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Staff BlogsIndie Category
Why the RED delay is not a big deal There has been a mixed Twitter reaction to this news. Here are five reasons why I don't think this is a big deal, and could even be considered a good thing: 1. Jim only expects a delay of "a month or two". 2. The RED One is beyond anything the competition currently has to offer. The RED One is not a bad camera, nor is it outdated (quite the opposite in fact). Does it need to be replaced quite so soon? 3. More RED Ones on the market mean lower rental prices and better availability (especially if demand is falling, as Jim says). 4. The RED One will be on the market for longer, meaning better NLE support and improved post workflows. Bigger production houses are looking for dependability with tried-and-tested workflows. 5. Components are constantly improving and prices are constantly falling (SSDs in particular). This delay may help RED deliver better and/or lower priced cameras. Categories: Cameras, Indie, Analysis New RED announcementsI didn't really feel like comparing the two specification-by-specification but I did notice a couple of things: * Some prices are now lower (e.g. the 28K Epic is now $2,000 less) * Some frame rates are now higher (e.g. 28K Epic now shoots 30 fps at 28K instead of 25). There's also been some significant ramping of frame rates at lower resolutions - e.g. the 9K Epic can now shoot 2K at 350fps! * The fixed-lens 3K Scarlet now has a price tag - $3,000 for the body and lens and $3,750 for the whole kit (I guess this means viewfinder, battery, etc). * Epic X now offered as an upgrade path for Red One owners only. * Full Frame 1080p now offered. * Time lapse and ramping now listed (don't know if they were available before or not) So definitely some nice improvements, and no-one can complain about better specs for a lower price. If you want to go through the announcement in greater detail, here is the latest one, and here is the old one. And here are detailed specs for the old announcement. Categories: Cameras, Indie RED un-announces previous announcement Jim promises the new changes will be "drastic". I'm sure they will be, but does anyone else feel kind of confused by the constant changes? I know I do. Categories: Cameras, Indie RED introduces brand new DSMC systemAt the core of RED's new offerings is the DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera) system. You select the "brain" (sensor and body) of the camera and then mix and match components based on your requirements. You need never buy another whole camera again - just upgrade components as and when they are released. In addition to the previously-announced Mysterium-X sensor capable of recording at 5K, they have developed Mysterium Monstro, which captures at up to 28K. To put things in perspective, IMAX footage is around 10K so that is almost 3x IMAX resolution! It can capture 261 megapixel (MP) still images too, which means that if you printed out an image at 300 dpi, it would cover approximately 77 square feet! Epic "brains" come in large, rugged cases whereas Scarlet ones come in smaller and lighter cases designed for traveling. The "brains" available are: Scarlet models 3K - up to 120 fps with lens * 2/3" Mysterium-X * Comes with fixed 8x lens * This is the original Scarlet announced at NAB * The original price was $3000 but price is now TBD so it could end up lower * Captures stills at 4.9 MP * Fall 2009 3K - up to 120 fps * 2/3" Mysterium-X * Mini-RED, C, B4 mounts * Basically the original Scarlet with the ability to change lenses * Captures stills at 4.9 MP * $2,500 * Summer / Fall 2009 5K - up to 30 fps * S35 Mysterium-X * RED, PL, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 13.8 MP * $7,000 * Spring/Summer 2009 6K - up to 30 fps * FF35 Mysterium Monstro * RED, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 24 MP * $12,000 * Winter 2009 Epic models 5K - up to 100 fps * S35 Mysterium-X * RED, PL, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 13.8 MP * $28,000 * Summer/Fall 2009 6K - up to 100 fps * FF35 Mysterium Monstro * RED, Canon, Nikon mounts * Captures stills at 24 MP * $35,000 * Winter 2009 9K - up to 50 fps * 645 Mysterium Monstro * RED, Medium Format, Mamiya mounts * Captures stills at 65 MP * $45,000 * Spring 2010 28K - up to 25 fps * 617 Mysterium Monstro * Linhof, Alpa mounts * Captures stills at 261 MP (!) * $55,000 * Spring 2010 But what on earth do you capture that amount of data to? Well, you have a choice of internal memory, special high-speed DSMC CF or SSD modules (most likely a ton of regular CFs or SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration) or, intriguingly, wireless or ethernet transfer. I'm guessing those last two won't be an option for larger resolutions but hopefully you will be able to send out a proxy version for previewing. Oh, and you can also link two together for stereoscopic imaging which is unbelievably awesome. The image shows two Scarlets in stereoscopic configuration but it's not stated whether or not the Epics can do it too (particularly the huge 28K one). That'd be interesting to know. The idea behind