Mark Pederson 007...

[Jannard]

This is the thread where Mark will post about his experience with 007.

PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE UNTIL AFTER MARK DOES.

We are going to try something different on this thread. We'll delete any posts that don't meaningfully contribute. Please don't take offense if your post is deleted. It is only a test.

The idea here is to see if someone can get through Mark's insight and review without wading through 78 pages of stuff. I'm going to be aggressive... Mark got plenty of love the 1st time around so I'm sure he will be OK with limited responses.

Jim

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

I'll be posting some pics, some R3Ds frames and motion clips over the next several days. I hope you guys can be a little patient while we put the camera through some hard core testing - I promise I'll share some fun stuff before the weekend.

#00007 is safe in NYC, functioning like a fine sports car, and spent all day today with myself, Aldey, AJ and OFFHOLLYWOOD DITs Alonso, Keith, Pat C and Doug trying as many things as we could think of and identifying a list of very specific tests we want to do for ourselves over the next few days.

I'm now totally addicted to the REDMOTE - I'll post a video of it in wireless action soon. I also really like flying the RED PRO 7" LCD on the EPIC - as much as I like touchscreen - I'm really digging the 7" on the EPIC.

There are lots of little things that just make you say "fuck yeah" - like the 1080 out clean - even when you turn false color/exposure checks on the touchscreen or LCD.

Tomorrow we should have an alpha test build of Scratch working w/EPIC footage in our theater - so we can evaluate and show folks footage on a decent size screen as opposed to a monitor.

I'll try to share as much as I can and I'll do my very best to get some fun, cool stuff up here this week - but we are taking our time getting to know every last detail of the camera and getting as much testing in as we can so that know all the sweet spots and best practices for optimal results.

If any of you have some extra bandwidth and want to host some clips for download PM me FTP info - I'm afraid to crash the servers we use for our clients.

I'll keep building on this thread as it seems like it just might be a noise free zone.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Hi Mark, congrats on having the wisdom to buy TWO of this company's first cameras.

Can you please be more specific in your testing parameters/goals? Thanks!

I can post the exact list tomorrow - but we identified 15 different tests we felt were important.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Amazon.com's server space is cheap and fast. I have used it for numerous high-volume video clients. It is Amazon, so you won't crash it.

If I was currently paying for space there myself, I would share, but you might check it out? Might be good for a lot of people here to know about it.

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/

Thanks Jeffrey. I'm all set on the server side.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Quick update:

BOND was on and shooting pretty much non-stop for 10 hours today. Testing out the exposure meters, compression ratios, higher frame rates, etc.

We have an Alpha build of EPIC enabled Scratch working in our DI theatre - and it's just stunning to see the footage projected. Shocking how good even ISO 2000 looks.

We've got a bunch more footage to evaluate tomorrow - but we are ready to shoot some fun stuff and post some footage. We are putting a little shoot together for tomorrow evening - "OFFHOLLYWOOD style" - I'm pretty sure you will like it. We will shoot some human subjects and show you a little skin tone.

I'll get some R3D frames up while we shoot - and then a couple RAW clips & a little behind the scenes video Thursday - and hopefully a little finished piece by end of day Friday. We'll see - lots going on over here - but I think I can pull this all off.

I could go on and on about how amazing I think this camera is - but I don't need too. The images speak for themselves. I will say ... seeing EPIC footage projected is a real jaw dropper. This is THE digital cinema camera for the big screen.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Mark, How is the Redmote powered when off the camera? AA's?

It has an internal, rechargeable battery. It charges when it's on the camera - and it also has a separate USB cable that will charge off of AC. I have not even touched that cable yet. It seems to recharge very quickly when it's on the camera. I suspect it uses VERY little power.

I'm totally addicted to controlling the camera wirelessly - as are all my techs. Not sure how we've been getting along without this before!

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Mark,

Were you mostly testing in a controlled environment in ambient temperatures? Were you monitoring the temperature at all?

Do the fans adjust in high frame rates?

Cheers buddy. Happy playing.

Right now, you can control the fans with a % setting - both recording and standby - you can set them however you want - individually.

There is a nice TEMP reading on the monitor output so you know exactly what the cameras temp is at all times. I'm suspect they will add an "AUTO" eventually so the fans adjust as needed - but you have full control and you can get silent when you need too.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Mark,
If I had my Epic, my #1 test would be to take my Red MX and put it side by side with Epic, using the same lens, same setting (ISO, etc) to truly understand what Epic does apart from Red. So far, every single posted Epic image looks awesome, but frankly it's something my Red MX could have done just as well on. Can you post some RedMX and Epic stills at same settings so we can see? Thanks! I'm sure jealous of you right now!!

We did some of this today - including shooting a Stouffer wedge - MX vs EPIC - I have not reviewed those clips yet - I'll share the results when I see them. But sure - I'll post some MX vs EPIC - specifically slo motion. On the web you might not see it as much - but when you see Epic footage on a bigger screen - the "richness" of the detail is actually obvious. I think there might even be an "EPIC LOOK" that people will talk about that will be an association for extreme Vistavision-like detail without any grain or noise.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

hi mark,
some questions:
did you set up a cinestyle rig?
i mean with wireless follow focus (does the body has aux ports?)
does the body itself has fuses?

Yes, we set up cinestyle. No aux power on the brain. In cinestyle - we are powering the brain with a RED BRICK and powering follow focus & cinetape off of the PTAP on the quickplate.

