Pre-shoot prep (noob warning)

[DCC Erickson]

I'm not a pro, but looking at the amazing rigs you guys use it occurs to me - do you ever "pre-load" the RED 1 body with any modules before going out on jobs? One of the more daunting aspects of these modular camera rigs is the onsite prep time, considering the micro/invisible budgets I deal with. A lot of people standing around not getting paid may not appreciate the need to mount five or ten accessories, balance the rig and set up the shot parameters. Of course showing up a couple hours early helps. Certainly the Scarlet fixed is the best option in this situation, but I'm curious as to what - if any - modules, drives, batteries, lenses, cables, etc ... you leave on the camera even in the case in order to help setup go quickly. Thanks!

 

[David Adamic]

David, I'm a sound mixer but I noticed on a shoot last week that the camera department had the red out of its multiple cases, setup and ready to run before the director was ready with the talent and before electric was done lighting. I've never seen configuring the red at the beginning of a day as the hangup.

Generally where I see the red holding things up is when everyone is ready to shoot and they've got to change the battery.

 

[Brent J. Craig]

Unless you have gigantic specially-configured cases, there really isn't much you can leave built and still transport the gear safely. It really only takes 10 minutes to assemble the camera in the morning. You can save more time by pre-formatting your media and setting up all of your camera menus in advance.

Often if we are shooting multiple locations on the same day I will leave the camera built and strap it to a car seat or have someone hold it while we travel, but road cases exist for a reason.

 

[Colin Hubick]

We have a very large Pelican case (can't recall the model number) that we use for this very situation. We will rig the camera with rods, mattebox, follow focus, batteries etc, put in the Pelican to travel from location to location. When we get there we lift it out, and pop it on the sticks, and we're ready to go. Generally when we need to do this, it's for very quick vfx plates, or for b-roll.

Works for us quite nicely.

cheers
Colin

 

[Brandon Fraley]

it takes me about 10 minutes to open the cases, set up the tripod, attach the camera, add rails/cradle/LCD, add lens and battery and mattebox and plug in the battery charger. certainly no longer than anyone else on set, whether they're setting up lav mics or lighting rigs, or even eating a muffin

it can take longer if you need to screw anything to the body, like the top handle, which is why i don't understand why the official RED case makes you remove it everytime you want to put the camera away. Also things like setting an external monitor and such can add some time.

 

[Cail Young]

Generally where I see the red holding things up is when everyone is ready to shoot and they've got to change the battery.

Which just means the ACs didn't change the battery at the right time. There's no way in hell you need to run the camera for 90 minutes without a break and then immediately need to roll.

But yes, pro crews are generally building and re-rigging at a rate which doesn't hold up production. Lighting is usually slower, or talent direction.

 

[Brent J. Craig]

Which just means the ACs didn't change the battery at the right time.

You would be surprised how often they are ready to roll the first shot 80 minutes after calltime. More often than not the battery has just hit Yellow when it's finally time to roll. There is usually not a graceful time to do a reboot in the time preceding that. The DP is using the camera for lighting, the director is blocking actors or watching rehearsals, etc.

 

[jimhare]

Depends on the job. For simple local jobs I will set everything up in advance and put the cam in a PortaBrace quickdraw. Then I just pull out the tripod, drop on the cam (quick release already attached) and can be shooting in 2 minutes.

Also makes for a very small footprint as you don't have 50 cases to deal with!

The majority of the time I bring everything in multiple cases broken down. This forces you to check and adjust every piece of your kit before you shoot, which is certainly a good thing.

So depends on what you're doing, how much time you have and how simple you want to keep everything.

 

[Tom Mitchell]

It takes just as long as any film camera, never been a problem for the last 100 years. an and you see above, a good camera crew is ready way before shooting. a camera assembled in a box is more likely to break. i had a camera hired out to me with a zoom lens. i had a fit when i saw it was attached to the camera, and as expected it had knocked the back focus out. it saver to ship in parts.

But of course as stated in your title it is a noob question, as you will learn with experience is that camera dept. don't often hold things up.

You have been for a while been able to get duel battery monts, so there is no need to power down the camera.

And with a good DIT on set any problems should be sorted quickly, and keeping things running smoothly.

If your worried about people getting pissed on set for standing around, i would make sure you have good food on a freebie it makes a BIG difference to the morel! after all we don't run on thin air.

 

[Zakaree Sandberg]

The only time my shit is pre-assembled.. is if im doing my own quick work (shooting stock footage.. so on) I wouldnt advise taking your gear pre-built any where really. Camera is Usually the first ones ready.

 

[Eirik Tyrihjel]

I made my RED camera case so that the rails and side handles are always on the camera, as is the RED ARM for the LCD (which I prefer to use) and the cable - I can be ready to shoot within 2-3 minutes of parking my car - easily - with MB, FF, lenses, drive or card +++

I sometimes bring my camera pre assembeled, if I am doing a quick and easy shot which lasts less than 30 minutes.

 

[N SPEN]

Depends on the job. For simple local jobs I will set everything up in advance and put the cam in a PortaBrace quickdraw. Then I just pull out the tripod, drop on the cam (quick release already attached) and can be shooting in 2 minutes.

http://www.portabrace.com/productA-CC-HD1
Do you use this one Jim? Does it fit ok with a Matte box on it?

Also, does anyone know what the best quick release baseplate system is to use for the red? I would love to find something similar to my DVCPro v-mount, also used on Sony.

 

[Cail Young]

Also, does anyone know what the best quick release baseplate system is to use for the red? I would love to find something similar to my DVCPro v-mount, also used on Sony.

The "euro" quick release is most common in Australia - a rectangular piece of metal with some screw slots goes on your slide plate and the tripod head has a matching capture and locking system.

Looks a bit like this:

(that's an Oconnor plate that goes on to their proprietary quick-release system).

I wouldn't recommend the v-shoe type ones unless you absolutely have to use a tripod that already has the other half on it - they're designed to get around the shoulder cutout on EFP cameras and as such you'd be wasting heaps of room with an adapter rig for the flat, small base of the RED or any dovetail system. If you're desperate I think ARRI makes some parts that may suit.