Indie Category: Digital Rebellion Blog

Why the RED delay is not a big deal

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:42:19 MST

Jim Jannard of RED announced today that the new Epic and Scarlet cameras will be delayed due to the current economic climate.

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 The RED One is not a bad camera, nor is it outdated (quite the opposite in fact).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.

New RED announcements

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:57:43 MST

RED just announced the new Epic and Scarlet specs after their retraction of the previous announcement.

I 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.

RED un-announces previous announcement

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:24:07 MST

I don't suppose anyone can forget RED's announcement earlier this month of various new camera models including a 28K model. Well, we're now asked to wipe the previous announcement entirely from our collective memories in anticipation of a new announcement on December 3rd.

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.

RED introduces brand new DSMC system

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:38:15 MST

Everyone's been talking about it. Today RED announced its redesigned Scarlet and Epic offerings, thought to be taken back to the drawing board due to the sudden competition from traditional SLR cameras such as the Canon 5D MkII.

At 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.

How to get your films on the iTunes Store

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:31:13 MDT

This is very cool. TuneCore is a company that acts as an intermediate between indie musicians and Apple, allowing them to put their content on the iTunes Store for a flat fee per month. They've now extended this to video content.

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.

Perfect Sport to premiere at WorldFest Houston

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:32:13 MDT

If you're in the Houston, TX area this April, I thoroughly recommend going to see Perfect Sport at the 41st Annual WorldFest International Film Festival. This festival is one of the oldest in the world and is responsible for discovering Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, Ridley Scott, The Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Brian De Palma and many more.

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.

Man creates feature film visual effects in his bedroom

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:48:08 MST

I love stories like this. Similar to my previous post about the recreation of the Omaha Beach landings using only three actors, Gareth Edwards directed and single-handedly created 250 effects shots in his bedroom for the HD feature film "Atilla the Hun".

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.

Bloody Omaha

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:52:14 MST

For the BBC history show Timewatch, they did a reenactment of the Omaha Beach landings - using only three actors. They used all kinds of camera and post tricks and managed to pull it off believably. Here's the making of "Bloody Omaha":

[via ProLost]

RED CES news - 4K delivery and Scarlet

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:55:03 MST

I know I'm late to the party but there were some important announcements at CES (Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas) by the creators of the RED camera.

Jim 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.

Matrox MXO now runs on Leopard

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:02:21 MST

Matrox has just released a patch for its MXO HD monitoring system. The patch offers "Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard) support, Apple Color v1.0.2 support, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 v3.1.1 support and genlock timing offset controls."

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]

Persepolis trailer

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:43:30 MST

I regularly check out the latest trailers on Apple.com and today this one caught my eye. It's a foreign-language film that toured many festivals and was eventually picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, Sony's independent distribution arm.

What caught my eye was the uniqueness of the film. It's a film set in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, told from the perspective of a nine year-old girl. It is based on the graphic novels of Marjane Satrapi and remains completely faithful to the visual look of the books. It's not a bloody, stylized Sin City-look, it's more the look of a children's animated TV show. It reminds me of the old animated show Madeline, about the schoolgirl in France. This kind of look and feel is an interesting approach considering the bloody nature of the story.

Persepolis trailer

Looking to monetize your online videos?

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 21:40:54 MST

If you're looking to gain money from online videos, you should definitely check out this report at TubeMogul.

The PDF file lists 11 video sharing sites that they monitor and shows statistics such as whether or not they offer a revenue scheme, how much of a share content providers receive and, uniquely (and most importantly in my opinion), gives user opinions on the site.

Very valuable if you're looking to make money from your content online.

RED cameras delayed

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:06:13 MST

RED has announced that it is delaying the shipment of some of its cameras in order to resolve issues discovered with some of the earlier models. They are fitting a new daughter board to the cameras which should increase dynamic range and reduce noise at frame rates 25fps and below, and they are designing new PL lens mounts. The old mounts were causing focus issues.

They are adding these modifications to cameras 1-100 which means that cameras 101-200 will ship a month later on November 30th, with this update included.

RED has stated that it is taking on the full cost of the updates.

[via CamcorderInfo]

Moby offers royalty free film music to non-commercial films

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:00:36 MST

Moby is offering royalty-free film music to "independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short."

If you are using it for commercial use, you can apply for an "easy" license with all proceeds being given to the Humane Society.

This represents the third example this year (that I can think of, let me know if I missed anything) of a major artist bypassing a record label. The first was Prince, who released his album Planet Earth for free in a UK newspaper, then Radiohead released their album In Rainbows on the internet for whatever price downloaders were willing to pay.

Life is getting harder for the record labels because the viral nature of the internet means that some established artists are questioning the need for a middleman.

[via HDForIndies]

The results of Radiohead's experiment

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:39:17 MST

iTWire is reporting that Radiohead's experimental approach of allowing listeners to choose the price they would be willing to pay for their album was, largely, successful.

Predictably, the majority (62%) of people chose to pay absolutely nothing. However, 10% of people chose to pay a price comparable to what they would pay in a store, whilst the majority of the remaining customers paid between $4 and $8.

Radiohead earned, on average, $2.26 per album sold. Not very much when albums sell on iTunes for $10. But if they were to sell the album on iTunes, they would only make $1 per album with the rest being split between Apple and the record label. It's also interesting to note that not only did they make more money (even with hosting costs), they lost none of it to piracy.

The article raises the question of how successful this approach would have been if it had been an unknown band adopting this approach. My personal belief is that although there will always be freeloaders in life, if the content is good enough there will always be people who want to see more good content in the future. The internet is the perfect place for viral marketing, if you know how to exploit it.

The album, In Rainbows, is available here for whatever price you'd like.