Summary So Far

[explosive]

It is very early in, perhaps too early to judge, but what has impressed you most so far? Any disappointments?

I must say, of all things the video footage impressed me most. That 8 second clip of a guy moving his head about - when I played with it in after effects, i could really bend the bastard colourwise and still get no annoying banding or what have you.

[Andrew Benz]

The dude is Tv and internet sensation... REDUSER'S very own... Brook Williard-- Red Ninja!!!

LOL... sorry too many Bruce Lee flicks.

[explosive]

So THAT'S brook. Haha. I would never have guessed from the photo alone! He really doesn't look like a Brook Willard really!

[Brook Willard]

Heheh...

[orre]

Don´t be to mad now but I actually think both the clip of Brook and the clip of the car going out of the parkinglot looks kind of videolike. The quality is stunning but it doesn´t look like film to me.
Is it the lack of grain?
Don´t get me wrong I really think you can light and tweak the pictures so it looks more filmlike. I´m just curious if you agree when I say it doesn´t look like film and if so, why? And do you think it´s a problem?
I ordered my own RED today by the way.

[Jim Arthurs]

So far, I have to say that the big issue, IMO, is that we're asking the shooters to telecine their own stuff. This is going WAY beyond what is usually asked of a DP on set with electronic "painting" and is the new way of working... and will take some getting used to.

They need a colorist with them to do do some very basic setup (or at least someone completely familiar with the in's and out's of RED ALERT... and that's what? Three people in the world at this point?)

[Álex Montoya]

That's the major problem right now.

Tough I submit that it would suffice with a digital photographer that's familiar with RAW process.

[Roberto B]

hey jim, leave your ass out of your colorado's chair and fly to LA.. you'd be welcome and useful over there..

[explosive]

Don´t be to mad now but I actually think both the clip of Brook and the clip of the car going out of the parkinglot looks kind of videolike. The quality is stunning but it doesn´t look like film to me.
Is it the lack of grain?
Don´t get me wrong I really think you can light and tweak the pictures so it looks more filmlike. I´m just curious if you agree when I say it doesn´t look like film and if so, why? And do you think it´s a problem?
I ordered my own RED today by the way.

I think it looks like neither. It looks like new-wave digital i guess you could call it. I think the complete lack of grain in well lit situations has something to do with it. Also - RED still comes nowhere close to the latitude of film, which can be pushed to 17-18 stops.

12 stops is still pretty phenomenal mind you, but I am suggesting that may be another one of the differences. Plus film has a smoother roll off on the highlights than digital (including RED).

I guess our litmus test for this ungraded red footage would be that compared to ungraded film. How would they compare?

[Jim Arthurs]

hey jim, leave your ass out of your colorado's chair and fly to LA.. you'd be welcome and useful over there..

Hah! I was in LA for a visit in '86 or '87. I bet nothing's changed... :)

Seriously, I like some of you here, am really wanting to see some careful shots in a variety of conditions that don't involve sodium street lights or stressed out light starved sensors, footage that feels like these talented guys were PAID to shoot it. It looks like there's some material coming with actors and bit of lighting setup, so that's promising.

And I wouldn't mind something, ANYTHING, shot under that uber-large HMI that's out in the sky for roughly half of the 24 hours that makes a day...

[Roberto B]

I hope Brook, Evin, Tonaci don't take this the wrong way, but as for now, I'm sincerely fining for some professionally shot footage.

Everything that's yet to be shown is quite, well, blah from a lighting/framing/content aspect.hey rusky, why don't you join the group?.. if i'd be in LA, i'd be there with them..

btw, if you'd add what you got on that nice short where you were the DoP, we'd be grateful to you too..

edit
and you evin, you're not director but your work as photographer is 5 star, so begin to shoot!.. not play.. :) or maybe you've been shooting and don't you want to show us?.. :tongue: where are the typical LA landscapes and their famous gals?.. (at least) till now, i've just seen a brunette.. we already have Mr. Blonde, where are the blondies?..

[explosive]

where are the typical LA landscapes and their famous gals?

Yeah man! Show us that melange of silicone and botox on sunset!

[Floris Liesker]

RED still comes nowhere close to the latitude of film, which can be pushed to 17-18 stops.

18 stops!?
I would love to see what film pushed to 18 stops looks like, lol.
I mean: you can push my 1978 tube camera 18 stops too if you want.

But seriously: what stock offers 18 stops of latitude? I think you've overrated it by 4 stops.

[explosive]

18 stops!?
I would love to see what film pushed to 18 stops looks like, lol.
I mean: you can push my 1978 tube camera 18 stops too if you want.

But seriously: what stock offers 18 stops of latitude? I think you've overrated it by 4 stops.

Actually, one can really stress film in lab-test conditions to numbers such as 17-18.

But you are right, on location in practice it is not anywhere close to that.

But it can be done.

[Roberto B]

Yeah man! Show us that melange of silicone and botox on sunset!ok, JFY:

http://wallstreetjackass.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/blonde_brunette_joke.jpg

[Ben Feuer]

JJ said it a while back, and I agree with him - RED isn't trying to look like film. RED is trying to look like RED. And it's doing a fine job of that. Fortunately, those who still prefer the film look for certain projects will still have film. And those who prefer a modular, upgradeable and shockingly affordable system which basically amounts to a D200 on steroids (that's what the look resembles IMHO) as raw material to shape their movie from are probably going to be hanging around this forum with their jaws on the ground.
Also, FWIW, when you compare to film are you comparing to that $200 million dollar movie you saw last weekend or are you comparing to milky uncorrected answer prints created in two days at a cut-rate lab ... cause I know with 17,500 that's the 35mm movie I'd probably be making, sadly.

[Obin Olson]

And if you shoot red with no over exposure your "smooth rolloff" can be made in a curve in post.

[Gavin Greenwalt]

And if you shoot red with no over exposure your "smooth rolloff" can be made in a curve in post.

Actually playing with the footage in photoshop so far what I've personally found is that if I want a smooth rolloff I'm going to sacrifice a full stop in order to get it. Something I will definitely test before my first shoot.

[explosive]

And if you shoot red with no over exposure your "smooth rolloff" can be made in a curve in post.

"We can do it in post!" :D