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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 :)

Ideas to make Scarlet rig look as cheap as possible for India shooting

Maybe some way to wrap a rag around the body and cut a piece out for the fan grill? Agree about the old lenses, though if it's literally hand held with no shoulder mount maybe stabilization is required? (Canon 24-105 F4 + variable ND?)
 
Bob Gundu said:
I'm not talking about safety. I'm talking about drawing attention. I'm indian, and I couldn't pull out an AF100 as it was drawing too much attention. I had to result to my GH2 to get those sensitive locations.
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I am a bit surprised it took 20 answers to get to one that may save you a lot of grief....GH2 with a small zoom or a couple ZF.2 lenses. Have a great backup system for the files. Convert to Cineform or ProRes when you are home.

Or, hire local security and guide to manage the attention and guards...could get prohibitively expensive.

My take on it is whenever you are on the street in Third World country you need to be willing to give up whatever you have with you if need be...just make sure it is replaceable.

Bob
 
I have spent more then three years in India and I know exactly what your problem is. However there is no easy solution (other then money).
The vast majority of the archeological sites do require official permits and you will have guards all over you no matter what you do with the RED. Actually trying to disguise it will only draw more attention (or worse - as pointed above).
You really have only two options - and neither is cheap.
1 - get the required permits ahead of time. You will need a local guy with knowhow, experience and (more importantly) connections to get them for You in time. This will add to the cost. But ultimately You will be free to shoot what you need and do so properly.
2 - bribe your way. Not only this will turn up more expensive then 1 - but it is not guaranteed to work everywhere - and you can kiss goodbye any tripod ideas. Also - you bring a bad karma - India needs less corruption, not more...

The question really is - are you just filming for your own private memory, or is this for an actual project?
If the latter - you should really go with the 1st option.
If the former - forget about the RED. Get an used 5DmkII (you can get them for peanuts now) and enjoy your trip...

Peter

PS: This is not just India. USA is not that different. Just try to shoot in some of the national parks like ZION, or god forbids the Grand Canyon, without a permit... Good luck with that!!!
 
I agree, just pay for the permits. It's a bad idea to start going down the illegal route. I'm sure your family wants you back here when your done.

Steve G said:
Indians who come to shoot in LA will have to pay for permits on streets and at national monuments. Why should it be different for you going to India ?
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Dan Kanes said:
Brown_paper_bag.jpg
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LMAO - If you want to go fancy - used a zip-lock bag :blush:
 
Ha, what a thread to come across. When are you going Les? I'm heading over at the end of March to shoot some footage of the HOLI celebrations. Was thinking a home made rain cover (being a necessity for what I'm shooting) would help mask the camera value and I'll just be on the street so I won't have the issue of going to sites that you are concerned about.

Interesting dilemma, you'd think no matter how much you dress up the Scarlet it will still draw attention? I'd certainly stop to watch a large wood grain camera with stickers on it :))

Crazy me says: if you think clandestine is your best bet, the most obvious solution would seem to put the camera in a bag, mixed with a bit of creativity. Always loved how they dressed the camera's as rocks for the shooting of the COVE. So what about a cooler bag with a false top, couple of inches, that you can line with food - sandwhiches or even the tops of soda cans, what have you. The lens hole would be a key give away you'd think, so maybe a removeable velcro eyepatch sort of thing. Also perhaps some objects/items that dangles around, but glued in place at the front of the lens area, drawing the eye and obscuring, but set so it doesn't obstruct the line of sight. Otherwise. I don't know.... Go Total Recall and make yourself a false belly with a big ass hippy shirt and the ends cut out of your pockets to operate your Scarlet Kuato. Sorry just too funny an idea :))

Sensible me says: Boy, permits sound nice.

Re backpack... I have only travelled India once previously a long time ago and my Backpack was a large old school kind, aliminium frame with my sleeping bag etc that looked anything but filmy. I guess if you found and gutted something like that and then stuck a smaller better camera bag interior inside of it, that would surely fail to get a second glance.

Look forward to hearing what you decide to do.

Pawitter, I was intending to make contact with some Indian based RED shooters, so thanks for your kind offer in this thread, I will send you an email.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys. Yes, it is an unusual thread, but a useful one too.
If I knew an easy way to get that permit, which is only $100, I'd be all over it. If I showed up at the office, with $300 ( "for the rush processing sir" ) I wonder if it would work ?

I am going there with the Red to specifically shoot 4K . My goal is to get genuine 4K , and some of you know I do this by shooting by removing the blur filter in front of the sensor and post processing with custom software to minimize aliasing. I have a thread here at RU demo'ing the results. The movie Samsara lit the fire in me to get this resolution. ( Samsara is genuine 4K )
I am also bringing along a Gopro. That will be sooooo easy compared to the Red ;) Gopro can get into any temple. Shoots better video than a Canon 5D. close to 4K for timelapse, but no bit depth.
 
