Shooting with RED - 2

A bit more on my experience with the RED camera #22 on our TVC shoot in Sydney. Currently of course the camera only records to CF (Compact Flash) cards, and we had a maximum 8 GB size cards - about 6 of them. At 4K resolution, 25fps with Redcode compression we get about 4 and a half minutes record time per card. Actually it's about the same as a 400 foot roll of 35mm film. Pulling the CF card out and inserting another one and formatting it takes about the same time as changing a film magazine. The RED behaves more like a film camera than i would have imagined, at least for the time being while we are waiting for the hard drive. 

One of the most interesting things about this camera from a cinematographers point of view is that it is much like a film negative in the way that the imaging characteristics are 'fixed' in camera for later manipulation only in post. Unlike a HD video camera there are no in camera 'paint' or setup menus for adjusting the look of the pictures, no gamma controls, black level, knee adjustment etc. Just physical adjustments like the lens, iris or filters actually affect the RAW images. Even the white balance and ASA settings only affect the HD video 'preview' output and don't actually change the RAW image - but they are added as metadata for viewing in post. Really very much like a film negative where the characteristics are designed by the manufacturer and tend to be manipulated later at the lab or in telecine. 

Shooting with RED

Finally a new post to this blog, it's been awhile between drinks. But the good news is i have actually had a chance to shoot hands on with the RED ONE 4K digital camera last week here in Sydney for a low budget TVC for 'Lava Life'.
Last time i saw the RED was at the night held during SMPTE in July, and that camera was just a non-working dummy. This time i had use of Mike Seymour's (FX Guide.com) camera, serial number #22, plus the RED zoom lens and accessories. TVC Producer Jason Sinclair was keen to try out the RED, being on the waiting list himself, so he bit the bullet and hired the kit plus technician Jimmy for the ad shoot.

We had a very simple scenario of two girls sitting at a table in a leafy backyard, discussing the virtues of the Lava Life service. Direct sun was diffused with an overhead grid cloth and augumented with HMI and Kino lighting.

The RED camera proved to be pretty straightforward to use, and we had Jimmy to take care of our data management - and there was a lot of data. But the RED is still definately 'a work in progress' unit; we had a scary few minutes where the camera refused to accept any inputs until we turned it off and let it 'cool down' for five minutes or so. Heat does seem to be an issue and we were using a damp cloth draped over the body to try and help keep the camera cool, although it was hardly a hot day.

But the pictures looked great on my 17" HD monitor - the output via the HD-SDI is 720P and impressed everybody. But the biggest problem with the camera at the moment is the fact that there can be only one video output operational at a time, ie you can have the on-board monitor, OR the viewfinder, OR the external HD-SDI working. So we ended up shooting using the 17" monitor 'wheeled over' close to the camera so i could see it along with the director and client crowded around. Certainly not a real world solution but no doubt the RED team is working to fix this.

More details to follow soon.

Revelation continued

I had the opportunity to speak on two presentations at the Revelation Screen Conference, 'HD Heaven I and II', see the audience comment by Kate in an earlier post. The Artistic Director of Rev 2007, Megan Spencer kindly invited me to participate this year and it proved to be a great experience over the four days i was in Perth. Other talks such as the 'Inside Track' session with Jeremy Sims, director of 'Last Train to Freo', and the producer of low budget gem 'Boxing Day', Kristian Moliere were a highlight for me along with the chance to meet and chat with other filmmakers at the Rev Club and other venues. The special event sessions of the 'Wholphin' Shorts collections, presented by Wholphin's founder and editor Brent Hoff were a great example of what can be done with the short film medium, and in fact inspired me to think about short films again.
The opening night film 'Monkey Warfare' was terrific Canadian indie filmmaking, along with others such as 'Jesus Camp' and the world premiere of 'Streetsweeper' getting a great audience response. http://thestreetsweeper.blogspot.com/

Some extra notes from the Screen Conference audience:

