Lance Flores

A bunch of guys starring at a big monitor in the dark is not the way you measure soft errors in semiconductor devices. What you are seeing is noise. First you have monitor noise, line noise, power supply noise, cable inductive noise, thermal induced noise along various leakage mechanisms which change bias or back bias and other levels affecting data lines. And that's just the monitor and interface circuits. This doesn't even take in to account all the noise accumulated from the sensor to the input of the monitor cable. Okay, so you caught it on tape. Yeah. Do you here what your saying? A tape, a tape? Now there's a way of insuring there is no noise introduced into your video. Let's see, a magnetic induction device, mechanical friction of mylar over glass/metal sensors, and mylar has an elasticity, humm . . . coefficient of what? And how many mechanical connection circuits, and how many sources in the path are susceptible to noise? Your joking right? How can you discern all the noise from all these sources, from a single bit soft hit which lasts only 1/24 or 1/30 second, or what ever the refresh rate of the acquisition was? Such would be akin to putting your head to the ground in Poughkeepsie listening for the biorhythms of a California Condor on Palomar Mountain. The only credible way to test is in the lab, and testing the device directly under very controlled environments. I could probably think of another dozen or two things to do, but to begin with you need to know what your testing, so you would first probe at wafer before passivation and gather the parametric of the lot. Then you'd put the glass on, scribe, break, package, etc. Then you'd run the packaged devices and test and bin-out. Send them to burn-in and at least get out the infant mortality fallout from contamination, etc. Retest and bin-out again. Then set up the test racks with enough device to give some statical relevance for your observation. I used to run several thousand devices. You would isolate by lots and bin-out parametric. Probably would eliminate the bayer mask to eliminate any anomalies induced by the mask for the test. Then you'd test using different patterns of write charge levels, read, write deplete, read, varying then number of writes at varying writes which will leave varying residual charges in the cells so that you can measure cell sensitivity/susceptibility to particle impingement as well as the soft error. All this has to be done in a very controlled environment for any kind of quantifiable and qualified measurement. My guess is that, if you put a bucket under your camera to catch all those cosmic particles and come back in an hour or two, you'll find it full of red herrings. As far as the Red's debayering algorithm making an error "twice as big" . . . huh? Do the math.

I don't understand your question. We will shoot with a Phantom HD for our overcrank shots and need to match the cameras. So we need to decide on the camera we will use for 24fps -- so we need resolve that issue soon. Seems rather foolish to set up twice. If Jim feels the RED will preform well for us in the next couple of weeks then we'll go with it if I like what I see. If not we'll use the Origin. I do wish the Origin had a small form factor though.

It would indeed be quite a phenomenon to see that rate in that part of the universe. In all the time we studied the alpha particle problem in my lab at Mostek I never observed such a rate. We began observing alpha-particle induced soft error mechanism in NMos devices as we were scaling dynamic memory using 5 microns processes and below. The alpha particle would create electron hole pairs as it passed through the memory cell thus altering the charge sufficiently enough that the sense amp would inaccurately determine the state. OFF being the state susceptible. I designed special test devices (both NMOS and CMOS) to evaluate the ceramic materials we used for industrial and mil spec devices and never saw rates like 4 hits per minute. We had customers like Borroughs, CDC, DEC, LTV Vought and IBM that occasionally made such reports, be each time we evaluated such claims, the data errors were caused by cross coupling of data to data or data to control signals though reactive coupling created by signal patterns. On occasions some solders used in manufacturing had metal whose decay had elevated alpha particle emission. The rate you are reporting falls well into that of noise not particle induced soft errors in the storage cell. After the read and equilibration the next write (photo detection) cycle the cell would be recovered, after all it's a soft error. The probability of that same cell being hit again, even if the radiation was being emitted from the decaying materials of ceramic packaging is quite small. I suspect between the deBayering, codec manipulation of the data and frame rate, such soft errors are imperceptible. It is much like what happens in film which integrates defects or rather variances in the oxide crystals, from frame to frame. There much more important issues to be concerned about than single bit soft errors in the digital acquisition realm of cinematography.

