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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 :)

Remote trigger for EPIC?

Page 125 of the ops guide gives all the detail you need such that with a friendly electronics engineer / geek you can do it on a budget. Bear in mind that its not as simple as momentarily bridging two pins like on the Red One. Still very simple and friendly to work with though.
 
Hi Michael,
I'm Michael L's 'clever' tech guy - clever insofar as I know to defer to Deanan when things get tricky! If you drop him a line, he'll give you the circuit diagram. You need a Schmitt trigger, which connects to the General Purpose Input on the Sync connector. Rather than the momentary switch trigger that was required for the RED One, the Schmitt trigger applies a constant voltage (3-5V) - the rec start/stop are triggered by the changes from low to high (when the trigger is switched on) and high to low (when the trigger is switched off). It means that your trigger does need a power source. Our one, which we've made for 3D use and therefore has two outputs, runs off a few AAA batteries. I understand that there are a couple of products in the offing if you don't want to make one yourself and the RED Pro module will apparently allow the use of a simple trigger (RED One style)...
Hope that helps,
Campbell
 
You should really take a look at what Keslow Camera has put together in their Epic accessories - specifically "the Magic Box"

it is a small little box that has cables/connectors that plug into the Sync port and Power input on the body. Completely replaces the OEM sync breakout cable. It breaks out power inputs into 2 separate ports (for hotswapping) it has standard inputs on the box for Genlock (full size BNC) and Timecode (Lemo) and along the top of the box are 5 Arri standard 3 pin Lemo inputs to power accessories and to also plug in a remote run stop cable/trigger - standard Arri 435 style. Also there is a very cool little LED screen that gives a beautiful graphical display of battery voltage. They have theirs set up to mount on the little V lock mounts that can fit on the rods, but we bolted them to the cheeseplate, velcro'd them you name it. Terrific little piece of kit, and I'm surprised we haven't heard more about it in the threads.

We just used these on a visual effects sequence for Neil Blomkamp's "Elysium" at Kerner Optical. My camera had 50' remote trigger/cable plugged in, and there were at least 3 others that had a similar setup.

Bulletproof operation. Simple and effective. I think we even built remote run/stop cables for several Preston FIZ units based off the Magic Box inputs.

I couldn't get a reliable working interface with the Redmotes at all - this was with 7 individual cameras! We elected to remove the Redmotes, and just go with the simplest solution.
Not to say the Redmote isn't awesome - but wrangling all the complicated elements of the sequence, and shepherding 7 different cameras (and AC's) I wanted as simple a solution as possible.

But this box is the bee's knees. Hats off to the folks at Keslow Camera.
 

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The Magic Box is a custom Keslow-only item - they do not [and will not] sell it. I love the thing to death! I wish I could have my own. Alas, I totally understand and support their decision.

It's one of the huge benefits of renting from Keslow... they really have their equipment dialed in.
 
No links on their webpage that I know of. But if you are located in LA, give a call to Keslow and speak with Brad Wilson their rental manager, I'm sure he'd happily arrange a demo - they took very good care of me even before we officially began our prep. I think the Magic Box comes standard with their Epic -M rental packages.

I didn't know about this little jewel until Brook Willard introduced me to them, now I can't think of shooting Epic jobs without them.

Thanks again Brook - it was a great experience and I hope you have an amazing time on "The Great Gatsby"
 
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