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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 :)

Four Months In The Wilderness with the RED.

Kennan - Great footage!

Having shot throughout Yosemite, Alaska and Africa I really appreciate the amount of work, patience and risk it involved. Not to mention the mosquitos!

I was wondering if you could comment on the Reds sturdiness regarding moisture, dust and general field work wear and tear. Any problems with sub zero temperature (batteries, glass, camera electronics)? Any special camera prep before shooting in the early mornings?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and the beautiful footage!

Clayton
 
RedNsantacruz said:
Rudi,
I understand what you are saying and it is like many teasers side to side choice picks versus eye adjusting several clips from the same time( ins, outs and action). The bigger problem is ATMOSPHERE. My biggest problem with long lens work. The air mass between camera and subject can vary moment to moment. Say, heat waves, rain as in most of these situations, dust and angled light from less than 45 degrees into the sun. Also, the wildlife moves fast and maybe I am not as good as I should be!
None-the-less, atmosphere or out of focus, I am not in a studio or in a controlled lighting situation and often times slightly balancing several survival things. I left them in the yeaser and also left the up focusing to show the dynamics to a would be producer. I also kind of liked the clips so your input tells me they are distracting so that helps. I might leave them out on second editing even though they may have been rare. The Lynx was only the second time in my whole life I was able to film one and the first time was on SD and nobody gave the extreamly rare wild sighting a second look.
THANKS TO RED, now people look. Red has changed my media. I just can't wait till broadcasters learn how to use this incredible media!!!
Truely, I hope this helps!
Kennan
4752.jpg
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Kennan,

Thanks for replying, and please, no need to "defend" the footage, it is quite possibly, as a whole, the most amazing collection of RED clips yet put together. The softer clips only look so when followed or preceded by the sharper ones, but never do they loose any power on their own. I would suspect that, if in need to intercut them together for final product, you could very easily adjust contrast, sharpness and saturation on adjacent clips, increase or decrease as needed, and they would mix perfectly. And yes, so right you are, even in pristine environments such as Alaska, whenever shooting with long telephoto lenses, any variation in the mass of air in front of the glass makes such a difference. I was so baffled by this "mistery" during my first expeditions :-) ....and then, I can't even begin to comprehend what it must be like to try and focus by eye shooting 4K through a 600 mm monster without a nice 30" monitor, measuring tape, controlled lighting, a few assistants, a nice tall cup of mocha latte frappuccino, and all other studio neccessities. You have created amazing images, thank you for sharing.
 
Kennan, thanks for those behind-the-scenes camping pics. Now you're making me feel like a total wimp with my big, luxurious 10x10 tent! hahaha. :)
 
Gibby said:
Thank you for those kind words Ketch...we had a great experience working with you, Peter, and the rest of the crew in Las Vegas! We'll look forward to working many times with you and the KetchFrame crew!

Clark has done a very good job with the Mammoth HD web site and his PR about it.

--------------------------

Back to wildlife: of all the genres of production we do, wildlife, nature, and adventure travel are our favorites.

Like Kennan, we're out in the wilderness in various areas of the world with cameras regularly. This year that included several months in remote Alaska (different project than Kennan's). That's one of the reasons I appreciate Kennan's Alaska footage so much - its a challenging and dangerous environment to work in.

Knowing how to shoot a camera is just the starting point. Taking the time to really learn about the remote environments you trek into, and the behavior of the wildlife there, will not necessarily ensure your safety out there, but will usually help you stay out of trouble. Just grabbing a camera and heading out into the wilderness unprepared is asking for trouble. The Boy Scout motto is "Be Prepared", and IMO that's good advice for wilderness production.

Preparation areas include (but are not limited to): camera equipment, data back-up, clothing, bedding, food, water, emergency preparedness, survival techniques, study of the geography and climate, study of potentially dangerous wildlife, defensive equipment for the area you're going into (human predators are often your your biggest risk out there - thus you may want to carry bear spray, knives, and a firearm if appropriate and legal - I do), and on and on and on and on. IMO preparation and respect are absolutely essential. All this said, if you've prepared well you're much less at risk in the wilderness than you are just driving your car to get there!

