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RED To Showcase Weapon With Monstro 8K VV Sensor At BSC Expo


Sue Smith

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RED Digital Cinema® is showcasing its latest sensor technology, MONSTRO 8K VV, on Stand 426 at the BSC Expo, running Feb. 2-3 at the Battersea Evolution. MONSTRO is an evolutionary step in large-format sensor technology with improvements in image quality including dynamic range and shadow detail. The new cinematic, full-frame WEAPON® camera with the MONSTRO™ 8K VV sensor that launched in October 2017 is now available for purchase.

 

On Feb. 2 at 11:15 in the Seminar Room, RED and Mission Digital are hosting a conversation with Chris Ross, BSC and Mission Digital Managing Director Mark Purvis. They will discuss the shooting of FX’s flagship show Trust, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Donald Sutherland, Hilary Swank and Brendan Fraser. Attendees can learn how Ross and the post-production team approached the creative and technical aspects of one of the biggest television shows to be shot in the UK.

 

RED will also host a premier seminar with CHEAT colourist Toby Tomkins and Panavision Senior Vice President of Innovation Michael Cioni on “The Benefits of 8K RAW Workflow in High Resolution TV Delivery.” The event will take place Feb. 2 at 15:15 in the Seminar Room. The two will discuss using an 8K RAW workflow on feature films, as well as the recently released Netflix original TV series The End of the F***ing World. The series was shot on RED WEAPON 8K S35 by cinematographers Justin Brown and Ben Fordesman with Tomkins handling final color. Tomkins will share his insights and approach to managing high-resolution workflows and explain the value of RED's new Image Processing Pipeline (IPP2).

 

RED’s newest camera and sensor combination, WEAPON 8K VV, offers cinematic full frame lens coverage, captures 8K full format motion at up to 60 fps, produces ultra-detailed 35.4 megapixel stills, and delivers incredibly fast data speeds – up to 300 MB/s. And like all of RED’s DSMC2 cameras, WEAPON shoots simultaneous REDCODE® RAW and Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD/HR recording and adheres to the company’s dedication to OBSOLESCENCE OBSOLETE® – a core operating principle that allows current RED owners to upgrade their technology as innovations are unveiled and move between camera systems without having to purchase all new gear.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nah, flannel shirts are for Digital/Analogue Bolex users.

 

To properly fit in with the design of Red cameras you need to look like an extra from Mad Max.

 

I've got a black riveted jacket that looks a treat when partnered with the new the "RED: Bazooka camera", "RED:Vengeance Viewfinder" and "RED:My enemies die screaming - variable ND"

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Am I the only person who finds this all a bit...

 

...teenager?

In what sense? - making silly jokes about RED's questionable design choices or the general "film is war" design choices that RED makes.

 

In all seriousness, the last camera, I would own would be called a "Weapon" even if it was 8k. (8k = also silly)

 

I'm not accusing RED of inciting violence of course (that would be a "hot take" too far). But I find the whole Skulls and bomb viewfinders - very silly and not that appropriate on a film set.

 

I guess you could cover it with gaffa tape and Arri stickers to make it look more presentable.

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To properly fit in with the design of Red cameras you need to look like an extra from Mad Max.

 

I've got a black riveted jacket that looks a treat when partnered with the new the "RED: Bazooka camera", "RED:Vengeance Viewfinder" and "RED:My enemies die screaming - variable ND"

 

When I clean a RED sensor I tie a bandanna around my head and pretend I'm defusing a landmine. Been lucky so far, but I've heard of other techs losing a limb.

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Well, quite, and to my mind that's starting to make less and less sense.

 

When they came out with their first camera, it was affordable and had some big numbers associated with it. The rebellious attitude made se... well, I'm not sure it ever actually made sense, but it made more sense then than it does now.

 

Now, a "Red Weapon Woven Cf 8k - Standard" is £53K.

 

Ergo, they're significantly more expensive than (most predictions of) a Venice, which is (almost certain to be) quieter and doesn't have skulls on it.

 

I don't get it.

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I think I understand the approach they're taking. What I don't understand is why it works. What we might call the Sunglasses Gambit works on $200 sunglasses and in 2006 it worked on a $16,000 4K camera. That surprised me. What absolutely astonishes me is that it still works on a £53k camera.

 

I don't think they're going to be selling too many of those to 18-year-olds making skateboarding documentaries.

 

P

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I'm not really following you here guys. Red aren't selling $100,000 8k Vistavision cameras to 18 year-old dude-bros making skate videos. That's what their Raven camera is for.

