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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 :)

Why to not like RED...

Nice Jim, I am in the Wagon for at least 3 years...and go on with you guys.
our RED Rocks.
cheers from Brazil
 
I recently worked on an Alexa shoot, and while the images looked great it was depressing to know that the footage was stuck in a resolution that will be outdated in only a matter of time. 2k simply is not archival quality. A poor substitute for film.

There are two sides to every coin, the "problems" with Red are closely tied to Red's triumphs.

Frequent firmware updates are one of the best reasons to go with Red. A camera you bought over a year ago suddenly is like new with a simple update. The other guys probably could do that, but they dont because they want to include those features only in their next gen cameras. (Built in obsolescence vs obsolescence being obsolete).
 
I recently worked on an Alexa shoot, and while the images looked great it was depressing to know that the footage was stuck in a resolution that will be outdated in only a matter of time. 2k simply is not archival quality. A poor substitute for film.
I can think of an awful lot of major, great-looking films of the last decade (Social Network and Avatar included) that were posted in 2K, then uprezzed at the end to 4K for film output. In fact, I think 90% of the film-outs I know of at eFilm, Company 3, and Technicolor are all done this way. Only a handful have the time and money to do 4K end-to-end. None of these films will be outdated. My opinion is that the only real issue that will commercially date the films 50 years from now will be content.

The typical studio request for deliverables I've been seeing are 1) uncolor-corrected raw 2K data assembly by reel on a drive, 2) same on an LTO-5, 3) color-timed 2K data on a drive, 4) same on an LTO-5, 5) a digital 35mm negative [on interneg stock], and 6) various kinds of HD copies in Rec709, usually on HDCam-SR [and sometimes data]. Plus a ton of audio.

4K can work, too, but it presents a ton of challenges in terms of archiving and storage that I don't think a lot of projects can afford. Major studio projects, sure; indie films and TV... not for the immediate future. 2K can still look extremely good. I'm much more concerned about exposure range and accurate color than absolute sharpness. And let's face it: a lot of DPs go out of their way to deliberately use diffusion in photography (and sometimes in post), to the point where I don't think anything close to 4K is left in the image -- not even in film.

Having said that: I do think there's a difference between HD, 2K, 4K digital, and film, especially in wide shots. But it's not always apparent, and it's very content-dependent. It's not the slam-dunk drastic difference you might think it is, and I've seen back-to-back comparisons many times at facilities owned by Kodak and Technicolor.

All things being equal, no question, I'd love to see everything 4K or better. But again, it's not always practical or affordable for all projects, all the time. Not yet.
 
I've seen 2k and 4k side by and I saw a massive difference... 2k looked sharp and rich! 4k came on a blew i away.. 2k projector came back up and it instantly looked soft! Same footage...

I think 4k PRO RES mastering (after doing a 16bit grade) is going to save the day for capacity and finishing.. . or the new .RED format about to be released. ... oops.
 
4k and 35mm film side by side is a pretty stunning and shocking experience as well in terms of sharpness and projection quality, but also color fidelity.

In the correct facility 4K digital color is right up against film.

David
 
I have to say... without the support of many here, I would not have kept going. This is hard stuff.

If RED thrives, it is because of you.

Jim

You and the Red Team are the Yang to our Yin! You inspire others to make symbiotic tools, seasoned filmmakers to plunge into the digital ocean, and for people like me who want to create great stories, a beacon to follow. Because of your vision, we too keep going when the going gets tough!!
 
One of the funny things about working with RED cameras since April 2008 is seeing how peoples opinions have changed. One DOP told me and another DIT that the RED was the Bic lighter of the camera world and couldn't be as good as an F35 because an F35 cost a quarter of a million pounds, so we quickly shot some footage and put it through Redcine and within five minutes he was telling anyone who would listen that if he had shot that footage on an F35 it would have been blown out.
 
The MX sensor also provided an excuse for some who had been openly critical of Red to change there opinion, i'm sure the Epic will be the best excuse for the remaining haters to change their views.
 
I can think of an awful lot of major, great-looking films of the last decade (Social Network and Avatar included) that were posted in 2K, then uprezzed at the end to 4K for film output. In fact, I think 90% of the film-outs I know of at eFilm, Company 3, and Technicolor are all done this way. Only a handful have the time and money to do 4K end-to-end. None of these films will be outdated. My opinion is that the only real issue that will commercially date the films 50 years from now will be content.

True content is king. But 50 years from now projects that have been shot on red in 4k or 5k can be re mastered and released, even if they were originally finished in 2k. Many tv series that were originally shot on film and finished at SD resolutions, such as Seinfeld and The X-Files are being rescanned into HD resolutions and re-aired. This wouldn't have been possible had been shot on video at sd. Uprezzing doesn't give you back the crisp details that you get from an original hi res image. Having an original 5k image is like having a negative to go back to in the future even if you finish now at 2k.

But honestly I dont think wide adoption of 4k projection in theaters is far off. New cinemark theaters are getting 4k projectors. As older Film projectors are replaced many theaters are going to 4k.
 
If there is anything good about RED... it is the core belief that 1080P (or 2K) is not a reasonable replacement for film. We started our business based on this belief. Finally, it seems like others have finally agreed. No matter what happens going forward, our success and legacy will be based on this simple thought. 1080P is not good enough. 4K delivery is.

This statement from Mr. Jannard confirms then that Scarlet will be a 4K camera!
 
4. We are in a constant state of back order.

Jim

Out of all those things you spoke of... this is the only one that prickles me. But you offer 24 other amazing things I've always wanted in a camera... So effectively the 24 positives have more than cancelled out the negatives..

So what's the word on Playback.. I've been really really quiet on this subject. When is your genius crew going to crack the FINAL big one... The last diamond in the EPIC crown. It must be sooooo close...:w00t:
 
Red im sure much like excalibur was looked upon as just another sword in the stone.
 
Hi, is it possible to use marshall hdmi lcd screen on epic/scarlet cameras?
 
I'll tell you why not to like RED man... they will never let you sleep again, so excited you will be with their technology... never ever. never. ever. sleep. its that good.
 
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