RED One "Video Village"

[Roxco]

I just saw the term "Video Village" used in the latest Jannard Film vs. RED Thread and I was wondering what companies make/rent video villages or what support gear people are planning on building around their RED systems in the field?

The grip truck will be the same size and the audio cart will be the same size with RED as with Film, but what about this new truck or trailer to house the video village?

What will be in your RED One camera support truck?

TIA Rosco

 

[Brook Willard]

The good news is that it seems like video village should easily scale from project to project... gone are the days of having to throw down another $1,000 a week for a nasty, dark video tap.

As of the last time I heard, the camera has single-link HD-SDI, dual-link HD-SDI and HDMI output. So for low-budget projects, if somebody donates their HDTV from home for the week... there's an instant video village. It won't be a beautiful studio monitor, but it's still infinitely better than a buggered up little video tap. On a HD project I just completed a few weeks ago, the director brought some gigantic 42" HDTV from home... it was hilarious. The entire crew crowded around it during takes. That said, the entire crew were friends.

At the higher end, I personally would want it set up like this: dual-link HD-SDI patching through a D5 or HDCAM deck for recording/playback on the video village side [I hate it when directors make me play back a shot when I'm trying to light the next one...]. I'd also have some nice, calibrated 720p or 1080p monitor that I could run that 4:4:4 signal to [or 4:2:2 if I use the output from a D5 deck or another 4:2:2 system...]. The feed can patch to as many monitors as the director wants. In a really perfect world, I'd want my mixer to have a monitor as well... why not? Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

It'd be really cool to have somebody sitting right there with a laptop and REDCINE. They could do a one-light on the footage they've received from the AC... and build a new LUT to the director's liking. Pass that LUT back to the AC and I think they should be able to put it right into the camera. It seems like it'd be like having a paint box on set... but without the associated cost.

If one wants to go SD, there are HD-SDI to SD conversion boxes out there... though I don't know how reasonably priced they are.

Does anybody know if there are wireless HD-SDI [single- or dual-link] solutions out there of a reasonable size? It'd be really cool to have a wireless 4:4:4 HD signal coming from the camera to all the monitors on set... but I don't know if this is a reality yet.

 

[Steve Gibby]

What will be in your RED One camera support truck?

Blair Paulsen has posted several times that he is developing a mobile camera support van for his RED #19, and for hire. He isn't on the forum right now, but I'm sure when he checks in he'll have some input. If you do a search of all his posts on this board, you'll probably be able to find his posts on that.

 

[Joel Kaye]

if somebody donates their HDTV from home for the week... there's an instant video village.

That's my plan right now. I don't want a video village slowing me down and distracting a bunch of gawkers. I'm hoping I'll become confident enough with the EVF, focus assist and histogram to go shoot, review and move on.

 

[Steve Gibby]

If you need 1080p monitoring for video village or a client monitor, it can be done inexpensively with a 24" 1920x1200 LCD, but you'll also need a dual link HD-SDI converter attached to RED One in order to get 1080p to that monitor. Aja and Black Magic make them - about $450.

Keep in mind that HDMI out of RED One is limited to 720p.

 

[Steve Gibby]

I'm hoping I'll become confident enough with the EVF, focus assist and histogram to go shoot, review and move on.

That's exactly how I plan to work for my smaller productions and single-handed stock footage shooting.

 

[Joel Kaye]

That's exactly how I plan to work for my smaller productions and single-handed stock footage shooting.

Good to know - it makes logical sense. If you can use it ENG style then it'll also kick butt for many, many shooting scenarios. I can't wait to hear how running and gunning works out for you.

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

If you need 1080p monitoring for video village or a client monitor, it can be done inexpensively with a 24" 1920x1200 LCD, but you'll also need a dual link HD-SDI converter attached to RED One in order to get 1080p to that monitor. Aja and Black Magic make them - about $450.

Keep in mind that HDMI out of RED One is limited to 720p.

Which gets me wondering... Is there any reason the HDMI output is limited to 720p and does not offer 1080p? Last word on it from Stuart was that they chose 720p because they did and that was all he had to say on it at that time, all specs subject to change, count on it...

So, is the 720p only for HDMI output still the way it is? Any chance for future upgrade via firmware to support 1080p? Would sure be handy... That 42" 1080p Samsung LCD TV would make one really nice client monitor.

