The RED Tech In Action

[Von Thomas]

Today I worked with the Cortez Brothers Production Company on a commercial for Nestles directed and shot by Anton Klima.

The set up you see is are two MacBook Pro's and a Mac Pro, three Dell monitors and a AJA converter which can take a signal from the RED via SDI, convert it, send it to a MAC running Final Cut (log and capture), and in turn the Mac can display both real time "Live" video, but also record and playback each take on the fly. The second MacBook Pro was dedicated to ingestion of the RED footage via R3D Data manager and first pass color correction, and the Mac Pro was on set editing station.

The playback process takes HDMI to DVI cable plus HDMI to HDMI and SDI cables to complete the set up, but in the end, you have a complete video village able to record and playback on one monitor, display "live" capture on another monitor and even print files from still frame grab through Final Cut via Canon printer.

Jason Durdon a editor and computer whiz at Cortez Brothers was the idea man, and I helped. There are a few tech problems to keep on top of, but it is stable and will aid in your commercial, feature or TV shoots.

Also I want to mention my blog, and hope it does not violate any RED User conduct. I started a blog for still photographers that are interested in shooting both the RED and 5D Mark2 for fashion and advertising. Well, the blog has broadened and it works for all RED Users as well. The site is, http://reddigitalmotionandstill.blogspot.com/.

There is also the Collision Conference hosted by Image Mechanics this Saturday and Sunday held at LA Film School. Ted will be one of the key speakers along with other notables in the filmmaking and still world. I will be demoing the RED in vertical orientation for those seeking to shoot vertical for some of the new vertical motion ads.

Plus I'll have Eizo's new CG 232W monitor on display, I will also demo how easy and accurate this monitor is to software calibrate and profile on set. The 232W is a perfect viewing device for the RED, and my guess is that it will be the de facto color reference monitor in the very near future (no more calibrating by eye).

Von

Von

 

[Raphael Varandas]

Very Nice Von ...thank you very much for your post.
I appreciate.
Im updating my website...soon will be on air
Send me more details if possible about Eizo's.

Best Regards
:sifone:

 

[Vigen Vartanov]

Great Play Back Solution . May be better to do some travel cases for monitor and mac . Sow you will be able to use this on any location .
I found one http://www.qtakehd.com/ , it is very nice HD playback for RED .

 

[Greg M]

Nice setup.
+1 on QTakeHD...far superior solution for realtime playback on set than FC.

BTW- consider adding a UPS to your system...one accidental power cord kick out and you are toast.

 

[Cameron Preyde]

UPS is a definite requirement. Why risking days and days worth of footage? Spend the $350-$500 on a ups and feel much safer. Also I would consider keeping your backup drives separated more (physically speaking) just in case a cup of water gets spilled or someone bumps the table and the drives go tumbling down. Just another added security measure.

Nice setup.
+1 on QTakeHD...far superior solution for realtime playback on set than FC.

BTW- consider adding a UPS to your system...one accidental power cord kick out and you are toast.

 

[Simon Sturzenegger]

Hi Von,

Could you tell me what kind of cable the red/black cable is you have connected the RED Drive to your Mac Book Pro with?
And where on the MacBook Pro is it connected?

Thanks!


Cheers,
Simon

 

[Steve Freebairn]

It's an R2E Lemo to E-sata cable. Available here

It's connected to an Express 34 Card slot adapter. Available here

 

[Casey Green]

Good stuff, Von.

 

[Von Thomas]

BTW- consider adding a UPS to your system...one accidental power cord kick out and you are toast.

You are correct, damn it. Ordinarily I have a APC UPS, but it was fried a few days ago, and I did not get a replacement. This is NOT normal for me, as you can see when you visit my digitaltechnyc.com site.

 

[Von Thomas]

Hi Von,

And where on the MacBook Pro is it connected?

Sonnet makes a eSata cable two up, and there are other manufacturers as well. The eSata express card slides into your express slot, and you are good to go. But be careful as the seating of the express card is a little dicey, make sure it clicks in when you push it in. You also push it in again to release it.

Von

 

[Conrad Hunziker]

Good info as always Von. I like seeing other guys setups to compare.

Im starting a feature hopefully in 2 weeks, and it looks like we will have between 3 and 5 computers in our DIT room. Should be fun.

 

[Von Thomas]

Great Play Back Solution . May be better to do some travel cases for monitor and mac . Sow you will be able to use this on any location .
I found one http://www.qtakehd.com/ , it is very nice HD playback for RED .

While I admire the elegance of Q-Take, it is bloody expensive, and that's before the hardware. I think for now, I'll work with this system, plus factor in a cool cart from Big Foot Mobile Carts a UPS!!! and a Eizo CG 232W monitor, to give me accurate color preview.

