2.35:1 workflow

[Christoffer Aldell]

Hello, we're shooting a feature in 7 weeks on the R1 MX and would like to finish in 2.35:1 aspect ratio in both 1k and 2k. We're planning on shooting with either the RPP or Red zooms. To my knowledge this seems 'professionally doable' without shooting ANA. But I could be wrong… I've been looking around for a while but still haven't figured out our workflow. I'm still light-years from feeling fully comfortable with and fully understanding the Red workflow. My question is what the best path is for achieving our goal? I'm primarily looking for what settings to shoot in (certainly don't want to screw this up before we even get started) and what sort of options they'd give me in post.

Any tips (slightly dumbed down) would be extremely appreciated.

Chris

 

[David Mullen ASC]

ANA mode is for using 2X anamorphic lenses and recording a 1.20 : 1 area of the sensor for a final unsqueezed 2.40 image.

If you shoot with spherical lenses, you just compose for 2.40 using frame line guides (this is by far the more common approach than using anamorphic lenses.) I suggest shooting in a 2:1 format (composing for the 2.40 crop but protecting the whole 2:1 area) and finishing in 2:1 from which you can create a 2K 2.40 and 16x9 HD version (letterboxed and full-frame).

 

[Christoffer Aldell]

Thank you so much David, I truly appreciate your help!

 

[PatrickFaith]

Thank you so much David, I truly appreciate your help!

I'm doing exactly what David Mullen is recommending on how to shoot and it is working great. I think I have a similar setup to you, I am using mainly 18mm,35mm & 50 mm RPP shooting with 5kWS mode (i btw don't see any noticeable vignetting on the 18mm rpp and it really gives a old school widescreen feel).

On the DI I btw switched to a DI of 3840x1600, which is a bit different then what David said so i'm not quit sure myself on that. But I am finding that 3840x1600 is a very cost effective format for a DI, it's perty fast for vfx and compositing.

 

[Björn Benckert]

As stated above for spherical lenses shoot with guides and full sensor then you do your 2.35 crop in post. The current Dcp standard for wide screen is actually 2.40 so i would actually go for that format.
However if an anamorphic lens set is in reach i would consider getting it. shooting in ana mode is actually gjving you a virtually bigger sensor area that gives you more of a "larger format" frame even though you use less pixels. So the ana frames looks "bigger" but is actually easier to process for post.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Hello, we're shooting a feature in 7 weeks on the R1 MX and would like to finish in 2.35:1 aspect ratio in both 1k and 2k.

I would suggest 2.40 instead of 2.35, as that has tended to be the "real" aspect ratio of widescreen features.

Michael Cioni of Light Iron Digital has a very good essay on how 2.40 was successfully cropped for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, giving them the ability to reframe as needed for the director or DP in post:

http://www.lightiron.com/blog/dragon-tattoo-4k-di-workflow-overview

Whatever you do, shoot some tests prior to the start of production and make sure you can get where you need to go in the end. I think David's suggestion above for shooting 2.0 and finishing in 2.40 works fine, too, and is a good compromise for 1.78 HD for home video and broadcast. I also think lens selection is critical, so you may want to tests on lenses beyond the ones you cite, particularly for speed, sharpness, and depth of field issues.

 

[Christoffer Aldell]

Wow, thank you so much to all of you for the awesome feedback. I've been reading that 2.40 seems to be the standard over 2.35, so I'm glad you guys mentioned that as well. All the best to all of you and thanks again!