Help me build a wiki of digital cinema knowledge.

[I Bloom]

I decided recently to take some of my free time and create website called Redhax.net (http://www.redhax.net). I did this in order to try and solve a problem that I think this community has... the lack of an appropriate tool to store our collective knowledge.

The Problem

A forum is an excellent place to communicate. It's a good place to share news, bring up questions, voice your oppinions and have a discussion. Unfortunately we often treat forums as a place to store knowledge, believing that once a question is answered in a particular thread it will stay answered and remain available... and clearly it will.

However searching for information in a forum is usually a process of wading through conversations in the hopes of finding relevant information based on the presence of a keyword. It's difficult and sometimes fruitless. You also end up looking at information that might be dated as more current facts arise. The result is that questions often reappear over and over again and valuable information can get lost in the sea of conversation.

FAQ's and sticky threads are attempts to solve this problem but there linear nature makes them limited in the breadth of information they can contain. Threads also do a poor job of linking information together and linking is the most powerful lever of the world wide web.

There is a more efficient way to harness this collective energy when it comes to consensus and long term storage.

A Possible Solution

Enter the wiki. A wiki is a collaborative web document. It is a series of pages linked together with pictures and text. The content of the site is created and edited by those using it. If you've ever used Wikipedia you may have already had the benefit of this technology.

As you navigate a wiki, you have the power, (in fact you are encouraged) to alter the content that you are reading and add content in areas where you have specific knowledge. Because you are treading over the same path and constantly maintaining it the effect is to improve the quality and presentation of information over time. Wikis tend to push thoughts and answers together rather than spreading them out over time.

MediaWiki is a web server program that allows for the easy creation of wikis. The same software is used to run Wikipedia. It contains many built in tools that allow people to collaborate efficiently. Users can refer to Recent Changes page, to track overall changes to the site. In addition each user can place specific pages on their "watchlist" so that they can track changes to pages that they have specific knowledge about. Each page has a 'history' that allows one to quickly view the evolution of each particular section. There is also a discussion attached to each page, that allows users to talk about the editing of each topic. These tools allow users to check one another, finding places where oppinions collide and forcing them to reach a consensus of fact.

The Result

I took some time figuring out how to get a site running. The learning curve was tall. I have taken it to a point where I think it is ready for a large number of contributors and can be linked to from outside reliably. I'm still looking into further cosmetic changes and increased security. (Currently there is a problem with Internet Explorer, use Firefox, or help me learn CSS.)

In the process I sat down and attempted to outline a document that explains all of the facets of knowledge one would need to master digital cinema. When I looked at the breadth of information needed to take this workflow from capturing images all the way to finishing and distributing a film, I found it quite daunting. But there is something very promising about it this technique, and that is that if you contribute just one page of your knowledge on this topic you will effectively be multiplying your contribution by the number of your peers. In this way a very powerful resource can be created very quickly.

I set up this site so that all information added to it is licensed under the "Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike License." http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ This insures that the information continues to be freely distributable as long as attribution is given, and the copied information remains available for further copy, distribution and modification.

I started two articles to try and give you an idea of what I have in mind:
http://www.redhax.net/wiki/Bayer_Demosaicing
http://www.redhax.net/wiki/Camera_Formats

I hope in the future to include some real, "click this and then this" style how-tos.

Some might argue that I'm trying to replace our most precious resource, Steve Gibby, with some new-fangled Web 2.0 communist intellectual property contraption. I don't really want that (or think that's possible) but my only response is that I have every confidence that he will adapt.

I have no idea how this will be received...it's an experiment...Enjoy.

[Jason Hilton]

This is a fantastic thing to do! Awesome!

[Unwounded]

nice. good stuff Ibloom.

[Keith Nealy]

This is brilliant. Thank you for the inspiration and the perspiration you have already expended.

Steve has actually has set up his own private database that he uses as a resource (instead of searching the forum).

Maybe he will contribute some of his DB to this public work.

