves a surfer actually caught in a session, which is the number that decides whether there is an edit on the card at all.
Updated
What it means
Wave count is the number of rides a surfer completed, not the time spent in the water. Eight waves is a good morning and yields perhaps ninety seconds of riding, while two waves is a session that happened without becoming a film.
It predicts the value of a card better than anything else does. Anybody filming Surfing learns that the count, rather than the hours spent out there, tells them whether the footage is worth going through.
The number is worth writing down at the time. Nobody remembers afterwards whether there were four rides or nine, and the count is the one piece of context that makes reviewing the material quick.
How it works in practice
The count sets the shape of the edit. A low count means a short piece built around one or two rides with context around them, where a high count supports a rhythm of repeated short cuts.
It works as a sanity check on automatic selection. A result of fifteen strong moments from a session of four rides has found something else, usually other surfers or one ride from two cameras, which is what Duplicate shot detection exists to catch.
Comparing the two numbers tunes a threshold quickly. A result far above the count means the Inclusion threshold is loose and a result far below it means the opposite, which is faster than inspecting individual clips.
What to watch out for
A high count is not the same as a good session. Nine small waves produce less watchable material than one good ride, so the number describes quantity and says nothing whatsoever about Keeper rate.
Rides belonging to other people inflate everything. A camera on a crowded break records every surfer in the lineup, and a count taken from the footage rather than from the water will be far too high.
The number does not transfer between disciplines. A longboard session and a Shortboard session at the same count contain different amounts of riding, so comparing counts across board types quietly misleads.
How RawClip handles it
The count is the quickest way to judge a result: a selection that returns many more moments than there were rides has found other surfers or duplicates, and one that returns far fewer is set too strictly. It is the number worth noting before anything gets uploaded.