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Moving Toward The Red One 4

Informatif +6 kniwe

Rabu, 30 Sep '09 17:41

That morning, a small crowd has gathered in the lobby of CINERED, at the Gunawarman neighborhood. Some journalists, ad film directors and feature filmmakers were invited to see the presentation about the superiority of the highly celebrated motion picture camera, the Red One. A few minutes before 10 am, we were asked to move upstairs to the presentation room and introduced to Peter Aquilina, the Creative Consultant of CINERED. With his extensive experience using the Red One Camera as Producer and Director around the region, Peter brought us the presentation enthusiastically. “It has been picked up very quickly, and making it the most wave and a lot of attention around the world,” said Peter. Well, the testimonial was not merely nonsense. Since it was released in 2007 to 2009, there have been listed more than 100 films already shot on the Red or announced for future production.

The Red One 4K camera feels like a cross, between a film camera and a large video camera. It is solidly built, feels and operates like a camera of the highest quality, and works with lenses, which would traditionally attach to a 35mm motion picture body. It is an incredible achievement that an independent camera manufacturer has been able to produce a working system, which challenges the established players. The ability to shoot 4K, the same resolution as 35mm film, at a price-point unseen in the history of filmmaking, has made this system redefine the standard for feature film production.

 

Inspired by Hobbies

It was begun as a dream for Jim Jannard. The world formerly knew him as the creator of designer sunglasses and sports apparel company, Oakley. Soon after sold his company to Luxottica, the owner of Ray Ban in 2007, he founded The Red Digital Cinema Camera Company and started working on his dream. However, it is probably his hobbies, more than his business wisdom, which inspired the Red Digital Cinema project. He is long been an avid photographer, and also has a keen interest in cinematography. Yet, it seems, he never found the one camera that could serve all his needs, and this aspiration was the beginning for the Red One camera. His team of engineers and scientists has created the first digital movie camera that goes beyond the detail and richness of analog film.

The Red One records motion in a whopping 4,096 lines of horizontal resolution—"4K" in filmmaker lingo—and 2,304 of vertical. For comparison, hi-def digital movies like Sin City and the Star Wars prequels top out at 1,920 by 1,080, just like your HDTV. (There's also a slightly higher-resolution option called 2K that reaches 2,048 lines by 1,080.) Film does not have pixels, but the industry-standard 35-millimeter stock has a visual resolution roughly equivalent to 4K. “And that’s what makes the Red so exciting: It delivers all the dazzle of analog, but it is easier to use and cheaper—by orders of magnitude—than a film camera,” Peter added. In other words, the Red One Camera threatens to make 35-mm movie film obsolete.

Although, this may require a certain amount of "re-education" for some cinematographers, particularly those who might have gotten comfortable shooting HD and believing that what you see on the monitor is what you get. “I think cinematographers with film backgrounds might be more comfortable in thinking of their Red One camera displays as being analogous with the video taps they were used to,” said Peter.

Like a tap on a film camera, it is useful for framing reference, but the image available on the negative is not a final result. “It provides some good information, but you would not make lighting or exposure choices solely based on viewing the tap. There is so much more flexibility and overall dynamic range after processing the RAW image file,” said Peter. In fact, Red One has ASA and white balance settings on the camera body that really control nothing more than the display output and are totally nondestructive to the RAW image.

The Red software facilitates this with a process that’s really quick and easy. A full 8 GB/four-minute Compact Flash card (the only recording option now available) downloads in less than three minutes. With the aid of a required Mac with Intel processors, it’s then opened up in RED Alert, a condensed version of the full Redcine software, which lets you view and do a rough grade on the image with controls similar to Photoshop, including contrast, brightness, saturation and hue; you can change gamma curve. You can then almost instantly create various sized QuickTime viewing copies, ranging from low-res DV and HD to 2K

Understanding The New Technology

“We have been a little bit slow here in Indonesia to pick it up and understand it. Actually the new technology quite affordable because the studio can rent it, but they certainly don’t have the back up and technical expertise to understand the Red One, from pre-production, coaching, shooting, post-production, and finishing for cinema, TV, DVD, even for cell-phone or other viral media,” said Peter.

CINERED is really uniquely positioned to understand this whole new technology and focusing not only on Red One Camera, but focusing on Digital Imaging, workflow and other quality support gear as well. It’s just that most people at the moment are moving toward the Red One. You can see it throughout Asia, America, and Europe. The whole world is doing it. For instance, the “Knowing” directed by Alex Proyas was shot 100% on Red One and there is no question on the quality.

Many doubted that the Red One 4K camera would ever beat the 35-mm film. However, the team at CINERED have proved the skeptics wrong and delivered a viable and affordable alternative to 35-mm film. Damiana Widowati, the General Manager of CINERED is very keen to promote the new camera, “It is the moment for our filmmakers to embrace the new technology and to expand their dreams and imaginations further, because with The Red One, we can overcome lots of limitations in film productions and focused on the art of film itself.”

 

 

Tag: Camera
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