Kennan's advice about black bears is absolutely right - they're much more apt to consider you food than a grizzly. In the western part of North America mountain lions can also be occasionally aggressive. Again, studying the behavior patterns of potentially dangerous animals in the areas you do production in can help keep you safe.

Back to Kennan: he is one of the best there is at wilderness production, as his footage demonstrates. I respect his technical ability in working with cameras, but beyond that I sincerely appreciate his artistry in capturing meaningful and beautiful images.
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Steve,

Thank you, we need to go out in the field soon!

Wednesday I will be shooting again in Big Sur?????!!!!!

I was wondering if you had any advice or vision about the upcoming theatre presentation. Since some of the clips are 2k 16/9 100fps would the 4k projecter still be good?

Or would you recomend a 2k as they are less than 900 lbs????

Thanks, and as always best to you and Pam!

Kennan
 
Jannard said:
When we decided to do this project... we only hoped that someone would use a RED ONE to capture such images. Reels like this are what make our efforts completely worthwhile. While other companies may measure their success by how much profit they make, we measure ours by posts like these... thank you... so much.

Jim
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Jim,

Thank you for the kind words!

Hey, also thanks for the GREAT CAMERA it really is a tool!

Funny but it is so natural, no pun intended. For a guy like me who loves wild things. We can now show behavior even my other biologist friends say I have never have seen this behavior as it is slowed down with so much detail!"

Thanks, If you are ever in Alaska, Santa Cruz or need a wild fix your invited into the field!!

PEACE,

Kennan
 
ctalmon said:
Kennan - Great footage!

Having shot throughout Yosemite, Alaska and Africa I really appreciate the amount of work, patience and risk it involved. Not to mention the mosquitos!

I was wondering if you could comment on the Reds sturdiness regarding moisture, dust and general field work wear and tear. Any problems with sub zero temperature (batteries, glass, camera electronics)? Any special camera prep before shooting in the early mornings?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and the beautiful footage!

Clayton
Click to expand...

Clayton,

I can say I put the Red in some very interesting weather this summer!
I don;t know if you read earlier but it was the eighth rainiest Alaska summer on record.

I was very careful because I knew I would not be able to get help or be able to send it in for service for four months. I kept the camera covered with two Op-Tech camera covers:

http://optechusa.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=51&PRODUCT_SUB_ID=

Also, I kept the camera and lenses at outside temps as much as weather permitted. In the past I learned the change is what harms the lenses mostly!

I would give the Red One the highest rating. Now I am very interested in Scarlet for weight, cause I buffed up carrying around the Red all summer.

There were some times when I had a few sore muscles!

Thanks again for the kind comments, I don't take them lightly!!!

Peace,

Kennan
 
RedNsantacruz said:
Steve,

Thank you, we need to go out in the field soon!

Wednesday I will be shooting again in Big Sur?????!!!!!

I was wondering if you had any advice or vision about the upcoming theatre presentation. Since some of the clips are 2k 16/9 100fps would the 4k projecter still be good?

Or would you recomend a 2k as they are less than 900 lbs????

Thanks, and as always best to you and Pam!

Kennan
Click to expand...

It doesn't take much to get me to run the short way up to Big Sur for a days shooting! I do that regularly when I'm home on the Central Coast - and I call it a "day off"! I can think clearly up there - no cell phone, computer, or people - just fresh air and natural beauty. Its a perfect environment for RED One...and mine have been there many times.

I'll call you today with some ideas and suggestions for your theater presentation. If me and Pamala are on the Central Coast at the end of this month we definitely want to run up to Santa Cruz and go to the theater for that.
 
Sweet reel! Such remarkable beauty.

4 months of solid shooting without distractions sounds like heaven.

Tent life and all that gear, however, sounds heinous!

Can someone instruct my 7 year old to grow up a little faster so mommy can live the dream?
 
