morpheusfilm
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- Nov 20, 2007
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I've finally had the chance to go through the system and do tests and have been contemplating the realities of using the camera to shoot a feature. The following serious issues seem to be the most important things for me, as a professional DP to overcome and convince producers and directors that this is the system to use.
1) The most serious problem and top priority for me is to have the ability to use the on-board LCD while sending a signal at least to the director. The integrated LCD monitor is essential for focus assist and exposure /color/histograph/waveform info and to be forced to switch to an external on-board with none of these integrated functions just so the director can see something too, is a real problem. I can see that mounting the integrated as well as another monitor is the way to solve this, but it really is a clunky way of working and is a serious impedance to efficient on set work. This needs to be solved immediately and I'm not even going into the fact that there is no viewfinder enabled so the operator and the focus puller have to work off the same monitor. There are many situations in which the 1st AC must operate on the other side of the camera and then we have a real problem.
2) Sound- The camera is Goddamn loud. Even in quiet mode it is almost at a level that I can only call it an MOS camera. I don't know any sound man in LA that is not going to complain about this camera vigorously and openly, causing numerous political problems on set. The noise seems to be mostly coming from the left bottom side of the camera where the cards slot in. The card slot itself has a hole all around it that because there is no insulation the fan sound is emminating out of it big time. The drive also reverberates a lot. I will be forced to drape a frickin blimp on the camera every time I shoot a closeup of an actor. Could the RED folks at least put some sound insulating baffel or replace that drive cover with something that can help this issue. Also we all know that quiet mode is for shit when we will all be shooting next summer in 90 degree heat. The camera just shuts down. I would suggest making one of the user programable buttons capable of switching from normal to quiet mode so you could do so efficiently just before rolling.
3)Fix the poorly designed dovetale mounting plate. After two weeks of use the stock locking mounting plate is absolutely useless. It wobbles like the tower of Piza. Our camera has been converted to Arri dovetale but that causes problems with the Redcage configuration and makes coversion to hand held a real pain in the ass. Everything else in the system is so well engineered that this critical oversight is really embarassing.
4) Forget about the RED lenses. Yes they are cheap. The also suck beyond belief. We took one look at both the primes and the zoom and sent it all back. I haven't seen so much lense breathing since fucked up film school Angenieux 12-120's. I would respectfully suggest that the companies resources could be much better used in making the camera work fully to capacity as opposed to spending the 5+ years in R&D to make a good set of primes. No DP who has any real professional experience could possibly except those lenses of yours. Everyone is going to be using Zeiss glass or Cookes anyway. I repeat; FORGET ABOUT DEVELOPING A SET OF LENSES FOR NOW.
5) Ok- lower on the list but still damn important is playback. Yea I know, firmware upgrade in the future but what this means realistically on set is that we must rent an external HD deck to record the 720p signal so the director can have playback. Extra cost=producer's wonder 'Is it all worth it'. And yea, we could have a downconverter in the workflow to make it more cost effective for playback, but who the hell wants to look at a 640X480 version of 4k? It's like getting a massage in Bangkok without the happy finish.
6) Speed. Really dissapointing. 4K/60P? When oh when- 'cause I can already see that every damn action sequence I'll have to shoot will be in 2K. And then we have to match the 2k to 4k and I won't even go into the depth of field issue. You cannot use this camera to do stunts, fights, car action, pyro or anything else that requires slo mo. Did I say really disappointing?
7) 11.3 stops latitude. Again a real disappointment. I kept hearing 13 and that would have been really something. Because I have filter configurations that can gain another stop, but 11.3? I can get almost 11 with my varicam. Why oh why is it that nobody seems to recognize that this is the main failing of digital capture vs. film. Film has 16+ stops. Each and every stop is DOUBLE the amount of light and capability to render detail. Critical for highlights. It is the MAIN difference in the mediums and ONLY when digital can break the barrier of letting me shoot day exterior locations with no light attenuation will the medium become what I know will replace film. Every action sequence ranging over large day exterior areas basically means no lighting- car chases, running street sequences, run and gun actor follows, exterior steadicam, landscape establishing- all of it is uncontrolled and until you can get the damn sensors to get at least 13 stops, you're not even in the ball park. I loved the earlier posts suggesting Hi-dynamic range with dual capture using differing gamma curves. But alas speed, speed....
I want to say that yes I really like where it is going and I wholeheartedly support what the developers of RED are trying to achieve, I just wanted to lay out here the real world concerns I know will be the obstacles to get a prod. company to take the plunge into RED. And I wanted to set out what MY priorities would be for it's crucial initial development for use in feature film, which I believe is really the main use of this system.
