NEW SHOW REEL @ www.podalidafilm.com

[Carl Dieker]

Mostly shot with Nikon lenses, September 2008 - April 2009.

Main page: www.podalidafilm.com


Show reel, 1920 x 1080 / 1280 x 720, h.264, QT, download:

http://web.me.com/calle_dieker/PODALIDA_FILM/SHOW_REEL_HD.html


Show reel, 1024 x 576, h.264, QT, streaming:

http://web.me.com/calle_dieker/PODALIDA_FILM/SHOW_REEL_LARGE.html


Show reel, 512 x 288, h.264, QT, streaming:

http://web.me.com/calle_dieker/PODALIDA_FILM/SHOW_REEL.html


/Calle

 

[Michael Schrengohst]

Some really nice work! Very sharp. How did you edit?

 

[I Bloom]

Carl,

Your work has a quiet, personal and deeply human quality that goes beyond any sort of technical or even purely aesthetic qualification. It is difficult to achieve that. It's really beautiful and captivating. Congrats.

What lenses are being used?

IBloom

 

[Carl Dieker]

workflow and lenses used

workflow and lenses used

Some really nice work! Very sharp. How did you edit?

Thanks. I am glad that you asked me about the workflow. Since everybody else on reduser seems to have his or her own little recipe on an ultimate workflow, I have been thinking about posting mine. There are really a lot of good alternatives for editing red files. (Maybe even too many?) Crimson - REDAlert / RedCine - FCP have worked well for me. Right now I am using a time effective path that in my opinion creates sharp and great looking offlines that also can be used as onlines. It involves RED Proxies - REDAlert - FCP - Compressor. It is not entirely new, other users like Big T have written a lot about working with proxies.

1. Prel. Grading:
a) I have REDAlert and FCP open at the same time.
b) In FCP I import the R3D proxies and create one sequence for the M-proxies and one for the H-proxies. The first one gives me half real time playback and is good enough for judging the noise level and how it acts in motion. The second one gives me hardly no playback at all on my new anti-glare MBP 17" (as expected) and is for judging the image quality of the whole frame.
c) I drop the Sharpen filter set at 7,0 on all the clips – it really helps showing what quality lies under the natively somewhat soft surface. I make sure that the sequence setting says Pro Res HQ (IMO, when it comes to filters the Pro Res Standard setting is not enough for utilizing the potential of the R3D-files). Though in the end it is not FCP but Compressor that really does the job. Look below at point 2.
d) I activate the Digital Cinema Desktop Preview.
e) I load the first R3D-clip in to REDAlert and start color correcting. Since the Curves doesn't do anything when you make new QT proxies I generally only adjust white balance and exposure, add saturation and contrast. (If you plan on using RENDER/export directly from RA/RR, DRX, which doesn’t work on proxies, does a fairly good job of recovering modest clipping of the highlights. If I would be doing more advanced secondaries in Color, I would work directly with REDCODE/L&T and choose color space REC709. When RED gives us the ability to shoot in one color space/gamma and the option to change this metadata in RA so that it effects the proxies, for my personal use, I would see little need for L&T to QT wrapped REDCODE. In the meanwhile, for more advanced secondary color correction with proxies there is always the option to shoot in REDspace and then make the clip look more flat and display less contrast in REDAlert. The sad thing about shooting in REC709 and then work with proxies is that, no matter what you do, you can’t change the color space to Camera RGB or REDspace. The proxies will always be shown in REC709 color space and REC709 gamma, which – if one chooses to work directly with proxies – IMO makes the image unworkable since it suffers from way too much magenta.)
f) In REDAlert, hit Make New QT Proxies. Since the grade in REDalert looks lighter than the clip will appear in FCP I toggle between REDAlert and FCP. For each new adjustment I get to see the result instantly in FCP. As covered before, if you are working with FCP calibrate your monitors at gamma 1.8 (FCP displays the video at gamma 2.2).

