Atomos Shogun 4K recorder launched

Atomos has announced a new 4K AppleProRes and RAW capable recorder, the Shogun, which uses new 12G-SDI and 4K HDMI connections.

The Shogun is the first 12G-SDI and 4K HDMI I/O monitor recorder, and features a 1920x1200 SuperAtom IPS 7-inch touchscreen (with 325 pixels per inch), 179º viewing angle and 400nit brightness. The monitor can also automatically switch frequency (48/50/60Hz) depending on video input, to give smoother monitoring and playback. [UPDATE: It also won an award from the IABM at NAB as one of five Game Changers - see end for details].

Is FCP X ready for broadcast?

After a year of updates, is Apple’s best-selling non-linear editor, Final Cut Pro X, finally ready for primetime? 
The following was written for the August issue of the broadcast industry magazine: TVB Europe - available free online or downloadable to iPad via Newstand.

When Apple introduced Final Cut Pro X last year, it wasn’t so much an update to FCP 7 as a completely new non-linear video editing program. It was a radical re-think of how we do editing, but because it was essentially a version 1.0 release, it became more talked about for what it didn’t do than its new features.

Amongst broadcast editors, especially, the initial reaction was one of dismay. Many aspects of the traditional broadcast workflow weren’t supported. Indeed, so great was the backlash that Apple soon put the discontinued FCP 7 and the Final Cut Studio package back on its shelves, so that facilities and production companies that relied on the earlier version didn’t need to upgrade to X if they wanted to add further edit seats.

Red turns Scarlet into low-cost Epic

Red Digital Cinema has finally introduced its long-awaited Scarlet, low-cost digital cinema camera. The Scarlet-X will record 4K video from 1-30 frames per second, and also shoot stills in burst modes of up to 12fps at full 5K resolution, so that photographers and cinematographers can simultaneously capture motion and stills.

Scarlet-X has a compact, modular design, like the high-end Epic, and will cost from $9,750 if ordered before December 31st for Brain (sensor unit), Side SSD and Canon aluminium mount (with auto-focus support). In 2012 the price will be $9,700 for the Brain only. Scarlet-X with a Ti PL mount (add $1,500) will begin shipping November 17th. The Canon mount version begins shipping December 1st.

The two mounts can be swapped easily using Scarlet-X’s interchangeable lens mount system. Panavision, Anamorphic, and Nikon lenses are also compatible with the camera.

When Scarlet had been talked about initially, it was supposed to have a 2/3-inch sensor and be about a third of the price announced now. "A 2/3-inch sensor is not big enough. The world has moved past small sensors and low resolution," said Red's founder, Jim Jannard. "Think of Scarlet-X as Epic's little sister." All Epic Modules will work on Scarlet-X. "Everything in the Epic/Scarlet system is interchangeable."

It uses the Mysterium-X S35 sensor, and has a data rate of up to 55MBps (440Mbps), recording Redcode Raw. Epic costs a lot more ($58,000 for a production kit), but lowering the data rates and processing power (which will also extend battery life), enabled them to keep Scarlet's price low (about half that of Canon's new EOS C300). "ASICs that weren't fast enough for Epic, just became a gold mine for Scarlet. This, and board component reduction, allows us to lower the data rate throughput and significantly reduce our costs over volume," explained Jannard.

However, it does have consequences for recording high dynamic range shots, which it does at lower resolutions/frame rates than Epic, but that could change. "We are working on a future version of HDRx with modified compression to enable this possibility. It will be a firmware upgrade and free," said Jannard. HDRx can give it up to 18 stops of dynamic range.

Scarlet-X can be upgraded to the new Dragon sensor when it is released in the second half of 2012. "However the upgrade will be more expensive than upgrading an Epic due to the necessity to change several primary boards. There will still be data rate limitations to Scarlet after the upgrade as compared with Epic," he said.

"We will continue to add features as time goes on, some of which were never expected. Scarlet-X feature additions and improvements will happen simultaneously with Epic," and be available as free upgrades.

Some things will be in short supply initially, such as Side Handles, Redmote and the electronic viewfinder, but "any delay in Scarlet is most likely to be caused by the Canon aluminium mount," he revealed. It is likely to be February before all of the items are in good supply.

By David Fox.

Avid Media Composer 6 open + 64-bit

Avid has launched new 64-bit versions of its non-linear editing systems, with Media Composer 6, Symphony 6 and NewsCutter 10, which are claimed to offer "unparalleled workflow speed, flexibility and time savings." They are available for Mac OS (Lion) and Windows 7 (64-bit).

They have been rebuilt from the core on a new open, 64-bit architecture, with a sleek, new User Interface, designed to speed workflows while preserving the functionality existing users are familiar with.

They support AVCHD and Red Epic (inc 5K) with Avid Media Access (AMA), an Avid DNxHD 444 codec, and support for Avid Artist Color.

AMA gives direct access to file-based media, while other new technologies include: Avid PhraseFind, powered by Nexidia; and Avid ScriptSync, for phonetic searching and editing; and real-time Mix and Match, allowing multiple formats in the same timeline.

The new Avid Open I/O enables support for popular video and audio cards from AJA Video Systems, Blackmagic Design, Bluefish444, Matrox and MOTU. Users can also incorporate Avid’s Nitris DX hardware video accelerator, which has been reduced in price. Nitris DX comes with one or two Avid DNxHD or AVC-Intra chips and supports full resolution and full frame stereoscopic workflows.

