What is the most effective settings to use on indie feature with Scarlet?

[Leo. C. Rogers]

So I am the owner of Scarlet #704 which I recently bought from Albert Frates. Whilst I do understand most of the theory of photography I am not a DP and although we do have an Epic on crew I also understand the limitations of scarlet and am therefore just throwing this out there.

We are shooting with this scarlet and with the epic for certain scenes.

Should I be using 2k, 3k, HDRx and how many stops etc...

For general purpose we are using a set of old nikon primes and we also have a newer Canon L glass wide zoom that does work with the mount. We also rent some high speed Zeiss primes from time to time. There is lots of outdoor natural lighting and we have a pair of arri tungsten 1k lamps, warm lighting setup and occasionally a full Grip Trailer.

The overall look of the film is summer heat in Texas. Think Rampart ( I know that was shot on Alexa but the look is what I'm talking about), Bellflower also has a similar 'vintage heat' look. So basically we arent going for the super crisp look most of the time.

Oh and we edit in Avid6.

I know it's probably covered on here elsewhere but I don't see any harm in asking.

Thanks,

Leo.

[Paul S.]

Well it sounds as if what you're really looking for is just the very basic settings to use for matching your epic and scarlet footage:

4K 2:1 24fps, no HDRx.
Compression: REDcode 8:1 will probably do, 7:1 if you have the bandwidth to deal with the data.

Since you will be shooting RAW, other settings are more or less for convenience in framing and lighting your shots... As long as you don't over expose, you can pretty much get your precise look in post. Before starting PP talk to whoever is doing your grading, and they can probably guide you in that respect.

[Graham Spencer-Scott]

If you are going to use filters in natural sunlight then make sure they are the same brand and type for both the Scarlet and the Epic. Can also be matched in post if you want to go that way.

[Mark Kern]

I would highly recommend getting some ND filters for this shoot if you want any kind of DOF. Oh, and shoot as ISO 800 for the highlight protection as a basic setting.

[Leo. C. Rogers]

Thanks for the feedback. @Paul : are you saying I can roll 24 GPS at 4k? I seem to be limited.

[Leo. C. Rogers]

When I select 4K it drops my frame rate down to 12 or 15 GPS. At 5k it limits at six GPS. Am I missing something?

[Jaakko Rinne]

When I select 4K it drops my frame rate down to 12 or 15 GPS. At 5k it limits at six GPS. Am I missing something?

You've got HDRx on.

[David Ariel]

You've got HDRx on.

Exactly.

The limitations on the Scarlet are associated with its processing power(ASIC), thus you can't have the Scarlet record 4K 2:1 @ 24 fps with HDRx on at the current Redcode compression ratio. There were talks about having the Recode algorithm worked on to allow 4K 24 fps w/ HDRx and/or at a higher Redcode compression level. The Scarlet is the same sensor as the Epic, so intercutting with both cameras should be fairly straight forward as long as the variables are consistent; same filtration, ISO, lenses, etc.

[emil tanem]

We jus did a proper 3d shoot with 1 scarlet and 1 epic. That goes to say just how (exactly) alike they are.

[Drew Baird]

I would suggest hiring someone that knows their way around the camera already. Someone with a background in cinema and composition. Someone that knows things like lighting, and compression etc... Just sayin. I'll be around.