2. Transcoding:
a) After the prel. grading I am done working with proxies in FCP and want transcoded Pro Res HQ-files.
b) My general rule is to newer downscale R3D files/QT proxies unless it is from 2K (the H-proxies) to 1080HD or 720HD. If I for some reason want SD I use the already debayered M-proxies. If I want a small web movie I use the P-proxies. This rule has kept me out from having to deal with aliasing and what ever.
c) For my usual offlines I import the M-proxies in Compressor, add the Sharpen Edge filter set at 10,0 and transcode to Pro Res HQ. (No matter what resolution I want to work with I add the Sharpen Edge-filter set at 10,0. And always Pro Res HQ.) There are of course different sharpening filters in both RedCine and REDAlert/REDrushes. The Sharpen Edge filter in Compressor is easy adjustable on a scale from 0-100, where as the different sharpening filters in the RED programs go by various, for me, exotic names.
d) Back to FCP and import the Pro Res-files.
e) If I want a 2K version of my edit I either use Crimson or open a copy of the FCP project, where I reconnect the clips to H-proxies. In the latter I apply the Sharpen filter (7,0) in FCP on the H-proxies.
f) It would be great if Crimson and Compressor could work together in the future!!!

Carl,

Your work has a quiet, personal and deeply human quality that goes beyond any sort of technical or even purely aesthetic qualification. It is difficult to achieve that. It's really beautiful and captivating. Congrats.

What lenses are being used?

IBloom

Thanks for those kind words. I like both your program and the clever art work of the RED conforming ARMY on your website.

The second last clip from the end was shot on the RED 18-50mm Zoom. As for the rest:

Nikon 28mm f/2.8 D-AF
Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 D-AF
Nikon 85mm f/2.0 AI-s
Tamron AF 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5
Nikon PC-E 45/2.8D ED

My favorite of these six is without a doubt the old Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AI-s. It is really sharp and an even preformer when it comes to tough lighting conditions. The Tamron wide zoom is much sharper than I expected it to be. The clips of Palmyra in Syria were shot on the latter.

A side note, I ordered my Birger mount last fall but have been delaying delivery until the Imperos from View Factor will start shipping in numbers. I am curious to see what kind of images the Canon L-primes 24mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.2 will produce on RED. And how they’ll differ from my old Nikon 50 f/1.2.

 

[jimhare]

Hi Carl,

Beautiful work! Really stunning.

Very interested in your work flow as well, can I follow up on a couple of things you said?

1. Regarding transcoding, do you mean you are using Compressor generated ProResHQ files made from Proxies? In other words, you find it better/faster than using RA/RC/RR? Or is this just for offline and then you go back to R3Ds?

2. If you do secondaries in Color, do you pick up the R3Ds or grade the ProRes?

Thanks, and again, really nice stuff!

Jim

 

[Carl Dieker]

Hi Carl,

Beautiful work! Really stunning.

Very interested in your work flow as well, can I follow up on a couple of things you said?

1. Regarding transcoding, do you mean you are using Compressor generated ProResHQ files made from Proxies? In other words, you find it better/faster than using RA/RC/RR? Or is this just for offline and then you go back to R3Ds?

2. If you do secondaries in Color, do you pick up the R3Ds or grade the ProRes?

Thanks, and again, really nice stuff!

Jim

I am pleased that you liked it.

1. Yes, I am ”using Compressor generated ProResHQ files made from Proxies”. But without the Sharpen Edge filter (10,0) in Compressor the ProResHQ files look a little dull, at least at SD (from M-Proxies). Transcoding M-Proxies in Compressor takes no time at all. Even transcoding shorter clips at 2K (H-Proxies) in Compressor suits my current hardware very well. If I would do an online in 2K for a project that involved a lot of long takes (= long transcoding times) I would probably go the FCP-Crimson-RC/RA/RR-FCP-way or reconnect the M-Proxies to H-Proxies plus the FCP Sharpen filter set at 7,0-10,0. If Crimson and Compressor would start talking together then I would definitely go this route for the 2K online.

