oh well.

Words from Jim:

RED has decided to skip NAB 2009. We will hold our own RED DAY when we feel we are ready to present the new systems and when they are fully ready to showcase. Date and location will be announced in future.

A minor delay by a major part vendor will not mean much to the delivery schedules but would mean too many non-working prototypes at NAB… which we find unacceptable.

As usual, we will keep you posted on info as we can.

While this may not mean much in the big scheme of things like the actual release date of RED’s cameras as apposed to an event’s date, it’s still kind of cool to have a target in mind when thinking of cool stuff. Like Christmas.

Just like a kid, eagerly anticipating Christmas; filled with wonder about what I might receive. What I asked for or something better. Guessing what it may be. Reading the rumours, making the rumours. hehehehehe.

But now with guys like RED, Apple etc pulling out of Expo and conferences because they don’t what their announcements held hostage to the Expo and conferences dates; guys like me can’t aim for the possible surprises like a kid watching the calender for Christmas. pity.

Yet, with the way RED run the show in the forums, it can feel like Christmas will happen any day, wahooo.

Still I was a bit bummed out by the MacWorld announcements and I doubt there will be anything from Apple at NAB regarding Phenomenon or Final Cut Studio 3. Hmmm, maybe tomorrow

living on the edge

Interested in RED One, Epic or Scarlet?

Do yourself a favour and check out RED’s FAQ Page

One thing I found interesting is the difference between S35 and FF35; here is what RED said (really worth it):

In examining the two families, Scarlet and EPIC, it is apparent that there is crossover on the S35 and FF35 sensors. The Scarlet versions of these sensors are designed to handle a wide variety of cine applications and will likely become the most commonly used cameras for independent film making, music videos, commercials and anywhere an HD video camera might have been considered. Frame rates allow up to 30fps, with brief bursts for slow motion effect. At lower resolutions, higher frame rates are available for further options. Still performance at 13.8 and 24MP, respectively, will target Scarlet DSMC S35 and FF35 as the “go to” camera when both stills and motion are required. Conversely, EPIC versions of S35 and FF35 are all about frame rate and data rate. Hand machined, versus cast, bodies will be designed for day in/ day out professional on-set use, while the larger, more robust bodies, will have additional electronics and cooling systems that will allow the incredible frame rates of EPIC. At 5K and 6K, respectively, EPIC will be able to run at 100 fps! At 2K, EPIC FF35 will be able to run at an amazing 350fps. Remarkably, and the great …

Ok this is NOT comparing apples with apples, more like comparing the latest Fighter Jet with apples – but it is fun none the less

There is a really cool resolution chart for all the RED formats over at Reduser.

The millimeter measurements work out exactly to be 3/500th of the pixel resolution.

So everything other than resolution aside:

DV PAL works out to 4.32mm x 3.456mm on this scale.

Compared to the 168mm x 56mm representation of the RED EPIC’s 617 Pro 28,000 x 9,334

Thats 38.889 times more horizontal resolution and 16.204 times more vertical resolution than DV PAL.

Awesome.

Ok that was fun, back to the real world …

25, that’s a lot.

going to be doing some byte shifting and log & transferring tonight.

nice

yay, I salvaged the RED sticker that Customs all but destroyed when they inspected the Discs.

Obsolescence Obsolete

Never on a road shall I ever meet

a camera from RED that is not so neat

as to blow me completely off my feet

This day, this very day, the 3rd Dec RED does it again. Check it out here,

What is obvious right off the bat that there are less, and dare I say more realistic, a number of possible  configurations – from something like 2 trillion to 1,048,576. Also Jim has a lot so say of the options available to current RED One owners. One thing that is for sure is that you do not have to worry about your camera becoming obsolete – like a 4K camera is going to be obsolete (not in the next few years at least), because RED is looking after it’s loyal customers which is a big thing.

Also there is the option of a Scarlet 2/3 with 8x fixed zoom lens.

And what on earth are those images later on in the post? 

A spiked RED Ball?

An Offroad RED System?

ha ha ha

Yayayayaayyy, I now wait with much anticipation, the discs have been shipped. From the OpenCut Forum in RED User:

Folks,

We’ve shipped all the discs. Many people have already indicated they’ve received their media.

We have six extra sets left over. If you want to join OC3, you can contact me directly at opencut@silverado.cc and we’ll get you registered.