the camera is that you swap parts so you could buy a Scarlet and gradually work your way up to a higher model over time without having to re-purchase any extra equipment. This is perfectly possible but it is worth mentioning that some of the models have different lens mounts, and Mysterium-X lenses will not work very well with a Monstro as they are designed for a sensor that is considerably smaller. The only downside is that Scarlet was originally scheduled for release in January 2009 (I forget when Epic was supposed to be released) so these dates have been pushed back. But I think we can all agree it will be worth it in the end. Read more at RED's site. Categories: Cameras, Indie How to get your films on the iTunes Store I actually think their video deal is better than their music one because you just pay an up-front fee and then any money made on the film (after Apple's cut) goes to you in full. The fee varies according to the length of the content - for example, a 60 minute film costs $550 and a 90 minute one costs $770. The deal is non-exclusive, can be canceled at any time and you retain all rights to your content. Note that your content must be approved by Apple first. This is a great way for independent filmmakers without a distribution deal to get their projects out to a large audience. More details are available here. Categories: Industry, Useful sites, Indie Perfect Sport to premiere at WorldFest Houston To paraphrase WorldFest's site, Perfect Sport is about a young up-and-coming high school wrestling champ who must come to terms with his personal demons and his sister's ability to win against him on the mat. It stars Anthony O'Brien, Jessica Rose (of Lonelygirl15 and Greek fame), Gary Hudson (Paradise Falls), Stella Keitel (as in Harvey), Shawn Aly and Nick Richie. I'm just going to come out and say it: this movie is awesome. Great script, excellent acting by all of the cast, stunning cinematography, great editing, superb soundtrack - you name it, it's excellent. It was shot for around $600k but you would be forgiven for thinking it was at least 10 times more. It's a rollercoaster of emotion - you'll laugh at the beginning and cry at the end. This movie is not to be missed. Right now the showtimes are listed as Sunday 13th April at 7:15pm and Monday 14th April at 5:00pm but the schedule is described as a "work in progress" so this could change before the final event. Categories: DR News, Indie, Festivals and Awards Man creates feature film visual effects in his bedroom His toolkit was Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, and he averaged 2 shots a day over a period of 5 months. It shows that epic movies can be created on a budget with a limited cast and crew, and still hold up to their considerably more expensive brethren. Ok, this guy is a professional visual effects artist, but it shows that it is possible to create high-quality effects with relatively inexpensive software and hardware. It will be broadcast on the BBC on February 13th. It will be broadcast on the Discovery Channel in the USA at a later date that has not been set yet. Here is a trailer to whet your appetite: I found this on FXGuide, which has some nice before-and-after pics and an audio interview with Edwards. Categories: Visual Effects, Indie Bloody Omaha[via ProLost] Categories: Indie, Off-Topic RED CES news - 4K delivery and ScarletJim Jannard (head honcho) yesterday announced a 4K delivery system in response to the 4K displays announced at the show by Panasonic and Sony. He was not specific about what this delivery system would be comprised of but he has stated in the past a desire to create 4K projectors and it was interesting to note that he said "in the home as well as on the big screen". I'm wondering what sized screen (and what sized house!) you would need to get the full benefit of 4K in your home (Panasonic's one is 150"), but I guess all will be revealed at NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters conference) in April. Earlier in the week, Jim also revealed that there is a "pocket professional camera" in development called Scarlet. Further details will be given at NAB, but Jim did imply that it was intended to compliment, not replace the RED One. That Jim loves to tempt us. It's a great way of getting people to talk and speculate about his products though. Apple adopts a similar strategy. Categories: Hardware, Cameras, Indie Matrox MXO now runs on Leopard The Matrox MXO is a box that you connect between your graphics card and an Apple Cinema Display that allows you to perform accurate high definition monitoring for under $2000. This is a great product for indies, as monitoring solutions normally start at about $8000-9000, and the Matrox MXO is definitely comparable with these higher-priced solutions. The best experience will always be on a CRT monitor but this is a close second for a fraction of the price. Visit Matrox's MXO support page to download the patch. Note that you will need to be a registered user on their site in order to do so. [via Broadcast Engineering] Categories: Color Grading, Hardware, Indie
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