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NAB: Confessions of a Red Junkie by Paul Kalbach
Red techs in a clean room at their NAB booth upgrade the Red Epic to the Dragon sensor. photo: P. Kalbach
BEING A SELF-CONFESSED RED CAMERA
junkie, I make my annual pilgrimage to the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB) to get my Red fix. But of course there are always plenty of other new and innovative toys—er…I mean TOOLS—there to play with. More on them in a minute.
Ever since they showed up at NAB 2006 with just a tent and brochure and no working hardware, Red has been spearheading the 4K revolution. While HD is 1920x1080 pixels, 4K is anything from 3840x 2160 to 4096x3112—over four times the resolution, which is why the Consumer Electronics Association recently changed the designation of 4K to Ultra High-Definition, also known as Ultra HD or simply UHD.
I jumped on board the Red Train at NAB 2007 after seeing Peter Jackson’s short “Crossing the Line", which was shot with two prototype Red One cameras. Fast forward to 2012 when Peter Jackson released “The Hobbit”, shot in 3-D with 48 (FORTY-EIGHT!!!) Red Epic cameras.
At that year's NAB, Red threw a giant party called “My World Is In 4K” and the celebration simply continued at this year's NAB. You couldn't swing a cat without hitting 4K cameras, 4K displays, 4K projectors, 4K post workflows and 4K pipeline solutions. I wonder if Arriflex, the great German manufacturer, is still claiming that 1080p is “good enough”?
The Red Dragon is one cute little camera. photo: courtesy Red
I spent most of the first day in Red's gigantic booth. I got my order in (to get in line) for having my Red Epic upgraded to the new Dragon sensor which has a resolution of an insane 6144x3160, with up to 100 frames-per-second and a whopping three additional F-stops of dynamic range over Epic M-X (16.5+ stops). Alongside their booth, Red had a static-free clean room where one could watch, through an aquarium-like window, techs performing Dragon upgrades on dozens of Red Epics.
I saw a demo of their newly announced Red Motion Mount. This is a PL lens mount (Canon and Nikon versions coming) that not only incorporates an integrated 8x Electronic ND filter (in adjustable 1/100th stop granularity) but also overtakes the sensors timing to give you a true global shutter.
I feel that this is a really major development. All integrated and controlled by the camera user interface, it eliminates "shutter judder" and defeats temporal aliasing (which is when the number of frames per second is too low causing objects to jump or simply appear instead of moving smoothly). In the demo, I could see there were no partial frames resulting from flashes. I’m really looking forward to using the Red Side Handle’s sync terminal for studio strobes when shooting stills.
Another exciting Red development is its partnership with Odemax a distribution platform for the Redray Player. Information is still sketchy since there is currently little information on their website but more can be found in the Redray discussion on the Reduser Forum. I spent some time talking to the guy who was writing the Odemax software.
Redray® is the first 4K Cinema Player to bring Ultra HD to your home, business or local theater using internet file-based distribution. Odemax is designed to exclusively support the Redray Player and Redray Projection systems. An all-inclusive environment for the theatrical delivery of feature films, with built-in digital rights management, sales, marketing and analytics, Odemax.com provides direct channel access to the new cloud-enabled Redray 4K home players.
The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition on board a DJI Phantom drone with DJI gimble for fantastic aerial shots. . photo: P. Kalbach
An independent filmmaker such as myself can set up their own Odemax film channel at no cost although Odemax takes a reasonable percentage of any sales. Think of it as a Vimeo on 4K steroids allowing you to distribute your film to an individuals’ home theater, a small independent art theater, or even a commercial theater chain with incredible ease.
I feel that this has the potential to level the distribution playing field. I foresee the possibility of many independent art film houses sprouting up in storefronts by simply having a Redray player, a 4K projector (a Red Digital Cinema 4K laser projector is also in development), a screen and some chairs as well as of course a popcorn machine, beer and pizza. Indeed, Odemax distribution could completely bypass the established distribution system that is such a barrier for independent filmmakers.
I dragged myself away from the Red booth to see if there were any other fun things—I mean TOOLS—to play with. One of the most impressive was Mōvi from Freefly Systems, a 3-axis gyro-stabilized handheld camera rig. The completely silent device weighs under 3.5 pounds bare and can be operated solo, or with the help of a second "gimbal" operator with a joystick to pull off some incredible moves.
The Mōvi can also be used with Freefly’s drones for aerial shots. Vincent Laforet made a short that shows off the rig’s capabilities (http://vimeo.com/62917185). A behind the scenes video of the shoot is also worth checking out.
Garrett Brown, the inventor of the Steadicam, was in the Tiffen (of filter fame) booth showing off the new Steadicam models. While the top version of the Shadow rig has a payload capacity of 70 pounds, there are also new versions of the Archer, Zephyr, Pilot, and Merlin rigs, all tailored to different weight ranges. Totally new is the Steadicam Solo, an economical rig with a 10-pound capacity which doubles as a mono pod and can be used handheld or with an arm and vest.
I took the Steadiseg (the seg referring to Segway) for a spin around the booth and came to the conclusion it is time to upgrade my own first generation rig!
