Ken Willinger

My latest narrative effort was made for The Doorpost Film Project, a very good short film competition. It's tough to even get into the first round... but we did (Doorpost calls the accepted films a "Merited Film"). Of the "Merited" films, 20 move forward on March 15. I'd like to be in that 20 as I'd have a shot at $40K and ultimately $100K. Wouldn't you? So I kindly ask that you take 7 minutes out of your schedule and view my film (yes, the first level submissions are 7 minutes or less including credits). Even better sign up at The Doorpost Film Project and vote for my film and leave a glowing review (and you can leave a critique here!) Voting ends March 15. Besides my film there are some excellent short films worthy of watching, especially the winners from last year. They are superb. http://www.thedoorpost.com/identity/TheWaitingRoom/

Thanks for the update Matt. I'm about to start a doc using my Red and am a little concerned about the set up. I've done many docs in the past and have always used EFP set ups, 2/3 broadcast zooms etc. The Red set-up is a much heavier proposition and my glass I'm afraid may be too unwieldly for any fast verite action. My Angenieux 25-250 is not really meant for hand held. It says T3.2 on the iris ring but I'm guessing it's really 3.9. And the closest it focuses is about 3 1/2 feet. I've also just received the Red Pro Primes, they're fast at T1.8 but are big. And it also means putting on a big mattebox and a FF. I've got a Fuji 13X4.5 HD zoom but then I'm at 2K and that sort of defeats the purpose. So I'm in the process of trying to rethink the whole thing. Maybe just do interviews and tripod beauty shots on Red and go with a different camera for hand-held b-roll (although I will have a Mantis and an Easy Rig). Plus I have to travel with this kit. I've got the Sachtler 25 with carbon stix as well. It's a nice set up. Sure wish I had access to the Rouge zooms!

I had a chance to see them at NAB. Physically they are large lenses and weigh between 4 and 6 pounds each, the wider lenses being heavier. Cosmetically the lenses are beautiful with a flat black finish that surprisingly didn't pick up lot's of fingerprints. I saw a 35 mounted to a Red camera and was able to play with it on the camera. The focus moves just right...not too stiff but not loose or sloppy. I saw no discernible breathing. The lens was rock solid. There are 7 blades and they create a very pleasing bokeh. The close focus was beautiful at about 4 inches from the glass. And the glass was very sharp. I also saw the projection tests. These lenses are incredibly sharp and uniform from center to the edges. I was very impressed.

Yes, Karma's Choice, a short which is a thriller is grouped with a full length feature.

A short thriller I filmed last year called Karma's Choice is an official entry in the Boston International Film Festival. It will show on the last day of the festival (session 41) from 4 to 6P April 26, 2009 at the AMC Leows Theatre Boston Common. Hope to see you there! http://www.bifilmfestival.com/biffschedule.html

There were 5 films that placed. Ours was number 5 (not by popular vote but by judging). I think the best film won 1st place (it was a German production and was very well done). All the films play tonight in LA at the Downtown Independent at 10P. Wish I could be there.

I figured that...but one should always be optimistic!