Inside Track: Last Train To Freo & Boxing Day
Speakers
Kristian Moliere (Producer – Boxing Day), Jeremy Sims (Director – Last Train to Freo)
and Reg Cribb (Writer – Last Train to Freo)
Chair
Richard Sowada
Kicking off the Revelation Screen Conference we were treated to delicious insights from filmmakers Kristian Moliere, JeremySims and Reg Cribb. Similarly these two Aussie features were both shot in real time with a superb focus on performance and creative vision. The term ‘low budget’ is obviously one that varies greatly but it is certainly closely aligned with both Boxing Day and Last Train to Freo in differing degrees.
Directed by Kriv Stenders (Illustrated Family Doctor, Blacktown), Boxing Day was made for just $150,000 and funded entirely through the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund. This experimental approach to narrative was shot on HD with one location and six characters, rehearsed over two weeks and impressively shot in just one week. Kristian said they approached the production not unlike that of a short film where Kriv (who shot and directed at the same time) captured the whole film on mini DV during rehearsals to work out the choreography. With a 360 degree set, up to five actors conversing at once and 10 minute shots, the sound recording was a major challenge for the team who were fortunate enough to secure the talents of Bad Boy Bubby sound recordist James Currie. But the biggest feat of all was that the final 81 minute film was cut together from less than 100 minutes of rushes.
Last Train to Freo was supported via ScreenWest’s West Coast Visions initiative ($750,000) plus private investment. West Coast Visions sped up the process for this old school Perth team who were keen not only to bridge the gap between performance and storytelling and film but also cement the relationship of the creative team, or as Jeremy refers to it, the ‘tribe’ “Tribes can develop their own projects and their own storytelling”. The questions soon arose of what came first the film or the market? It’s that old commerce versus art debate – both as relevant as the other. The Last Train team decided not to secure market attachment prior to production and wanted to see what would happen if they owned the whole film themselves. After much international travel of physically taking the film to buyers overseas and an extensive learning curve the film has now successfully been sold to about 15 territories. But according to Jeremy the bottom line is that filmmakers have to have a great product and they’ve got to be smart “there is an arthouse audience out there – you just have to make a
shit hot film.” Being your own distributors is another possible solution becoming increasingly and certainly in the next five years distribution deals will be all electronic. The theatrical release, if nothing else, becomes an excellent promotional tool.
Kristian’s take on the commerce discussion is to concentrate on performance where, in the low budget world, the only way to compete with high budget flicks is to maintain the audience’s interest in the story.

SMPTE 2007 Trade Show

Well, SMPTE at Sydney's Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre has passed by again, a massive plethora of new gear this year particulary with cameras and associated bits. Highlights for me was Apple's new Colour grading application, included with Final Cut Studio 2; the Panasonic HPX-3000 high-end HD P2 camera with native 1920x1080 capture to the new AVC-Intra codec (but NO variable frame rates for some reason); Lemac showing the SI-2K data camera (at least a small part of it!) and also i attended the launch of the ACS 50th Year, held at the Powerhouse Museum, where many drinks and a chat were to be had.

But by far the most interesting event of the week was the highly anticipated presentation of the amazing RED ONE camera system at the AFTRS theatrette last night - more on that in an upcoming post.

Perth Revelation International Film Festival

Last weekend i was over in Perth with the opportunity to contribute to Revelation with a couple of talks in the Screen Conference program - 'HD Heaven I and II'. Here is a summary by audience member Kate Beverley:

HD Heaven: With Cinematographer Toby Oliver, ACS
Sat 14 July 1pm – 5pm
With a 95% male audience I proudly contributed to the 5% of females but quickly realised I was somewhat out of my depth of field in my understanding of HD compared to the rest of the budding young men dressed in their blue t-shirts sitting around me.
Toby Oliver has shot a range of Australian productions in High Definition including features Last Train to Freo and Em 4 Jay, doco Forbidden Lie$, and TV series Lockie Leonard. His interest in cinematography began at a young age when he experimented with making films in high school – long before digital. Toby states upfront that “to learn how to shoot film you have to do it a lot.” HD is perhaps more democratic and user friendly however, this is not to say that HD is a heaven or a haven. One of the keys to successful execution of HD is lighting “lighting is about learning,
unlearning and re-learning.”
So what’s the HD revolution all about? This latest cinematographical reform has been triggered by technology where HD is now, in most situations, cheaper than film – the cameras are cheap the tapes are cheap - $10k for a camera and you’re well on your way to making that feature you’ve been talking about for years. Still though, the majority of features shot in HD are finished on film but with the onset of digital cinema projection (95% of Australian cinemas still use 35mm projection) this is set to change very soon. At the moment we’re in a transitional stage where the chemical and the digital are mixing to become a fusion of past and present – but within the next few years films will be shot on digital and finished and distributed digitally. Will they still be called films?
Torstein Dyrting, who recently shot WA doco Spirit Stones praises the flexibility of HD and created over 30 design looks within the camera (rather than in post). Torstein used HD to manipulate colour and the speed of the camera to contribute to the documentary storytelling depending on the location and the feel. He also embraced the opportunity of working with DOP and Director Alan Collins on this project “We could have a discussion without actually speaking” – I guess that’s cinematographer talk?
But to me HD sounds complicated - there are hard drives and lots of uploading and downloading and something about 23.98 vs 24 vs 25 frames per second and interlaced and progressive 1080 – I think we need a standard because the girl up the back is getting confused, boys can you help?

