Some new footage to play with

[Häakon]

Hey all,

I always enjoy seeing new clips people have shot with their RED, so I thought I'd add to the pool and post some footage I shot this weekend. This is just some basic test stuff and I know it's a little crude around the edges so please be gentle. The clips were brought directly into Final Cut straight from the camera (no grading, REDAlert!/REDCine), but I still think they hold up really well. Both scenes were shot at ASA500 and I think they're remarkably clean.

The first clip was shot with a Zeiss 85mm standard speed lens; second clip with the RED 18-50 zoom. Any other questions, please feel free to ask!

Enjoy!

(Please download to your machine instead of streaming - thanks!)

http://www.redrelay.net/owners/0079/films/moments.mov

[Gbabymogul]

Is this a short film ? Looks good, what lights did you use ? Any opinions on focus would also be cool.

Are all your tests this fancy (j/k)
Good to have some new footy to look at.

[MikeHedge]

yay!!! for some reason it says that Quicktime doesn't recognize the file time.... weird... I will try downloading again... can't wait to see it...

[brandon herman]

gorgeous footage! great work!

[Tim Lüdin]

Great Footage. Some of the best footage ever posted on REDuser. Kepp posting.

What do you think about the 18-50mm. How are the mechanics?
Breathing etc.. How was focusing with it?

Cheers
Tim

[Kenn Michael]

fantastic. thanks for sharing.

[Häakon]

Is this a short film ? Looks good, what lights did you use ? Any opinions on focus would also be cool.

Are all your tests this fancy (j/k)
Good to have some new footy to look at.

No short. :-) Just grabbed a few friends and a kid down the street and attempted to take some pretty pictures with the camera. I shot everything (there are some other scenes, too) with my RED, an HDX900, and 35mm film to see where RED really does stand. My goal was kinda just to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the tools in relation to each other and in situations where I'd actually use them so I can use them most effectively. Res charts and the like are cool for the pixel peepers and tech heads, but at this level of detail I don't think it's as important anymore. Much more crucial to me is the ergonomics of the system, how it handles color, latitude, and noise, and if I enjoy shooting with it. Cinematography should be fun, not a chore! I don't have the film back yet (still going through development and then has to be sent to telecine), but in comparison to the HDX... well, there is no comparison, really. I'll post some of that footage as soon as I can.

I have a feeling the 35mm stuff will look every bit as good as the RED, but the workflow just pales in comparison. Unless I'm unbelievably blown away by the quality of the film, you'd be hard pressed to get me to voluntarily shoot it for any of my personal projects anymore. Loading mags, making sure nothing gets flashed, sticking to one ISO rating until you roll out, not being able to review a shot instantly, having to drive all over to get it processed and into a computer to do something with it... forget about it. I know that technology has spoiled me, but really... that's a completely archaic workflow that is going to be phased out sooner than later. And I won't even get into the cost differential...

As far as lights, I didn't have anything crazy... just one 2K, one 1K, and two tweenies at my disposal. I think I ended up using three lights in each setup.

Focus is of paramount importance, and even these clips show it. I had my usual AC pull for me on the bedroom shot (which is tack sharp the whole way through), but he couldn't stay for the couple scene, so I had a friend who had never pulled focus before "attempt" it. Let's just say it took a few takes. :) Because I was shooting on a curved dolly and the focal plane was constantly changing, it was frustratingly difficult for him. I was shooting wide open on an 85mm lens, too, so that didn't help. It would have been fine for my AC who has experience, but it does drive the point home that you need to be careful about your choices, know your limitations, and get someone qualified to do the job. If you're shooting outside on a sunny day with minimal NDs, you probably won't have many problems. If you're trying to set up a complicated moving shot at the long end of a lens at a large aperture, you better be busting out the measuring tape. I don't know what else to say, really - the process is identical to shooting 35mm film - but those who are coming from the 1/3" chip world will be in for a shock if they haven't had any experience with it previously.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words... even though it wasn't for any huge production, it still feels good to know that people are appreciating the effort.

[Häakon]

Great Footage. Some of the best footage ever posted on REDuser. Kepp posting.

That's extremely kind of you, thanks. Now I feel stupid for being lazy and not finding a sharper take of the girl. :bleh:

What do you think about the 18-50mm. How are the mechanics?
Breathing etc.. How was focusing with it?

Honestly, I love it. I wasn't expecting to... in fact, I wasn't even planning on buying it. After they canned the 18-85mm zoom, I started looking around for some superspeeds or the like to try to get a better setup going. But I wanted to have glass for the camera from day one and the price was good, so I just went for it. And actually, I've put several different lenses on the camera now and think the RED is the sharpest of the bunch. I'm sure there's something better out there, but it probably costs ten times as much and won't make a catastrophically huge difference when all is said and done.

It does breath, if ever slightly, but it's not too offputting. I had a standard ENG lens on the HDX and in comparison it literally looks as if you are zooming from one end of the range to the other when you pull focus. No kidding, I had to check at one point that I was turning the right ring because the image size was changing so much. I think the RED lens will be acceptable for most people and productions, but if you need something that's completely transparent, you can always rent an expensive prime.

Mechanics are good if not a little bit tight... it will probably loosen up over time. I used a mechanical follow focus on these shots as my BFD motor wasn't ready yet (it just arrived here yesterday), but that part worked flawlessly. Barrel measurements were accurate and as the second clip shows, we were able to keep pristine focus on the boy throughout the dolly move. It's optically very nice, too... I have yet to see any bad chromatic aberration, whereas the ENG lens has purple fringing all over the edge of the picture frame on the OTS shot. I also think the 18-50 looks sharper and cleaner than some of the older, "workhorse" lenses which were designed and coated for film applications.

I really have very few complaints about the RED system and none of them have to do with the image. I think the minor problems I have been experiencing with my rig will be resolved when my body is swapped with the newer "X" version.

[Kenn Michael]

Thanks for the details!!!! Your thoughts on the 18-50 are well timed as I'm finalizing my choices for my system.

Did you use the 2K proxy for this output in FCP or the 1K? No grading? It looks amazing straight from the camera.

Very inspiring! :)

[Häakon]

Did you use the 2K proxy for this output in FCP or the 1K? No grading? It looks amazing straight from the camera.

Very inspiring! :)

Believe it or not, that's from the 1K. I only had a Macbook to edit the footage on, and I couldn't stand watching the 2K footage skip about in FCP, so I just grabbed the 1K and said forget it. I could have reconnected the clips to the higher res versions after the fact, of course, and this won't be a problem on a system with a little more horsepower, but I think there's something to be said for such great quality coming from an image 1/16th the size of the original! Wait until you see the side-by-side results!

I think it looks amazing straight from the camera, too. Truth be told, I've been having some difficulties with both RED Alert! and REDCINE, so I just bypassed them entirely and threw the clips directly into Final Cut. I choose colors and light a scene the old fashioned way - get things on set to look the way I want them to in the final version (I'm not a color timer specialist) - but that being said, I usually have to touch up little things here and there in post. With RED, I get much more consistent results right away. That's both helpful and liberating. The waveform is very, very useful, too; I didn't even so much as adjust a curve or level afterward - just chopped up the clips and hit render.