Red One: High Speed Advice

[Robert Tagliaferri]

Hello,

 

I'm ACing a PSA next weekend shooting on the Red. This is my 3rd project with the camera so I know it pretty well, though I haven't done much high speed shooting with it and the DP and I have some questions.

 

In terms of quality, is it better to go with REDCODE36 @3k 2:1 in order to get 50fps, or bump the quality down to REDCODE28 and shoot a higher resolution? Basically, what's the better tradeoff, resolution or quality?

 

The PSA will end up on TV eventually, and we are using RED 4k lenses (grumble grumble).

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Matthew Rogers]

Hello,

 

I'm ACing a PSA next weekend shooting on the Red. This is my 3rd project with the camera so I know it pretty well, though I haven't done much high speed shooting with it and the DP and I have some questions.

 

In terms of quality, is it better to go with REDCODE36 @3k 2:1 in order to get 50fps, or bump the quality down to REDCODE28 and shoot a higher resolution? Basically, what's the better tradeoff, resolution or quality?

 

The PSA will end up on TV eventually, and we are using RED 4k lenses (grumble grumble).

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

It really all depends on what you are shooting. Unless you are really having to stretch the image in post, I think shooting RC28 is fine. Of course, if you don't really need the extra 10 fps, then shoot RC36 by all means. Of course, your question kind of doesn't make sense. You can only shoot high speed at 3k or 2k. 4kf maxes out at 29.97--which probably isn't fast enough for you. With the RED drive (if I remember corectly) You should be able to shoot 60fps, 2:1, RC36. If you could clear up exactly what you want to do, I think I could give a better answer.

 

Matthew

[Rory Hanrahan]

I've stuck to recording @ RC28 for the most part (based on advice given by a DIT based on quality/file size), and generally go to 2K for any high speed. Considering that there's almost no possibility of finishing for anything higher than a 2K projection, there should be no noticeable difference in the final output of the project. I forget what the frame-rate cut-off for the RedDrive is, but I've been doing all my high speed recording exclusively to the CF cards.

 

Keep in mind -- and I'm sure you already know this -- down-rezzing to 2-3K will effectively change your field-of-view, so don't be surprised when that 50mm turns into a "100mm". Best to check with the DP and try to get an approximate lens set for the high speed work, and be sure you can get close to that with your wider lenses in the lower-res setting.

[Matthew Rogers]

I've stuck to recording @ RC28 for the most part (based on advice given by a DIT based on quality/file size), and generally go to 2K for any high speed. Considering that there's almost no possibility of finishing for anything higher than a 2K projection, there should be no noticeable difference in the final output of the project. I forget what the frame-rate cut-off for the RedDrive is, but I've been doing all my high speed recording exclusively to the CF cards.

 

I don't know why you think there is not a big difference in visual quality between 4k and 2k. Because in fact, there is a huge difference! If you look at 2k footage and 4k footage on a 1080p, you'll see that the 2k is much softer. I avoid shooting 2k if at all possible and try to shoot 3k at 60fps if I need higher framerates. Even going down to SD I see 4k looking better than 2k. Of course, if you are using S4's or Master/Ultra Primes the 2k is going to be much sharper than older standard/super speeds/cooke zooms/etc. The RC 28 vs RC 36 I see being more of an issue when you know you need to stretch your image in color correction. The extra bits of info really help by keeping the noise lower.

 

Matthew