Operating the RED for the first time ever!

[Olegna Aral]

Hi everyone.

In a couple of weeks, I am going to be camera operator on a short student film. We are shooting on RED and it is mostly handheld.

One day last week, I was able to spend some time with the guy that we're hiring the camera from and he walked me through the the building of the camera and all of the menus and settings. Apart from that, this is my first time operating the RED.

Does anybody have any tips for me regarding handheld techniques and operation of the camera?

Also, could somebody recommend a relatively comfortable but CHEAP method of handholding or shoulder mounting the RED?

Remember, the camera will not be on sticks for most of this shoot...

Thanks in advance, everyone, and I look forward to maybe becoming an avid RED user and active member of these boards!

 

[Mike 'Fireman' Ross]

Olegna,

Lots of good stuff here:

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?40067-Thoughts-and-Tips...

Can't help on the handheld, sorry. Good luck!

Mike

 

[Johnny Friday]

Olga,
if on a low or no budget and no tools....well, in fact on a budget with tools....personally i cradle the RED under my shoulder with LCD tilted up so i can see it. I've used a variety of shoulder mount tools, and found i just don't like them. A steady cam however is another question. I'd make sure you had a good few towls...nice and thick. Much depends also if you have LCD or EVF. There are a number of ways you can operate the red w/out expensive shoulder mount systems...not criticizing them mind you. My work is mostly outdoors/documentary so having those tools usually just takes up space and get in the way. I find i can cradle the REd under my shoulder or against my chest very well now....but i am mostly on a boat also and leaning over rails...and i find it works very well....I've also made some straps to keep weight distributed so i'm not holding all the weight out on my arms.
good luck. and BREATH DEEP when hand holding as i've mentioned----no short or holding your breath. Stretch your belly out.

 

[Olegna Aral]

Mike - Thank you. That thread is really helpful.

Johnny - The thing is, I will probably need to have the camera on my shoulder for most of the time because we're shooting a drama and I'm assuming my DOP will want the camera to be on or close to the actor's eye level for a majority of the shots.

So, I have a few more questions:

1. Do you guys find it's easier to have one hand on the rails and one hand holding the top of the camera?
2. Or are pistol grips the way to go?
3. Are there simple shoulder mount systems available for hire or any homegrown techniques that will make shoulder mounting not so uncomfortable?

 

[Johnny Friday]

I use long rails-24" and hold the rails and put a towel on my shoulder. For some reason i can't get the "feel" of a pistol grip rig like the mantis. I like holding teh camera itself. Then i hang the battery pack and HDD off the end of the rails and as far back as possible to counter balance the camera so it's not so top heavy. Again, i think MOST will not agree with how i do this and you should try some shoulder mount rigs. Me personally i just don't use them in my workflow.

 

[ericyoung]

If you're doing lots of long takes, pistol grips are the way to go, or your arms will be wobbling really quickly as you'll be using muscle power just to hold a stable frame, let alone move with it.

As Johnny said, try to get weight behind your shoulder too, so the camera centre of gravity is as close to over your shoulder as possible.

I find Red's own shoulder dovetail is a reasonably comfortable and low profile shoulder pad to avoid the camera setup getting too tall and top heavy.

Use a Manfrotto nano-clamp on the end of a Red Arm to position the LCD anywhere you want on 19mm rods - much more lightweight and versatile than the Red EVF if you aren't wedded to using an EVF.

 

[John Marchant]

A simple setup that works for me is the standard Red production pack, with the drive cradle and battery hung right out at the back, level with the camera body, and two standard handles straight on the rails.

Alternatively if I'm running about and changing angles a lot more I lose the drive and battery into a backpack, pop the rails up in the top mounts, handles alongside lens barrel, and use the camera almost completely bare- the backpack shoulder strap does nicely as a shoulder pad

One tip that I don't see done too often is to shoot with the small LCD mounted from the end of a left hand Red handle - just unbolt the end cap and there's a thread ready and waiting. I use a little v-mount in place of the handle end cap to make this a quick snappy option for monitor placement. That makes for a good forward placement for the LCD which the EVF is too long to make work (unless you have a Bomb of course!)