Jaron, thanks so much for the very detailed comments. I think you hit the nail on the head in a lot of areas. This is great stuff, very helpful and for the most part not mean spirited (except for one comment…and I’ll let it go!). There is so much to go over but let’s start with “shot on red”. You said it could be good or bad. My take is that it doesn’t really matter in the end. I don’t think Red has to look like something special or unique. It’s just a camera, another tool. What it has to do is look good and be able to give you what you need for whatever application you may be using it in. It’s certainly not film and doesn’t have the DR film has and it is not perfected as a camera yet. I do think it will be a tool that you will see more often than not in the future. When we were cutting and we could see the data in full res, it really looked better than any video including varicam and the F900 to me. I’ve used those cameras a lot. What I would really like to see, and unfortunately I won’t have the opportunity this time, but all these shorts that were involved in this challenge (or most of them) will be shown on a theatre screen in LA on the 31st. I’d like to see how it looks when projected rather than having to judge it solely on seeing it on a computer screen. I think that is where it will really have an advantage over the high end video cameras. And I especially wouldn’t judge the camera based on a 72 hour film challenge. Yes, this challenge was particular to the 4K based camera/workflow. But the people involved (at least on my end) were not seasoned pros making big budget movies. I think the idea behind this challenge was to show that there is a workflow for the Red data that works and that you can use the workflow in a timely manner. This has been a sticky issue with many clients (and some production folks) looking at using the system. So as far as the camera is concerned, in the end it’s going to come down to who’s using it and do they have the skills, talent and creativity to make it shine. That’s the case with any camera be it still, video or film. In that category it seems I was somewhat lacking. But I’ll get to that further on… As to rendering and editing natively. This was one of the cool things in our workflow. We were able to work with native files through FCP. And rendering wasn’t as brutal as you’d expect. For this particular project, we started filming at 8P on Friday and finished at 1A. We got one scene done. That was rendered in a really short time over night. We picked up production at 7:30A on Saturday and filmed again till about 1A. Again all the footage was rendered over night. So when we went into the edit room on Sunday morning, all the data was ready and was available natively in FCP…and in the color program. It was really easy. I honestly don’t think using a lesser camera would have made a marked difference in our production time regarding light, block etc. Having a GE crew certainly would have helped! When you say the camera operating was interesting in the beginning, are you talking about the handheld credits opening? Or further into it. Where is it that you feel it is “forced” and if you don’t mind can you expand on what you mean by forced? Thanks. You are correct in that we didn’t use any cheats. It certainly would have helped. We just didn’t have time. Obviously the scenes that really stand out as a lighting mess is the boardroom scenes at the beginning and at the end. These were the last scenes we did at the end of our 2nd day of filming. I’m of course as displeased looking at it as you are pleased in letting me know how bad it is (don’t you love dirty laundry?). Give me some ideas as to how you may have approached the first and last scene where the 2 main characters are sitting/standing in the boardroom. The room is about 20X18 with a big immoveable conference table in the center. It has beige walls. The practical lighting was in-ceiling fluorescents. The only area that had anything of interest in the room was a light wood bookcase/credenza on one wall. Since we were trying to make the whole movie appear to be in a TV station, we brought in a world map to put on one wall in the scene. The space we had between the bookcase and the table was about 4 feet. I know it’s sort of impossible not being there to accurately reply to what I described but I’m open to hearing different approaches. I like your suggestion to assess the practical light available and compliment that as necessary. Obviously a lot has to do with your ASA and the speed of your glass. And I think it would be a great exercise trying the “one light” for the scene. In the time crunch of the challenge it never occurred to me. I went in thinking I needed a blank slate and started with the room black. I tried using a china ball as I knew the actors wouldn’t be stationary (and I thought it wouldn’t work well if they were moving in and out of light for the scenes…I may have been wrong) but it really needed to be flagged. And then to create some definition I used a few specials and quickly it got out of control in that room. I don’t deny it. I thought some of the other entries were quite good, especially the foreign entries. It certainly was a good and learning experience and I appreciate the frank feedback. This is how we learn. Hey...my Mom liked it!

Thanks Gus, it’s great to finally get some real feedback! I think you are correct in a lot of aspects. The high key soft source look was definitely a mistake in the boardroom scenes. It looks way too flat and there is very little contrast in those scenes (as well as lack of color). I like them the least. Actually the first shot in the boardroom makes me cringe every time I see it. The board room scenes were the last dialogue scenes we did and at that point we were in a serious time crunch to finish. I know there are no excuses…but I do have a few!! Time certainly… and lack of gaffer and grip was also a real constraint. But also I had rotator cuff surgery 4 weeks ago, so I’m not even supposed to be moving heavy stuff and my range of motion is severely limited (if you watch the behind the scenes video you’ll see me in a sling!). I thought the make-up room scene worked much better as well as the news anchor office. I lit the anchor harder. I wanted the assistant to look softer. As to framing and focus, again no excuses, but the operator was a first time (literally) narrative operator and comes from a news and doc background. Because I had to light the next scene while a different one was being recorded, I couldn’t be next to him continuously and check the frame and focus. So I would set things up in the scene and then leave to get the next scene going. There are a couple of shots where the focus is slightly (and one not so slightly) off. Again I cringe every time I see it. And trying to get him to frame the way I wanted it was difficult to say the least. The dolly shot with actor in the hallway was cool. I didn’t want it to look like he was walking and I don’t know why he kept moving back and forth as if he was. He was supposed to stay motionless as he went to meet his fate while in the background the faithful assistant is seen in total despair. I thought it was an effective shot. BTW that scene was shot 2K at 60 frames. I couldn’t agree with you more about the edit slo-mo ramp. It’s ugly. I wish we had done the ramp in camera…but it wasn’t until we got to the edit room that we realized that’s how the shot should be. We actually had picked up the shot from a longer take. The first cut of the film was about eight minutes so we had to take quite a bit out to make it fit the rules for the challenge. We lost a lot of dialogue (maybe that’s good!). I also wasn’t happy with the color correction. Neither I nor the editor are well versed as colorists and it was our first time navigating through the color program in FCP. I disagree with you about the use of the camera for this type of production. I wish I could have had the opportunity to do this kind of stuff with a pro 35mm cine camera when I was younger. What a great experience to learn and to make mistakes. Nobody is getting paid. No client is on the line. I don’t think it’s a waste of recourses and I hope that in the end it promotes the use of my camera and services (and others as well)…after all, this is how I make my living. Also it gives us an opportunity to put the camera through its paces worry free and allows us to experiment and push it (though we didn’t push it very far I agree…especially in the boardroom!). This was the first time I ever participated in a challenge like this. I know there are 48 hr film challenges around the country often. I have a newfound respect for those that do it. Honestly it was very difficult…fun, but difficult. I think we assembled a pretty good team, though if I ever do it again I’ll get more help in the camera department. Thanks again for checking it out Gus…and for the honesty. We all learn from this stuff. Was there anything you liked about it? I don’t suppose you gave it a thumbs up…hahaha!!

