“Clients select a shot list from the time code, and then we deliver the related RAW files or processed tiffs.”

I had the opportunity to ask Steve Kalalian, President and founder of Impact Digital about his new venture IC Motion, which was founded to help photographers deal with the RED camera. I think there’s a lot of potential to use the camera on a stills shoot but to me it looks like a complete pain in the ass to deal with all those gigs and of course the equipment is expensive as hell so it makes sense that you would rent a package from someone like IC Motion and they can deal with it.

I’m still a little skeptical on the quality of the frame grabs for magazine reproduction. I have a copy of the Megan Fox, Esquire that was shot on the Red and have to say the reproduction has a “video” feel to it. That may have been intentional for all I know, because I don’t have anything else to compare it to, but I hear the Bruce Willis shoot in W was done on a RED, so you can have a look at that to see what you think.

APE: Can you tell me about Industrial Color and  your new venture IC Motion?

Industrial Color is part of  Industrial Color Brands which has been around for 18 years and has offices in Tribeca, Culver City, Miami, and Williamsburg. This includes several high-end creative production entities.

  • Impact Digital (founded 1991) – Retouching and CGI
  • Industrial Color (founded 2001) – Digital capture support on approx 12 shoots a day, post-production, file storage, archival printing, software development, hosted web based image management and high speed file distribution, iPhone App development and now HD and RAW video capture and editing).
  • Fast Ashley’s Studios & Fast Locations (founded 2002) – 16,000 sq. ft of drive-in rental studios in Williamsburg Brooklyn and full location eq. rental.
  • M Project Gallery (founded 2007) – To exhibit collaborative projects, such as the recent Jim Fiscus CGI graphic novel.

IC Motion was in the planning stages during 2008 and formally launched in March 2009.

When the RED camera was released, we saw an opportunity for photographers to embrace HD video in a special way. Because every frame is printable, photographers can think in motion and still at the same time. The creative possibilities are endless. The RAW digital video revolution is very similar to the digital still revolution when the first 16MP still camera backs came out in 2001. HD Video is very new to the photography industry. We felt that Industrial Color could bring significant value by providing full-service high-level support that makes booking, shooting, editing and distributing video easy for photographers and clients.

After much testing and development, we found the RED and P2 formats fit into our company infrastructure perfectly in terms of our tech capabilities, post production services, equipment resources, NY, LA and Miami locations, and other important resources. Our tech base of 20 full time digital techs are all battle tested and very experienced working on intense studio and location shoots and have photography and film backgrounds. We developed a digital video training program and certified our team during the past year. We then added a specialized editing team and built high-end editing suites to provide important post-production services that are a very big part of supporting digital video shoots and helping photographers deliver meaningful content to their clients.

Also, our software division Industrial Color Software, developed FileSociety, a web-based high-speed file sharing and distribution service designed to serve the digital video industry. We recognized that video shoots generate a massive amount of files and dailies. Video file sizes are large and need to be shared by creative talent and decision makers very quickly. FileSociety is up to 100 times faster than FTP, is secure and lets workgroups collaborate anywhere at very fast speed.

In addition, we are leveraging our tier 3 datacenter in which we have petabytes of LTO tape storage and approx 500 terabytes of live enterprise storage and a redundant gig internet link and an offsite DR facility.

After all the investment and R&D, we worked with top photographers to test many filming conditions and projects. By our launch date, we were in great shape cover our client’s needs throughout the video production pipeline from planning to shoot, edit and delivery. The response has been very strong. We are now concentrating on shoots and editing projects and educating clients on the potential, economics and best practices of adding video to photography shoots. For example we have seminar series on July 14 and 15 entitled, “Photography and the Video Revolution” that will show real world production process and output from RED and P2 Formats.

APE: It looks like the RED is an awesome camera for cinematographers and directors, which is great if you have those skills or the budget for that kind of thing but until I saw one of those “living” images for online use I’ve been kind of skeptical about the use of a camera like this for still photographers. Tell me how you see people using this camera?

