NEW SCARLET OWNER! HI GUYS! NEED SOME HELP PLEASE)

[Ershov Kirill]

Hi guys! well finally we got our red scarlet) very happy of it)

maybe my question seems to be strange for all of you but i am rookie with red. We have some small video production company in my city, always were using 5dmk2 than little bit mk3 and finally we had financial opportunity to afford red scarlet) epic is expensive for us((( but u know, we had never worked with red....

Maybe somebody from all of you could help me with basics here.... actually i have 5 questions in which i really need help for the first time:
Hope u gonna help me)

1) what are the best settings for scarlet footage to export from final cut 7 to vimeo or youtube ( maximum quality )

2) what could u suggest about low light performance of the camera for example the dead line for soft picture in 4k is 800 or 1250 or 3200 really dont know...

3) what are the maximum settings for best quality from scarlet for example : 4k (6:1), compression methods for maXimum quality etc.

4) what is better 4k (6:1) or 2k (3:1) is it possible to make 4k (3:1, 2:1 ) - really dont know anything about redcode....

and finally

5) is it possible to use scarlet as photocamera pushing the red button or i can grab only stills from redcine ( really can't find such answer )

REALLY PLEASE SORRY FOR SUCH STUPID QUESTIONS BUT I CAN'T FIND ANSWERS ON THEM IN THE RED SCARLET GUIDE.... I AM NOT A FILM MAKER WE HAVE NEVER USED SUCH CAMERAS AND I REALLY WANT TO STUDY AND PUSH MAXIMUM FROM THIS CAMERA....

THANKS.... HOPE SOMEBODY GONNA ANSWER ALL OF THEM....:blush:

 

[Dominick Pietrzak]

Welcome to the RED family! You're probably very excited

1) I usually just follow the compression guidelines: https://vimeo.com/help/compression Not sure if people are using better setting but would like to know as well!

2) ISO 800 is the native ISO of the sensor, so you will get the best images shooting at that. Once you go higher you will still get very good images, but you may have to clean up the grain a bit in post. Some people have shot with very high ISO and had very good results: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?85755-Scarlet-Low-Light-Footage

3) I always shoot in 4K 24fps with 8:1 compression. I always thought that was the max for the Scarlet, does it go to 6:1? Even with 8:1, the footage comes out amazing and unless you are doing VERY intensive VFX you will not notice the difference.

4) 4K is the max resolution that you can shoot 24fps with. I try to shoot everything at max resolution as it gives you the smallest crop factor. I will bump down to 3K to shoot slow motion at 48fps. Here's a crop factor guide: http://www.red.com/tools/crop-factor

5) Here is how one RedUser has set up his Side Handle to take stills: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?84909-shooting-stills-with-Scarlet

Hope that helps! Enjoy in good health!

 

[Dominick Pietrzak]

Also for 4) When you shoot in 4K, it gives you options in post to reframe your shot. That can be helpful sometimes. Overall, much better quality and versatility if you stick with shooting your 24fps stuff in 4K.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Hey Ershov, to answer a few:

1) same as with any other ProRes file. (Since you work in FCP 7 I would assume you work with ProRes renders?)
2) what works for me might not work for you, so the bottom line is: TEST! Set up a quick detailed shot with typical lighting you use - even if it's daylight only - and try out the settings and check the results. testing will bring you closer to understanding your camera and is the only answer anyone in their right mind should give you
3) the maximum setting is 6:1 check Phil's thread which is a ton of wealth of wisdom and here is his data sheet collection: Scarlet-X-Data-Sheet
4) 4K will always be better than 2K. if you downscale to 2K from 4K afterwards you will have a gain in sharpness between the two.
5) for now it's not possible other than the way you described it. What you can do though is that you can change the function of the buttons. If you have the side handle, there is a switch for MOTION-STILL. You could use that to trigger a change in the record button in a way that the camera will only record for as long as you keep the record button pressed. Similar to a DSLR when shooting continuously.

welcome to the RED world! enjoy your new toy!

 

[Patrick Grossien]

hehe dominick you beat me to it

 

[Patrick Grossien]

...
3) I always shoot in 4K 24fps with 8:1 compression. I always thought that was the max for the Scarlet, does it go to 6:1? Even with 8:1, the footage comes out amazing and unless you are doing VERY intensive VFX you will not notice the difference.
...

yes, 6:1 is possible though I do agree that 8:1 is enough for most stuff. It just depends on how much detail you have in the picture. In the end, if you have the hard drive space and enough RedMags to take you through the day, there's no real need to go lower. And here again: try shooting some tests with different settings so that you will notice what the difference is. And I'm not talking about charts! hehehe. Try shooting some of the stuff similar to what you normally work with.