Well not much time left in the voting...I think it ends on Monday. My film is currently in 4th place. Thank all of you who have watched it and rated it with a thumbs up. I don't win anything in this popular vote but my head may get a little larger! Please vote if you didn't. BTW, I didn't post the parameters of the challenge so here they are: It had to be filmed in 4K. It had to be written, filmed, edited and posted in 72 hours. It could be no longer than 5 minutes (6 minutes including credits). I had to use one phrase and one prop provided from the list below. Genre, locations, story etc was all up to me. Props: 1. An inflatable raft 2. A Toaster 3. A Laptop 4. A flashlight 5. A Red Scarf Phrases: 1. "I take it Black" 2. "Everything in Life Changes" 3. "Gimme back my sweater" 4. "Don't put that there!" 5. "What is a DSMC?" See if you can spot what we used. Here's the link again: http://www.vuze.com/details/TA3M5GLYMSJO5L...KFIXMPNZWS.html And remember, this thread is "Please Critique My Work". If nobody says anything I may think it's perfect! Uh oh, I better bend over...

Here's a Behind the Scenes vid our PA made of the madness! http://vimeo.com/2912463

Check out my entry to the 4K 72 hour challenge shot on Red. A vote for my film would be appreciated if you like it. But any feedback is also welcome. Please keep in mind it was a limited time production. Started on noon Friday, ended on noon Monday. We filmed Friday night and all day Saturday...then did a 24 hour edit Sunday to Monday. Very small crew (I had no Gaffer or Grips : ( http://www.vuze.com/details/TA3M5GLYMSJO5L...KFIXMPNZWS.html Ken Willinger

Thanks for looking at it. I agree that there were some screen direction issues but I don't see them in the record store. We actually did cross the line in the parking lot scene, and I warned the director about this issue. He was reluctant to do master shots, which would have given us some bearings and we didn't have anyone doing continuity. We were quickly running out of time (daylight) when we shot the parking lot on the 2nd day and had to rush to get off shots. And that was the one place where we were hassled. Thus the crossing the line issue...nobody checked, and we didn't record both sides of the scene back to back (and you can see a big difference in the light). Oddly enough...maybe because there is no actual dialogue and just music, it seems to work OK. You don't become totally disoriented.

