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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Red testamony -First feature in Montreal

Eagle eye

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Hello gang

Just a little testamony after finishing a feature with the RED.Was the first in Montreal for a long term project . It has been used a lot on commercials music videos and short features.I knew the camera but working in very different conditions for 24 days ,you discover little tricks and hints.This camera has a soul,believe me.

Well we made it without any major issues.Had only 2 takes on 1 CF card with an internal recording error ,but we saw it so no biggie there. Had a few crashes when i tried to do a playback on the RED drive ,but if I unplugged the viewfinder, it would work fine. Sometimes the camera just shut down and rebooted on it s own ,so we just figured she burped or sneezed and it shook her too much...

To eliminate downloading on set since we were under staff because of budget restreints,we had 20 CF cards (8gig)and the Red drive so we could send the cards and drive to the post house and could receive them in the morning to start over.Had a couple of cards in back up but we still had to do some downloading on set to make sure we had enough to start the next day.We had to shoot 6 pages a day sometimes...

The REd batteries did the job in cold weather and rain (2 degrees celcius) even with a zoom control being used the whole time. Roughly 1.5 to 2 hours of runnin.Had 5 batteries...

The only thing that surfaced as a possible issue was focus in low light situations .(for projecting to the big screen ) Here is an example : Slow Dolly-in to a medium side shot of 2 people static ,from 18 to 12 feet distance with a 40mm Ultraprimme T 1.9. You would think nothin biggie there,well I had doubts as everybody.We stuck our nose on the screen with full zoom in on the RED display and 52 inch monitor .Well it was not sharp .They were at 11'3 ,I was at 12 feet on the lens .

Anyways ,gotta wait for the big screen projection.It s been stressful like in the anamorphic days,but without the weight...Pulling focus on this technology has it s own rules.The rhythm is different especially on fast shots were actors or objects are moving straight in at a fast pace. In this effect ,there are also certain limits when using a zoom with a long barrel run ,like the Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm .Had a very hard time I must confess,and I can assure you this wasn t my first barbecue.

When it comes out I ll give ya a heads up so we can all see what can be done with this little beast .

PEace

Eagle eye
 
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Good luck with everything. We finished shooting a feature in Montreal about a month ago - Old Montreal to be exact. Great city!
 
Guess we were shooting at the same time .Who's the first ? lol

Happy you enjoyed the city .
 
Here I am in Time Square waiting for my puppy to reboot




 
Also curious about this.

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Looking forward to seeing what you accomplished!

Willytech follow focus. Very modular. Hate or love for focus pullers. Many,many options for mounting in studio or handheld mode.
I don't think it is still in production.
 
Guess we were shooting at the same time .Who's the first ? lol

Happy you enjoyed the city .

Eagle Eye,

You did the first feature shoot with Red with an union crew (AQTIS) in Montreal. First feature with Red was made in july... indie style.

Thaï
 
I didn't intend to start a "who shot first" discussion. I'm just glad to know there are other Red shooters in Canada's most beautiful city (and I'm from Toronto!). Our principal crew and cast of over twenty travelled over twelve hours just to point our cameras your way!
 
I think the point was more : who shot the first feature "made in quebec".
But anyway, it doesnt matter.

Since Red, I think the definition of a "feature" should be rewrited.
Because of Red low prices, we'll see a lot of low budget productions. For example, I dont considere a student movie as a feature, even if they use a professionnal camera.

So how can we define a feature?

(sorry for the french following)

Hey Étienne! Comment s'est passé ton tournage?
 
Nah, i dont care about who shoot first... I'm starting this week my second feature (125K in budget) in 3 months and on both projects the producers ask me if were the first in Quebec to shoot a feature with the Red... you have to see their face when i say no ! Producers are so funny sometime...

Following from Christopher Nolan was made with around 10,000$ and mininum crew (as seen on student film for exemple) and just last 69 minutes... this is not a feature, this is a very good feature ! But lets not go further into this debate please... ;-)
 
Wikipedia: In the film industry, a feature film is a film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening (as opposed to any short films which may be screened before it). ;)
 
Holy molly ,
never thought this post would bring such a debate on who's first . lol
Who cares really ,we were just told we were the first .My source needed an ego boost I guess...I didn't ....

This follow focus unit is a WillyTech follow focus. And like Frederic said ,it is totally configurable in any position .It s like a puzzle ,so you need to play around with it quite a bit to understand how it can help you in many situations where other units fail.It will fit in any configuration .
Company is not producing anymore.

Seeing all the new follow focus units coming out ,some have the willytech features,although none have come close to the versatility and compactness of it.

I wish somebody would just remake the exact same Willy,because all the units out there are starting to get old.No more parts for replacement.
 
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