Yes. Jim Mathers did a tour shooting in several cities and DCS did a film out, (infra). However, he was so rushed and short of resources, he couldn't get in sufficient production value to properly evaluate or establish a baseline. Jim has done much more analysis and evaluation since that time. You're right in looking for that type data. I've seen a lot of expert opinions on images or Internet clips that are little more than speculation, conjecture, supposition or unsubstantiated superstition based on incomplete information. We're waiting for our male A list lead to sign and we will begin our test shoots with either Dalsa's Origin or the Red. Jim's continuing to evaluate the Red so you might want to monitor things on the DCS website or join the organization to keep abreast of the evaluation of the red and other digital cinema news. - - - - - -

¿Dónde en México es usted localizó?

Yes. I really like Sophocles. If you are a writer/director or writer/producer it is great for designing, engineering (words artists avoid - but a necessary process if you want to get funded), but my 1st AD uses Final Draft which is easily imported into other production software we will use later in PP and Edit. So, for our reading script, I have imported the script into Final Draft for the final cut. Final Draft works very well on Mac.

For serious script creation you need a script program. Yes you can use MS Word (yuch) or even a typewriter. What's so hard about using a typewriter as well. Script programs have much more to offer than just formatting. Breakdown, cast list, resource list, many of the things you need to budget and time your script. These things have been invaluable to our production.

Oh so droll John

Dave, Mitch, hey I agree. Just wondered why it was being limited to the Phantom HD model.

Are your setting this up for discussion on both the Phantoms; HD and Phantom 65 which is their 4K 65mm?

I believe it's a good time as well.

I'd agree with David on the RED for a production camera. The Dalsa is hands down the better camera; its picture excellent. I'd disagree about the noise though the Dalsa still seems to be better in the low light for noise. With Cineform's codec (soon to come 4K) the colour should be stunning. But, we have the same issues with it bulky profile. For the same reason we are will probably be shooting the majority of our film with RED and the Phantom 2K. The Phantoms have the best s/n ratio I've seen yet. The 65 is simply spectacular. They can be pushed to 1600ASA with negligible noise in the blacks, blacks that are true black. Practically speaking for our film and probably for yours, the Red is the best bang for the buck and easy to shoot with. It will accommodate a film-out with good results if you acquire RAW and use good production value practices. Our DP is doing a lot of testing now on the RED. If your serious about doing digital cinema, you might want to join the Digital Cinema Society. They do a lot of evaluation and interview with the manufacturers.

I was talking to Allen Albert yesterday on the phone right after the DSC event about the D20. I remember him saying something about three or four features being shot with the D20. One is a feature film being shot in Canada.

Jeezzz, what kind of a production are you thinking about? This is the negative we're talking about ... maybe you might be so casual about it on a no-budget horror movie, not for a feature production of any substantive size. Insurance guys would not be very unhappy. I'm cross-training a DIT and the Server/SAN System Engineer to handle the image data, even thought we're automating as much of the workflow as possible. We've just about got our workflow worked out for our digital shoot, and it includes a tech trained to handle and insure data is processed correctly.