My fingers are crossed for an EPIC module that is just for power distro for aks.

No visible fuse.

is the need of a lock it erased? i mean no/really little TC slipping now?

thanks!

I have not testing external TC - JAM sync accuracy over time without a lockit box yet. But I will soon. Very curious about that myself actually.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Mark - have you had much chance to test the RedMote's wireless range? Any latency between the handheld unit and the camera? Have you tested using the user-programmable buttons for ramping or other on-demand functions? Also, do you know what kind of wireless connection it's using?

Can't wait to see more from 007!

We used it from about 15 feet away or so - I did not notice any real latency - I'm sure there is a tiny bit - but I didn't "notice" it. We didn't go crazy testing REDMOTE as Jarred informed me that the next firmware build adds more REDMOTE functionality. We used it to start and stop recording, change ISO, white balance, exposure/false color - and do the 1:1 punch in for focus assist, etc. Not sure of the type of wireless connection.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Redmote sounds like a game changer as much as the vistavision images do.
curious if you have any rear modules yet? and if yes, post as many config pics as you can. the ergonomic testing/feedback is equally fascinating. thank you.

No rear modules yet. I'm meeting with the best machinist in NYC tomorrow - and I'm going to have a few custom cheeseplate/bracket things made to get a lean and mean fully blown cinestyle mode happening prior to other modules and third party stuff appearing. You will see what we come up with. So our configs are going to get much better - but yeah - will post pics.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

redmode is definitly cool, thinking of helicopter shootings (the ones where the cam is mounted in the front of the heli) and craneshots or inside cars while doing stunt shots.
-so a small battery adapter for the redmode makes sense.
i guess once its around your neck you wont put it back.

I seriously suspect the charge lasts a long time. I'll test that - fully charge it and let it drain. You can also power off the REDMOTE and power it back on and re-connect to the camera(s).

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Hey Mark, have you tried The camera with old fashioned lightweight lenses like super speeds? Are them really not sharp enough for epic? Or they could be useful for extended handheld use?

Thanks!

Felipe

Not yet. Ultra Primes are awesome though!

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

From Stuart re:REDmote

Uses a proprietary wireless communication we call REDLink, which is designed for low power and communication robustness (i.e. it is not 802.11 WiFi)

REDmote should last 4-6 hours on continuous operation (LCD illuminated) but if not touched for 5 minutes it will "sleep" the LCD to save power, so in practice you may get a full day's worth of operation on one charge. Of course re-attach to camera starts the re-charge process again.

REDmote also auto-powers down if the camera it is in communication with is powered down...


Stuart English

Workflow Wizard
RED Digital Cinema

 

[Jarred Land]

Is the REDmote battery replaceable by the user or does it have to be sent in to RED once the battery starts to go bad? I'm sure it has a long life, but over time it will lose it's maximum charge.

REDMOTE Battery is replaceable by a RED Service Center or RED Certified Field Technician.

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Here's a couple R3Ds frames and a tiny 96fps clip:

http://www.freehillproductions.com/offhollywood/

I let the OFFHOLLYWOOD staff & DITs throw together a fun little test shoot with a couple models - Steve Sherrick decided it was a good enough excuse to stop by with his MX and shoot a little behind the scenes and see the EPIC in action and catch up.

Nothing fancy at all here - literally a chimera and 4 small tungsten lights. Basically, indie gorilla style.

We shot about 2 hours of footage at 5K 2:1 - 3:1 compression on the 23.98fps shots to 12:1 compression at 96fps - with a some 6:1 and 8:1 compressions at frame rates in between.

Master Primes, shooting T1.3-T2.8 mostly. ARRI WCU-3 wireless focus.

We downloaded SSDs directly to our DI system while we were shooting since we filmed in the lounge area at OFFHOLLYWOOD - so we were screening footage in the theatre while we were shooting. Pretty sure I've posted this already - but EPIC footage is simply stunning when projected on a screen - the additional detail resulting from the resolution is obvious.

We are getting 24fps playback with full debayer at 5K with an alpha build of Assimilate's Scratch running on our dual Red Rocket system (JMR hardware).

Camera continues to perform rock solid. Not one single glitch or "moment" during this shoot. We were changing shutter, frame rates and compression constantly - and instantly - via REDmote and touchscreen.

Jarred also informed me that the next firmware build I'll be getting (any moment) has further optimized black calibration - which will lower the noise floor - specifically on higher frame rates, etc. - so - please keep in mind that these are just test shoots.

I'm going to try to edit a little piece from the footage this weekend and see if we can quickly grade, encode and post on Monday - but fear not - we will be shooting lots more next week as well as doing some lens coverage tests, etc. - so I'll keep adding better stuff here - more R3Ds and pics to this thread as long as folks are interested.

We got a few treats up our sleeves but we wanted to really make sure we put the camera through the paces and that all of our DIT/techs got to know and handle it and run whatever tests they wanted.

HDRx goodies coming soon here too -

 

[Martin H]

Hey everyone, I have uploaded the file from Marks link to this EU hosted FTP. So if you are located in Europe you should be able to download at full speed.

http://red.martinhartvig.com/

I will upload every file that Mark is uploading to this site.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

You need version 356E -- the Epic-enabled version. The supporting Rocket firmware is not available publicly just yet. Please discuss in the thread linked below.

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?p=697352#post697352