Quite often I hear people jabba jaw about RED workflow, how it’s tough and so on and so forth. I say – There is a pretty reasonable chance you’re doing it wrong.

Here are some BTS shots of a little project we worked on a couple weeks ago. 2 RED Scarlets, a Phantom Miro, a Cable Cam, 2 aerial cams and 6 GoPro’s shot across 2 days during an active race test. 3 shooters including me and one assistant. Shooting documentary style with minimum setup. Turnaround time in about 18 hours on location in a spot with limited internet and 2 hotel moves.

RED content was shot on 2 Scarlets. Final delivery is 1080p and I don’t feel the need for an EPIC when I also own a Phantom. Although the extra room for framing on a 5k image would certainly be a bonus 4k -> 1080p is just fine. RED shooter #2 Zac Crosby handled shooting during the day, and also utilized his superb DIT skills in the evening to bring in all the content. The biggest space killer was actually the GoPro content at about 280gig across 2 days of shooting. GoPros were managed by assistant Morgan Tinney. Very important on a shoot like this is not letting POV cams and others just free run at will. Everything has to be managed and as much logging and detail work you can do on location the better. Morgan never let a single GoPro run longer than one run, saving us lots of time later on, both in file copy time  as well as logging/editing. Paying an extra assistant person to make sure everything is running smooth is well worth saving 10 additional hours of logging, or even missing some content.

The second biggest content bear is the Phantom files. They are RAW like RED but do not have the workflow tools like REDCINE-X or support of editing systems like Premiere. Your options are to use Gluetools to access the files in any Quicktime app, which makes them available to your editor which is cool. Or transcode direct from Resolve, the Phantom Cine Viewer on Windows, or Speedgrade. Unfortunately Speedgrade doesn’t currently seem to support the Phantom Miro color matrix, and does not seem to allow me to make my own. Resolve was the same way until recently. For this particular project, since we are editing on fast PC’s, I used my Macbook with Gluetools to make transcodes using Adobe Media Encoder to DNXHD which could then be brought into the PC workstations for editing. One of the only bummers on PC based workflow is Gluetools is Mac only. I could have used Resolve on the PC to make transcodes, but it was being used for logging at the time, so Macbook it is. About the only thing the Macbook is good for anymore actually. Also, we go triple redundant here to a bare drive, Thunderbolt RAID and internal RAID in the PC. Bare drives are faster, cheaper, and easily stored. I buy them in bulk now. Almost every shoot gets it’s own 3TB bare which is assigned to the project. On return to the office it gets backed up to the NAS, then the drive gets stored in a plastic Hard Drive case and brought home for safety.

So let me expand on that Mac thing a bit. For the past 2 years I almost exclusively used a 2011 Macbook Pro for on location editing. It works, but is always frustrating. I hate frustrating. Even with the ram maxed out, a second SSD in place of the optical drive, and multiple external thunderbolt drives and adapters, it is just slow and annoying. My home workstations are very fast PC’s and I got sick of taking such a downgrade when on the road. So for projects like this, I am now using the LOCATION SMASHER. A PC box in a box built just for location work like this. Internal RAID, 3 drive docks, 2 Thunderbolt ports, multiple card readers, lots of eSata and USB3 ports and it can playback RED 4k at 1/2 res all day long with no problems. Export time of a 3 minute all RED sequence to H.264 is in the 6-7 minute range depending on filters. Compared to ~40 minutes on the Macbook. Time = money. I love this cube computer.

So Zac is cooking along on the DIT job at night, transcodes are being baked, and GoPro is being logged at the same time across 2 computers in one kinda junky Super8 hotel room. But eventually you might have to go on the road. So here is the final tweaks being made on a moving RV. Good thing for at least some internal SSD based drives.

So the final shot was done around 4pm on Wednesday, the rough cut was done by 12pm on Thursday and after client review the final draft was Thursday evening. Complete with wire removal on the cable cam shot, stabilizing on the full size aerials, and foley sound. Done and complete for publishing on Friday. Total data ingested was about 410gb.

So what are the negatives? Currently the Adobe suite doesn’t integrate well with Speedgrade. Which is a total bummer. It is supposed to work well together, but in reality, we know that is not the case. So color correction has to be done directly in Premiere and After Effects. For speed most is actually done in Premiere, quickly using Fast Color Corrector and the 3 way. Anything that needs more is handled in AE. The Phantom content is RAW, but without tools and API’s built into your editor it is hard to take advantage of. I can bring them into Resolve and then export the final shot, but that takes time, which I often don’t have. So they get lightly touched with Fast color corrector or AE using Color Finesse using “Replace with AE comp” right from the Premiere timeline, which is one of the best features. I wish there was that same feature for Speedgrade. Just a simple right click and “Replace with Speedgrade” or something like that. Would make my life 10% better.

