RED in Bed
Hey, everyone. I know that, as of my last post, I had promised to be in touch about some of the things that we have been up to. And that didn’t happen. Why? Well, I’ve been running around like a madman, that’s why. What’s happened? What’s going on? Well, let’s start at the beginning…
We’d been hired to do a 60 second, Direct Response Ad for Advance America. Our mission? To show the trials and tribulations of a single-parent household. Well, we figured that we had the budget, and a host of spots for the same client that had 35mm quality to match against… so why not up our game a tad? Thus, we chose the infamous RED One Camera to shoot our little beauty on.
Now, for those of you who don’t know (at which point, you might just want to wait for the next post. We’re focusing on the RED today), The RED is a new, proprietary image acquisition and workflow. Instead of Charge-coupled Devices (CCD’s) that standard and high definition cameras use, the RED records images onto a CMOS imager. It’s big, it’s bad, and it’s a frickin’ beast.
So, here are some thoughts. Take this is stride, I’m just the producer. but having come from camera and editorial into the world of producing, here are a few quick notes for you to go by.
1.) YOU HAVE NEVER USED A CAMERA LIKE THIS. EVER…
Seriously. Most video cameras, be they standard or high definition, come from the same basic mold that was laid out years ago by the Betacam. Accordingly, once you know the layout of this model, you can pretty much approach any video camera and have it up and working within a few minutes.
Not the RED.
The RED is a box. A huge, metal, box. Do you have a cinderblock handy? Put it on your shoulder. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Heavy, right? Welcome to the world of RED handheld.
Now, in the past, all new standard-defying devices and productions have had their own little technician on site. It’s a profession that you get maybe a year out of before the DP’s and Cam Ops figure out what you’re doing with the menus. The RED, however, will need DIT’s (Data Technicians) for years upon years. The DIT’s dump the footage you have been shooting. They set it up for edit. They do magical things, which is just left best out of your hands, anyway. So, now onto our first myth to conquer.
2.) THIS IS NOT A SINGLE-USER SYSTEM.
I am sure that, as soon as I say this, someone will try and prove me wrong. And they might. What I CAN guarantee, however, is that they are going to experience intense pain and a visit to the chiropractor. If they are willing to do this, I am willing to concede my point.
When plotting a production using this mammoth, count yourself in for at LEAST one AC. This person will help you put it on your shoulder, the tripod, and all the little bels and whistles. For example, the viewfinder attaches to the camera body via a French Flag. And I’m sick of defining things, so look that one up for yourselves.
3.) WHAT YOU GAIN IN PRODUCTION WILL BE LOST IN POST.
Here’s the thing. The RED records to its maximum resolution using a proprietary codec, and you cannot edit using it (unless you have the mother of all editing systems, at which point, go ahead and hire yourself a technician to handle all of this. You can afford it, obviously). Halfway through production, I discovered that in order to color correct at 4k (said maximum resolution), I had to take my files SOMEWHERE ELSE and have them transcoded to a separate file format. One more process, one more mouth to feed, absolutely no time for either. So what did we do? Transcoded the material of the final edit into ProRes HQ (thank you, Apple), and color corrected that. Go team.
Now, I know it sounds like I’m poo-poo’ing the Golden Fleece of Camera Inovations, but I’m not. The Rumors are true, and the RED produces the closest thing to 35mm that I’ve seen since…well, 35mm. And you know what? I don’t know if I would have been able to tell the difference, if I hadn’t been on set. That being said, the ultimate moral here, the warning, is that the RED is not the HD equivalent to 35 mm. The RED is its own device, its own workflow, and you have to respect it in the same way that you would for a 35mm rig. It needs the all the time and attention of film.
Alright. I’m good. *whew*! Glad I got that out. In two weeks? CRYSTAL METH…
Seriously…