The Symphony software now offers greater flexibility and choice for on-set and mobile editorial and colour correction work, or meet increased facility capacity, and it too is now available at a lower cost, as a software-only product.

There is enhanced integration with Pro Tools (which has recently been upgraded to version 10) plus 5.1/7.1 surround support and extensive metadata management, which allows the transfer of more session data from Media Composer to Pro Tools. Additional metadata is available in the AAF interchange format.

Its new 3D stereoscopic workflow offers full resolution, real-time editing, with title and conversion control.

It will preserve full colour information from HD RGB 4:4:4 sources, without affecting system performance or storage requirements through the new DNxHD 444, high-quality HD codec, which it says is also "an ideal archiving format."

For colour correction it now support the Avid Artist Color control surface (above). It can also reduce time to edit by eliminating transcode, re-wrap, and log and transfer processes through AMA with its native support for AVCHD and Epic as well as the ability to encode Apple ProRes (Mac OS-based systems only). There is also 2.5 times faster encoding with Sorenson Squeeze v6.0.4, included with the new NLEs.

The new versions will be available on November 15, with NewsCutter costing the same price as Media Composer, while Symphony 6.0 (from $5,999) will be available as a standalone software option and Nitris DX (from $5,499) will also be a standalone hardware option.

Media Composer 6.0 starts at $2,499 (Academic versions from $295). Upgrades cost from $299. NewsCutter 10 starts at $2,499, with upgrades from $499.

Final Cut Pro users (excluding FCP X) can purchase Media Composer, with free online training to help them make the move, for $1,499.

By David Fox

Anton/Bauer Matrix Cheese Plate

The new Matrix Cheese Plate from Anton/Bauer can be used to attach its Gold Mount batteries to Sony's PMW-F3, Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS 60D DSLRs, Panasonic's AG-AF100/AF101 and the Red Epic.

The Matrix Cheese Plate mounts directly on a 15mm or 19mm rod system (15mm or 19mm clamp kits sold separately), to allow for easy mounting of a variety of Gold Mounts including:
- QRC-DUAL PT – Gold Mount with 4-pin XLR and two PowerTap outputs for the Sony F3, which also mounts directly to the AJA Ki Pro Mini;
- QR-DLSR – 7/14 Gold Mount for Canon 5D, 7D and 60D;
- QR-VBG – 7/14 Gold Mount adapter for the Panasonic AG-AF100/AF101;
- QRC-EPIC, for Red's Epic, with auxiliary PowerTap connector, power cable and 6p LEMO power connector.

These Gold Mount systems can also be used on third-party cheese plates and rigs, including Cinevate, Shape, Redrock Micro and Genus.

By David Fox

P+S Technik PS-Cam X35 speeds in

P+S Technik's new PS-Cam X35 combines the benefits of sync-sound and higher speed rates into a single, flexible digital camera, which can record at any speed from 1-450 frames per second.

It has a Super-35 CMOS sensor with global shutter (which avoids rolling shutter jello effects), base sensitivity of 640 ISO, dynamic range of 11 stops, and HD-SDI outputs (1.5 or 3Gbps). Onboard memory (18GB) records more than four minutes in normal speed or 40 seconds at 150fps. It will also deliver 24-60fps shooting via its HD-SDI output.

"The PS-Cam X35 is the first film-style digital cinematography camera made for the DAILY creative use of various kinds of special speed and motion effects (slow motion, fast motion, ramped motion and time lapse)," the company claimed.

It is "a proper all-purpose sync sound camera" and "an exciting alternative for crews and producers who want to make the leap from film to digital as seamlessly as possible while having motion effects capability with their main camera package at their fingertips." It means the main camera can be used for any motion effects footage without the additional cost of a separate high-speed camera and technician.

It will take just about any type of lens thanks to the PS-IMS (interchangeable mount system), which can accept a wide range of cine, TV and stills lenses.

It will initially record uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 HD, with both 10-bit 4:4:4 uncompressed and 12-bit RAW uncompressed planned future options, and P+S is working with Codex Digital, whose Onboard Recorder can be used with the camera and subsequently generate whatever editing formats might be needed, such as Avid's DNxHD, Apple ProRes or DPX. Price should be about €58,000.

This is the first camera that is a 100% P+S Technik product (it co-developed and manufactured the Weisscams and SI-2K). It will compete with the likes of the Red Epic and Weisscam's upcoming T-1, as the whole area of higher-speed cameras begins to open up.

There is an interesting blog post about the X35 from Joel Bergvall (director, DoP, editor, etc.), who had the chance to try out the prototype on a shoot and goes into a lot of detail. He also has a "Thank You For Not Smoking" commercial shot with the camera on another post.

Related post: P+S Technik to launch PS-Cam X35

By David Fox

FCPUG IBC SuperMeet on Sunday

The Fourth Annual Final Cut Pro User Group Amsterdam SuperMeet takes place next Sunday (11 September), to coincide with IBC. It will be at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Dam Square, with talks and demonstrations from filmmakers, colourists, and editors. 

