NAB13- Dragon Sensor Upgrade Program begins

[Zeb B]

Love your work Steve!

 

[Steve Gibby]

Steve, I'm sorry I missed you at NAB. Didn't even think to try and get in touch with you there. Hopefully next year. Thanks for your great help and support through-out 2012. It's been a wild ride.

Sorry we missed! You're based in Vegas and I get through there constantly to fly out to work. Sometime when I'm headed through Vegas I'll give you a shout.

Happy to give what help I could! Good things ahead...

 

[Steve Gibby]

Love your work Steve!

Thanks Josh...glad you like it! We have a way talented team of associates and alliances - and they're really what helps make our work click. Its all about teamwork...

 

[F. Malmer]

Still no single frame grabs from the final Dragon sensor and color science? Curious to see it for real.

 

[Michael Epple]

I can't put in my order to upgrade without seeing actual footage. Is there any idea when there will be some to view?

 

[Paul Russell]

I personally request RED to do a new SHORT like Tattoo! Convince Deakins to do it!

Puling RD over would be a major coup.

 

[Brant Hadfield]

Puling RD over would be a major coup.

Yes it would. The image would have to be a really big step over Alexa for that to happen. He does not like monitors as view finders. The optical variety works pretty well for him.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Yes it would. The image would have to be a really big step over Alexa for that to happen. He does not like monitors as view finders. The optical variety works pretty well for him.

I'm sure with enough cash on the line he would shoot on a GH1. Ultimately DPs are hired to light and compose shots. I highly doubt a working DP would be so picky as to refuse to work on a good project because the camera wasn't their first pick.

 

[Brant Hadfield]

I'm sure with enough cash on the line he would shoot on a GH1. Ultimately DPs are hired to light and compose shots. I highly doubt a working DP would be so picky as to refuse to work on a good project because the camera wasn't their first pick.

The choice of camera is his. Here is a quote from Roger Deakins, regarding the upcoming Dragon sensor, answering a question about the likelihood of his interest in it, and why he prefers the optical view finder:

"That's just the way I like to shoot and I think my work is of a higher standard if I am looking through an optical finder. Of course, if the image quality were such that it made a significant difference to the end product I would relent and make do with an electronic finder but that remains to be seen."

Well put. I think we are all looking forward to seeing some footage. That's why I think Dragon will have to be significantly better to see him with a Red. We shall see.

 

[Adam Johnson]

I would pay to see a Roger Deakins film shot on an iPhone. Its all about the player and what he can do with the tools accessible

Red is one of many fantastic options. Such an AMAZING era to live in! I remember back in 2000 when I had a random thought to myself. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a digital cinema camera that could capture RAW, high pixel motion at 24fps. Sounded like heaven. I can't believe I am living in the time where that dream has been brought to life in put in the hands of thousands! Soon to be millions ;-) That's what it's all about!

 

[Eryc Tramonn]

I would pay to see a Roger Deakins film shot on an iPhone. Its all about the player and what he can do with the tools accessible

We might have been separated at birth. Haha. I would pay money to see that, too. It's always been an interesting thought to imagine how the celeb filmmakers would handle themselves in the guerrilla realm. Would they be just as good without all the instruments -- forced to rely on ingenuity in place of dollars in this very tech savvy world? They are obviously good, and practiced -- but just how good is the question. Could they operate sans the insulation they've grown accustom to? And no, I'm not casting hate, on the contrary I just think it would be an interesting experiment. "Here's $10 and three home depot work lights, let's see what you can do." Ha.

Personally, I think they might get owned for the most part. Some of the stuff on Vimeo is out of this world -- gives me serious pause.

Red is one of many fantastic options. Such an AMAZING era to live in! I remember back in 2000 when I had a random thought to myself. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a digital cinema camera that could capture RAW, high pixel motion at 24fps. Sounded like heaven. I can't believe I am living in the time where that dream has been brought to life in put in the hands of thousands! Soon to be millions ;-) That's what it's all about!

I had the same thoughts concerning the "perfect" camera around 2000 -- not to mention desperately wanting to create an improvised moco. I remember shooting DVCpro 50 and trying to complete an entirely green screen video back in the day. Hahaha. I kept thinking if only we had something with more resolution. Then I heard rumors of someone trying to create a 4K cinema camera back in '06. Needless to say, I was quite skeptical. Especially in light of what we had at the time. And I also figured if they were able to pull it off, the price point would be so high, they would price indie's out of the market. Man, crow has NEVER tasted SO GOOD.

I analyzed the Milk girl images on RED.com in disbelief. And here we are -- SEVEN YEARS LATER. I've been shooting with them since day one, and will continue as long as they make cameras. Like you state, there are thousands with the cameras now, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. So exciting.

