First time shooter (monitoring exposure, white balance ext...)

[Darya]

Hi Everyone,

We are shooting a project for the first time on the RED. Coming from years of shooting video, I'm accustomed to getting the correct white balance, exposure ext... all on the field. However with the RED, it sounds like you don't have much control over any of those settings when shooting, so what do you guys monitor for on the field? How do you know your not clipping your whites or you don't have a mixture of tungsten & sun in your image? What does the image look like in the preview monitor?

Maybe its not an issue, but I would like to know peoples experience so I know what to expect.

Thanks

 

[Dylan Macleod CSC]

Hi Darya

Looks like you have a hot date with the search function on this page.

I'd search for things like "metering the red".

The bottom line is that the RED is a daylight balanced (arguably) 320ISO camera. You can mess about with the look through camera settings - like selecting different color balance, or changing the ISO, but it is all just "metadata" that will change your view in the monitor but not affect your original file.

In terms of metering - there is a histogram, but be cautious.

Here is a thread that might confuse, more than help, but it will give you an idea of the myriad of options for metering.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21635

Bottom line is - Raw view will let you know "fairly accurately" if your whites are clipped.

False color is a useful tool to get to know - basically the zone system in color.

PM me if you have specific questions.