Von

 

[Jason H]

Hi von! Thanks for the case for my mac pro. It helped me get this red rocket to set! Saw your pics and had to post mine.

This stuff is usually in a rack case but was thrown together for a quick spot that came up. I t needed the rocket to do on set dailies in real time, full debayer. Set up is kona3,red rocket, aja iohd, mac pro, macbook pro. Client left with copies of red r3d's and 1080p prores 422 files ready to edit with! go rocket!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Von Thomas]

Jason,

Glad the case worked!!

Thanks for the images, but as stated above, be careful, and have a UPS to keep your power from being snatched out of the wall by a rouge PA.

Von

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

Today I worked with the Cortez Brothers Production Company on a commercial for Nestles directed and shot by Anton Klima.

The set up you see is are two MacBook Pro's and a Mac Pro, three Dell monitors and a AJA converter which can take a signal from the RED via SDI, convert it, send it to a MAC running Final Cut (log and capture), and in turn the Mac can display both real time "Live" video, but also record and playback each take on the fly. The second MacBook Pro was dedicated to ingestion of the RED footage via R3D Data manager and first pass color correction, and the Mac Pro was on set editing station.

The playback process takes HDMI to DVI cable plus HDMI to HDMI and SDI cables to complete the set up, but in the end, you have a complete video village able to record and playback on one monitor, display "live" capture on another monitor and even print files from still frame grab through Final Cut via Canon printer.

Jason Durdon a editor and computer whiz at Cortez Brothers was the idea man, and I helped. There are a few tech problems to keep on top of, but it is stable and will aid in your commercial, feature or TV shoots.

Also I want to mention my blog, and hope it does not violate any RED User conduct. I started a blog for still photographers that are interested in shooting both the RED and 5D Mark2 for fashion and advertising. Well, the blog has broadened and it works for all RED Users as well. The site is, http://reddigitalmotionandstill.blogspot.com/.

There is also the Collision Conference hosted by Image Mechanics this Saturday and Sunday held at LA Film School. Ted will be one of the key speakers along with other notables in the filmmaking and still world. I will be demoing the RED in vertical orientation for those seeking to shoot vertical for some of the new vertical motion ads.

Plus I'll have Eizo's new CG 232W monitor on display, I will also demo how easy and accurate this monitor is to software calibrate and profile on set. The 232W is a perfect viewing device for the RED, and my guess is that it will be the de facto color reference monitor in the very near future (no more calibrating by eye).

Von

Von

Von. thanks for link but no pricing info on site. How much is the Eizo?

EDIT $39,000 BHAT converts to roughly $11K USD

 

[Evangelos Achillopoulos]

Jason, Von, how much time you want to be ready and how much to wrap?

The question goes to... If you have four locations to go in one shift does this wire madness affect the production turnaround?

Von the editing MacPro gets a copy of the footage along with the wrangling station or you have a 1G network and the wrangler acts like a data server?

When you are outside, what is your power source? if its generator you need a double conversion UPS... which is on the 2K$ range... or you use typical standby ones?

 

[Greg M]

RE: Qtake, you get what you pay for...once you use it the value is more than justified. Especially compared to using FC.

Here is our rig

 

[Tony Lorentzen]

Always nice to see different setups. I just finished a feature about a month ago where I worked as DIT, Videoassist and 2nd AC. Pretty busy job and we had nothing like what you guys are showing here. I built a small portable backup solution into a Pelicase with a Macbook Pro and a Caldigit VR box. Also kept the RED Drives to be safe until the stuff was safely backed up on our RAID 5, firewire backup and transport-drives.

 

[Von Thomas]

Jason, Von, how much time you want to be ready and how much to wrap?

The question goes to... If you have four locations to go in one shift does this wire madness affect the production turnaround?

Von the editing MacPro gets a copy of the footage along with the wrangling station or you have a 1G network and the wrangler acts like a data server?

When you are outside, what is your power source? if its generator you need a double conversion UPS... which is on the 2K$ range... or you use typical standby ones?

First question, the Eizo retails for about $12,500. Second question, you need at least 45 mins to set this up (AJA I/O HD), less time to wrap. The MacPro was there to do lite work, but ended up not really being used. I was transfering the info to a forth HD, which then went to the Mac Pro, but I must say, there is a more elegant solution. If outdoor, and no, power a genie, possible a Honda EU 2000 with a UPS in between will do the trick.

I'm told the Eizo 232W can be purchased from, CMP, Abel Cine, Mac Hollywood, and possible Samy's Camera.

Von

 

[Von Thomas]

RE: Qtake, you get what you pay for...once you use it the value is more than justified. Especially compared to using FC.

Here is our rig

Very nice set up!!

Von