DC Metro Final Cut Pros

Insane Specs

Mysterium-X at the heart of the brain
Massive 5K RAW resolution sensor
Records full resolution 100 FPS to postage stamp
Magic of FLUT Color Science and REDCOE
Incredible 13.5 stops of dynamic range

Go HERE for more info…
Listen to Post Pit and Digital Production BuZZ on the latest from the NABshow activities.. the CEO of RED will be here!

FLUT™. What?


FLUT™ (or Floating Point LUT) is a science developed by Graeme that efficiently allows you to balance your mid-greys in the center of the histogram without worry that you’re pushing highlight detail over the edge.


FLUT™ works to smoothly bend in any highlights that might get clipped when going to a higher ISO, working like film’s smooth highlight roll-off.


As a user, you really don’t need to know anything about how FLUT™ works… just that it should be your primary brightness control.

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Jim Jannard – RED Leader

Open letter to Variety from RED Digital Cinema.

Hopefully this will spark some spirited and interested commentary …. Please feel free to forward this to those you work with in the production and post biz that do not spend a lot of time on the forum, as it is a constant point of discussion from what I gather.

+ Ted

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There was a recent article in Variety regarding the confusion on if it’s really cheaper to shoot in Digital as compared to film.

Here is the web link to the original article from a few weeks ago:

While the article was interesting to read, I think it just added to the confusion and did not offer any data or assistance on how to make the best choice regarding shooting Digital or Film as it relates to the financials.


I believe that we do a service to the entertainment community by making our best efforts to be logical and factual about the process and associated costs of shooting digital vs. shooting film.* Mentioning in the article that it is confusing and difficult to figure out I believe does not accomplish anything positive.


In our specialized RED education classes that we have been teaching in Los Angeles, we cover this in depth, and I wanted to share our findings.

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Attached are two PDF cost matrix charts based on 3 perf 35mm film shooting, vs. HD tape shooting on F23 vs. Digital Data shooting on RED.

Attachment 1: A Conservative Cost Comparison – One Week Rental Package/ 10 hrs of shooting / 10 hrs of dailies

Attachment 2: A Conservative Cost Comparison – 90 minute feature | 4 wks shooting | 100 hours dailies | 50 hrs of grading

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This is not meant to be a comprehensive budgeting exercise, just an overview of costs based on conservative numbers from local labs and rental companies in LA, and current film stock, digital stock, processing, data copying and prep, camera rental costs and post production costs.


There are no doubt variances in these figures based on special deals that savvy producers can cut with rental houses, labs and post facilities. *This is a starting point, based on factual data.* It clearly shows the general cost matrix of the different formats, and is a good starting point for creating a comparison of film vs. digital budget in a logical, comprehensive manner.


Note that our budget reflects using 3 perf 35mm for shooting, as this appears to be the most popular choice currently for TV and a fair amount of feature film work. If you prefer to budget for 2 perf 35mm, then subtract 25% to the film stock and processing costs in the chart. If you prefer to budget for 4 perf 35mm, then add 25% to those costs.


Note that we used an average rental rate for an F23 camera package in our cost matrix as well as an average rate for both 35mm and RED camera packages. For F35, you would budget higher for the rental, as that camera typically rents for more than the F23. The Genesis Rental rates and F23 rental rates I’ve been told are comparable based on current rental numbers. You can of course check with your preferred rental house for proper budgeting on 35mm film cameras, HD video cameras and RED cameras for a true comparison based on your project parameters. You will find rental rates all over the map for cameras, usually based on how the gear is maintained, the level of rental expertise, and the level of customer service provided.


Note that the charge for shooting stock of the RED camera is included in the camera rental cost in one chart, and as a line item for production to own their own media assets in the other chart. Since RED the media is re-usable, the cost of renting the appropriate amount of RED media for a one week shoot is typically very low and usually included in the rental cost of the camera equipment.


We find, and you can get many Producers, Directors and DPs that shoot RED on a regular basis to attest to the fact that it takes no longer to prep for a RED shoot than a 35mm or high end HD video shoot, and shooting style of RED is cable free if desired, just like shooting film. The RED does not require a video village tent or traditional DIT role, just like shooting film. The RED stock and the film stock live directly on the camera body, and RED can be shot just as quick or quicker than a film shoot. We do recommend the modern version of a 2nd AC on RED shoots, the First AC job of focus pulling remains the same as film. If the project is large enough, we recommend on set Data Manager, since you have the ability to take portions of the lab processing and file prep for editorial steps onto the set, or into offline editorial, as they are all data functions, requiring off the shelf computer gear.


