Digital Video - June 2008 - (Page 12)

DV UPDATE Technologies workstation, called redBOXX, playing in real time with a 2K output at 24fps. Red Digital Camera announced their upcoming Scarlet (3K) and Epic (5K) cameras, slated to be real products by early 2009, but a more important announcement for post was Red Ray. Think of this as Apple TV for Red files. The unit allows you to stick in a flash card from the camera and play out files at up to 4K resolution. Also early 2009. Although Apple wasn’t officially on the NAB floor, they did have a station at the Red booth, presenting a technology demonstration of the Log and Transfer module for FCP and the Red Room inside Apple Color. Log and Transfer permits users to directly import native.R3D files into Final Cut and apply a color preset to the image. On the way in, these files are converted to Apple’s ProRes codec. A beta version of this Log and Transfer module can be downloaded from Red’s support site (FCP 6.0.3 required). The Red Room for Color is more intriguing. The concept is that Red files edited in FCP You’ll find extended and additional NAB Show 2008 reports on our site. Visit DV online. are “sent to” Color, which in turn links back to the 4K resolution raw .R3D files. In a raw file, all color information is just metadata, so the Red Room lets the colorist adjust the raw metadata parameters first, before applying color grading values (accessed in the Primary and Secondary “rooms” of the Color user interface). There is no release date yet for this feature. It’s a bit of a coup that Red was even able to show an Apple technology demonstration, given how secretive Apple is about its future products. Red has whetted everyone’s appetite for 4K files on the desktop, but this is still the domain of heavy iron. One such company is German manufacturer DVS. Their flagship Clipster product offers the ability to conform, edit and color grade at up to 4K. DVS has concentrated on making Clipster a reliable DCI (Digital Cinema Initiative) mastering solution, offering all the DCI steps automatically. Clipster is able to provide its contents with certificates and encryption of any type, such as JPEG 2000 encoding, AES and RSA encryption, as well as X509 certification. DV PHOTO BY FRAN KUHN favorite. Whether it is a discount “Barber Boom” or a Jimmy Jib with a local operator or a 30’ Giraffe with a gyrostabilized three-axis head, a crane opens up so many possibilities. You can easily go from leading your subject to chasing your subject simply by arming from the stern to the bow, and easily from port to starboard. Raise the camera to get out of the spray, lower it to the surface when things are calm. Reach out to allow another craft to blow directly under you, et cetera. Communication. Radios pretty much are useless — they get wet, the earwigs fail. Its best to use colored flags (with prearranged meanings), bullhorns and air sirens. GETTING YOUR FEET WET ABOUT TO SHOOT ON WATER? READ THIS FIRST Another great tool on the water is handheld with gyros. Lots of flexibility as far as moving around your boat without a tripod, and they create stability where there was none. I’m a huge fan of shooting film, but in my opinion, as soon as you go below the surface of the water there is no reason not to shoot high-def. You can roll endlessly without reloading, the range in latitude between light and shadow underwater is greatly reduced (one of the shortcomings of high-def, of course). Plan on being much less efficient on the water than you would be on land — just a fact of life. Setup time, reset time, location moves, lens changes, focus marks, wardrobe change, communication — everything — takes longer! S ummer is here, and with it come more opportunities to shoot in and around (hopefully warmer) water. Action director of photography Kevin Ward has encountered his fair share of H2O on shoots and offers these helpful tips for those leaving dry land. Get a waterproof cell phone! Sort of kidding, but I’ve got to say, I went through so many phones before I found this G’zOne waterproof phone. Mine takes a dunkin’ and keeps on ringin’! No matter where you are in the world and how skilled you and/or your crew are at piloting a boat, hire locals. They know all the idiosyncrasies of the local water: shoals, reefs, tides, currents, when the jellyfish come in, where the sharks are, how to run from a squall, sourcing local talent, and on and on…. Crane arms on the water are my — Douglas Bankston 12 dv june 2008 www.dv.com http://www.dv.com http://www.dv.com

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Digital Video - June 2008 Contents DV Update My Studio Runners World Brevis Flip 35MM Lens Adapter 4160 Soom Tripod System Century Essential-5 Filter Kit Little Big Disk Quadra Instant Expert DXA-2S Adapter Technology Treasures Making What You See Sound Great Click to Play DV 101 Production Diary

Digital Video - June 2008

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