The Steadicam Tango is perfect for doing a 'Touch of Evil' (1958) opener on the cheap. photo: Mindcastle
I got to try out the Tango, which is a cross between a Steadicam and jib—really loved it but wish it had a greater weight capacity (only six pound payload). The Steadicam Smoothee is for iPhones and GoPros. The new Steadicam Curve is a tiny Steadicam rig just for the GoPro that fits in your pocket.
And what would NAB be without the GoPro booth? Their new GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition is a huge step in quality above their previous model. This tiny go-anywhere camera packs a serious punch.
It even shoots 4K! 4K mode is limited to 15 fps or 12 fps, which is fine if it is a static shot or time lapse. I would like to do some tests shooting 4K at 12 fps and convert to 24 fps using Twixtor; it just may be quite usable. It has built-in Wi-Fi allowing one to monitor and control their camera with their iPhone or iPad. Protune mode allows for more flexibility in a professional post workflow.
Next door to GoPro, DJI had a giant tall cage where they were flying GoPros from their Phantom quad-copters. I’ve seen a lot of GoPro footage shot from various drones, but I have to say that the footage shot from the Phantom is the most stable looking that I’ve seen. They’re also coming out with a gimble that will allow you to remotely control the GoPro’s tilt as well as stabilize and keep it level.
Blackmagic Design showed two new cameras to supplement their 2.5 K Cinema Camera, their Production Camera 4K and their Pocket Cinema Camera which has a super 16 sensor size for 1080 HD. With a retro look reminiscent of an old Polaroid camera, I imagine these cameras might allow one to blend in as a tourist and not attract too much attention. Blackmagic also showed off soon–to-ship Version 10 of DaVinci Resolve.
Blackmagic shook-up the post production world in 2009 when they bought DaVinci Systems and made Resolve available as software only for $995. This is a tiny fraction of what it used to cost for this highest-end color grading system. The full system with the DaVinci control surface sells for $29,995, although even that is a tiny fraction of the original price. They even have a version with some functions limited that can be downloaded for free. For external monitoring on a broadcast color-critical monitor, Resolve works with Blackmagic I/O cards ONLY. I’m sure they have sold a gazillion of their I/O cards with this pricing strategy!
The Robotic OneManCrew from RedRockMicro. photo: courtesy P. Kalbach
After watching a demo, I am really looking forward to the soon-to-be released Mac version of Lightworks. Although some of the finest films of the past 20 years have been edited with Lightworks, it unfortunately fell by the wayside as Avid rose to dominance. Since then it has bounced around under several different owners, most recently being acquired by Editshare in 2009. It is available in a feature-limited free version and a Lightworks Pro version for $60 annual license fee.
I have an early Lightworks system (running under a DOS host) and love its’ parallels to film editing such as its Steenbeck-like transport control. For editors that miss the tactile feel of celluloid between their fingers and the aroma of splicing cement—this is as close as you’re going to get with an NLE!
Redrockmicro showed its new OneManCrew motorized parabolic slider . The camera mount follows an arc so that the subject is always in perfect focus. Redrock makes some nice accessories and I love their micro-remote wireless system which I have, however I’m not sure that I would want the OneManCrew.
I can see some applications for it, but the biggest problem I have with it is its 6 foot sweet spot for camera-to-subject distance. I like to have a lot more flexibility than that to control depth of field and composition. I can see using it for a table-top product shot, but for interviews I think the constant robotic back-and-forth will rapidly get boring; it takes the finesse of a human operator to perhaps pause at an emotional moment. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to their iPhone-based controller for their wireless system which is still waiting on approval from Apple.
Kessler has a very innovative multi-axis modular motion control system which allows one to start off with a basic system and over time build up a very complex sophisticated system. I love their new Pocket Jib Traveler which has a circular travel distance of 72 inches when fully extended and a payload capacity of 10 pounds. It folds up into a 5.5 pound package 27 inches in length that can be held in one hand. It is totally self-contained when collapsed, so no loose parts to get lost. I wanted to order one but they were all sold out.
The Mōvi 3-axis gyro-stabilized hand-held camera rig is one hecka fun to play with. photo: B. Knowland
IndiSystem had a Vortex Dolly http://www.indisystem.com/vortex-dolly-1/) which is an articulating arm that offers a different take on the slider concept. It allows one to place their camera anywhere within a certain radius (up to 48 inches depending on model).
Polly showed a dolly system that was quite unique. It is a small tabletop type dolly that is driven by a flywheel gear. Once you give the dolly a nudge with your finger, the flywheel gear simultaneously accumulates the kinetic energy and stabilizes the movement with slow ease in and ease out. The flywheel also has a scale for precise stop-motion sequences.
Alas, this review only scratches the surface of relating what I saw and I’m sure there were many great products I missed altogether—the convention is huge—and after three days my feet were melting. But I got my Red fix and found some fantastic new toys—TOOLS—so what more could a humble cineaste ask of his annual NAB pilgrimage.
Paul Kalbach is director of photography, editor, producer and studio manager, running Artichoke Productions who can be reached .