Speakers include: Michael Wohl, one of the creators of the original Final Cut Pro and an authority on Final Cut Pro X, which he will demonstrate; Adobe's Jason Levine (pictured above at a previous SuperMeet) talking about Adobe Premiere Pro 5.5 for FCP editors; film editor Eddie Hamilton describing the workflow on X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass, using Avid Media composer; and Autodesk's Jim Geduldick with the latest on Smoke on Mac OS X.

London-based colourist, Dado Valentic, who graded BAFTA winner Flying with Monsters, and the world’s first 3D opera Carmen in 3D, as well as 3D commercials for Panasonic, Red Bull and Nintendo, will discuss his workflow using the latest DaVinci Resolve 8, from Blackmagic Design. He will talk particularly about his work on fashion promos for the likes of Christian Dior and Zara. "The SuperMeet events are always really exciting and it will be great to show how I’ve used Resolve 8 to grade my latest projects," said Valentic.

DSLR Guru, Philip Bloom (pictured above at a previous SuperMeet), will show his best creations from a year that has seen him work for George Lucas, and shoot with many of the most talked about cameras, such as Panasonic's AF101, the Sony PMW-F3 and Red's Epic. Bloom will also be holding an Amsterdam DSLR Meetup, on Saturday (10 September), at 19:00, to talk about filmmaking, DSLRs, and anything else that comes up. RSVP at his Facebook Meetup Event Page. 

Tickets cost €15 online, or €20 at the door – if they are still available. SuperMeets have always sold out.

Doors open at 16:30 with an exhibition of more than 20 software and hardware developers, plus free food, and there will also be the traditional World Famous Raffle, with more than €37,000 worth of prizes from Blackmagic Design, AJA, Atomos, Adobe, Avid, nVidia, Zacuto, Red Giant Software, Telestream, Maxon, Artbeats, Boris FX, Glyph Technology, MotionVFX, Noise Industries, Imagineer Systems, Tiffen, and others.

By David Fox

First independent Red Epic-M in UK

The Gear Factory, the kit hire division of The Post Factory Group, has received what it claims is the first Red Epic-M in the UK (outside of Panavision and Red Europe) and although the camera is still in development, it sees great potential for high-end use.

“This is the handmade version of the Epic which Red are issuing in limited numbers to people with a history of working with them”, said its CTO, James Milner-Smyth. “We were very early in on the original Red cameras so we were head of the line again on the new ones”.

5K 120fps

A key feature of the camera is its ability to shoot 5K Redcode raw images at up to 120 frames per second. At lower resolutions it should eventually run even higher.

“Our clients have always loved the slo-mo features of the original Red camera, but it came at the price of using a smaller portion of the sensor and so a lower resolution. 5k slo-mo is fantastically detailed and keeps its sharpness and the ability to punch in when downconverting to HD,” he said.

“Not all features are enabled yet, and the firmware is still in development so we will be cautious about what projects these cameras will work on for now.” Its first projects have been luxury brand shoots for clients such as Burberry and French champagne label AMB.

Solid state storage

It records to solid-state drives (SSDs). “Spinning disk hard drives allowed for hours of filming on the Red One but could be problematic in situations where there was loud noise or vibration. CF memory cards were far more reliable, but with smaller record lengths. The SSDs are a huge improvement and allow higher capacity with reliable recording and faster offloading.”

3D

The Epic-M is significantly smaller than the Red One making it easier to integrate into lighter 3D rigs. It is already being used for the 3D movies: The Amazing Spiderman and The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings, which Peter Jackson is shooting in New Zealand. James Cameron, who is preparing for Avatar 2, has apparently ordered 50 Epic-M cameras. Its size also makes it more suitable for use on a Steadicam.

High Dynamic Range

Another improvement on the original Red is a high-dynamic-range mode (HDRx) that captures images at different exposures. These can be selectively re-combined in post to show more in the shadows while protecting details in highlights. “We are doing our own testing now to see how best to use this and how well the merging can be done. But at first sight it looks useful for tricky shooting situations where the cinematographer does not have as much control over the lighting as they’d like.”

Post-Production

To cope with the Epic-M, it has had to upgrade the data handling of its post division, as 96fps at 5K full frame resolution means "we have been seeing clients shooting around 2TB of data on a typical day. So, offload systems, drives, networks - everything needs to be as fast as possible. But we are far better off for finishing tools than we were three years ago. Already DaVinci Resolve, our grading system of choice has been updated to support the Epic footage and with Red Rocket cards we have real-time playback and grading from raw images. This is really the best workflow for Red material.”

The Post Factory is a London-based post-production company specialising in Digital Cinema workflows and has supported features such as The Social Network. Its Gear Factory division hires out Digital Cinema camera equipment and has supplied such films such as The Social Network and Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

By David Fox

Decode to launch new 3D Mirror Rigs

London-based 3D specialist Decode will launch two new high-end 3D mirror rigs next week at Cine Gear Expo 2011 in Paramount Studios, Los Angeles (2nd-5th June).

D-Rex will be a large 3D rig for full size cameras such as the Arri Alexa, a fully loaded Red Epic, or other large broadcast cameras. It is the first UK designed and built rig for these cameras.

D-Raptor will be a smaller rig for cameras such as the Sony EX3, Sony PMW-F3 or similar camcorders.