In addition, you can take the same post pathways with RED that you do for 35mm with the exception that you replace the expensive telecine to HD tape step with a more cost effective data prep step. You can also use a modern approach to tapeless post production, end to end, for both TV delivery and theatrical delivery, and find extraordinary cost savings over traditional methods.


We at RED believe that all these shooting mediums are all viable and good choices for high end production.* This is not meant to be a value judgement on what camera to shoot for your production, just cost matrix data and some workflow logic for budgeting.


If there are any questions, comments, thoughts regarding this, please direct them to my email: ted@red.com. We are always happy to assist, discuss and debate for the purpose of allowing Producers and Productions to make well educated decisions.

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Ted Schilowitz
RED Digital Cinema
ted@red.com

“The new color science aspect is vastly improved calibration of the camera (and necessarily extended to work with M-X and future cameras) way beyond what we did back with B20 (Build 20).


REDGamma is a new philosophy in gamma curves that attempts (and we’ve been shown this attempt worked) to make a curve that’s as gradable as REDLog, has extremely smooth highlight rolloff, and looks “nice” both in camera and as a post starting point.


FLUT™ is a new control (for very fine ISO / mid grey adjustments without inducing clipping) and an underlying technology that facilitates all of the above, and indeed was necessary to make the new color and new gamma curves work.

“It’s a whole re-write, from the ground up, of RED color science and image processing math, with an emphasis on accuracy, precision and improving the image in terms of color accuracy, highlight roll-off and avoiding unnecessary clipping.

We give you the “user curve” tools to allow you to either modify the existing standard curves or to build your own. But we think REDGamma is a very much superior starting point to that which we’ve had before.


To me, the other benefit of REDColor/REDGamma is that it offers a standard starting point for your footage, that looks good, and offers a great grading starting point. This helps remove indecision on what setting to use.


FLUT™ REDColor and REDGamma were designed to get the best out of the new sensor. That they happen to improve old images too is just a bonus It’s only available in the new REDCine-X.


It has to do with in camera because it helps you get a better image while shooting that carries more easily though to post.”

“We are recommending that everyone download the new REDCINE-X (Mac or Windows) and open some of your old files. They are certainly going to be better than you remembered…

The new FLUT™ Color Science works a bit of magic on all RED footage, old or new. The power of REDCODE RAW. But you need to try it for yourself.


Spread the word to all your RED-shooting friends. This one should NOT be kept a secret.”

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Jim Jannard – RED Leader

So what is FLUT?

FLUT is the brainchild of Graeme.

The “F” in FLUT stands for “floating point”.

If you haven’t clipped RAW, you haven’t clipped any ISO. Move your mid grey anywhere you want without fear of clipping.

FLUT includes another new color science. That’s right. Number 3. Better than number 2, which was better than the original.

FLUT includes a new color space- REDcolor (more accurate than before)

FLUT includes a new gamma- REDgamma (more info from RAW than before)

Since an r3d is RAW, you can re-grade any old footage with the new color science.

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FLUT works with the Mysterium sensor. It works better with Mysterium-X sensor.

FLUT Science

1. New Color Space.
More accurate color science and a new color space called REDcolor. Remember that Color Space is not baked in to RAW. This will be the option to CameraRGB or REC 709. I pick REDcolor every time now. But all are more accurate.

2. New Gamma.
REDgamma. It is a gamma that uses more information from RAW than REC 709 or REDspace. It matches your meter. It looks fantastic. The standard REDgamma is fairly flat and ready to grade. REDfilm is a gamma that emulates scanned film… for those traditionalists.

3. Old Legacy.
REDspace, as a color space or as a gamma, plus all the old “other gammas” will be included in REDCINE-X for legacy use. But you can grade your old footage with REDcolor and REDgamma… that is the power of RAW.

4. FLUT.
Graeme’s baby. This one will be shown and explained at RED Day. You are going to love this. Money back guarantee… oh, forgot. It’s free.