2. If I would have enough time I would grade from the R3Ds, but as far as I can tell the ProResHQs perform well. If the final delivery would be SD then I would absolutely go the latter way – ProResHQs transcoded from M-Proxies in Compressor. (There is a problem if you want to grade proxies with REC709 gamma. For two reasons, the first being that if you want REC709 gamma for your prxies then you have to shoot with VIEW RED709. Second, if you shoot with VIEW REC709 then you are stuck with REC709 color space for proxies in post. Not good IMO. See post 4, point 1 e) above.)


/Calle

 

[jimhare]

Thanks Carl, I'll have to give this workflow a try. I generally do a 1-light in Red Alert and then make Pro Res from Red Rushes.

This is of 10 hours of footage at a time so it takes several days to get the Pro Res.

7 cameras of 90 minutes each (live concert footage.)

I wonder if this process would be faster?

I'll check it out.

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Jacob_Ross]

wow. nice work! I love the fact that it wasn't just a collection of glossy shots set to some fast then slow paced music. Those reels tend to feel sterile to me, like something off a factory line. I love how your reel captures the subtle in between moments. As Philip said, it has a very human quality. Good stuff. It felt warm and alive.... I dunno.... I guess that would be the best word? I'm not very good at coherently articulating this kinda stuff, haha.

never the less, awesome work. Great compositions. Nice grading.

 

[Carl Dieker]

Thanks Carl, I'll have to give this workflow a try. I generally do a 1-light in Red Alert and then make Pro Res from Red Rushes.

This is of 10 hours of footage at a time so it takes several days to get the Pro Res.

7 cameras of 90 minutes each (live concert footage.)

I wonder if this process would be faster?

I'll check it out.

Thanks!

Jim

Hey Jim,

How did it go? Personally, I am guessing that you will save a lot of time for your offlines if you convert your 10 h of 4K R3Ds in Compressor to ProResHQ SD (16:9 = 1024x576). Just use the M-proxies and apply the Sharpen Edge filter set at 10,0. Then when you are through cutting, you should probably – since each of your takes seem to be 90 minutes long (!) - just reconnect them to H-proxies and apply the FCP Sharpen filter set at 7,0-10,0. (Going the Compressor route with the 7 x 90 minutes 2K proxies will not be a realistic option until Crimson or Monkey extract start talking XML and intermediates or what ever it takes to Compressor. Or when FCS 3 suprises us.)

First, of all your SD offline will be sharper (still with great quality) than with the sharpest setting in REDrushes. And that means you don't have to further apply any sharpening filter in FCP, which together with other filters could force you to render.

Second, it will be faster. On my unibody MBP 17" 2.66 REDrushes, it takes 1 min and 58 seconds to transcode a 25 second clip of 4K 16:9 R3D to ProResHQ 1024x576 applying the sharpest filter. Where as in Compressor using the M-proxy it takes 1 min and 49 seconds for the same transcode. If you have a quad core or eight core MP (or more) you can, besides extra processor core power, take advantage of Qmaster and getting even more speed gains compare to do doing it from REDrushes.

Third, your transcodes in Compressor to ProResHQ will, IMHO, look better.

Best wishes,

Calle

PS: I suggest you do some tests of your own with the Sharpen Edge filter settings in Compressor. For some very high detailed clips it might be too much with setting it at 10,0. Usally it works great though.

wow. nice work! I love the fact that it wasn't just a collection of glossy shots set to some fast then slow paced music. Those reels tend to feel sterile to me, like something off a factory line. I love how your reel captures the subtle in between moments. As Philip said, it has a very human quality. Good stuff. It felt warm and alive.... I dunno.... I guess that would be the best word? I'm not very good at coherently articulating this kinda stuff, haha.

never the less, awesome work. Great compositions. Nice grading.

Kind words. Thanks. Except from the second last clip from the end, the material have only been lightly graded in REDAlert. But since it is all in REDSPACE (not that second last one) the clips have sort of a look already applied to them. Though the h.264 (x264) compression lessens the satuarion – even with the gamma correction filter in Compressor set at 1,16.