From red.com/learn

Just below 3:1 is mathematically lossless, but settings in the range of 5:1 to 8:1 are typically visually lossless and advisable for most usage scenarios. At the same resolution, these settings also require less storage space than the visually lossy ProRes 422 format. Cinematographers for major motion pictures such as The Amazing Spiderman and The Hobbit have therefore been shooting at settings near 5:1.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

This is Phil's thread on his Scarlet: Red Scarlet-X 316 "Skully"
A good way to start the journey.

All of your questions have been answered before, we got you started. You will find - of course with a bit of digging - probably everything you need to know here on REDuser. And don't forget to check RED.com for their tutorials which have come up in the last couple of months. Very great way to start learning: www.red.com/learn

 

[Dominick Pietrzak]

Ah didn't even know. I've gotten by just fine shooting 8:1. I shall shoot some tests myself.

But yes another thing to note is that compression ratios will affect the amount of space footage will take up.

yes, 6:1 is possible though I do agree that 8:1 is enough for most stuff. It just depends on how much detail you have in the picture. In the end, if you have the hard drive space and enough RedMags to take you through the day, there's no real need to go lower. And here again: try shooting some tests with different settings so that you will notice what the difference is. And I'm not talking about charts! hehehe. Try shooting some of the stuff similar to what you normally work with.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Amazing.
I love this community.
You guys are great for helping.
I had to go through pages and pages to get some of your points.

Us newbies (well I have experience with a RED MX at work) get a little scared when asking questions here at times.
My first few questions with gear, all I got was "if you cant afford it, then you shouldnt be asking" remarks.

I will be bookmarking this page so that I can learn from the best

 

[Brandon J.F.]

If you have lots of small detail like tree leaves in the distance 8:1 will fall apart. 7:1 can handle it. Learned that the hard way.

 

[Dominick Pietrzak]

Amazing.
I love this community.
You guys are great for helping.
I had to go through pages and pages to get some of your points.

Us newbies (well I have experience with a RED MX at work) get a little scared when asking questions here at times.
My first few questions with gear, all I got was "if you cant afford it, then you shouldnt be asking" remarks.

I will be bookmarking this page so that I can learn from the best

No problem! Glad to hear I can help

If you have lots of small detail like tree leaves in the distance 8:1 will fall apart. 7:1 can handle it. Learned that the hard way.

Wow really? Guess I will have to look into that.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

Eric, I'm sorry that you felt this way. When I was new to this I sometimes didn't dare to ask, too. I never understand why people post their negativity like that. I teach media arts at a university and have to make things work with $500 gear and $50.000 gear and just because you can't afford it is not a reason not to learn about it. I'm a SCARLET owner, and am even now missing some pieces of gear, which I have to rent. If I would've said to myself "don't ask if you can't afford" I would've never gotten out of pre-school. Well ask away then and happy shooting - or point me to your post.

 

[Patrick Grossien]

If you have lots of small detail like tree leaves in the distance 8:1 will fall apart. 7:1 can handle it. Learned that the hard way.

I have to back you up on this one. Though it didn't happen to me the hard way, I did notice the difference. That's why I said depending on the detail (and movement in the details) in the picture. Though I must admit I never really bothered with 7:1 but true it gains a couple of minutes per SSD.

 

[Joel Arvidsson]

You can shoot 30fps in 4k but i believe its not in 6:1 but looks good. I think you should always go with the best quality. Why shoot RED if your not going to use the best settings? Also, I think you should try to stay at 3k and above for great quality but this is quiet personal.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

Wow really? Guess I will have to look into that.

Yeah, I've had to reshoot 2 shots because of this. Looked OK on the LCD, but when I played it back on my workstation the problem was obvious immediately. Both shots had small leaves in the distance moving with the wind.

 

[Brandon J.F.]

I have to back you up on this one. Though it didn't happen to me the hard way, I did notice the difference. That's why I said depending on the detail (and movement in the details) in the picture. Though I must admit I never really bothered with 7:1 but true it gains a couple of minutes per SSD.

I mostly use 7:1 for everything now. Sometimes I'll use 8:1. Used to be the other way around.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Yeah, I've had to reshoot 2 shots because of this. Looked OK on the LCD, but when I played it back on my workstation the problem was obvious immediately. Both shots had small leaves in the distance moving with the wind.

Ive been meaning to ask a few months ago in regards to shooting leaves.

If you watch the first scene in "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", the camera pan tilts down from sky to ground level and watching the leaves almost made me puke in the theatre.
Of course it was the girlfriends pick so had to hold my comments to myself

I want to know how to avoid this in the future so that boyfriends everywhere will not have to be subjected to this kind of viewing displeasure

 

[Dominick Pietrzak]

Yeah, I've had to reshoot 2 shots because of this. Looked OK on the LCD, but when I played it back on my workstation the problem was obvious immediately. Both shots had small leaves in the distance moving with the wind.

This is great to know. Thanks for the tip.