Here is another teaser we put together a few months ago, this has more of a mix of footage. The RED footage is easily spotted though as it is mostly slow motion. Other footage is from an F900, HVX200 and timelapses from a Nikon D2X.

Endangered
 
RedNsantacruz said:
Here is another teaser we put together a few months ago, this has more of a mix of footage. The RED footage is easily spotted though as it is mostly slow motion. Other footage is from an F900, HVX200 and timelapses from a Nikon D2X.

Endangered
Click to expand...

Absolutely amazing stuff. Wow.
 
More new work from the Wilderness!

More new work from the Wilderness!

Here are two links to trailers for the shows.
I put up our pilot episode to a film we are working on that focuses on the Big Sur area.

www.kennanward.com/shows/Migrations.html

http://www.kennanward.com/shows/Media/migrations.mov

You can click on the full episode link bellow to watch the 20 minute edit we cut together. It was just a rough edit, but shows some of our footage. Since we put this together, we have captured at least another 4 TB of footage in the area.

Also, here is the 25 minute teaser/pitch for the Alaska film.

www.kennanward.com/shows/Alyeska.html

http://www.kennanward.com/shows/Media/alyeska.mov

Hope you enjoy!

PEACE,

Kennan & Karen Ward
 
Thank you Kennan. I am tremendously excited for this!

Sean Ruggeri
 
Music

Music

Jeremy,

Thank you. Which film are you interested in, Migrations or Alyeska? The music rights are at the end credits of the 20 minute downloads. The music artists are all very talented dear friends and local artists. I like to feature Deby Benton Grosjean, Lars Johannesson,Teada and David Brewer. When art meets art it is synergistic. Thank you for your interest.

Kennan
 
very nice work! thanks for sharing! that must of been quite the experience living there
 
Beautiful stuff.

So a few months ago I'm working on my ancient Wheel Horse tractor here in the wilds of New Jersey, when I look up to see a beautiful black bear on the rise above me. My first thought was, is this really happening, then wow, what a beautiful animal I'd like to just watch it for a while, then, should I jump up and wave my arms, then, what if waving my arms does the exact opposite of what I hope it will do, then, I should get out of here. Then I hoof it into my garage and close the door. All these thoughts happened in, I would say, about 1.5 seconds.

I don't know what we are doing in NJ about the environment, but it sure does grow gorgeous black bears. His or her coat was glossy and black and perfect and he/she looked like about the size of four laborador retreivers. We have fox and coyote and turkey and of course, deer and deer and deer, just one hour from NYC. I grew up in Oregon and never saw any of this, not once.
 
Kennan Ward said:
Thank you. Which film are you interested in, Migrations or Alyeska? The music rights are at the end credits of the 20 minute downloads. The music artists are all very talented dear friends and local artists. I like to feature Deby Benton Grosjean, Lars Johannesson,Teada and David Brewer. When art meets art it is synergistic. Thank you for your interest.

Kennan
Click to expand...

I was referring to this soundtrack: http://www.kennanward.com/alaska/Site/_.html It kind of has an African feel to it, but still fit very well with your footage.
 
Questions

Questions

Spectacular stuff. All that experience, and the right tools - and clearly, some talent - show in that footage. Deeply GOOD stuff.

I am also a longtime stills shooter - mostly wilderness as well - now shooting red, mostly pretty remote, carrying gear in backpacks etc. If you have time to answer, thanks in advance....if not thanks for posting the footage and answers thus far!

Power - I'm also using a Gel/AGM batter in a pelican w/solar to charge red batteries - how many charges of red batteries are you getting, from what specific battery?

Your 3K (and 4K) footage is impressively clean and detailed - mind sharing your basic post and grading process?

Boot/Standby/Waiting/Power - are you leaving the cam on or booting when something shows in the general area?

Sticks - I've had poor luck with those Gitzo sticks in high winds, and have been using the Miller Sprinter CFII - with the related heavy backpack. Are you weighting them, or just dealing with less wind?
 
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