It's not a matter of "restraints of digital video" like video/TV camera deficiencies restrained by 5stop limitation, limited color depth, etc., but the characteristics (and parametric) of the acquisition medium. Film has its own image capture deficiencies, however, talented and ingenious chemists, film processors, cinematographers, directors, editors, and others over the decades have either evolved the technologies or created art inspired uses for those attributes of film; and we have learned to love them. They are illusions. That's one of the reasons why we go to movies. The video suffers from inappropriate lighting, inter alia. This is going to be the case for a while, as the learning curve matures and knowledge is disseminated throughout the industry. Like others, I noticed that the linear characteristics of the acquisition is the most telling attribute. I have experimented with algorithms to modify the bottom of the curve to resemble the toe of the , the spectral response curve. As a result there is a quite indescribable feel of film, or more precisely, something not video. The other attribute is the organized nature of the cell layout of electronic sensors vs. the naturally occurring integration of image resolution and color information from the randomness of grain size and orientation, which are used to stylize the motion capture on film. And like 24FPS we have become accustomed to those attributes as we have the aspect ratios of the presentation format. All this is a function of physics, mathematics, and "better living through chemistry." To this point video, or rather, electronic image acquisition has had neither the latitude, gamut, and resolution, to be able to manipulate the image information as has been available though film acquisition; and herein lies the issue to be overcome with 4K high dynamic range digital acquisition. The image information need to manipulated as is that in film that occurs as a function of film's physical/chemical nature or the extraordinary innovations by filmmakers over the years by lighting techniques, filters, gels, processing, etc. The challenge for digital cinema production is to apply the mathematical manipulation of the data acquired as has been done in film acquisition, in order to create an illusion of moving images as imaginative as has been done in the past. I think the foolish bickering about the process of image capture I see here, is mostly driven by irrational and overemotional chauvinism of close minded irrational thought. I am so pleased that over they years such people didn't work for Eastman Kodak, I really like color film as well as B&W. Same for the guy who invented the indoor electric coffee pot. I hate boiling coffee in a cast iron pot over an open fire in the rain. Even if it does seem more organic.

DSC is having an L.A. Area RED Event on October 6th, 1-4pm on the campus of California State University at Northridge, in Manzanita Hall, Room 170. Jim Mathers will host the event in which they will screen in film and 4K digital (Sony SXRD) from the results of their test shoots. They will also be an introduction of the camera function and anin-depth discussion of the workflow. Ted Schilowitz, Ramy Katrib of DigitalFilm Tree, Filmmaker and RED One Owner Dale Launer, Lucas Wilson from Assimilate, as well as John Daro from Foto Kem, (who have kindly donated their services to create the 4K and Filmout demos) will present. RSVP with: RED-CSUN in the subject line to: Mathers@digitalcinemasociety.org

NOT LAME. Production Reality is real. You get started on location at 4:30 start preparing for the day and your first cup of coffee is cold. Get talking to the cinematographer on the way to lunch and become so distracted, all the guacamole is gone by the time you get there (walk a mole ly for you gringos, won't even try inflections). Craft services runs out of Earl Grey for my afternoon tea. When I get back to the production office to review the dailies, and . . . "someone's been sipping on my Jose Cuervo Black Medallion" That's "production reality"

If any you are in the Chicago area, James Mathers is doing a review of the Red One camera. They will be shooting in Chicago (and other locatins) and will be presenting data and analysis done over the past week or so. I talked to Jim Mathers this evening about the results and the cameras use in our film in which Jim will be the DP. He's a film guy from way back and owns his own 35mm film cameras, so he will provide an candid analysis of the tests and you will be able to view the shoot in 4K projection (Sony) and I believe they're doing a film out of some of it. Anyway, if you're a professional cinematographer, you may want to attend. It's free for DSC members, $10 for non-members, cheap I think if you're a professional. They're doing a tour and will be in other locations as well. Here's the info: * James Mathers - Cinematographer & President & Co-Founder, Digital Cinema Society * Craig Leffel - Senior Colorist & Partner, Optimus * Larry Whitlow - VP of Operations, Resolution Digital Stuidos * Mitch Apley - Executive Producer, Resolution Digital Studios * Gary Adcock - Post Production Consultant * Tom Fletcher - Fletcher Chicago & Advisory Board Member, Digital Cinema Society WHERE: Resolution Digital Studios' Main Stage (60'x 90') 2226 West Walnut Street - Chicago, IL MAPQUEST WHEN: Wednesday, September 26 6:00-7:00pm Social Hour 7:00-8:00pm Presentation and Discussion RSVP: RSVP Required. (We anticipate the event to fill up quickly and strict Chicago Fire Codes limit attendance) COST: Digital Cinema Society Members - FREE Non-Members - $10.00

Automatic duck . . . that's what I was looking for . . . thanks Keith.