Our clients are primarily photographers. They are using the RED in every way possible, including shooting commercials, web content, social media content, interviews, teasers, behind the scenes, b-roll, video fashion stories, in-store videos, outdoor video advertising, music videos, short films, etc. On the print side, they are using video capture in editorial and advertising campaigns.

However, a large part of the photo industry is still thinking in the past that still photography is the only medium worth pursuing. Everything is going video. Print and video are converging. Digital advertising is replacing traditional print so fast right now that entire industries are disappearing and new ones are taking over. Plus, with the RED (and only with the RED) clients can print every frame, so you can produce print work using the RED. What we are seeing now are photographers that have a natural affinity and passion for motion are adapting very quickly. This is very exciting for us, as we love to help photographers translate their visual style to video. Since RED is a RAW format, you can change color as much as you want without effecting the RAW file. The camera software also allows you to create looks and shoot in real-time using a look, just like with still capture software. Hardware and software manufacturers are doing a great job in anticipating how photographers work and are integrating photo style workflows into their products. I think that the film to digital still transformation in the early 2000’s taught everyone a lot of lessons and most people are prepared to embrace this new technology and medium. We see people very open and eager to learn about the equipment, workflow and possibilities with digital video.

The current RED sensor is 13MP (the same as a Canon 5D) so the file is quite respectable for print – as there are many advertising photographers that still shoot with the Canon 5D for campaigns to this day. But to be clear, we don’t recommend leaving your still camera at home. Many clients think that the Red completely replaces the need for still cameras. Today’s still camera backs are at the 22-65MP range and produce amazing still images. Plus still photography is about freedom of movement. So this needs to be taken into account when deciding what to shoot with. The RED is a Cine-style camera and is rather large and heavy especially when fully accessorized. Almost every one of our motion jobs includes both still and video gear on set. The huge savings and opportunity for clients come from being able to capture video content with only a slight incremental cost of hiring a RED video capture team. All the major sunk costs of producing the still shoot like hiring talent, locations, props, sets, styling, travel, lodging, etc. are leveraged by adding video on a still shoot. Financially it’s a no-brainer. For the photographer, video provides a new revenue opportunity. Right now, video is a win for everyone and content is in demand by marketers.

APE: How much expense does using a RedOne add to a shoot?

The day rate ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 for a complete system and tech support. Our full featured package called the “CinePak” includes a full Red system, specialized computer and video equipment, 2 techs, tape backup via our GLOBALvault storage service and a 30-day FileSociety account for high-speed file distribution. We also have high-end sound recording packages and our Panasonic P2 packages called the “VideoPak” as well as color grading and editing, format compression and authoring rates. We also offer discounted still/motion combo packages that reduce overall cost and reduce the number of crews while streamlining communication and deliverables. We can also supply lighting equipment via Fast Locations, our equipment rental company.

APE: What’s the editing process like dealing with all those Gigabytes?

On average there can be anywhere from 100GB to 500GB of RAW data per day, depending on how much you shoot. For sure that’s a lot of data and files to deal with, especially for multi-day shoots. But there are techniques for making it manageable. For pulling stills, our techs work with the AD’s and photographers on set to edit when possible, but usually we will process QuickTime dailies with clip names and time code and send them via FileSociety or on a drive to creative decision makers. Clients select a shot list from the time code, and then we deliver the related RAW files or processed tiffs.

For motion editing, we have full editing services and work with directly with clients starting with a clip list, then make rough cuts, do the color grading, sound, graphics and final edit, or we deliver a drive and the client manages editing separately. Color grading is one of the most exciting parts of the video editing process from a traditional photography point of view. Color grading in video is like image editing in Photoshop for still images. There are powerful tools that let photographers refine the look of video like they would with still images, including primary color, secondary color, color masking and adding realistic film grain effects and other filters. We can work with the photographer directly or photographers can work with the RAW files themselves using free editing software from RED.

APE: How do you store all that information and how do you deliver a final product to the client?

First thing to consider is the active storage on set during the shoot. We have about 16TB of very fast RAID storage built into our shooting systems for primary storage and backup, plus we also backup onto portable drives and usually deliver a terabyte drive to the client. In addition, we back everything up to onsite and offsite tape libraries that are stored in special fireproof safes. Data storage adds up fast, so it is an important consideration. Clients should decide what is worth keeping and storing.