“We’ve developed these rigs over the last 15 months. We wanted to be able to provide a large number of rigs into our fleet - rigs that would be easily convertible between active and passive, and most importantly would not flex, an issue we experienced with all other rigs at the time we started. In addition, I wanted to keep the rental cost down to an affordable level," explained Decode MD, film and TV director, Samuel Martin.

Both rigs will be capable of manual or automatic operation, with "easily implemented integration" with CMotion or Preston for wireless rig control.

They will be fully adjustable in all axes of alignment, boasting an innovative design that means the rig "is always ready to adjust, and yet always locked solid. Alignment won't shift during small changes, making it extremely accurate. The solid, robust build means it's possible to do a full 180º tilt with no noticeable image shift."

The structure built around the mirror box means that all accessories added to one of the rigs should be close to the centre of gravity, for better balance. The mirror will also be easy to remove for cleaning and transportation.

As the cameras face inwards, all buttons should be easily accessible by the operator, while all tilt, roll and height adjustments are accessible from one position, to avoid conflicting with the operator during line-ups.

The rigs will be sold in standard configuration as passive rigs, with the option to include Preston or CMotion wireless interaxial and convergence controls within a matter of seconds.

The prototype rigs have already been used to shoot a feature film: (Street Dance Choreographer: The Journey - for release later in 2011), commercials for Aston Martin, Pantene shampoo and Playboy 3D, and extreme sports coverage for Discovery.

The rigs are expected to be available in June.

By David Fox

P+S Technik to launch PS-Cam X35

At the upcoming Cine Gear Expo (June 2-5), P+S Technik will unveil its new 35Digital all-purpose camera, the PS-Cam X35, which it claims will be "a robust and reliable workhorse expected to blaze new trails in the digital camera field," writes David Fox.

P+S has said little about the camera, merely releasing a photograph and putting up a teaser website. However, a preliminary pdf spec sheet that was saved by Google's cache states that the PS-Cam X35 "will combine benefits of sync-sound and higher speed rates into one flexible and robust all-purpose digital camera."

Apparently it will be able to deliver speed rates between 1-450 frames per second, with dual 3G HD-SDI output, although standard speed will be 24-60fps.

It will have an HD (1920x1080) Super35mm-sized CMOS sensor, with 10-bit uncompressed 4:2:2 or optional 4:4:4 RGB recording, and will be able to be used with a wide variety of lenses (using P+S Technik's IMS lens mounts).

It is designed to be flexible, with the ability to adapt to many different mounting options and take a wide range of accessories.

It's impossible to tell whether the PS-Cam X35 will be priced to compete with Sony's PMW-F3, with which it shares some characteristics, or the Arri Alexa (another obvious rival), although its high-speed abilities would indicate the latter (although Red's Epic will also have similar abilities).

P+S Technik will also show the first public screening of footage from the PS-Cam X35 at the Expo, which it says will showcase "the camera’s dynamic versatility".

By David Fox

HDR with 20 stops of latitude

Researchers at the University of Warwick have been working on a High Dynamic Range video camera that creates imagery more representative of real world lighting.

If you include the eye's ability to quickly adapt to changing lighting conditions (automatically adjust its ISO rating in camera terms), we could be said to have a human dynamic range between light and dark of about 20 or 21 stops (although we can apparently only see about 6 or 7 at any given time). Cameras generally have a dynamic range of about 10 stops (up to 15 for the Arri Alexa or as much as 18 in HDRx mode on the Red Epic - pictured above).

The Warwick prototype camera (seen here recording thoracic surgery) can cope with 20 stops. As each stop represents a halving or doubling of light, this is impressive. Of course, recording this and then being able to display it are two different things, so they have also developed a new compression algorithm and a new HDR display (without the display it is still useful to have the dynamic range, but you just have to then adjust the exposure and contrast in post).

For the full story, read my article for TVB Europe magazine, including an interview with professor Alan Chalmers, head of the Visualisation Research group, at the university's WMG International Digital Laboratory (pictured top with the camera and display).

By David Fox

AF101 wins BBC HD approval

Panasonic has had three of its cameras approved by the BBC for HD use, although all of them have features that are not what the broadcaster would normally consider desirable for HD production.

The most notable camera approved is the AG-AF101 large sensor camera, although it can only be used with an external recorder, as the internal AVCHD (24Mbps) codec doesn't survive the rigours of the broadcast transmission chain, particularly when dealing with demanding material, as it can exhibit artefacts. [UPDATE: The new AF101A can record up to 28Mbps internally - still not good enough - and output 10-bit 4:2:2 via HD-SDI to an external recorder]

The AF101 has already been used for HD production by broadcasters, including the UK's Channel 4, and for many commercials. It was used by the award-winning producer/director Fiona Lloyd-Davies, of Studio 9 Films, to shoot a documentary in the Congo for Al-Jazeera Europe, where it recorded to a Convergent Design nanoFlash external Compact Flash recorder at 50Mbps, the minimum bitrate that the BBC also insists on. [See story: AF101's first broadcast production]

"The 101 has been a big hit for Panasonic right across the world. Its picture quality, and particularly its control over depth of field, are excellent for a camera at this price point. It is a leap up from a DSLR with its professional controls, ergonomic handling and broadcast interfaces. To be on the approved BBC HD list is a real feather in its cap," commented Allan Leonhardsen, of Panasonic distributor Holdan.