Okay, thanks guys. I'll take another look. It comes with our FCPs, I'll just look for a "good timer" colourist, whomever . . . Thanks

For cinema, I would recommend the Phantom HD, it is the best technologically performance camera in the industry; but because the company is rather small and technology oriented they have shortcomings with workflow (which is okay at the moment) that will be resolved in the near future. The blacks are truly blacks and its 600 ASA, 42bit colour, high speed 1K+ frame rate, and 11 (almost 12 stops by our testing) it is marvelous for cinema short of the Phantom 65. You can get Mitch to outfit the camera as well as it can be done at the moment. We've tested the camera in Texas and are pleased with the results except for VR not having it completely cinema ready, but it's coming in the near future. Otherwise the visual results are well worth some of the inconvenience. Oh, by the way, we pushed the sensitivity so it effectively shot at 1200 ASA, and had no appreciable noise in the black. In fact, that's the way we're shooting our INT night scenes, except for the extremely saturated muzzle flash scenes. If you're going to shoot mostly for HD Television and looking for the cinema-look and high speed with a camera that is studio ready with all the bells and whistles ready to go, then Wesiscam is a fine camera and no doubt, you should be pleased with it. I've not tested the camera personally but have seen results for people I trust. As a side note: Our DP for the picture we will shortly begin PP, James Mathers, is presently shooting test footage in various locations, one of which will be Chicago where we will be shooting establishing shoots for or feature. This comes after a week of running test specifications on the RED camera. The results are very, very, good. Initial testing showed the RED had 13 stops of latitude. I believe he used Zeiss lenses and probably tested with the Zeiss lenses as I think he has a couple of sets from his film camera he was going to use. The camera has very true and quality color. The images seem to me to look like they were shot with a fine grain film using Cooke lenses. A very lovely picture. Obviously it will not have the gamut of film, but most directors will change the colour palette in their films to establish the look and pallet they want to work with anyway. If all pans out from Jim's evaluation, it appears we will be shooting The Black Messiah Murders with REDs for the contemporary period, and the Phantom HD for our 60-70s period, low light, and high speed. Our stedicam & 2nd Unit DP, Ron Vidor, is a world class camera, stedicam cinematographer seems pleased with the results and seems comfortable with both cameras. I'd rate the DALSA above the RED for 4K 35mm digital cinema cameras, and for 2K cinematic use, the Phantom HD. You can contact me directly if you like and I'll give you my Skype ID. I'm very busy at the moment but can answer very specific questions if you like about the Phantom HD. I hope I was able to help you some. Best to you and your project in Argentina. Lance Flores

Not impressed with the Color application that Apple acquired for FCP. It appears it only works for HD and 2K files. Does anyone else have a coloring product that will work with FCP?

I have an Academy Award winning editor who uses Avid to cut with but we are committed to our new Apple 120TB SAN/Server and FCP editing systems. Is there an interface application for the Avid EDL to SAN/FCP? Will the Avid accept QT wrappers?

If you are going to do a non-SAG you must announce it and inform the SAG actors you are doing a "SAG Corp" production. The actors must make the declaration to SAG by written notice, otherwise the actor is liable for fines because the actor is violation of his agreement with SAG if he fails to do so. He cannot be fined pursuant to a Supreme Court decision, but the actor must make the declaration prior to engaging in the non-SAG production.

It looks very good Jim. Would like to have been able to use four or five of yous cameras for our production. Timing you know. We move into prep in another week or so and will begin PP Oct 1st. My DP was looking forward to using 'em. We'll use them next time. Lance Flores