In REDCINE-X, you set Color Space (REDcolor). Set Gamma (REDgamma). Set or check your White Balance. Adjust the FLUT Control. Grade. Easy.

REDCINE-X has several new features that you will appreciate… like Shadow Control. Plus… a few new big surprises.

“FLUT™ is a name we are giving to a new set of image processing features in post and in camera. As Jim mentions, along with it comes new histograms, new false color, and new camera settings. The work done on FLUT™ has helped to enable these functions in camera.

But let’s talk about how FLUT™ works with image processing, and how specifically it deals with the concept of “gain”.

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Gain is a necessary part of image processing and it’s simplest to think of it as the most basic way to brighten an image. Traditionally, gain in camera was done in the analogue domain. The downside to this is that as the image is gained up, it causes bright highlights to clip, and indeed it will loose one stop of highlights to clipping for every stop of gain applied. Originally in our camera and software, we applied gain (under the controls ISO and exposure) in a way that worked just as analogue gain does.


Although it sounds simple enough to just adjust the gain so that it does not clip the highlights, like a traditional video “knee”, the devil is always in the details. Instead of a gamma option, which is what a traditional knee is, it was decided to build the smooth roll-off and non-clipping gain properties into a complete system, which much more suits the RAW development nature of working with the R3D files.


This means that while all RAW development controls benefit from the underlying FLUT™ math, the main controls that directly effect it are ISO and the new FLUT™ Control. ISO and FLUT™ Control work together and produce exactly the same results, but FLUT™ control is calibrated in stops and has a fine degree of control, whereas ISO is labeled in traditional units and 1/3 stops. They work together, so if you gain up on ISO and back down the same amount on FLUT™, they cancel each other out. If you gain up on ISO and add more gain on FLUT™, you can get an awful lot of gain. You can use ISO, or you can use FLUT™ and get to exactly the same point. You can roughly gain up the image with ISO and fine-tune with FLUT™ control. The choice is yours. I love FLUT™ control as it’s in stops, and to me, that’s a more natural way of thinking than the ISO numbers.


Sometimes, however, you may wish to have absolutely linear gain and clip those highlights, so “exposure” control works just as it did before – it’s pure linear gain and it will hard clip. However, because FLUT™ is an underlying system – all is not lost…


Take the user curve controls for example, they’ll allow you to “pull back” a highlight you’ve forced to clip through use of the “exposure” control. Or the new Lift/Gamma/Gain controls will also allow you to do the same and pull back highlights you’ve clipped earlier in the image processing chain.


So, to put it all together simply:

FLUT™ is an underlying technology, designed to help you avoid clipping unnecessarily.
It works primarily through ISO and FLUT™ Control, but helps all RAW development controls.
Exposure works just as it’s always done if you need it.
The ISO and FLUT™ controls work together – think of them as “better gain.”

“The wonderful thing about REDCODE RAW is that when color science improves… you can go back and old footage becomes NEW.

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Jim Jannard – RED Leader

With the advances made with the RED camera sensors, color science, codecs and the like, we can all learn from the fundamental science of what’s happening with all things digital and the impacts to digital cinema.  Take a look at a series of videos we posted from Panavision in 2008 by searching on the keyword: PANAVISION and take a look at the 7 part series: DEMYSTIFYING DIGITAL CAMERA SPECIFICATIONS.

You will quickly find out that we are just scratching the surface of what we consumers see as HD (720/1080P) as the high end market pushes beyond 4K to 5K and up.

One of our DCFCPUG sponsor companies’ founder, Graeme Nattress [yes, the same guy who makes those impressive plug-ins at NATTRESS], is heavily involved in the color science work at RED.

Graeme Nattress is behind the FLUT, Image Processing, Colour Science and Demosaic Algorithms and RED4K delivery at RED.








Being a Computer Science major with a minor in Computer Studies, I love his tag line:

Science enables stories. Stories drive Science.

While he is the public face of the mad science work going on, there are other smart guys working with him pushing the limits of resolution to all time highs.  Keep up the good work Graeme and the team at RED!


Keep your eye on the Mysterium sensor:

4520 X 2540 pixels… DATA TO BURN. At the heart of RED lives the 12-megapixel Mysterium™ CMOS sensor, Super 35mm sized, with unparalleled fidelity and flexibility.