DoP Paul Lucas, who recently completed a number of TV and commercial shoots using the AF101, believes that "the AF-101 represents a serious step forward for cameras in its class. For those who've been shooting professional video on DSLRs, this is unquestionably the way forward. For mid to higher budget shoots - promos, drama, commercials, there's no reason not to use a 101 next to more expensive cameras, and spend money on glass instead."

The AF101 can be used with a wide range of lenses, from Zeiss Compact Primes, to Canon and Nikon stills lenses via an adaptor.

Panasonic's HPX371 has also been approved for HD broadcast use. It records on P2 cards using the H.264 MPEG4-based AVC-Intra format, and is the most affordable shoulder-mount camera, offering the flexibility of interchangeable lenses, on the BBC HD list (it costs about €8,000 with a 17x HD Fujinon lens). It uses three 1/3-inch CMOS sensors, although the BBC previously stated that sensors should be at least 1/2-inch chips – however, it had already moved away from this requirement by approving Canon's XF300/XF305 1/3-inch cameras late last year.

The AG-HCK10 point of view camera and its AVCHD recorder/controller the AG-HMR10 is also BBC approved, although the miniature camera must also be used with an external 50Mbps+ recorder (the HMR10 has SDI and HDMI outputs). The camera has a 12x optical zoom lens, Optical Image Stabilizer, and a 1/4.1-inch progressive 3MOS sensor. The package costs about €3,500 and is approved for such applications as in-car use or wildlife photography.

Sony too

The cameras are joined on the newly updated list by several Sony cameras, including the new PMW-F3 (along with Sony's EX1R, EX3, PMW-320 and PMW-350, it gains official approval only with a 50Mbps+ external recorder), and the Sony PMW-500 (50Mbps 4:2:2 SxS camera - pictured above), which has apparently been bought in large numbers by BBC News.

The full BBC HD list

Studio Cameras
• Sony HDC1500

• Sony HDC1550 

• Sony HDC1400 

• Sony HDC1450 

• Sony HSC300 

• Sony HXC100 

• Grass Valley LDK8000 Elite Worldcam 

• Grass Valley LDK8000 Elite Standard 

• Grass Valley LDK4000 Elite 1080i

HD Handheld
• Canon XF305 

• Canon XF300 

• Sony PMW-EX1R - with external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above 

• Sony PMW-EX3 - with external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above

HD Shoulder Mount
• Panasonic HDX900 

• Panasonic HPX371 

• Panasonic HPX3000 

• Panasonic HPX3100 

• Panasonic HPX3700 

• Sony PMW320 - with an external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above 

• Sony PMW350 - with an external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above 

• Sony PMW500
• Sony PDW, 700 & F800 

• Sony HDW F900R & 900 

• Sony HDW 790, 750 & 730

HD Specialist
• Panasonic HPX2700 HDC27F & H 

• Panasonic AF101 - with an external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above 

• Sony CineAlta F35 

• Sony SRW 9000 

• Sony PMW F3 - with an external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above 

• Arri D21 

• Arri Alexa 

• Panavision Genesis 

• Thompson Viper
• Red

Mini Cameras
• Iconix HD-RH1 

• Panasonic HCK10/HMR10 - with an external recorder using a bitrate of 50Mbps or above
• Toshiba IK-HR1S
• Toshiba IK-HD1

It also adds that "cameras should be chosen in consultation with the DoP and post production facility."

It may also accept other cameras, possibly under special circumstances or newly-released cameras it hasn't listed as approved, but if you shoot for the BBC it's always best to ask them first.

www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/production/delivery/hd-production-delivery.shtml

Related post: What makes an HD camera? 

By David Fox

Format choice: Going tapeless

Virtually every camera now available uses some form of tapeless recording. The few tape-based camcorders still being produced can record to some form of add-on memory or external recorder. However, with choice comes indecision... Moving to a new format or recording media means additional costs and trying to find a new workflow that's efficient and works for you and your clients.

To help put all of this in context, we've talked to camera users and owners about what tapeless systems they use, to find out the benefits and the disadvantages, and have put up a comprehensive (and rather lengthy) page on going tapeless.

PAG racks up intelligent charger

PAG has introduced a rack-mountable version of its high-power, simultaneous Cube charger.

The PAG RMC4X can be used to simultaneously fast-charge Li-Ion batteries manufactured by PAG, Sony or IDX, via four V-Mount or PAGlok battery mounts that connect to the charger via its four XLR-4 outputs.

The charger is designed for mounting in a half-width racking system. It measures 1U high and two units can be mounted side by side in a full-width 19-inch rack, using connecting plates, making it ideal for use in outside broadcast vehicles, or in a workshop.

There are two models, with either four V-Mount or four PAGlok connectors. The mounts incorporate a cable terminated with an XLR-4 connector. A bespoke mounting-board for the connectors, which enables them to be fitted vertically inside the OB vehicle, can also be supplied.

The four-channel RMC4X features PAG’s Intelligent Parallel Charging software, which uses current efficiently for fast, fully automatic charging. The high-power unit has an output of approximately 100W (6 amps at 16.8 volts). The 1.8kg RMC4X can also be used to sequentially charge the previous generation of PAG Li-Ion batteries and Ni-MH batteries manufactured by PAG and Sony. All stages of the charging process are indicated on the unit’s backlit LCD screen.