Thanks Kate!
I think we can can help, it's not so bad.
I will post a rundown of Revelation very soon, which was curated this year by the very capable Megan Spencer, followed by my take on the 2007 SMPTE show in Sydney.

ACS 'Key Day'

Yesterday i had the opportunity to attend an ACS workshop on keying and greenscreen techniques, presented by Ross Emery ACS and Mike Seymour of FXGuide.com, out at the Film Australia studio in Sydney's north. Certainly a very useful and informative day, and an excellent example of can be acheived when organisations like the ACS (Australian Cinematographers Society for the uninitiated) and FXguide get together. (http://www.fxguide.com/)

Ross Emery whose credits include 2nd unit on the 'Matrix' trilogy and 'Superman Returns' took us through the first half of the day, shooting a test subject (with wispy blonde hair of course) against green with various cameras and lighting setups to match the intended backgrounds that were selected from stills. Ross tips on lighting and levels on the screen, and his techniques for creating believable lighting on the FG subject were invaluable. With Ross was Angus and his team from post VFX house Animal Logic, who provided very interesting insights on what the compositor prefers to receive, and what they can 'make do' with if they have to - quite different! Ross says he often has to push it a bit in terms of an ideal greenscreen shot but stresses the importance of clear communication with the VFX team before the shoot to establish the boundaries of what's possible and what isn't.

Cameras tested shooting the green were the new Sony F23 HDCAM SR, the Sony F900R, the Panasonic HVX202 P2, the Sony 970 DigiBeta for SD, and the Sony V1 HDV. In the afternoon we could see a rough composite by the Animal guys on the Flame and Shake tools, and clearly the F23 provided the best key, with the HDV camera not suprisingly the worst - basically unusable, at least in this situation.

FXguide were filming the workshop and will be putting together a training video presentation of the day for their website audience.

Video Post - Lockie Leonard

This is my first attempt at posting a video on the blog - something i'll want to do now and then... this is the trailer for the kids tv series 'Lockie Leonard' that i shot on HD last year in Albany, WA. (Western Australia) It is now airing on the Nine Network across Australia at 4pm Tuesday to Thursday.

SD or HD?

That is the question, sometimes. Should we shoot HD video even if the end product will be broadcast or distributed ONLY in SD? I do have a television project coming up for a cable TV channel that requires only a SD finish, as cable TV in Australia is only broadcast (for the time being) in standard definition. I feel that if HD is an available choice, particulary if it's a drama series or similar with a lengthy shelf life then it's mad to shoot on SD and limit future opportunities. Nor would you want to present a producer with too many added complexities or costs related to HD when they don't need it to complete the show and deliverables.

So long as the downconversion is done properly and depending on the camera the HD source will usually provide a nicer image in SD, with better dynamic range and detail rendition. On the other hand if the downconversion is average, such as the downconverter function typically built-in to prosumer HDV cameras then you can end up with an image worse than shooting with a decent SD camera.

Still, there are plenty saying that SD is truly dead for aquisition, with at least one Australian rental house getting rid of most of their SD video cameras recently.

first cab off the rank

One wonders why we need yet another blog out there among the millions.. but i need a little outlet for many of the thoughts and ruminations that come up regarding the 'digital revolution' in filmmaking as it were, because of course not all revolutions are necessarily better.

Generally it seems there is much more emphasis on the technology we use to make movies, or tv shows, or videos, or take pictures, than there ever was in the analogue days when things were simpler. Does it mean we are spending way too much time talking about, learning about, anticipating and troubleshooting all this new technology that keeps coming over us like an endless tsunami? Is this blog to be yet another tiny nail supporting this techno-marketing juggernaut? To some degree it probably is, but i want to include a balanced view that reminds us that filmmaking should be a creative excercise as well as a technical one. So i'll be keen to cut through the marketing hype with real-world experiences and my own take on the brave new world of HD.