- Moderator
- #1
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
- Messages
- 13,392
- Reaction score
- 796
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Website
- www.phfx.com
Hello all,
Nine years ago in April during the glory days of 2007 I registered here on REDuser. At the time RED interested me a great deal as the potential for a digital film alternative was highly alluring. Though at the time for many it was still a "vaporware" mystery, I didn't doubt a camera was going to come to the market.
Just coming off of a feature shot on the Panavision Genesis in 2005, working on a Viper production shortly after that, and working on a slew of films being scanned in at 4K and 6K from 1999 on in glorious uncompressed 16-bit and eventually dealing with higher resolutions and larger formats spoiled me in comparison to most digital alternatives at the time. I remember the times I whipped out my HVX200 in those early days to compare it to Kodak Vision and Vision2 Super 35 stock and well...... It wasn't as colorful and was nowhere near the Color & Tonal Response, Resolution, and Dynamic Range of film. Then 5219 came around and it was better still. Not to mention that most other digital systems at the time had tremendously lossy/blocky codecs. I was itching for so much more.
A few nights ago while exporting a render I had a quick glance back at Recon. Went to the very first posts and clicked through to read/see the progression over the years. Specifically the leaps RED made from 2009 through now are just tremendous.
RED's cameras have come a long, long way. The original M Sensor in the RED One advancing towards Mysterium-X which led to the eventual 5K found in modular DSMC concept of RED Epic, which apparently has inspired the entire industry when it comes to body form factor, and the impressive price point and timing of the Scarlet-X announcement allowed me to step into the RED world after being so very seduced. I was just shy of two years into my foray into being a full time Director of Photography and Director since leaving my old studio where I had pretty much any piece of gear I wanted for 11.5 years it allowed me to create cinema level visuals on any job I took. Not quite as good as motion picture film, but I certainly saw the potential and cold foresee a bit towards where RED was aiming. And the camera itself allowed me to do enough work to upgrade to Epic, which was a game changer for me as 5K just gave me so much more.
Enter the Dragon.
The Dragon Sensor Technology got so much right for me. It hit all the right spots in directly comparing it to motion picture film. Much improved Color, Dynamic Range, as well as having that Film Format to Resolution Relevance I've harped on about for so long. Dragon hit my minimum resolution desires in the Super 35mm 3-perf format size at 5K. It resolves as much or more than Super 35mm if scanned at 6K. Combined with it's rather stellar Color Science it became the camera that made me not miss film. For my personal creative needs and looking at it's technical merit RED's mission of a Digital Film Alternative quickly transformed into my Digital Film Replacement. To date Epic Dragon has been the most important camera in my career and has led to some of the most impressive visuals I've shot.
Building on that Dragon sensor tech, RED's DSMC[SUP]2[/SUP] concept with Weapon and the host of other announced and shipping cameras takes the concept further. Some productions and filmmakers have indeed been desiring less compressed REDCODE RAW, 5K @ 2:1 or 6K @ 3:1 at speed is nice, juicy, and thick. Even crazier, though much frustration came from the announcement of the Meizler Module, we now have much of what it had to offer in a camera that's under 4lbs in weight. From the outside looking in RED has essentially made a camera line-up of different format sizes and resolutions that all use the same state of the art sensor technology that crosses nearly every price point. This is impressive and hasn't been done at this level. Raven comes in as essentially your Academy 35mm at 4.5K, Scarlet-W Super 35mm 3-perf at 5K, and Weapon 6K brains are the Super 35mm+ workhorses. And shortly, Weapon 8K is bringing forth something I've been looking forward to for a long time. A proper resolution relevant at 8K VistaVision+ format size digital cinema camera. This format holds so, so much creative potential and we are seeing top tier/budget productions being seduced by the larger formats already. This is an era will film still truly shines for those who can afford properly working with the larger formats. Having this creative power in a camera that fits in the palm of my hand is absurd and abnormally wonderful.
It's often that we get lost in the chatter of all of the new technology that's deployed on a seemingly weekly basis these days. However, it's important to look at where we are and how far things have come. And perhaps more importantly at things that really matter in regards to what a pleasing image is. I certainly haven't forgotten exactly where things were and certainly can't ignore where things are today.