It combines low noise with superior charge capacity for dynamic range and color fidelity that allows you to finally have a no excuse digital imaging alternative to shooting 35mm film.


DIGITAL SUPER 35MM

Record 2540 progressive at up to 30 fps REDCODE RAW. With 4520 X 2540 pixels, Mysterium™ puts pure digital Ultra-High Def in the palm of your hand.

RED ONE™ and REDCINE™ also support down-sampling to 1080p and 720p for in-field monitoring and compatibility with non-linear editors.

You get the same breathtaking field of view and selective focus found on film cameras. Mysterium™ boasts a greater than 66db Signal to Noise Ratio thanks to its large 29 sq. micron pixels. And 12,065,000 pixels deliver resolution that can only be called Ultra High Definition.


How does 4K compare to 35MM Film?

Most 35 mm film outs that have gone through a scanning process have been scanned at 2K, or one quarter the resolution of 4K. Only extremely high content VFX work is generally scanned as high as 4K. Viewers that see RED footage for the first time either describe the quality as 65 mm film or “grainless 35”.  More pragmatically, it is the elimination of the cost of film and processing that make the RED ONE so economically attractive, in addition to its extraordinary quality.





What are the Advantages of Shooting DIGITAL vs. FILM?

Beyond the obvious advantage of cost savings with the elimination of film and processing, both consumable products, it is the benefit of being able to watch dailies immediately, in real time, that make shooting digital such a superior experience. In adding the extraordinarily high quality of 4K capture and at such an affordable price, RED has tipped the scales for the industry.

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Follow us as we learn from the pioneers at RED, Canon, Nikon, etc in bringing digital science and resolution to yield real options to shooting on film.  Just like our Larry Jordan FCP Tips, we will have similar words of wisdom from the team at RED.

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Head on over to SHOT ON RED and get excited!

Enjoy the ride!


Rod – DCFCPUG Leader

If any DCFCPUG members are going to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in April, there is a RED Camera and Post training event sponsored by RED and HD EXPO the week before NAB.

REDucation is the only RED-approved and RED-sanctioned educational program for learning the RED camera, RED workflow, RED data management, and RED post production techniques.

REDUCATION Registration page:

SELECT YOUR WORKSHOP:
April 8-12, 2010 – Las Vegas – REGISTER NOW
August 2-7, 2010 – Los Angeles – Registration Open Soon
September 27-October 2, 2010 – New York – Registration Open Soon
December 6-11, 2010 – Los Angeles – Registration Open Soon

About RED

CURRICULUM
It is important to note that REDucation is the RED approved and sanctioned education for learning RED. While the popularity of the camera and the 1000’s of RED jobs and massive industry adoption of the RED have created a lot of entities teaching RED in some fashion – none have been authorized by RED as the best practices that we believe should be taught. REDucation is what RED believes is the best way to learn the RED camera and RED post production techniques.

RED TECH:

• Theory & Philosophy of RED – The concept of digital film and RAW Cinematography
• The Future of RED – A peek into the Crystal Ball – EPIC, SCARLET, REDRAY, and more
• RED Myths – Dispelling rumors, innuendos, misinformation and FUD
• Common On Set Scenarios – How to work most effectively with this new tool
• The RED ONE Camera – Menus, Frame Rates, Resolution, overview of how to best learn and use the tool
• The RED ONE production packages – Setups for various shooting styles and production scenarios
• Shooting assignments – Testing various lighting setups, exposure situations, and rigging styles
• The RED Lab – Exposure measuring tools, on-set grading & file backup, and prep options
• Monitors – Calibration and setup procedures, philosophy of RED on set monitoring
• Software – REDCINE, RED ALERT!, REDrushes & 3rd Party software
• REDiquette – On-set procedures and politics, dealing with tricky situations and various personalities
• Data Management – Options and best practices for protecting and managing the digital negative
• RED Tech kit review and setup – use of the data-wrangling tools
• Data management during prep – Various testing methods and benefits
• Testing with the DP and the assistants – Getting comfortable with each job and its nuances
• Data management during photography – How to tech the data efficiently and effectively
• Hardware and software solutions for on set work – What makes sense for various types of productions
• On-set footage and color checks – File requirements for post production
• Data Management Lab – Who’s Responsible and various options
• Camera-to-Posthouse workflows – Options and recommended practices
• Storage and backups – How many, how often, and where do they go
• On-set editing and dailies – The modern video assist and file prep station