Les Dittert said:
Thanks for all the comments guys. Yes, it is an unusual thread, but a useful one too.
If I knew an easy way to get that permit, which is only $100, I'd be all over it. If I showed up at the office, with $300 ( "for the rush processing sir" ) I wonder if it would work ?

I am going there with the Red to specifically shoot 4K . My goal is to get genuine 4K , and some of you know I do this by shooting by removing the blur filter in front of the sensor and post processing with custom software to minimize aliasing. I have a thread here at RU demo'ing the results. The movie Samsara lit the fire in me to get this resolution. ( Samsara is genuine 4K )
I am also bringing along a Gopro. That will be sooooo easy compared to the Red ;) Gopro can get into any temple. Shoots better video than a Canon 5D. close to 4K for timelapse, but no bit depth.
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I agree with the others: you're going to stand out.

Either look like a tourist (which you can't with RED)
or
get permits
or
hire a local fixer who can get you the permits you need and / or take responsibility. They can also suggest you good locations!

They film so much stuff in India. There must be a system for this even if it is "get a local guy".

My guess would be that for every location you are going to:
1. Someone has filmed a huge musical number there
2. They haven't filmed there because it would be disrespectful

I think just get a fixer. You will look out of place no matter what. Unless you're a tourist with a DSLR. Which you are not.

My other thought is to treat it like a stills shoot. Eg if you were going there with a medium-format camera like a Hasselblad - would you add stickers to it, try to disguise it?

Would you get permission? For certain sites, no. For others: yes.

I say in most cases you need to just get permission to shoot... or don't shoot with a RED.

But yeah I'm with you - I don't like the ostentatious military look of RED's cameras and have said my 2c on that in the past. Eg BOMB EVF. Yeah, try to take a thing with the word BOMB in it into a temple...

I'm just going to conclude that RED doesn't mind losing customers like me because we generally have no money and / or rent anyway.

It's the rich folks who like to flaunt their cash that like the whole look / showoff / ego aspect of RED.

Whatever helps RED sell the most cameras is really in my best interest so I guess I have to say "go for it! Militarize and chrome that sucker!"

But yeah... I just bought two Canon 5Ds myself. And I have a Sony NEX-5 that I specifically chose the silver version for because it looks like a point-and-shoot and I can take it anywhere.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
If 4K wasn't a requirement, I would have suggested a hacked GH2 with still lenses. You'd have to be careful because the camera is susceptible to "shakes" when handheld, but there are simple techniques to stabilize it without adding much to the size.

But since you have to shoot 4K, you are down to a few camera, and Scarlet probably is your best bet, although Epic would probably be even better choice for what I think you are going for. And since this is your best choice, I think you start to move outside the stealth category a bit, no matter what you do to disguise it. So, you might as well go with the proper channels to have as much access as you need. Hire a fixer or local production company to help you navigate the politics over there. Make sure they are trustworthy and out for your best interest just like you would in any other country you are not familiar with. Hopefully this would then remove a lot of the restrictions of shooting in the stealth config and you can walk away with much better footage, without the risks involved in shooting it by yourself.

Good luck with the project and look forward to seeing the results you get with the OLPF removed.
 
Of course where you are in India is a huge factor. Mumbai in general is a lot tougher because the general population is pretty film savvy and people just come out of the woodwork looking for some handout. Delhi I found is much more laid back, except for around government buildings. Sometimes you have to play the dumb tourist card if officials ask questions, and sometimes putting a badge around your neck helps getting the population to move out of your shot.
 
Bob, would a shiny badge work on a white guy ? Interesting.
 
I watched the Samsara trailer last night, and they said that it was filmed 100% in 70mm Film.

Les Dittert said:
The movie Samsara lit the fire in me to get this resolution. ( Samsara is genuine 4K )
I am also bringing along a Gopro. That will be sooooo easy compared to the Red ;) Gopro can get into any temple. Shoots better video than a Canon 5D. close to 4K for timelapse, but no bit depth.
Click to expand...
 
Last time I was in India I saw this guy in Amritsar stealth shooting with a disguised RED:



smcam2.jpg


You can tell it's a RED because it has the RED logo button on the top front centre...

Bob's got a good grip on shooting in India - he's done two features there with a lot of street shooting. My experience shooting in Nepal & China is play dumb and have a pocket full of 'hand' money.

smcam3.jpg


smcam5.jpg
 
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AWESOME!


--
Leland Haushalter
Daufenbach Camera
 
No !
That is Ron Fricke in disguise shooting Samsara.
I always wonder how he avoided the crowds .....

@Jon : Yes , Samsara was 65mm film, scanned 8K re-sampled to 4K. That's what I mean by genuine 4K.
Specifically : If you took that 4K and showed it at 3.8K, it would look softer. A Red camera typically does not make pictures like that.
I hope to. My entire kit camera backpack weighs 30lbs. His Panavision camera body with no lens and no mag weighs 40lbs !
 
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