Take a look at the final piece here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49k6s52FgNQ

I have the privilege of producing all sorts of action sports and motorsports content for all types of outlets, and utilize my RED or Phantom for as much of it as I can. The RED is unique in it’s ability to be able to grab a high res frame from the motion stream that is actually usable, I love it. I do hate carrying it on my shoulder deep into the desert though.

The frame grabs below are from a documentary I am working on called Easier Said Than Done – The first feature length doc on Rallying. I’ve re sized them for the web and applied curves and a little USM. They haven’t gone through any extensive color work.

Easier Said is on Facebook here: facebook.com/EasierSaidThanDoneFilm If you like it, you should like it. That way when I run out of money this summer and have to do a Kickstarter campaign I can harass you.

A couple of weeks ago I shot the 100 Acre Wood Rally and got to pull the Scarlet out a few times. But it wasn’t my primary. It went well, so a week later I brought it down to Mexico for Rally Guanajuato Mexico intending to use it full time as primary camera. I did bring a 7D also, but since I was “flying solo” and had little support for things like customs issues I really only brought the Scarlet and 7D – Not much else unlike usual. Scarlet Kit contained 3 v-mount batteries (1 AXRTEC ebay brand, and 2 Switronix XP’s. 2 64GB mags, Zeiss 80-200 and 28, Tokina 11-16 and Zuiko 28mm. Super lightweight kit as far as cinema cameras go. Also before I headed out I picked up a Zacuto Target Shooter. My side handle has not arrived from RED yet (Actually, it did while I was gone) and I needed some other way to balance the camera as I anticipated some handheld. Really the Target Shooter kinda stinks. It is top notch Zacuto quality. But the Scarlet weighs too much for just a shoulder brace. I ended up using 3-4 times but my arms are still hurting.

Like lots of Rallies, Rally Mexico is dusty. Big time dusty. Not your little dust blowing around the Nevada desert kind of dusty, but the kind that literally jams buttons in 15 minutes, causes contact lenses to stop working in 30 and all sorts of other nastiness. With rally you can either shoot LONG lens (and still get some dust as it blows your way) or get into the serious dust. Let me illustrate with this frame grab. From 4kHD on Scarlet-X.

4kHD on RED Scarlet X

Immediately after Mikko goes past you, a billowing serious dust cloud envelopes all within 600ft or so. Rallies KILL cameras. Literally. I lost two Panasonic TM700′s last year, and an assortment of filters and lenses. My 7d has some crunchy buttons, but it isn’t too bad being weather sealed and all. However….. The Scarlet is NOT weather sealed. In fact, it has a big dust and junk sucking fan right on the front. Check this out:

That’s the dust from one stage, or about 5 cars. I’m pretty good about dust prevention, and pretty serious about removal. I carry two rocket blowers, and a rag. But you can’t stop it all and some certainly is being sucked up by the fan. I swear I’ve even seen it being blown back out the exhaust side. RED states that the heatsink portion of the cameras (Epic and Scarlet) is separate from the electronics. So technically, dust, and moisture and stuff shouldn’t be an issue. But it still stresses me out.. What if the fan jams? I’m done for. Which brings up another observation. In a especially dusty stage I covered the scarlet with my shirt, covering the air intake with one layer of thin American Apparel 50/50 blend. Within a few minutes (Keep in mind I was in the 90 degree Mexican desert) I had my temp indicator well into the red, the fan at 126% and so I had to shut er down.. The camera never shut itself down, but I decided to stop rolling instead of removing my dust filter, since it was so thick I didn’t want to risk it. So, the fan cannot be blocked at all – which could be an issue if you are using a raincover or something for dust or rain in a hot environment. So – You either suck up dust, or risk overheating.

4kHD RED on Zeiss 80-200 at 180mm F8 (I think)

Anyway. Dust aside. All is well. REDCODE Raw has so much detail. It is nice to be able to feel comfortable shooting wide landscapes, and other “codec destroyer” shots without worry. Big landscape shots like above on Canon H.264 for example would be mush city. The dynamic range is also rad, but if your reading this, you already know that. So resolution = great, DR = great.