Do you see this for generic digital cinema or RED specific?

thanks again,

Aloha,

Keith

[Babu Kantamneni]

great

[Häakon]

Cool idea, Ian... I like wikis a lot and have gleamed a lot of information from them myself.

The only thing I wonder when I see a category-specific wiki pop up on the web is why don't people just add that information to the global wikipedia instead where a greater number of people can find it. In other words, it's really cool to have everything organized and categorized on your site, but unless someone specifically knows about "Redhax," then it's pretty difficult to find it. Everyone knows about Wikipedia, and a larger user base helps the content grow exponentially.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good idea - I just think perhaps isolating it isn't. Maybe "redhax" should be more of a portal to appropriate and/or relevant RED-related wikipedia articles instead? That way everything is still organized into easy-to-use categories, but the information is still in a central place. For example, on your page you've got everything from depth of field to DVD compression listed - there are already very comprehensive articles about these kinds of subjects on the main wiki (or the web in general) already. It seems redundant and counterproductive (to me, at least) to have similar information spread out in different places - the singular presence of wikipedia is precisely what makes it so powerful.

[Salem Kapic]

good idea!

but you have big job to do!

good luck

[Ken Willinger]

With the contributions of those with cameras (which will be real soon), this will be a great resource for all wishing to learn of the specific details and operation of the RED camera, especially since there is a tremendous amount of information currently available but difficult to find easily. A Wiki will solve the access problem. When I get 1294, I'll be happy to add from my experiences. Of course a RED owners manual should be made available soon and a lot of answers hopefully will be contained within it. Great project.

[Pat]

Awesome! Way to go! :-)

[Zach Nelson]

this is an awesome idea .. it could be expanded to cover issues like pro audio, compositing, as well.

[Mark Thorpe]

Great plan, and a potentially great resource. I am sure, given the growth on this board that there will be many avid contributors to the service. My only concern is that whilst it is an opportunity for people to share, do you think newly delivered cams are gonna allow people sit still for the length of time required to post any feedback at all? With the expense, the protracted waiting by many, the already developing projects etc etc I think a lot of RED Users are going to be spending their time recuperating their investment, anxieties and letting loose their artistic flair as opposed to posting to a wiki.

Once the honeymoon period is over though I'm sure things will start to develop. People will get more time and will then start looking to share their wealth of knowledge.

Good luck with it all.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Rocco Schult]

I decided recently to take some of my free time and create website called Redhax.net...Enjoy.

I'm with you there on all points Ian, and already now: Excellent approach and work so far! Respect.


...but you have big job to do!..

But many poeple might be afraid of all the work to be put in, until it is commonly considered to be enough valuable resource. I can understand this, even if a Wikis intention is collaborative.

In my eye the quality is the biggest problem of open Wikis with too much crap in there. With size comes the need for somebody (maybe in plural) to administer it.

But I clearly see the vision and you set the benchmark to an excellent level/quality. I assume its focused on RED and surrounding worth-to-be-explained subjects. This way you might get it good, but compact enough to remain excellent and not washed out or you find good people helping you with it. I think theres enough need for a place to store all that info.

My contribution so far has been small here due to time available and so might be for your project, but again, Chapeau and good luck.

[I Bloom]

why don't people just add that information to the global wikipedia

It's in my plan to add interwiki simplified linking to from Redhax to wikipedia. I'm shooting out of town right now, so this is currently a hotel room/HBO/room service gig...so be patient.

However Haakon, I think there is a specific need for this site, because it can eventually host very specific how-to information about specific tasks for digital cinema. Don't take the articles I have currently posted as examples. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and thus for general information on a topic only, they will only let you go so deep before the community cuts you off. Likewise there is no harm in mirroring information between two sites. By making a specific site wiki you can create a focused collaborative project.