Got hired to DP a music video for a contest being held by Coldplay for their song Lost?. I used my Red One camera recording in 2K (the director wanted to do a lot of slo-mo 120FPS, can only do that in 2K). We shot it all in a weekend in the Boston area...mostly outside with temps in the 20's! Small crew...DP, Director/Producer, Gaffer, 2 grips, PA. Edited in 2 days (not by me...I wasn't involved in post at all). I got called out of the blue for this job from my listing on a local film site. The Producer/director was a first time director who had a small amount of experience on other sets, mostly as a PA. He had a vision for this contest and decided to try to fulfill that with his own money. His idea was that if he hired professionals, that he could get a good product, and I think he proved his point. I gave him an indie break on costs, as did the other people involved. I think this was a really good learning process for him, especially regarding time management, realistic costs, continuity and securing locations. We recorded it with about a 4 day lead time...not much time to arrange things. A lot of this was gorilla style, just showing up and hoping to get it done before we were kicked out. That's a good way to loose a lot of money. We were fortunate to be hassled in only one location. We were not able to record every shot he wanted in the script in the time we had. I broke out 67 individual shots from his script. There was no way we could do them all in the time (and budget) we had. So he had to sew it together with what we were able to get. The director posted it on youtube. Click the option under the vid "watch in high quality". It looks much better than the low res. See it here: Let me know what you think. I'm happy to discuss what we did to get what we got!

I was the DP on this very low budget short. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks, Ken http://www.ourfilmspace.com/video/2045657:Video:80557

I'm selling this with no reserve price. It's in great shape and has been a terrific workhorse: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:IT&ih=011 Also selling a Sachtler Dolly S in excellent condition. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:IT&ih=011

Thanks Satsuki, This is exactly what I was looking for. Your help is greatly appreciated. Cheers, Ken

Thanks David, I just picked up this book. There appears to be some really great info in it!

Thanks for your kind help Saulie. I did a search on all forums for Film Emulsion Test and Exposure Latitude test and got nothing that was close to giving me a step by step description of the process. Can you direct me to the archives? I see no link to it though I did check the resource links. Your help has been immeasurable however. Thanks again.

Can anyone give me a step by step guide on doing a film emulsion test in a controlled setting? Thanks.

Great post Brian. I'm in a similar position regarding selling this camera system to clients. I have one client on board so far...and that is because he saw the whole system at NAB and was blown away. But all other clients will really be a difficult sell. Currently they all take the tape away at the end of the production day. Convincing them to take away a hard drive with their material will be a tough task. I've reserved a camera and have a probable delivery date of January. I'm hoping that in that time the reputation for what the camera can do will grow. I've taken a chance I know in going in this direction instead of buying a Varicam or F900 as some of the others in my market have done (I've been an owner/operator for more that 15 years...and can't sell anyone on film anymore). But I believe that digital aquisition is the future with this system being the cutting edge. A lot of the sell will also rest with the editors. I'm hoping they will love it and press for it as well. It certainly appears to be a great image to work with in post according to those who have recently begun to play with it. But any help Jim and the RED company can put forward in marketing the process will be invaluable. How about it Jim. Any marketing plans to mainstream this product?

I've found this to be true as well and in fact do not like using zebras. I find the effect distracting and have always found that setting up the viewfinder with bars in B&W for proper contrast allows great control over exposure without having to rely on a monitor. Usually I only consult a monitor for judging color (providing that the monitor is set up correctly). I find that most of the directors I work with want a monitor on set, but rarely do I find them trying to adjust what I am doing. It's mostly for their reference. I also have not used the Accuscene but I'm confident it will have the same if not better ability to judge contrast and highlights as a high end CRT V/F. But I think I will still need to operate it in B&W to correctly judge exposure in the frame. If you have only worked with film this seems crazy because you can't really judge any exposure issues with what is seen in the V/F, and you are used to seeing color, not B&W. And the V/F is only for framing the shots...so this is quite a departure for the film guys and something that will take them a long time to trust.

I think what he is probably talking about is 720 or 1080 HD...not 2K or 4K which is a totally different animal and is really digital cine, not HD.

I don't understand what it is that you don't like about the RED company. Jims quote? "It is NOT film...it's RED"? I think that is pretty fair that Jim is stating it right up front. Don't compare the two. It's a different animal. It's especially odd that in not liking the RED company, you "can't wait to use a RED camera". Looking forward to the maturing of this technology Jim. The flash option rocks!

Here are some more screengrabs from the HVX with a Brevis using Canons. There is a WS (Canon 20mm) in there using the Brevis. The stock HVX lens is obviously wide enough but I wanted to keep the look consistent. Using the stock lens naked gives you really deep DOF...everything looks sharp. It can be a good effect but it also really looks like video. Of the 10 grabs I posted, one is without the Brevis. Which is it? These are very compressed (FCP QT compressor). Four shots have had the color enhanced. All others are how they were recorded. They are already posted at DVXUser: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=93184