APE: Tell me about a shoot you’ve been involved in recently with the RedOne and how it all went and how the client reacted to the final product?

One of our recent shoots was with fashion photography team of Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton. They wanted to use the RED camera to produce a short film and stills for fashion phenomenon, Tracy Feith. The risqué project was shot on a sunny day in the back streets of LA. The freestyle shoot worked well to enhance both the vulnerability and courage of the subject that reflected the Tracey Feith brand. The client was very happy with the results and produced a 7-minute final edit that is planned to run in stores in addition to print collateral pulled from the RED footage.

ic_motion_group_168

Recommended Posts

53 Comments

  1. I just saw the Bruce Willis/W shoot yesterday and if that was shot with the RED, I’m even more sold than I was before. Beyond the eye-popping production itself, it was shot very, very well and it’s something to be proud of. Now, if I could just get someone to pay for the book I’m working on…

    • @STONER,

      Box did the retouching on the images. They are very beautiful right?

      • @bigdaddy,
        Yeah, they really are. I’m looking forward to seeing more work produced with this setup…

  2. Motion is my first love, and I love the Red camera. But I’m having a hard time picturing it as a still shoot additive. Seems the philosophy will have to change around what the client really wants. How many clients that start out needing still shots and are willing to add an extra $3-5K on to the budget for the Red rental? And that doesn’t include paying for the edit or the extra lighting crew to light a set continuously. And it’s novel right now, but will anyone want to sit through hours of video to get a single shot? Everyday? I would absolutely love it if all of the art buyers were raising their hands “yes” right now, but I don’t know that they are. But then again, I said the internet would never work. Anxiously awaiting the next revolution.

  3. We were shooting “Point-of-Purchase” films in 16mm in the 1970s. We were shooting food commercials during the 1970s, where we had a still photographer come in and shoot the print campaign while we were at lunch. So not much different here.

    Shooting stills and movies are two different skill sets … some will learn to do movies, some won’t.

    Doing this really adds to the competition for these “new style” jobs, because every commercial director/cameraman will also want a piece of this action (and they will be better at it than most still shooters).

    BTW have you seen T-Mobile’s “The T-Mobile Dance” on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM I can easily see advertising going in this direction. Not restricted to :30 second spots, no expensive TV buys … a lot to like.

  4. Before everyone drinks any more of the Red One Kool-Aid you need to check out the Silicon Imaging SI-2K camera and see what the film makers are saying when comparing the two systems.
    What is the Silicon Imaging SI-2K?
    it is the camera used to film Slum dog millionaire.
    And by all accounts the system costs less, equal or better quality in most cases, and easier workflow.

  5. The RED One is capable of delivering absolutely stunning images, and is certainly one of the first steps towards (dear God, I hate this word) “convergence.” At the same time (and please allow me to geek out for a moment), because of the typical frame rates and shutter speeds used in video, moving images which look great when seen as a stream of — well — moving images often contain quite a bit of motion blur when viewed as individual frames (1/30th of a second anyone?). Attempting to solve the motion blur problem by increasing the shutter speed does create a sharper still image, though the trade off is a kinda’ jerky looking moving image — perfect for music videos, not much else… There are a few work arounds that can actually re-introduce some amount of motion blur into a moving image (in the old days, Telecine Operators would do this via the “Grain Reduction” function), and I’m sure that with the right Final Cut Pro plug-in, all of this will be solved within the next year or so.

    Again, the RED One is a first step — kinda’ like the initial batch of PC’s that came out twenty/twenty-five years ago. Obviously, things will change and are changing rapidly. One thing to consider is that — rather than most of this “convergence” (Arrrgggggh!) taking place via video cameras that happen to shoot stills — that we will soon see all DSLRs (and I do mean ALL of them) being capable of shooting video. Even more importantly, these DSLRs will be shooting RAW high-rez video in the very near future, even though they’re not doing so now. THAT will be the game changing moment.