Anyway, I do a lot of work with poets and artists and several of my red rentals have been with ambitious Swedish artists. I think this camera is a great tool for people in the art world. Their budgets are generally and traditionally much smaller compared to projects originated in the film business. Shooting in 35mm film was usually not an option for many of them. 4K digital and 35mm lenses give them a lot of creative freedom. Like me they can immediately start to edit their material on a laptop. Since art movies usually aren't very long, they can easily and with hardly no cost at all burn a Blu-ray DVD-R in Toast for fast delivery to their screenings and exhibitions in galleries and contemporary art museums. They also get a high quality archive material, which can be used, for stills and so on. Last, since I enjoy and learn so much from working with artists (my wife being one of them) I give them a great discount.

/Calle [Swedish nickname for Carl and is pronounced like Calais in Dover-Calais, in English it would have been Charlie]

 

[Hans von Sonntag]

Carl,

Your work has a quiet, personal and deeply human quality that goes beyond any sort of technical or even purely aesthetic qualification. It is difficult to achieve that. It's really beautiful and captivating. Congrats.

IBloom

Ian said it all.

Could you share the projects for which the shots were originally meant?

Hans

 

[Antoine Fabi]

Carl,

Your cinematography looks SUPERB!!!!
everything...i mean i like everything!

Keep up the good work!

Antoine

 

[Antoine Fabi]

Hi Carl,

Since you're grading proxies, you're forced to use REC709 color space ?

Antoine

 

[Carl Dieker]

clips in the reel

clips in the reel

Ian said it all.

Could you share the projects for which the shots were originally meant?

Hans

If you look at the end credits you’ll get some info. But I’ll try to answer your question in detail, breaking the clips apart somewhat chronologically as they appear in the show reel.

The first clips with the arm and tattooing come from an art video project by the Swedish-Dutch artist Pia Wergius. It is still in post and the working title is ”Amputation and other things”.

Through the show reel there are clips from the ancient city of Palmyra and places in and outside of Damascus. This is a personal project, something between TV documentary and film essay. It is built around a series of interviews I have done and will continue to do with Swedish and Arabian poets. They all have to answer the question: – What does the word ”reality” mean to you? The participants so far are listed at www.podalidafilm.com under the AKTUELLT tab.

The Tilt Shift clips are the three shots were I worked as a standby operator. They were taken by DoP Marius Dybwad Brandrud and involved tests for the upcoming feature PLAY by the director Ruben Östlund (”De ofrivilliga”/”Involuntary”, Un certain regard section, Cannes, 2008). http://www.plattformproduktion.se/ & http://www.cinema.nl/media/4486883/trailer-involuntary-van-ruben-ostlund

Then there are two clips from the official opening of a hedge labyrinth called TITTIN by the Swedish landscape artist Katarina Mark. The labyrinth is located in Rosendal at Djurgården, Stockholm. The film is a documentation used by the artist to show case her work. It was my first RED job and I had my cousin, the director Axel Petersén, act as backup with a Canon XH-A1. The first final version was edited in FCP with ProRes out from RedCine. But the clips in the show reel were graded directly in REDAlert using the proxy work flow I describe above in the 4th post in this thread. The latter gave me total control of how the clips will appear in FCP. I will post a link to the documentation reel when it is re-graded.

The Swedish artist Katarina Eismann is working on a comprehensive installation called ”Foldout”. The three clips I have chosen are the group of young people approaching the camera, the dancer lying on the floor and the half face close up of a woman. In Eismann’s own words: ”FOLDOUT is a work about how stories from a war are inherited and become interwoven with myths, ideas and facts.” Read more here (click on the ENGLISH tab): http://www.foldout.se/

There are two clips from a music video with the Swedish group SOM that the photographer Nils Bergendahl and I collaborated on. It was a quick, free job at night. The song is great and the band as well (Sophia and Joakim Eriksson.) Unfortunately for me the group choose the take where I had to be in front of the camera, wearing rabbit ears. All I can tell you is that there are some great examples of how to not mime in a music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EugWkkeQCr8

Among the close ups towards the end there are two takes from a TV commercial that DoP Fredrik Emilsson and I shot for Akademi Båstad in Sweden. Bloopers can be viewed here: http://www.akademi.bastad.se/upload/filmer/film_bloopers.mov

Other than that there are just some tests I did (the kids in the snow, a view of Stockholm and a girl holding a frog).