The DVD Compression for example I imagined being specific to prepping and compression 4K 12 to 16 bit originated material for DVD not a general article on "What is MPEG-2 Compression for DVD's". There are a few ways to do this and I'd like to discover the best way in terms of setting up the original material and the compressor settings to look good once it is compressed. A lot of people are going to need to tackle this task, so lets put our heads together.

Likewise once I learn more the Bayer Pattern article will get more specific and practical, relating more to HOW TO than to the current background material.


Do you see this for generic digital cinema or RED specific?

Whatever happens happens. I wouldn't turn away any energetic contributor. I don't think it should be limited to RED stuff. But I think RED stuff will surely dominate. I'd like to someday see an article for example on intercutting DALSA and RED.


do you think newly delivered cams are gonna allow people sit still for the length of time required to post any feedback at all?

Depends I guess...Who can predict. Why not take half an hour and type some stuff about underwater, see if you inspire someone else to build on that.


Or you find good people helping you with it. I think theres enough need for a place to store all that info.


I've been using a wiki on my proffessional website for quite some time, some of the younger producers I work for love it and use it for their productions. Its a valuable personal information storage space. If this new site just amounts to that and just works for me then all right. It's shared hosting - not very expensive.

IBloom

[Seung Han]

Great idea.

Unfortunately I am not a tech person, so I will probably not contribute. But I can tell you as a filmmaker who uses technology as just a tool for storytelling, I spend many hours going through forums for a specific question I have, so a comprehensive site that has its information in an ordered way would be invaluable. Thank you for taking the initiative to build something like this for people like me.

[GlennChan]

Cool idea.

Hmm perhaps you could ask posters (e.g. anyone on red team, prolific posters such as Gibby, etc.) if you could cut and paste some of their posts into the Wiki.

2- Perhaps start a FAQ that people can edit.
e.g. questions like... what about doing HDR with Red with two different exposures? that comes up often.

And... "what is the workflow for Avid"
"Do I need FCP to edit Red footage"

[PaulClements]

Hi I started www.redwiki.org at the begining of the year to do pretty much exactly what you are, but no one really took up the task of filling in the gaps and I haven't had the time to do much to it myself.

In truth I didn't really push people to use it or look at it too much but those I did mention it too weren't really all that bothered.

It quickly dawned on me that it was likely something that I would be maintaining and updating myself primarily, so what started out as a good idea rapidly became something that wouldn't feature very much. I PM'd Brook and Jarred to see if they wanted to take control of it and use it as an official Reduser Wiki but Brook instructed me that Jarred was looking at doing something similar himself anyway (One of the reasons I didn't push it) and then never heard anything back about it. I even offered it to the Gibby and the LART team to use it to publish their data but heard nothing back.

That being said though, best of luck.

Paul

[number6]

I can see this bringing order out of chaos... or creating even more (valuable) chaos. Like Seung Han, I probably won't be able to contribute much initially, but perhaps over time I can add something useful.

Great idea and from some of the questions posed on Reduser.net, a potentially popular one.

[Loomis]

Just wanted to add that this is a fabulous idea. It helps folks like me get their heads around some of the more technical stuff. Many heads are better than the singular kind.

[I Bloom]

Hi I started www.redwiki.org....and then never heard anything back about it. That being said though, best of luck.

Paul, lets combine our efforts.

IBloom

[Rocco Schult]

great URL Paul.
get the stuff together - and some will follow to add.
Maybe the resulting wiki gets a sticky link somewhere on reduser.net ?
I don't see a reason why this shouldn't be possible.

[PaulClements]

Paul, lets combine our efforts.

IBloom

Sorry I never saw your reply Ibloom!

You are welcome to use anything on their Ibloom, infact if you want to be made admin and be in charge of RedWiki.org then I'd be more than happy to make that happen.

Whatever you want to do m8, just say so.

Cheers

Paul

[PaulClements]

Further to that Ibloom, perhaps if the LART team are intereseted we could post their results as they come out, be good to have a central point of reference for the information those guys will be capturing.

Paul