    Matt

    • @Matthew G. Monroe, wrote: ” …that we will soon see all DSLRs (and I do mean ALL of them) being capable of shooting video …”

      And then we will be inundated with insipid, banal and inane dreck. 8-[

      • @c.d.embrey, wrote: “And then we will be inundated with insipid, banal and inane dreck. 8-[.”

        Well, quite honestly, I think that we’re already inundated with insipid, banal and inane dreck. I mean, c’mon, take a look at most of the stuff posted up on YouTube.

        On the other hand, I do think that we will end up with much better looking dreck, and — of course — in the end, it’s those who are able to market, publicize, and distribute their dreck (and non-dreck) who will gain the most from cheap, highly quality video/DSLR cameras.

        Matt

    • @Matthew G. Monroe,

      You nail it on the head here. I’m sure the bean counters on major productions are drooling by the thought of “hey, we don’t need a stills guy, we’ll just grab some frames from this new fancy digital motion camera!”

      But then the technical quality issues of having everything shot at the equivalent of 1/30th of a second, or then the problem of focus being slightly off from frame to frame as the focus puller moves…

      You point out that shoot at a higher speed and then use some voodoo in post to “fix” the stutter… but the cost of doing that + handling the increase amount of data from using a higher shutter would negate any savings of not hiring a stills photog.

      The death of still photography is greatly exagerrated…

  6. “many advertising photographers that still shoot with the Canon 5D”

    I highly doubt that many advertising photographers are using a 5D (or equivalent) for any decent sized ad campaign (none that I know do, that’s for sure). As many commercial photographers can attest to there is often a “big di#k” mentality when dealing with ad agencies and showing up with the bigger camera makes you look better even if its not justified and overkill for the job.

    And rightfully so, the clients are often at the shoot and spending 6-7 digits for the project. How much confidence is the client or an AD going to have when you bring out your 5D and the client says “oh, I had one of those a couple years ago… gave it to my daughter when I upgraded to the 1DSmkIII”

    There’s nothing wrong with the 5D (although, I’ve never used one)… but I’m just making a point based on the comment Mr. Kalalian made. He was just trying to justify the 13MP size of the RED for print…. which is his bread and butter.

    As for using the RED for print… I’ve never used it, but I agree with APE’s comment about the Megan Fox shoot. Some of the images just looked downright bad.

  7. Sometimes I still take on video editing projects, so I know the time needed to edit video. What I cannot imagine is pulling stills from 1800 image frames per minute. While clients, and RED fans, might think a high volume of frames gives many shot choices to save time on location, the reality is that time at the computer will increase exponentially.

    • @Gordon Moat, Exactly, and that’s already a problem….

  8. Interesting stuff … I had no clue Red ONEs were being used for stills … I sort of assumed people were waiting for the Scarlet and Epic–as those seem to be the real game-changers from a spec standpoint.

    I assume IC Motion will be working with these systems once the come out?

    http://www.red.com/epic_scarlet/

  9. I’m sure this Red is great and all, but I just can’t get the math to work. Massive rental rates, extra crew needed, and a huge camera to drag around. Not exactly spontaneous. I read Rob’s interview with this Industrial Color guy, and then I read this PDN story where some guy is shooting a Vibe job in Chicago for like a grand TOTAL, probably including the Fee as well.

    http://tinyurl.com/nq4vus

    I’m sure the Red is intended for Advertising, but still, it just makes you wonder. Trying not to be a sourpuss, but simply more realistic in this New Economy.

  10. This interview reads like a frickin ad for IC motion.

      • @A Photo Editor, I must agree it felt like that to me as well, he was speaking a little like a press release.

        • @Robert P,
          The give away is the photo. It doesn’t look like any shoots I’ve been on before, too clean. It doesn’t look like Tracy Feith either unless he has shaved his surfer beard and hair. Nor does anyone else resemble Tom Betterton. It looks like a well staged photograph instead of a shoot. Is the model being interviewed by the still photographer, the sound guy must be getting aggravated picking up the sounds of the photographers shutter over the guy pretending to be Tracy Feith’s voice and what is the digital tech doing on a screen with nothing on it. But the IC logo is nicely placed for all to see. This is all good press kit material for Kalalian. He got the front page of this blog.