PAG has also recently released a version of its L95e battery, specifically for use with Red One cameras.

The L95e is a 14.8v 6.5Ah Li-Ion battery with a maximum continuous output current rated at 7 amps. The high-quality, low-cost, 95 Watt-hour V-mount L95e is suitable for use with a broad range of professional cameras, but the L95eR has been adapted to communicate with the Red One camera’s viewfinder data display, enabling users to monitor battery capacity (in percentage) whilst shooting. It is also possible to see an indication of remaining camera run-time on the battery’s built-in display.

The 750g L95eR will provide 1.25 hours of continuous run-time for the Red One camera alone, but two L95eR batteries can be combined, to provide extended run-time and a higher current-draw capability for the Red One, by using a new version of the PAG Power Plate dual battery mount. This new Power Plate includes the contacts that allow the capacity information to be communicated to the Red One viewfinder.

By David Fox

Mighty Atom ready for 3D Epic

Atom 3D RED Epic Rig - Tour by Stephen Pizzo from Tonaci Tran.


Element Technica has developed a new 3D rig especially for Red's latest Epic digital cinema camera. The Atom will cost from $64,000.

Because it has been designed for a specific camera, ET could make it lighter and more streamlined. It will initially be available in aluminium (weighing about 8kg in handheld configuration), but a $84,000 magnesium version will be available soon that weighs less than 6kg – meaning that a complete 5K 3D beamsplitter rig would weigh about 16kg for a handheld system - as little as some 35mm camera systems.

The Atom can have integrated lens control, interocular and convergence control, genlock synch, a 3D multiplexer, and an Epic-specific IO module. It can integrate with the same $12,500 cine-style lens control available for ET's Quasar, Pulsar and Neutron 3D rigs – the Pulsar has just started full production.

The multiplexing, sync and power conditioning electronics come as part of the $20,000 Atom Pro Kit (which is made of magnesium in a shark's fin-style housing), meaning it has three fewer external components. The Pro Kit also includes two 3D IO modules designed for use with Epic to replace up to four cables per camera, and 12 or more cables from the rig.

Although it is relatively compact, Atom can still accommodate full-sized PL and PV primes as well as smaller zooms like the Angenieux Optimo 16-42mm or 30-80mm.

For Steadicam use, it allows almost 120º of pan rotation (thanks to a very low profile bottom camera plate), which is more than other rigs available; if using primes and a shorter dovetail, full 360º rotation is possible (as on the Neutron rig).

Specifications: IO travel (beamsplitter mode) is 0-90mm, or 95-190mm in side-by-side mode; convergence is 1.2m at 90mm; beamsplitter field of view is 65° (with an 85mm lens front). Height (studio mode) is 520mm, or 445mm in handheld mode; length is 480mm (beamsplitter mode); width ranges from 216mm to 430mm.

By David Fox

Red Scarlet prototype shown working

Although not an exhibitor, Red spokesman, Ted Schilowitz was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, last week, showing off a working prototype of Red's much-delayed Scarlet digital cinema camcorder.

Scarlet can shoot at 120 frames per second (or up to 180fps in short bursts – perhaps even more in the final version), using the "visually lossless" Red Raw codec. It has a 2/3-inch 5-megapixel sensor rated at 3K (more than double the resolution of full HD – probably about 3072 x 1620). It is claimed to offer clean high ISO performance (even as high as 12000ISO) and should come with Red's new HDRx Extended Dynamic Range technology.

The camera should weigh about 3kg, depending on which modules are fitted, and it should work with all the accessories for Red's 5K Epic.

[UPDATED] The 28mm, f2.4 (T2.5) constant aperture, 8x zoom lens shown on the prototype is built in [Ted from Red initially got the f stop wrong (he said 4.0) - He's since corrected himself - thanks to Matt Davis for this update]. Otherwise, the camera is largely modular, so you can add an audio interface with XLR connections (it comes with dual mini jacks) or additional storage. It can record to either Compact Flash memory cards or a solid-state drive (either of which – or even both - will bolt on the side). It can shoot stills or video and comes with HDMI output and synch ports for 3D (the right-hand side handgrip, which also contains a battery, can come off so two Scarlets can be mounted close together). It should be well suited to 3D production, where a larger sensor, such as the APS-C size one on Epic or a mainstream HD DSLR, would give much shallower depth of field when wide open - something that isn't desirable for 3D which looks most realistic when everything is in focus.

It was shown with a touchscreen monitor (allowing touch focus in autofocus mode and touch control of exposure and other settings), but it can be used without one as there are about three or four ways of accessing every control, such as by using the Redmote wireless remote controller (which can click onto its back when not needed and can be used to control multiple cameras).

Exactly when it will ship or at what price, or even the final specification is, like everything Red related, liable to change. However, Red has talked about wanting to be in the $6,000 price range and aiming for introduction before Summer 2011. There should also be a version of Scarlet with interchangeable lenses and one with the 5K Super 35mm-sized sensor from Epic.

[UPDATE: Scarlet-X has finally been launched, costing under $10,000 - you get more but you pay more]

By David Fox

The Hobbit to be Red 3D Epic

Red Digital Cinema's long-awaited Epic 5k camera looks like it is finally going into production, and will be used on Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, which will be shot in 3D using at least 30 Epics.

