1st Timer

[Jase]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. I'm new to this forum!

I'm a cinematographer and have a short film shoot coming up with the Red camera and this will be the first time the camera crew on this has used this camera. Can you please help answer some questions?

- Should we absolutely upgrade to build 16?
- What type of CF reader is most reliable to use? Where can they be purchased?
- I keep hearing about how the post production with the Red camera still needs to be worked out, but it doesn't seem to be all that different from how the Panasonic P2 system works, or is it? Can you please explain?

Sorry for the novice questions... but your help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Jase

 

[Shawn Booth]

Can you be more specific with your workflow questions?
Workflow really depends on the system being used and the delivery format. You can find the answers to your question here:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3

CF Reader:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9944&highlight=Reader

Build 16 is amazing. But it is a BETA build. However, Jim has said to get to it as soon as you can.
Quote:
I have a shoot coming up in a week. Should I upgrade to B 16 or hold off since I assume it will still be in beta a week from now? Or should I just wait and see?
Jim Jannards response:

Quote:
If I were you (I am not)... I would make the leap to build 16 as quickly as possible to make sure I was comfortable with the changes before a big shoot. You won't ever want to go back. The only question is whether or not you will have enough time to get used to how it all works.

Jim

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

Yes Build 16 ,and shoot 2:1

 

[Jase]

Great... Lexar it is!

And for build 16, what exactly does Beta mean? Why is it something some might chose to hold off on? And can you please tell me the best way to install this properly so there are no mistakes?

As well, for Post, I guess I'm just wondering about delivering to HD Cam tape. Is it true that all we need to edit is the Red Codec and Final Cut 6.2? Then from there we can export our 2K edit? But what do we export it to if we are editing at home? Lots of places like the Deluxe in Vancouver does not take footage from drives. So what would I do in this case?

Thanks,

Jase.

 

[Jase]

When I go to where you can download the camera firmware, why does it say:

BETA test firmware – not recommended for use on commercial productions.

Thanks,

Jase

 

[John Tissavary]

When I go to where you can download the camera firmware, why does it say:

BETA test firmware – not recommended for use on commercial productions.

Thanks,

Jase

It is BETA test firmware, but anecdotal user experience tells us that this build is as stable as the previous official release build. Of course, Red will not remove a disclaimer like that until they have finished their firmware development cycle to their own satisfaction.

Regarding workflow, it is different from P2 in that what you are shooting is not RGB, it's RAW, and these raw '.r3d' files must be 'developed' into images via a debayer process.

The catch is that right now this debayer can only be performed by the following apps: Scratch, RedCine, RedAlert, Redline.

The workflow can go several ways.

On the high end, and at its simplest, involves doing an offline edit in FCP using the camera generated quicktime proxies (which are only pointers to the raw footage, they don't really contain any image information), then generating an EDL for an online conform in Scratch. Right now Scratch is the only app that will both read an EDL for a conform _and_ natively read .R3D files.

Alternative workflows involve transcoding manually selected footage in RedAlert, RedCine, and/or Redline prior to editing, then onlining with the transcoded footage or proxies thereof.

Crimson is a software app written by a Reduser member that can create an FCP > edl > RedCine workflow. I haven't used it, but others on this board have. I'm an FCP > Scratch guy, and I can vouch for that workflow 100%.

Transcoding 4k footage from .r3d to a different format is a bit time consuming, depending on your computing power. In Scratch (which uses the same render engine as RedCine) I get 1 frame per second in the maximum quality 4k debayer on a quad core 3 ghz system. Using the half debayer, which can produce acceptable results if deliving 2k or lower, I get 3-5 frames per second. Definitely something to keep in mind regarding post and deliverables turnaround.

cheers,

jt