First come, first served.

Tor

Yip first Jim comes out with the mind blowing RED announcements on the 13th November. Showing us a preview of the awesome modular options available at awesome resolutions and frame rates. All the while saying that things may change.

Have they?

On the 3rd Dec, only a day away, we are told that there will be a Big Change.

What will that be? I cannot guess nor sum up the ideas that people have put up on the RED User forum.

But I can post Jim’s words from the forum that he titled “Be Prepared“

The 13th November 2008 will live in the history pages as a day of victory and amazement. Or Maybe not, maybe it will be the 3rd December 2008? “Everything Changes” as Jim from RED says, and he is right, but how much more awesome can things get for RED other than what was announced on the 13th November?

Check what was announced on the 13th here

Interesting…

The RedUser forum has be afire with activity with Jim starting off with:

“New announcement on Dec. 3rd. Everything has changed… just as we promised. “ 

and, ummmm, expect more.

“The 13th was insignificant…”

thank goodness for that.

“It is imperative that we make the final decisions as late in the game as possible for two reasons:

1. We are learning a ton everyday.
2. Technology is advancing so quickly.

We have also learned that we need to keep our program as flexible as possible so upgrades can be done easily. We really do want Scarlet or EPIC to be your last camera purchase. Then, you can upgrade as we make modules better (expect that) and as you need them (not before). 

This interaction with the community has been invaluable. While we have to filter out some of the “we want it all and we want it now” posts, the program is better for your suggestions and us learning to listen. The more we know about what we can (and can’t) do, the easier it is to listen. In the beginning, we had to ignore a bunch because we had no way to do it. Lots of great ideas, no roadmap to get them done. Things are different now.

Jim“

Well, what could it be?

• Scarlet will be a pre-configured camera and only Epic will have all those Brain options?
• Scarlet and Epic will have REDCODE 225
• RED Projector with a Brain configuration as well
• RED Ray with a Brain configuration as well
• 28K is obsolete

One thing is certain and that it that the Hype Engine is running wild, oh yes, and I am enjoying the ride as well. Good on ja Jim, good on ja RED, we need to feel the rush of technology steaming ahead especially in this world of Digital Cinema Cameras, and it’s fun.

Not completely unexpected.

Hot on the heels of Adobe’s updates.

But very interesting that it includes a Shake update, oooooo.

From Apple:

“Pro Applications Updates improve reliability for Apple’s professional applications and are recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, and Logic Studio. Pro Applications Update 2008-04 addresses general performance issues and improves overall stability.

Applications included in the update: 

• Final Cut Pro 6.0.5
  
• Compressor 3.0.5
  
• Color 1.0.3
  
• Shake 4.1.1“

What stands out for me is the R3D support in FCP and Color, mainly because I am currently waiting for RED footage from the OpenCut3 Competition. This is from RED (cut from Scott Simmons blog who got it from RED’s site):

“For Intel-based Apple Macintosh systems with Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 or above. The Final Cut Studio RED Installer provides the RED QuickTime Codec (v3.7.0), Log and Transfer (v1.0.0) functionality to import REDCODE RAW clips as either native REDCODE media (R3D’s) wrapped in QuickTime or the option to transcode them directly to Apple’s ProRes 422 codec. There is also a new specialized functionality for color grading native QuickTime wrapped R3D media in Color using the original RAW parameters (REDCODE plugin fro Color v2.7.0). Located in the download is a whitepaper PDF describing in detail this new, advanced way to edit REDCODE media, color grade and finish inside Final Cut Studio.“

Only noticed this now:

“Minimum system requirement on Intel-based Apple Mac systems is 2GB of RAM. RED recommends either a 4-core or 8-core Mac Pro Tower system with at least 2GB of RAM, a suitable graphic card (such as NVIDIA 8800) and high speed storage for this new end-to-end native REDCODE as QuickTime files or the existing REDCODE transcode to ProRes 422 workflow“

That means I can’t moan if things get slow and sticky with the previous generation MBP that I am using, hmmm. At least I have external SATA drives. Praying big time for an 8 core extreme :-O which will be seriously required at the highest of spec’s if my prayers get answered for a RED Epic FF35 wowser.

As for Shake 4.1.1 I could not find any information other that it

“This update addresses compatibility issues for QuickTime codecs greater than 8 bits.“

but nice to know that Apple has not left the Shake users in the dust.