The Hobbit will start shooting in New Zealand early next year and will use some of the first, hand-machined Epics – full assembly lines probably won't be running before about February, although Red's founder, Jim Jannard, expects that there will be widespread availability by NAB in April.

The first Epic kits, including Epic-M body, titanium PL mount, Bomb EVF, 5-inch touchscreen LCD, a REDmote, four batteries plus charger, and solid state storage with four 128GB SSDs, will cost $58,000.

The Epic promises 5k resolution, up to 120 frames per second recording, and a new HDRx mode for "the highest dynamic range of any digital cinema camera ever made".

Red has taken everything they learned from building the Red One, and then designed Epic from scratch, to produce "a smaller, lighter camera that is an order of magnitude more powerful."

The Hobbit will be one of the first productions to use Epic and Red claims that its "small size and relatively low weight, makes it perfect for 3D – where two cameras have to be mounted on each 3D rig."

Jackson (pictured above with Epic) has been a Red supporter since directing a war movie short, Crossing the Line, as a very early test of prototype Red One cameras. "I have always liked the look of Red footage," he said. "I'm not a scientist or mathematician, but the image Red produces has a much more filmic feel than most of the other digital formats. I find the picture quality appealing and attractive, and with the Epic, Jim and his team have gone even further. It is a fantastic tool, the Epic not only has cutting edge technology, incredible resolution and visual quality, but it is also a very practical tool for film makers. Many competing digital systems require the cameras to be tethered to large cumbersome VTR machines. The Epic gives us back the ability to be totally cable free, even when working in stereo."

Jannard and several of his staff went to New Zealand earlier this year so that Jackson could test Epic and assess its suitability. "Everybody at Red is incredibly proud that Peter has chosen the Epic," Jannard said. "The Hobbit is a major production, and could have chosen any camera system that they wanted. The fact that they went with us is extremely gratifying."

Dynamic pictures

One of the most interesting aspects of Epic is its High Dynamic Range mode, which extends the usable dynamic range of the camera from a little over 13 stops on the M-X sensor, to 18 stops. "Now we're well beating film in terms of its overall latitude," claimed Red's principal spokesman, Ted Schilowitz.

HDRx is simple to enable and shoots "two conjoined frames" that are linked together: a normal exposure and a very fast exposure that protects the highlights (you can select how many stops to protect). "You can choose to use as little or as much of this HDR effect as you want in post production."

It means that users won't have to change their shooting style. "There is really no penalty for shooting HDR, other than a little more data," he claimed. However, it means that if you shoot in 24fps mode, you record 48fps.

This could be substantial, as the 5k image is "more than 60% more data than the 4k image" delivered by the Red One.

Epic is a complete redesign, addressing many of the problems the previous system had, such as cooling. Although it is smaller, it uses a much more efficient cooling engine, which also avoids any electronics getting wet if rain gets in. The camera will also be a lot easier to service, with parts like the fan user replaceable.

Although the camera will ship "when it's ready," it is now functional, and there are only a few minor issues to address. "There is a lot of pent-up demand and desire for a camera that is this small and this powerful," he said.

Epic has a 14megapixel sensor that can do both stills and motion, quickly switching between them.

It is highly modular, but a typical shooting rig will weigh about 4kg, and the body will have three independent monitoring paths or feeds, with the possibility to add more outputs if necessary. Almost every accessory available for the Red One will work with Epic.

Red is building electronic lens mounts for use with PL-mount, Nikon and Canon lenses (Canon L series initially, although it is also working on Tamron and Sigma Canon-mount connections), and it is developing Red lenses that will also have electronic connections. These should be able to autofocus, with touchscreen control for pulling focus, and Schilowitz promises that it will support a wide range of lenses eventually.

For post, it is working on getting its Redrocket accelerator to support 5k files for real-time workflows, which should be done in time for Epic's release.

Related post: Red Scarlet prototype shown working

By David Fox

GTC Red, Alexa and 3D workshops

The Guild of Television Cameramen is organising day-long workshops on the Red One, the Arri Alexa and 3DTV.

Its Red workshop (A Red Day Out) will be on October 22, at Molinare, London, and will cover the technology and workflows involved, with camera shooting tests (including very low light) and an introduction to the Baselight grading facility with a demonstration of working with Red material. Talks and demos will be done by Molinare and 4K London.

The Alexa Camera workshop (16 November 2010), will take place at Arri Media, Uxbridge, near London, with morning and afternoon sessions (numbers limited to 15 in each), to allow everyone get their hands on the cameras, go through usage and workflow, and ask questions.

On December 7 there will be 3DTV – The Emerging Picture, at Telegenic, High Wycombe. It will cover: an overview of the development, principles and shooting techniques of stereoscopic 3D; and offer hands-on time with a range of 3ality active 3D rigs and, if available, a tour of one of Telegenic's dedicated 3D OB trucks.

The GTC workshops are free to GTC members – non-members are welcome, if there's space, for £80 (more than membership costs), but the 3D day is sold out.

[UPDATE: The 3D day has had to be postponed, because Telegenic has now been booked for a 3D production - however, it should be rescheduled at a later date].

Marvin minimises media management

One way to make sure you capture data safely on set is to use an automated data management system, such as that from Marvin Technologies.