 

[Carl Dieker]

Hi Carl,

Since you're grading proxies, you're forced to use REC709 color space ?

Antoine

Only if I shoot with VIEW REC709. With both VIEW RAW and REDspace you end up with REDspace color space for the proxies. Otherwise not. Look at point 1 e) in post 4 of this thread. I just edited and clarified my description of the workflow a bit.

/Calle

 

[Antoine Fabi]

Thank you very much Carl!

Again, GREAT work!!!

Antoine

 

[jimhare]

Hi Carl,

Been head down on an 8-week post. Really looking forward to trying this out but won't get a chance in the immediate future. I'll let you know when I try it and how it compares to what I'm currently doing.

Thanks Again!

Cheers!

Jim

Hey Jim,

How did it go? Personally, I am guessing that you will save a lot of time for your offlines if you convert your 10 h of 4K R3Ds in Compressor to ProResHQ SD (16:9 = 1024x576). Just use the M-proxies and apply the Sharpen Edge filter set at 10,0. Then when you are through cutting, you should probably – since each of your takes seem to be 90 minutes long (!) - just reconnect them to H-proxies and apply the FCP Sharpen filter set at 7,0-10,0. (Going the Compressor route with the 7 x 90 minutes 2K proxies will not be a realistic option until Crimson or Monkey extract start talking XML and intermediates or what ever it takes to Compressor. Or when FCS 3 suprises us.)

First, of all your SD offline will be sharper (still with great quality) than with the sharpest setting in REDrushes. And that means you don't have to further apply any sharpening filter in FCP, which together with other filters could force you to render.

Second, it will be faster. On my unibody MBP 17" 2.66 REDrushes, it takes 1 min and 58 seconds to transcode a 25 second clip of 4K 16:9 R3D to ProResHQ 1024x576 applying the sharpest filter. Where as in Compressor using the M-proxy it takes 1 min and 49 seconds for the same transcode. If you have a quad core or eight core MP (or more) you can, besides extra processor core power, take advantage of Qmaster and getting even more speed gains compare to do doing it from REDrushes.

Third, your transcodes in Compressor to ProResHQ will, IMHO, look better.

Best wishes,

Calle

PS: I suggest you do some tests of your own with the Sharpen Edge filter settings in Compressor. For some very high detailed clips it might be too much with setting it at 10,0. Usally it works great though.





Kind words. Thanks. Except from the second last clip from the end, the material have only been lightly graded in REDAlert. But since it is all in REDSPACE (not that second last one) the clips have sort of a look already applied to them. Though the h.264 (x264) compression lessens the satuarion – even with the gamma correction filter in Compressor set at 1,16.

Anyway, I do a lot of work with poets and artists and several of my red rentals have been with ambitious Swedish artists. I think this camera is a great tool for people in the art world. Their budgets are generally and traditionally much smaller compared to projects originated in the film business. Shooting in 35mm film was usually not an option for many of them. 4K digital and 35mm lenses give them a lot of creative freedom. Like me they can immediately start to edit their material on a laptop. Since art movies usually aren't very long, they can easily and with hardly no cost at all burn a Blu-ray DVD-R in Toast for fast delivery to their screenings and exhibitions in galleries and contemporary art museums. They also get a high quality archive material, which can be used, for stills and so on. Last, since I enjoy and learn so much from working with artists (my wife being one of them) I give them a great discount.

/Calle [Swedish nickname for Carl and is pronounced like Calais in Dover-Calais, in English it would have been Charlie]