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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

EVF Aspect Ratio Matte Request

Alexander Nikishin

Alexander Nikishin

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I've become accustomed to using the RED LCD or Panasonic 8.4" for operating.

Now that I've got the EVF it truly is a religious experience as Jim put it, but there's still something missing....

With the LCD route I've always been able to matte out my 2.40 frame which in turn gives a me a MUCH better idea as to what my frame truly is and makes me a better operator in the end.

I know that in film you have an etched ground-glass with your desired frame line and a look around area, but I don't see that as a benefit. It mis-leads your eye IMO.

When using the EVF, there's no need for me to have a look around area, so what I propose is to have the EVF feed include an optional black matte for 2:40 / 2:1 / 1.85 and so on. Thoughts?
 
I love the look around area, and I don´t want to black it out, however an option to select opacity on the area outside the frameguide would be cool.
 
Rory, the correct anamorphic widescreen ratio is between 2.39 and 2.40, and has been for about 35 years. This was changed from the original 2.35 because splices at cuts in film negatives could often be seen in the old ratio. So it was made a little shorter in height to allow for more room for the splices. This is a SMPTE standard that dates back to the early to mid-seventies. Arri interprets slightly differently than Panavision, which is why one marks it 2.39 and the other 2.40.
 
That look around area is one of the things that makes the Red so attractive. For one thing, it makes the boom operator happy, as I can give him a much better edge. As an operator, I can avoid problems before they become one, rather than having to go for a re-take.

I would think that once you get used to ignoring the extra bits for framing, but keeping them in mind when moving the camera, you will never want to go back to a "black frame".
 
wow !

I placed an order EVF, my red reserve was #1740, I hope that changes before I get.

I like to see everything, in a frame, even out side of the frame.
I guess that i have to use two eyes, eh?
 
IMO having the look around area does nothing but give your eye a false sense of framing.

If you as the camera op. are helping out audio with their frame lines, you have way too much spare time on set.....

The Sound Op. is supposed to have a set monitor running to his station where he can guide the boom op. in and out of the safe zone, NOT the Camera Op.

That being said, the look around area is only useful if you are in a cramped lighting setup and wish to avoid c-stands and such within the shot.

I would loooooove to have the choice to boost or drop the opacity for any given aspect ratio from 10% to pure black.

Having a matted out viewing frame is key to composition.
 
I don't think that the look-around should be confusing to anyone who has operated a motion picture camera. It is indeed a valuable feature that sets the Red One apart.
If the opacity of it was adjustable, then OK. But PLEASE guys, don't do away with it in the EVF.
Bad idea.
Cheers,
Harry
 
I second the opacity option for both EVF and LCD. I'm sure it will come as I recall notions of user created PSD files one day being able to be loaded into the camera for customised frames etc.

Probably a 0-100% opacity slider in 10% increments would satisfy 99% of operators I think.

Cheers,

Paul
 
Coming to think of it, on a separate thread someone suggested being able to superimpose still frames over the viewfinder. Maybe that could be the solution for this thread as well - that way everyone could make his/her own customized "ground glass" so to speak. (Would be a great source of fun for shoots that span around the 1st of April).

Here's the link: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13624&highlight=feature
 
Mitch Gross said:
Rory, the correct anamorphic widescreen ratio is between 2.39 and 2.40, and has been for about 35 years.
Click to expand...
Mitch, I could be wrong but I'd wager he's not shooting with anamorphic lenses. With a digital format, you can choose whatever ratio suits your project the best; there's no physical restriction to dictate these things for you. Perhaps he appreciates a 2.35:1 ratio and wishes to shoot his content that way. Nothing wrong with that... in fact, I'm really surprised that RED has not developed a way to upload a custom image file overlay for the displays so that you can select whatever ratio you want simply and easily.

Ironically, because RED's 16x9 support is still pretty shaky, most people are still capturing in a 2:1 ratio - an aspect which is not common in most feature film production today either.
 
Alexander Nikishin said:
I've become accustomed to using the RED LCD or Panasonic 8.4" for operating.

Now that I've got the EVF it truly is a religious experience as Jim put it, but there's still something missing....

With the LCD route I've always been able to matte out my 2.40 frame which in turn gives a me a MUCH better idea as to what my frame truly is and makes me a better operator in the end.

I know that in film you have an etched ground-glass with your desired frame line and a look around area, but I don't see that as a benefit. It mis-leads your eye IMO.

When using the EVF, there's no need for me to have a look around area, so what I propose is to have the EVF feed include an optional black matte for 2:40 / 2:1 / 1.85 and so on. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

a good thng!
 
Originally Posted by Seth Larney
I think being able to choose the opacity of the look-around would be really handy.
Click to expand...

Me too!!!

The (LCD) opacity is to light to my taste. It misled me sometimes.

Thanks.

Pat
 
you could always go lo-tech and make a mask that fits into the vf out of ND
or what have you.
 
Tresch said:
Me too!!!

The (LCD) opacity is to light to my taste. It misled me sometimes.

Thanks.

Pat
Click to expand...
The darker opacity section on the LCD is for the overscan area... I think Alex is looking for a way to darken/black-out the "matted" area of the frame not being used in the aspect ratio of his choice.

I think it would be nice to be able to select the opacity of both... this should be pretty easy to accomplish via software.
 
Häakon said:
I think Alex is looking for a way to darken/black-out the "matted" area of the frame not being used in the aspect ratio of his choice.

I think it would be nice to be able to select the opacity of both... this should be pretty easy to accomplish via software.
Click to expand...

We've got 4K to compact flash, this should be cake. :)
 
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