RED POST:

• RED Post logic points and theory – The pros and cons of many flexible workflows
• Overview of Workflow Solutions
• Small – Kitchen table, Do it Yourself
• Medium – Indy, Commercial, Do it yourself or Outsource
• Large – Feature, Episodic, Do it yourself or Outsource
• The RED lab – Receiving data from the field
• Backing up data – Data and error checking and best practices
• Quality control checks and feedback to set – Informing the set of problems or concerns
• RED Proxies – What are proxies and the various ways to use them
• RED Myths – Dispelling rumors, misinformation and wild information
• Preventing problems before they get to the post stage
• Archiving data – On-set, very short term, short term, long term, very long term
• Dailies – pictures and sound, and the various modern and traditional methods for creating RED dailies
• Editorial Workflow – Yesterday’s offline is today’s online
• Delivering cut scene outputs and elements to directors and producers
• Working with directors, post producers, and post supervisors
• Politics in post production – Specific to RED and the modern state of the industry
• Software options – Offline and online editing, DI and finishing
• RED specific post utilities and the best practice uses – REDCINE, RED Alert!, RED Rushes & 3rd Party software
• VFX Handling – How to manage and optimize the pipeline
• Color Space and LUTs for Post Production deliverables
• Deliverables – Traditional 35mm, and DCP, large format film and digital, broadcast HD and SD, DVD & Blu-Ray, mobile devices, web delivery

RED Digital Cinema is taking the next step in the evolution of our various education efforts with REDucation. The goal of this effort is fully immersive, hands on, practical training and teaching of the RED ONE camera system for both on set practices and post production practices.

This is real world training – taught by working professionals, for working professionals and those looking to work in the field of DigitalCinematography and High Resolution Post Production.

Over the past few runs of REDucation, we’ve streamlined the course, and are combining the Camera and Post sides of the course into one comprehensive class (no longer will we have the option of taking just the camera side or the post side separately.)

We proved with REDucation what we knew all along, that with the RED, shooting and post are so intertwined, that it doesn’t make sense to separate them into to different modules. Considering there is a large on set component of post production, viewing footage, prepping files for editorial, screening dailies during or immediately after the shoot, etc. it really is critical to know all of it to be fully effective as a RED expert.

By combining the Camera and Post sides, we will be making it more focused on the subject matter that’s most important, based on feedback we have received from the first few classes.

The new structure for REDucation is as follows: 6 day class – 2.5 days of Camera tech and on set practices, 2.5 days of Post Production for both on set and off set (post environment) editorial, color grading and DI finishing for TV and Theatrical deliverables. Middle day will continue to be the RED community day, giving the students in the class time to interface with the various companies that support RED in both production and post.

Classes will still be fully hands on with many RED camera packages, all kinds of support gear, both 4k and 2k projection. many Mac workstations for On set Tech training and post production training, and RED rocket enabled 4k screening station to view Student shot footage in 4k.

Looks like the first class we will be run this way will be in Las Vegas from April 8 to April 12 at the Tropicana Hotel with registration open for the first 200. Then we will be running this class structure in NYC, LA, Paris, London and select Cities in Asia and India – dates to be announced sometime early 2010.

REDucation Vegas:

The first class we are planning to run as discussed above will be in Las Vegas from April 8 to April 12th at the Tropicana Hotel with registration open for the first 200. Then we will be running this class structure in NYC, Paris, London and select Cities in Asia and India – dates to be announced sometime early 2010.

This REDucation Vegas looks to be a very popular destination, as it is set to run directly before the NAB show, so many people coming in from all over the USA and Internationally will extend their trip by a week, and combine REDucation with their NAB activities.

Even though this class will be larger than our normal class size, we will be increasing support staff, gear and the venue to support it properly. All the learning will be hands on, just as with the LA classes.

Michael Cioni and Steve Freebairn will be instructing with twenty TAs and forty camera packages. A massive gathering of RED gear and technology.

If you are interested in Vegas REDucation, please register soon, as we anticipate this class will fill up fast, even with the larger number of students we plan to work with on this run.