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Shooting Red 4K in the middle of nowhere

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BMKU

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I am about to get my Red camera and have booked a documentary to be shot in India starting this summer.

I am putting together my equipment list and was wondering if anyone here has used the Red in harsh environments for long periods of time and can offer some useful advice. What special accessories saved you on the field or that you really wished you had? What did you do about power in an area without? (I know I know... get a generator. But we might be gone for a couple weeks and we will have a couple lights, computer, hard drives and batteries to charge. What is the most efficient way to do this? Any other secrets and knowledge you can pass on would be great.

Thank you.
 
#1. your gonna need power. Is there a vehicle that you can use an inverter with? (not my favorite, to much idling the engine) I have heard there are solar chargers but these may only work with low power items like cell phones I'd check into it though. Generator is best or if you only have power at night take lots of batteries (5 to 6 would be min.) and charge at night (two chargers) #2. protection for the camera. I like Pelican cases for dust and water. The red seems to do pretty well in hot environments but I wouldn't push it by letting it sit in the sun on a hot day, shade that camera or cover with silver emergency blanket material, cut holes near vents on the camera body to be sure to allow the fans to ventilate. just my 2 cents worth.
 
Pelican cases, lens protection, electronics and humidity, etc.

Pelican cases, lens protection, electronics and humidity, etc.

I haven't shot RED yet, but I have shot in swamps in South Louisiana during summer. Nature likes to eat film gear between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

First things first: do not power up your equipment until it has had a chance to acclimate to the change in environment (usually 24 hours from when you get off the airplane) - the humidity/temperature changes and condensation will likely fry something when you turn it on. Also, lenses - need extra special TLC in these environments. Rain covers, properly vented should be carried (a few actually).

You might want to look into keeping a favored zoom on the camera instead of using primes (most likely your approach anyway as you are shooting docs - but worth the warning anyway) - I can't imagine how pissed off you would be if some flying insect landed on your mysterium in the midst of a lens swap.

Bring canned air - or a compressor and a vessel that you can charge (like a small Scott Air pack) - compressed air is your best friend.

For battery charges, there are quite a few good solar panels out there with trickle chargers attached (check with military supply co's and/or B&H Photo) - Kevin Sites used them on his Hotzones tour to great effect charging his batteries (yes, I know, a camcorder pulls significantly less, but solar power DOES work) - also, look into getting a portable DIESEL generator - not a gasoline version if you must. Diesel is much more readily available in most places.

Get a lot of extra plug covers for all the little holes on the camera, and keep them covered. If you want to extend battery life, You should contact RED and find out which monitor (EVF, LCD, or 7" LCD) is most efficient, and only use that one most of the time.

Carry dessicant packs with you and pack the camera and lenses and batteries away in the Pelican case with dessicants when not in use. This will help extend the life of the thing in this climate.

Bring camera tape to cover the CF card port when not filled with a card.

Good luck!
~Drew
 
I don't have a Red One (yet), but i have lived in India for 3 1/2 years and visited most areas from the deserts through the jungle all the way to the Himalayas... Where exactly are You going? Some places have problems with sand and dust, other with rain & mosquitos, other with snow and wind and yet other with all together...

You will be surprised that even in "middle of nowhere" in India You will find some people and electricity. Remember that India is all 220~240V (not US 110V) at 50 Hz (PAL). Make sure You have plug & power adapters.

If You want I can put you in touch with some very useful assistants - well worth the "peanuts" You will have to pay them. Wherever You go - a local guide is a must in India. Don't expect people to speak English outside of metropolitan areas...

For any other questions e-mail me at peter@derylgroup.com

Take care and good luck!

PS: My favorite remark about India is that it is the country of "common non-sense", but never the less - stunningly beautiful...
 
Good comments so far.

I would add that you should have a backup for everything - cables, hard drives, laptops - anything critical should have a duplicate, i.e. if you can't shoot without it, bring two (or three).

Second thing is size & weight are *really* important for shoots like this. Try to minimize both on everything you buy. Every little bit counts.

Power will be your biggest challenge (and condensation depending on climate). Looking for sources of electricity and making sure everything is charged & clean will probably consume a good amount of your non-shooting hours.
 
Oh yes and: there is no substitute for local knowledge. Always find someone local you can trust. It will make your life, and your film, much better.
 
prometheanfilms said:
First things first: do not power up your equipment until it has had a chance to acclimate to the change in environment (usually 24 hours from when you get off the airplane) - the humidity/temperature changes and condensation will likely fry something when you turn it on. ..... also, look into getting a portable DIESEL generator - not a gasoline version if you must. Diesel is much more readily available in most places.....

Good luck!
~Drew
Click to expand...
Waiting 24 hours before switching on a camera is not necessary!
Their isnt a small light deisel generator except one made for the marines that cost US$23k. Their is plenty of two stroke fuel in India!
There is no shortage of electricity in India although there are brown outs.
India has a middle class population of +250 millon with TVs fridges and new cars and electricity even in remote places:)

I don't subscribe to taking as little as possible to India. Why? You may find that cost of a small bus or two 4x4s is within your budget so you can take all the kit you need to do a good job.