It is currently in use on its first production: An 80-day shoot for the Dutch miniseries Lijn 32, directed by its co-developer, where it automates the creation of backups, LTO tape masters, QuickTime proxies for offline editing and DVD dailies, all in a single step. It is claimed to be "a fraction of the cost of competing data recorders", and to provide data security and all of the production formats required for digital cinematography.

The Amsterdam-based company has just signed a sales agreement with Band Pro Film & Digital, which will be its exclusive distributor in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the US.

"With the growing use of data cameras, like RED and SI-2K, data management is becoming as important as the camera used to capture it. Marvin is a natural result of this transition and is perhaps the simplest, most elegant solution available," said Amnon Band, president of Band Pro.

“New technology demands new tools, and Marvin is the data management solution that many RED owners and data camera-based productions have been waiting for," added Gerhard Baier, Managing Director of Band Pro Munich.

Marvin supports the Red One, Silicon Imaging SI-2K, Arri D21/Alexa, Panasonic P2, Phantom and Weisscam HS-2 cameras. The system is housed in a 4U housing with a padded case and controlled through a simple browser GUI running on a laptop computer connected via Ethernet.

Once users enter the settings for a new project, Marvin automates the rest of the process, saving hours of manual data wrangling and effectively eliminating the risk of human error. When removable media from the camera is attached to the system, Marvin creates verified copies of every shot to its own internal RAID5 storage array. The system then generates multiple verified LTO copies of all of the shots from the day, along with DVD dailies and QuickTime files for offline editing.

Lijn 32 on location

Route 32

Lijn 32 is an eight part thriller being shot on Red MX cameras by ID TV for NCRV Channel 2 and KRO, for transmission in the next few months.

The shoot is generating between 150 and 200GB of data each day, captured on 16GB CF cards. Once full, the CF cards are attached to Marvin, which copies the data to its internal 12TB RAID5 array, as well as separate hard drives. Marvin verifies the data as it copies, flagging any corrupt file it finds. When the data is verified, it generates LTO tape masters, DNxHD 36 MXF files with a mixdown of the audio for offline editing and DVD dailies.

Marvin in use in the back of a van for Lijn 32

“The idea of the Marvin is one thing, but when you put it to use on a real production, you experience the difference it makes in your work,” said Lijn 32's director Maarten Treurniet, who co-developed Marvin because he wanted a simpler, more reliable data workflow. “We made some interesting discoveries on this project and what we have learned is flowing directly back into development on the Marvin.”

During the first few weeks, they found that the standard Core i7 920 CPU could not process data fast enough to keep up with the volume of material being captured every day, so upgraded to an Intel Core 980x processor, which allowed it to copy 16GB cards in under ten minutes, as well as verifying the data. "We had wondered if we would need to upgrade to an LTO4 drive, but we have found that LTO3 is fast enough to keep up. While we continue shooting, Marvin processes the data, creating the masters, offlines and dailies.”

“We’re using a total of five CF cards on Lijn 32,” said the production's DIT, Marcel Vendrig. “When we’ve copied the data, we erase the card and send it back to the cameras. We typically use each of those cards several times each day.”

Marvin saves high-resolution stills for each take (pictured right). “I use them to check image quality, for example to make sure all the camera sensors are registering correctly," he added.

"Before Marvin, I did my data wrangling with a laptop, Data Manager and external hard drives. When I had copied the files, I sent the drives to the post house where they created the dailies and offlines. It was more complicated and much more time-consuming, and there was always the nagging fear that something might go wrong." But using Marvin means he no longer needs to spend time just copying data. "Instead I can focus on my real work – checking image quality and fixing problems when they come up."

"We know right away when there was an issue with a file. We can check right away to see if there is enough material to salvage the shot, or if we need to re-shoot," said Treurniet. “Out of 385 reels, which we have shot so far, we’ve only had four corrupt takes. Marvin flagged all of them and we had no problem dealing with the issues right there on the spot."

By David Fox

Cartoni swings nodal head towards 3D

The "first specifically designed nodal pan and tilt professional support for 3D rigs" was launched by Cartoni at IBC.

The Lambda Twin 3D Head takes its versatile Lambda Nodal Head concept and applies it to 3D Rigs for stereoscopic parallel and beam splitter shooting styles. It can take full-sized HD cameras like the Alexa, Genesis, Red One, Epic, or F35.

It is essentially a double Lambda face-to-face, connected in the middle, featuring a U-shaped swinging platform suitable for under-slung shots supporting 3D Rigs up to 90kg, where it can allow 3D Rigs to be positioned all the way to the ground. Its design allows the optical plane to coincide with the rotation centre and the centre of gravity and it can both pan and tilt through a full 360°.
 

It has also introduced the new Airfloater (right), which can facilitate moving heavy cameras (up to 150Kg) to give realistic point-of-view style shots without putting the strain on a cameraman's back. It can simulate an active shoulder shot from a tripod or camera mount, and offers considerable freedom of movement as it can pan 360° and tilt 18° in any direction.

It has a variety of base attachments: Chapman/Whitworth bolt; four bore Vinten holes; 300mm Mitchell with castle nut; and has a quick-release base plate. It weighs 15kg and is nearly the same dimensions as a conventional fluid head (at 25cm high and 34cm wide).

By David Fox