Sorry, I know this question isn't directed at you, Gibby... Just caught myself thinking about this again since you mentioned it.

 

[Gopher77]

I'd like to build a field cart for video village. It could house a 19"rack and equipment, a desk and some sort of pop up tent or hood. The exact guts I'm still contemplating, for instance what capability could there be when a steadi cam is in use, or other non tethered times? Secondly I want to see the 4k monitor and if that would be a display option in video village. I guess there is still a lot of the workflow TBD.

 

[Steve Gibby]

Jeff,

For less complex projects, I simply check my RED One daily footage via dual link HD-SDI out of RED One to my Black Magic HDLink converter, then from there via DVI-D bus, using the BM-supplied little DVI to HDMI adapter, then into my LG 246W 24" 1920x1200 LCD via its HDMI input. A workaround for sure, and a $450 one at that, but as I remember, Stuart had some very definitive and logical reasons for the RED HDMI tap being limited to 720p. I'm OK with that, plus the BM HDLink will be used in other workflows I have so it was a good acquisition.

Once RED develops their announced line of 4k displays, I'll happily monitor my RED One footage with an affordable 4k monitor, rather than 1080p.

 

[Kevin Halverson]

Besides monitors, the video village often includes some very comfortable seating, a lot of snacks (usually better than crafty provides for cast/crew) and anything else it takes to keep the client happy! I have seen personal assistants asked to obtain all sorts of "interesting" things for the privileged few who occupy "the village".

 

[Joel Kaye]

Jeff,

For less complex projects, I simply check my RED One daily footage via dual link HD-SDI out of RED One to my Black Magic HDLink converter, then from there via DVI-D bus, using the BM-supplied little DVI to HDMI adapter, then into my LG 246W 24" 1920x1200 LCD via its HDMI input.

That's a very "present tense" answer. Do you have your RED already?

 

[Steve Gibby]

That's a very "present tense" answer. Do you have your RED already?

Not yet...but it shouldn't be too long now! I probably intended to put "I'll" (future tense) in that post, but subconsciously just put "I" as I get ready to put it in the present tense shortly.

When I get #8 I'll share that news with this community right away, start shooting some stock footage tests, and then get it right into think tank testing in los Angeles, that I've posted about.

 

[Joe Carney]

I posted the comment about the VV. In our case, you needed at least 18" or better of ground clearance, so the village was a quick shelter, lunch table, and several Sony tape decks and monitors. We were/are shooting with 2 cameras on this shoot. The people in the village get the same things as everyone else unless they brought it themselves. The only people allowed in were functional. Lots and lots of rocks, big ones, medium sized ones, small ones. Would have been nice to have a big 4x4 offroad truck converted for use, but that would have been over budget. Everything was rented from Panavision btw.

A 12' long cargo trailer with good ground clearance converted to a 'video village' would have worked too.

 

[Nick Shaw]

Stuart said 720p was chosen for it's ability to do 60p. I wonder if in future as 1080p60 monitors become more commonly available it will be possible to have upgrades to support that. Does the current HDMI spec support 1080p60?

 

[Kevin Halverson]

Does the current HDMI spec support 1080p60?

Yes, 1080p is supported in the current iteration.

 

[MikeCurtis]

khmuse - in the LATEST spec, but not all HDMI enabled devices adhere to that spec. So keep that in mind...

-mike

 

[Dominique Grenier]

Once RED develops their announced line of 4k displays, I'll happily monitor my RED One footage with an affordable 4k monitor, rather than 1080p.

I'm curious how that'll be possible? Since the HDMI output is limited to 720p and the dual HD-SDI link to 1080p, how would you connect the 4k display to the camera? Or maybe there's something I'm missing?

 

[Nick Shaw]

I'm curious how that'll be possible? Since the HDMI output is limited to 720p and the dual HD-SDI link to 1080p, how would you connect the 4k display to the camera? Or maybe there's something I'm missing?

None of of us know what the spec for the 4k displays will be, outside red of course, and even for them it's a work in progress. Maybe it will have an input which connects direct to the camera's high speed port. That would be very cool.

 

[Dominique Grenier]

None of of us know what the spec for the 4k displays will be, outside red of course, and even for them it's a work in progress. Maybe it will have an input which connects direct to the camera's high speed port. That would be very cool.

That'd be great, but then, if you want to record on a RAID using the RAW port, you're out of luck! Unless they make some sort of splitter, that is.