RED 2k Zeiss 80-200

I also use a lot of 2k. On close analysis the 2k is certainly “less good” than 4k. But it is still REALLY good under most circumstances. I feel completely conformable shooting any daytime shot at 2k. Certainly a step above 7d/5d etc.. In most circumstances. I usually use 8:1 compression and all is well there, beyond that I’m not too stoked on it. Even if 2k cuts your resolution, I still feel it is a superior choice than most camera options for the raw flexibility. REDCODE RAW gives me such a large gamut of data to work with, it is honestly incredible. I keep getting “wow” moments, even from shots that contain average content.

Giving my arms a break

Scarlet is heavy. If your from Cinema world it is certainly not, it is lightweight to you. But if you are from DSLR, Camcorder world, it is a fricken brick. A brick with zero ergonomics whatsoever. I often pick it up by looping my finders under the bridge of the touchscreen. I could use a top handle, but it doesn’t fit with my V mount plate. I could add all sorts of other mumbo jumbo but then it would be even bigger and not be even close to fitting in my back (it doesn’t really now, I have to remove the touch LCD to get it in, which is fine for longer hikes). Plus, adding handles and shoulder pads and that  stuff adds another 3k or so. Which is kinda lame. I want it as minimal as possible, but still like to be able to feel comfortable. I haven’t found anything that looks like it allows both. The Target Shooter doesn’t. I need a shoulder pad I guess – Which means re-locating my LCD down in front of me, which means another NOGA style arm, and various doo-dads and crap to come loose and fill with dust. My shoulder is pretty hurtin’ after 5 days of hiking with the Scarlet over my shoulder on my Gitzo sticks. And both arms are wicked sore from carrying and handholding. Sometimes I walk 2-3 miles into a rally stage. For the Scarlet that means an extra 20 minutes on each end to disassemble and re-assemble so it fits in my pack. OR hike with it over my shoulder alternating sides every 15 steps. Bunk. But, it is still light years ahead of say….. An Alexa in that regard.

RED Scarlet X on Gitzo sticks.

So, ergonomics are not that cool. But we knew that, and we can fix that easily. I just haven’t found the perfect solution yet. The boot up time of Scarlet is about 12 seconds. Which is JUST fast enough to let me power down between rally cars at 2 minute intervals. So I can use 1 v-mount brick for 2 stages of shooting essentially, or 50-60 shots. That’s pretty cool.  But, on the flipside, I also missed a few awesome b-roll shots for sure due to the boot time. Sometimes I wish I had my 7D in my hand so I could be shooting in 2-3 seconds. If you just leave it on, you will need like 20 bricks. Which weigh 60lbs or so. Not cool.

My Switronix XP packs are kinda lame. They are 89WH so I can fly with them, but I think their max load is less than Scarlet draws. Just by looking at the power indicator when Scarlet is powered up and with my knowledge of building and using helicopter batteries, I think they don’t like the load. My AXRTEC e-bay knockoff China v-mount pack which is the same size seems to fair much better – seemingly holding the load.

Ken Block. RED 4kHD. Easier Said Than Done Film.

Grabbing stills is cool. But you gotta watch your shutter speeds. This Ken Block shot above was your usual 1/60th or 180 degree shutter. Lots of motion blur. But obviously high shutter = whacked people movement. So gotta find a compromise in there for your uses. But is cool. I’ve gotten some great stills just pulled from the stream. I’ve even started shooting things as stills. Just letting it roll for a second or so. Which is fun.

I hate to say it. But RED lowlight stinks. It stinks real bad. Exposing for RED is different is your from the DSLR world. You have to watch your noise indicators. Anything underexposed is going to be noisy. On RED I expose far more to the “right” than I would on a DSLR, an then correct in post. If your shooting at night/ low light/ shadow areas, etc.. There will be noise. I think it is kinda lame actually.

I filled 2 64gb cards a day, so about a terabye of data for the rally. Not too bad, but it’s a lot, and something to think about.

So in synopsis, RED Scarlet X as doco tool.

Images = Great

DR = Great

Noise = Stinks

Ergonomics = Stink at first

Overall = Totally worth it. Don’t be a giant wuss – Sell your FS100.

The building had 30ft main ceilings. But various beams, mechanical and other “stuff” varied the height from 15ft and up. Making a solid altitude very difficult. It was also exceptionally hot on the shoot day, more trouble for me keeping sweat out of my eyes than the helicopter.