Mike Brennan
 
Whatever you do take a spare battery plate (preferably the battery belt clip) - the battery plate on the cradle is pretty flaky & if it fails in the middle of nowhere you'll be screwed. The most reliable method would be to take a back-up body but of course that's not always practical or viable.
 
In regards to accessing power in the middle of nowhere - I recently stole an idea from the sound department. I saw my mixer using one of these units to power his monster setup - and all its expensive electronics. He informed me these can be rented - (Location Sound in Burbank rents them for like $80) but more importantly they can be purchased for about $400, and then you rent them for $80/day.

Anyway... good for sustained 1500amps, and this thing worked all day long.
Certainly could handle chargers, AC adapter, monitor, laptop power etc. Best thing is it makes no noise and burns no fossil fuel.

check it out

http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/63/p/1/pt/24/product.asp
 
and if you are going to use local electricity, some kind of a power surge device is a must. A UPS might be too heavy to take with you but a 4 in line electricity extension with power surge protection.. that you will definitely need. On a filming trip to Ethiopia, the local electricity fried my mp3 player plugged straight into the mains... but the battery charger survived because it was protected.

Bruno
www.legworkproductions.com
 
I am finding recently that for distant location jobs it makes more sense to have the equipment shipped to a local production office, and avoid trying to run the gauntlet with TSA and unknown international restrictions. Its not that much more really, especially now with all the extra charges for extra cases and overweight bags. Its certainly is a workaround for some of those restrictions.
 
Yeah - one very important thing - make sure You have ATA Carnet (http://www.atacarnet.com/), or all Your gear can get stuck in Indian customs. We had a problem with a motion control rig that came from Malaysia. It got stuck in New Delhi and it took us one week (for which the production had to pay!) and lots of bribing to get it out. I have almost killed the PA who organized the rig, as he was in charge to get all the paperwork done. He "forgot" the ATA Carnet...

I have heard of things getting lost forever once stuck in the customs. If You do end up having any problems - never let the gear out of Your sight and demand to see the customs/airport supervisor...
 
oh I remember the dreaded Carnet.. One good thing about the European Union is that we do not need the Carnet (or anything) to move around most of Europe now. It has become hustle free, except for airplanes and airports security...

Bruno
 
The Issue with this camera is power,power,power! On the last few commercials I've had the LCD,EVF, Red Drive all going which gives me to about 40-45 minutes worth of battery. I've used the camera on location recently and brought along 12 full batteries, recorded to cards, and disconnected the EVF when ever possible to save power. I got 14 hours before I had to recharge again.

my recommend package is

-a powerstrip w/fuse
-Macbook Pro with 3 batteries (2hours each)
-250GB Seagate Freeagent mini USB2 drive (bus-powered)
-Drycell Marine batteries w/ inverter for back-up power
-sweatless packs to keep the camera cool for better efficiency
-1000w genie which is great for downloading data to save computer batteries


This camera is not intended to be away from a electrical infrastructure for more then 3 days unless you want to carry your body weight in batteries. Not ideal for Solo Operator jobs but workable.

Pick your shots well before ever turning the camera on.....like film!

Goodluck,
 
BMKU said:
Thanks for all the feedback. Lot's of great suggestions. Clearly the number one issue is a electricity extension with power surge protection. Where can you get this?
Click to expand...

Something like this will take care of both brownouts (low power) and both surge & spikes (high power) problems:

http://apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=67

Make sure thou You get 230V model for India. 120V surge protectors available in USA will NOT WORK IN INDIA!!! The easiest thing would be to buy one when You arrive (while You are in a large city), or even better - if You do have a assistant already there (local indian) - get him to chase one for You before You arrive.

Make sure You get as well a voltage converter (from 230V local in India to 120V native for USA equipment), such as:

http://www.voltageconverters.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=TK1650

or little more serious:

http://www.voltageconverters.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=VC500W
or
http://www.voltageconverters.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=SVC1000

You need to consider the weight You want to carry. Connect the regulator first, then the voltage converter and then plug in a power strip with additional surge/spike protection such as:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-0440019-4250521?ASIN=B0007NXSHM&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B0007NXSHM|Power_Sentry_12Outlet_3200Joule_Workstation_Surge_Protector&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B0007NXSHM&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

or

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-Froogle-_-Surge+Suppressors-_-APC-_-17106226

This will take good care of Your gear...




Alternatively just get a good quality car power inverter and pay instead for the fuel for Your car. This will replace ALL the above gear with the exception of the surge/spike protected power-strips (so You can connect more of your gear):

http://www.voltageconverters.com/customkititems.asp?kc=PW2300-2AWG

(They have a smaller models if the size is an issue...)

Highly recommended - I have few and use them always everywhere I go. The advantage is You can charge Your gear whenever is Your car - even in the middle of a jungle. Just make sure You carry enough fuel and have a spare (CHARGED!!!) car battery in case You flatten out the main one. You should do this regardless of the power issue! Also buy some extra fuses for the inverter...
 
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