1) The most serious problem and top priority for me is to have the ability to use the on-board LCD while sending a signal at least to the director. The integrated LCD monitor is essential for focus assist and exposure /color/histograph/waveform info and to be forced to switch to an external on-board with none of these integrated functions just so the director can see something too, is a real problem. I can see that mounting the integrated as well as another monitor is the way to solve this, but it really is a clunky way of working and is a serious impedance to efficient on set work. This needs to be solved immediately and I'm not even going into the fact that there is no viewfinder enabled so the operator and the focus puller have to work off the same monitor. There are many situations in which the 1st AC must operate on the other side of the camera and then we have a real problem.
2) Sound- The camera is Goddamn loud. Even in quiet mode it is almost at a level that I can only call it an MOS camera. I don't know any sound man in LA that is not going to complain about this camera vigorously and openly, causing numerous political problems on set. The noise seems to be mostly coming from the left bottom side of the camera where the cards slot in. The card slot itself has a hole all around it that because there is no insulation the fan sound is emminating out of it big time. The drive also reverberates a lot. I will be forced to drape a frickin blimp on the camera every time I shoot a closeup of an actor. Could the RED folks at least put some sound insulating baffel or replace that drive cover with something that can help this issue. Also we all know that quiet mode is for shit when we will all be shooting next summer in 90 degree heat. The camera just shuts down. I would suggest making one of the user programable buttons capable of switching from normal to quiet mode so you could do so efficiently just before rolling.
3)Fix the poorly designed dovetale mounting plate. After two weeks of use the stock locking mounting plate is absolutely useless. It wobbles like the tower of Piza. Our camera has been converted to Arri dovetale but that causes problems with the Redcage configuration and makes coversion to hand held a real pain in the ass. Everything else in the system is so well engineered that this critical oversight is really embarassing.
4) Forget about the RED lenses. Yes they are cheap. The also suck beyond belief. We took one look at both the primes and the zoom and sent it all back. I haven't seen so much lense breathing since fucked up film school Angenieux 12-120's. I would respectfully suggest that the companies resources could be much better used in making the camera work fully to capacity as opposed to spending the 5+ years in R&D to make a good set of primes. No DP who has any real professional experience could possibly except those lenses of yours. Everyone is going to be using Zeiss glass or Cookes anyway. I repeat; FORGET ABOUT DEVELOPING A SET OF LENSES FOR NOW.
5) Ok- lower on the list but still damn important is playback. Yea I know, firmware upgrade in the future but what this means realistically on set is that we must rent an external HD deck to record the 720p signal so the director can have playback. Extra cost=producer's wonder 'Is it all worth it'. And yea, we could have a downconverter in the workflow to make it more cost effective for playback, but who the hell wants to look at a 640X480 version of 4k? It's like getting a massage in Bangkok without the happy finish.
6) Speed. Really dissapointing. 4K/60P? When oh when- 'cause I can already see that every damn action sequence I'll have to shoot will be in 2K. And then we have to match the 2k to 4k and I won't even go into the depth of field issue. You cannot use this camera to do stunts, fights, car action, pyro or anything else that requires slo mo. Did I say really disappointing?
7) 11.3 stops latitude. Again a real disappointment. I kept hearing 13 and that would have been really something. Because I have filter configurations that can gain another stop, but 11.3? I can get almost 11 with my varicam. Why oh why is it that nobody seems to recognize that this is the main failing of digital capture vs. film. Film has 16+ stops. Each and every stop is DOUBLE the amount of light and capability to render detail. Critical for highlights. It is the MAIN difference in the mediums and ONLY when digital can break the barrier of letting me shoot day exterior locations with no light attenuation will the medium become what I know will replace film. Every action sequence ranging over large day exterior areas basically means no lighting- car chases, running street sequences, run and gun actor follows, exterior steadicam, landscape establishing- all of it is uncontrolled and until you can get the damn sensors to get at least 13 stops, you're not even in the ball park. I loved the earlier posts suggesting Hi-dynamic range with dual capture using differing gamma curves. But alas speed, speed....
I want to say that yes I really like where it is going and I wholeheartedly support what the developers of RED are trying to achieve, I just wanted to lay out here the real world concerns I know will be the obstacles to get a prod. company to take the plunge into RED. And I wanted to set out what MY priorities would be for it's crucial initial development for use in feature film, which I believe is really the main use of this system.
What's up, KOSMOS3D?!?