I made a decision a while ago to contribute here on REDuser with the hopes of assisting those in this community and abroad to create the highest quality images with their cameras. There was time on REDuser where question marks were much more visible and images out of the cameras sometimes left people scratching their heads, no matter the experience level. The community in itself before I even came along has been just a wealth of useful information openly shared in a mentor-ish way by industry seasoned professionals. Something I experienced as I came up through the late 90's and 2000's on set, something that at the most recent ASC Awards was even mentioned as something that is still very important to focus on to help move the industry forward in the right direction despite a palpable sense of discord that evening regarding digital cinema technology and motion picture film. This community has become as much as a learning tool as it is a way to communicate with each other. It's blossomed into a powerful resource for filmmakers at all experience levels. It's a privilege to contribute to something like that.
I'd like to thank the numerous REDusers out there for their support, and for the few I've worked with, sorry about the smell
I also want to thank RED for producing the only digital cinema camera that I feel is harmonious with the evolving world of motion picture production. 4K isn't even something people question anymore despite just 2 years ago being told otherwise by so many. The industry is moving forward at a rapid pace. I'm very happy RED is leading the charge. My choice in camera selection has come from my film background and rather tedious yet rigorous testing, experimentation, and examining perhaps too closely at what RED cameras can do. And in 2016 my investment and involvement has never felt better. Weapon at the moment is the most capable motion picture camera in the world if you really look at it. It feels more "right" than ever.
RED cameras have been with me all over the world as my career progresses and it's honestly been the adventure of a lifetime all the while creating compelling motion pictures. Doing things that haven't really even been possible before even.
Thanks to Jarred for his constant support and late night pep talks as my chaotic career takes me all over. And big thanks for Brent for putting up with my shenanigans and not getting arrested while wielding a sword in the middle of Hollywood. There's a host of talented, intelligent, and hard working people at RED who are so very passionate about what they do and it shows in the cameras they create. I'd also like to commend RED for listening to it's customers, who at times have been highly critical. This has helped the cameras evolve for the better over time to what they are today and what they will be tomorrow.
And one last thank you to Jim for being crazy enough to change the face of what to expect out of digital motion picture cameras.
It's my 8,000[SUP]th[/SUP] post. Let's end on a frame grab from the 8K Weapon.
Click for 4K higher resoltion.
For those attending, see you at NAB 2016. Keep REDuser weird, but keep it useful
Nine years ago in April during the glory days of 2007 I registered here on REDuser. At the time RED interested me a great deal as the potential for a digital film alternative was highly alluring. Though at the time for many it was still a "vaporware" mystery, I didn't doubt a camera was going to come to the market.
Just coming off of a feature shot on the Panavision Genesis in 2005, working on a Viper production shortly after that, and working on a slew of films being scanned in at 4K and 6K from 1999 on in glorious uncompressed 16-bit and eventually dealing with higher resolutions and larger formats spoiled me in comparison to most digital alternatives at the time. I remember the times I whipped out my HVX200 in those early days to compare it to Kodak Vision and Vision2 Super 35 stock and well...... It wasn't as colorful and was nowhere near the Color & Tonal Response, Resolution, and Dynamic Range of film. Then 5219 came around and it was better still. Not to mention that most other digital systems at the time had tremendously lossy/blocky codecs. I was itching for so much more.
A few nights ago while exporting a render I had a quick glance back at Recon. Went to the very first posts and clicked through to read/see the progression over the years. Specifically the leaps RED made from 2009 through now are just tremendous.
RED's cameras have come a long, long way. The original M Sensor in the RED One advancing towards Mysterium-X which led to the eventual 5K found in modular DSMC concept of RED Epic, which apparently has inspired the entire industry when it comes to body form factor, and the impressive price point and timing of the Scarlet-X announcement allowed me to step into the RED world after being so very seduced. I was just shy of two years into my foray into being a full time Director of Photography and Director since leaving my old studio where I had pretty much any piece of gear I wanted for 11.5 years it allowed me to create cinema level visuals on any job I took. Not quite as good as motion picture film, but I certainly saw the potential and cold foresee a bit towards where RED was aiming. And the camera itself allowed me to do enough work to upgrade to Epic, which was a game changer for me as 5K just gave me so much more.
Enter the Dragon.