Thank you again, Jim...and RED team.

 

[Ken Willinger]

Haha. I would pay money to see that, too. It's always been an interesting thought to imagine how the celeb filmmakers would handle themselves in the guerrilla realm. Would they be just as good without all the instruments -- forced to rely on ingenuity in place of dollars in this very tech savvy world? They are obviously good, and practiced -- but just how good is the question. Could they operate sans the insulation they've grown accustom to? And no, I'm not casting hate, on the contrary I just think it would be an interesting experiment. "Here's $10 and three home depot work lights, let's see what you can do." Ha.

Personally, I think they might get owned for the most part. Some of the stuff on Vimeo is out of this world -- gives me serious pause.

From what I understand Roger came up guerrilla style working on docs before he got into narrative. My guess is he can handle any situation thrown at him, especially as he came up through the doc world. You have to make stuff work with minimal gear/help in the doc world, and do it fast. Maybe others might get "owned", but my $10 is on Roger : )

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Being a serious lighting cine-DP is very different from being a serious doco DP. Some skills carry over, some don't, some can easily make the transition between one and the other, some can't. I just heard about a fiction show that had budget and hired a well respected, extremely competent doco guy. The film is almost unwatchable - the guy just didn't know how to make a light plan and respect continuity, expressive moods etc. it just looked like one long (and extremely depressing) doco film, with the happy scenes looking harsh, and the sad scenes, everything looked the same no matter what it was.

Using just 3 lights requires less planning, less talking to an art department etc., but using 3 lights and making it work requires experience at that, and a certain mindset. Being fast is always hard, and doco guys are amazing at that, guys like me are experienced at making plans in our heads and imaging what the result will look like without seeing it. You know, you see a big grip truck, someone made a list for everything on that truck, trying very hard not to be wasteful.

As far as Vimeo, it's important to remember that many of those pieces had no deadlines, no clients, no $10 000 a day talent. At some level, that makes it a lot easier. And the best guys on Vimeo, they will be tomorrow's Roger Deakins.

 

[Eryc Tramonn]

From what I understand Roger came up guerrilla style working on docs before he got into narrative. My guess is he can handle any situation thrown at him, especially as he came up through the doc world. You have to make stuff work with minimal gear/help in the doc world, and do it fast. Maybe others might get "owned", but my $10 is on Roger : )

Yeah, I'm with you, Ken. For the record, I wasn't specifically pointing any fingers at Roger.

At the end of the day, it is a pretty silly thought. The objective should always be to do the best one can with whatever they have access to. From that standpoint, one can't fault anyone else for using the tools they happen to be fortunate enough to have in their arsenal.

Undoubtedly, we've all met someone that didn't seem terribly deserving of their status -- and they were a-holes to boot. That's always the worse. Whatever though, I look forward to meeting them on the field. Back to studying.

 

[Brice Ansel]

I didn't go threw the whole thread.
So my apologies if my question has been already covered.
Will the sensor upgrade be doable in European continent?
Or the cameras have to be ship to America?
Thanks in advance
Best
B.

 

[Steven-Marc C.]

I didn't go threw the whole thread.
So my apologies if my question has been already covered.
Will the sensor upgrade be doable in European continent?
Or the cameras have to be ship to America?
Thanks in advance
Best
B.

The upgrade will be done in US only. But you will be able to send your camera to Red UK and have them handle the temporary export.

 

[Brice Ansel]

The upgrade will be done in US only. But you will be able to send your camera to Red UK and have them handle the temporary export.

So Red can move a clean room to NAB for comunication purpose,
but need all that non sense logistic by sending back tousands of cameras to US for an upgrade.
Not really environmentally friendly, when thinking about the carbon print cost of such a global process.
Anyway I'm certain there is good reason for that, it still puzzle me thought.

 

[Nils Ruinet]

So Red can move a clean room to NAB for comunication purpose,
but need all that non sense logistic by sending back tousands of cameras to US for an upgrade.
Not really environmentally friendly, when thinking about the carbon print cost of such a global process.
Anyway I'm certain there is good reason for that, it still puzzle me thought.

You got a valid point there

 

[Jaakko Rinne]

So Red can move a clean room to NAB for comunication purpose,
but need all that non sense logistic by sending back tousands of cameras to US for an upgrade.
Not really environmentally friendly, when thinking about the carbon print cost of such a global process.
Anyway I'm certain there is good reason for that, it still puzzle me thought.

Don't really care about the carbon print, but it would be nice to not have to pay tax, duty and shipping for the trip to the U.S.

 

[Brice Ansel]

Don't really care about the carbon print, but it would be nice to not have to pay tax, duty and shipping for the trip to the U.S.

With such a selfish statement I think you deserve to pay for the trip to US then. ;-)