The big-boy Reds sell to the big boy rental houses who are outfitting big-budget Netflix series, Marvel movies etc.

That's their approach.

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I think I understand the approach they're taking. What I don't understand is why it works. What we might call the Sunglasses Gambit works on $200 sunglasses and in 2006 it worked on a $16,000 4K camera. That surprised me. What absolutely astonishes me is that it still works on a £53k camera.

 

I don't think they're going to be selling too many of those to 18-year-olds making skateboarding documentaries.

 

P

I agree. RED still seems to be locked in the mindset of the new, upstart camera system, despite its cameras being no cheaper than its competitors.

 

 

The big-boy Reds sell to the big boy rental houses who are outfitting big-budget Netflix series, Marvel movies etc.

So the question is; why do they still feel the need to indulge in the same adolescent marketing techniques that they were using 10 years ago, when they were selling to teenage skaters?

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So the question is; why do they still feel the need to indulge in the same adolescent marketing techniques that they were using 10 years ago, when they were selling to teenage skaters?

If it ain't broke?

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I think I understand the approach they're taking. What I don't understand is why it works. What we might call the Sunglasses Gambit works on $200 sunglasses and in 2006 it worked on a $16,000 4K camera. That surprised me. What absolutely astonishes me is that it still works on a £53k camera.

 

I guess it worked because it filled a niche - they were pushing the small bodies when 3D was a thing and it filled the 4K gap for Netflix etc... The cameras had advantages over the competition so people put up with the design "aesthetic". I don't think most users particular responded to the marketing - just that the Red One/Epic filled a niche in the market not served by other manufacturers.

 

Things have moved on with Venice and Varicam 4k, Alexa Mini and LF. I agree the continued "rebel" thing is strange at the prices they are now charging. If anyone is shaking up the market its Blackmagic not Red.

 

I wonder if it still is "working" on a $53k camera (or $79k for VV), beyond the fanboys are people still investing in then? Even at the Raven end, they are as rare as hen's teeth over here compared to FS7's, C300's and Ursa Minis. When you look at the specs on Netflix shows increasingly the big budget stuff is Alexa 65 and Varicam. I would imagine a lot of Netflix is going to move over the Alexa LF now, removing the main reason to own a Red. If you had $100k to spend on a camera system - buying an Arri would make more business sense. They tend to rent for more, more often and seem to have much better resale value. Back in the day you could buy 2 Reds for the price of one Arri - that's no longer the case.

 

Maybe thats why they are making the phone. Which is perhaps a shrewd idea - they don't seem able to compete with Blackmagic, Sony et al on price. Arri has the high end sewn up and the middle ground is getting crowded. At that point pivoting onto consumer tech products, with its potentially vast market, make's sense. Still they are going to have their work cut out for them, competing against Samsung and Apple. This new Kill-O-Zap phone will need to be pretty special and re-enforce my fragile masculinity with some cool spikes, before I do away my trusty Galaxy S8

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The more I think about it, the more it has to do with the image of "Masculinity" and the products serve to reinforce the masculinity of its users. Hence why Red has lots of fanboys, but very few fangirls. I know the camera department tends to skew male, thats not a good thing. It's a shame Red feels the need to reinforce that stereotype.

 

I only have a male perspective on this but I get a sense that Red's marketing and industrial design risks alienating female DOP's (and most sensible male ones). Sure a camera's not a fashion accessory, well it shouldn't be. But Red has kind have made it one, or tried to make it one, with the skulls and the rhetoric. Its not an outlandish statement to accuse RED of producing a Masculine camera. Why does a camera need to be gendered in its design, makes no sense?

 

I guess its partially due to its creators previous experience in fashion. Red markets its products in the same way Oakley sunglasses did. Most cameras are Utilitarian in design, 'form follows function' . Red was the first digital cinema companies to push a particular strong design brand. I guess theres nothing wrong with that in principle, but less of the skulls please. When Bic released a "for Her" pen it was ridiculed (https://www.amazon.co.uk/BiC-Her-Ball-Pen-Black/dp/B004FTF6H4) - Reds marketing/design opens them up to ridicule for exactly the same reasons

 

Meanwhile, Why would I want an "Alexa"? Thats a girls name, ugh!

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The "Secret Sauce" that separates the ManCam from the FanBoyCam is the dyes used to make the Bayer Mask.

If you don't get that right, no amount of wishful thinking, Digital Jiggery-Pokery or color pseudo-science "afterburning" is ever going to fix it.

(The same thing applies to colour film, which is one reason why there were so few successful manufacturers of that).

Arri got it right, and they're not about to share the recipe. Get over it.

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