The Dragon Sensor Technology got so much right for me. It hit all the right spots in directly comparing it to motion picture film. Much improved Color, Dynamic Range, as well as having that Film Format to Resolution Relevance I've harped on about for so long. Dragon hit my minimum resolution desires in the Super 35mm 3-perf format size at 5K. It resolves as much or more than Super 35mm if scanned at 6K. Combined with it's rather stellar Color Science it became the camera that made me not miss film. For my personal creative needs and looking at it's technical merit RED's mission of a Digital Film Alternative quickly transformed into my Digital Film Replacement. To date Epic Dragon has been the most important camera in my career and has led to some of the most impressive visuals I've shot.
Building on that Dragon sensor tech, RED's DSMC[SUP]2[/SUP] concept with Weapon and the host of other announced and shipping cameras takes the concept further. Some productions and filmmakers have indeed been desiring less compressed REDCODE RAW, 5K @ 2:1 or 6K @ 3:1 at speed is nice, juicy, and thick. Even crazier, though much frustration came from the announcement of the Meizler Module, we now have much of what it had to offer in a camera that's under 4lbs in weight. From the outside looking in RED has essentially made a camera line-up of different format sizes and resolutions that all use the same state of the art sensor technology that crosses nearly every price point. This is impressive and hasn't been done at this level. Raven comes in as essentially your Academy 35mm at 4.5K, Scarlet-W Super 35mm 3-perf at 5K, and Weapon 6K brains are the Super 35mm+ workhorses. And shortly, Weapon 8K is bringing forth something I've been looking forward to for a long time. A proper resolution relevant at 8K VistaVision+ format size digital cinema camera. This format holds so, so much creative potential and we are seeing top tier/budget productions being seduced by the larger formats already. This is an era will film still truly shines for those who can afford properly working with the larger formats. Having this creative power in a camera that fits in the palm of my hand is absurd and abnormally wonderful.
It's often that we get lost in the chatter of all of the new technology that's deployed on a seemingly weekly basis these days. However, it's important to look at where we are and how far things have come. And perhaps more importantly at things that really matter in regards to what a pleasing image is. I certainly haven't forgotten exactly where things were and certainly can't ignore where things are today.
I made a decision a while ago to contribute here on REDuser with the hopes of assisting those in this community and abroad to create the highest quality images with their cameras. There was time on REDuser where question marks were much more visible and images out of the cameras sometimes left people scratching their heads, no matter the experience level. The community in itself before I even came along has been just a wealth of useful information openly shared in a mentor-ish way by industry seasoned professionals. Something I experienced as I came up through the late 90's and 2000's on set, something that at the most recent ASC Awards was even mentioned as something that is still very important to focus on to help move the industry forward in the right direction despite a palpable sense of discord that evening regarding digital cinema technology and motion picture film. This community has become as much as a learning tool as it is a way to communicate with each other. It's blossomed into a powerful resource for filmmakers at all experience levels. It's a privilege to contribute to something like that.
I'd like to thank the numerous REDusers out there for their support, and for the few I've worked with, sorry about the smell
I also want to thank RED for producing the only digital cinema camera that I feel is harmonious with the evolving world of motion picture production. 4K isn't even something people question anymore despite just 2 years ago being told otherwise by so many. The industry is moving forward at a rapid pace. I'm very happy RED is leading the charge. My choice in camera selection has come from my film background and rather tedious yet rigorous testing, experimentation, and examining perhaps too closely at what RED cameras can do. And in 2016 my investment and involvement has never felt better. Weapon at the moment is the most capable motion picture camera in the world if you really look at it. It feels more "right" than ever.
RED cameras have been with me all over the world as my career progresses and it's honestly been the adventure of a lifetime all the while creating compelling motion pictures. Doing things that haven't really even been possible before even.
Thanks to Jarred for his constant support and late night pep talks as my chaotic career takes me all over. And big thanks for Brent for putting up with my shenanigans and not getting arrested while wielding a sword in the middle of Hollywood. There's a host of talented, intelligent, and hard working people at RED who are so very passionate about what they do and it shows in the cameras they create. I'd also like to commend RED for listening to it's customers, who at times have been highly critical. This has helped the cameras evolve for the better over time to what they are today and what they will be tomorrow.
And one last thank you to Jim for being crazy enough to change the face of what to expect out of digital motion picture cameras.
It's my 8,000[SUP]th[/SUP] post. Let's end on a frame grab from the 8K Weapon.
Click for 4K higher resoltion.
For those attending, see you at NAB 2016. Keep REDuser weird, but keep it useful