  11. I can’t believe that the Bruce shoot in ‘W’ was shot on the RED -there are some double page spreads that certainly look to me like high-end MFDB.
    If it is for sure, then OMFG!!!!

  12. The Red prices for rental aren’t that much higher than digital medium format prices. Shooting a job for VIBE (RIP) or Interview or W is really a for free deal. You get real, meaningful exposure, they get your picture. You then get a catalogue job from that exposure, that pays more than you made in your 20s. That is the game.

    • absolutely correct, also, being the first to use this technology kind of just sets a standard. It keeps budgets up and keeps the competition their toes. People were apprehensive about digital capturing from the beginning (which became ultra-popular during/after the 2001-02 recession),we’ve all seen whats happened with that… its nice that people are taking risks in this tense economic environment, its spawns new jobs and positions for the exhausted print industry.

      • @Westering Fever,

        COMPLETELY WRONG.

        it just lowers costs for publishers while lowering profits for photographers.

        i’m glad i just do editorial and travel, good luck guys.

        • @Sergey, how is going to a more expensive intricate digital package going to lower costs for publishers? in any case it’ll make thing more expensive, which isn’t necessarily a great thing… but i dont understand how, Sergey if you could explain to me, being the person accepting the natural progress of technology will lower your profits… sergey, continuing to have this small minded “i just do this, i just do that” attitude will leave you very little work… think about how introducing video to your repertoire can get you video commercial shoots. The RED isn’t really being used for stills but rather a means of introducing photographers to the now less expensive world of video.

      • @Westering Fever, if you are shooting bruce willis for free then you need to be put up against a wall and shot, god what are you smoking man you really do have a fever

        • @joe, In major markets you shoot editorial for free or nearly free. The client pays for the production. In NYC you shoot fashion/portraits for nearly free, then use that exposure to get some bread and butter catalogue work or even better, a campaign. In LA its the same, but you shoot celebs. Its marketing. It is very different than shooting a wedding or other dreck for free.

        • @joe, i never said anything about shooting Bruce Willis for free, and many people would shoot and have shot Bruce Willis, or any celebrity for that matter for free or very little money, theres royalties and licensing fees attached which will garner you money, but for the actual shoot itself, expect little to nothing UNLESS its an advertising job. also, you should try reading the post you’re replying to…

  13. I think the hybrid Red would be the ideal device for still photographers. As much as I love shooting moving images and stills, the current Red’s size is appropriate for moving images. I saw the prototype hybrid Red online which I assume would be slightly bigger than the Nikon D3x. Resolution size wasn’t mentioned but I assume it would be in the mid 20 mega pixels.

  14. Also, If your lighting style and preference includes strobes or mixing strobes with daylight you’re out of luck with any video format. Bring out the HMI’s !

    • @Peter Dawson, You are right; especially if you’re really a strobe user.

    • @Peter Dawson,

      And imagine the bill when you add the prices of the HMI’s… Oh boy.

  15. camera stills is b-ulls-hit.

    it completely defies the very concept of photography.

    what about 16 RED cameras around a subject and people
    paid to sort the good stills ?

    if this is the future i’m better getting another job.

    • @Sergey, translation services is a growing field, perhaps look into that line of work. But seriously, as magazines die and are reborn on the web, the magazine stills shooter must follow. The future of web is in motion. Its not like stills will be gone, but they will be marginalized to the point you may be looking for a different or additional job, like web design or video editing. I make gaf, act as DP, shoot stills, write, produce, whatever, but its mainly motion. Two years ago it was all stills.

  16. Regarding Honeymoon hotel set in W: (just a personal opinion of course)

    Page 46 and 47: Emma Willis seems under exposed, specially in a comparison with lighting situation on Bruce Willis, while she is supposed to be the shock value of the shot…so it’s not a nitpick on aesthetic but a nitpick on “if aesthetic is serving the concept properly”. Lack of control in the camera?

    Page 48 and 49: The mood and Emma are beautiful but I can’t stop looking at the shiny faucet (because of a sharper focus and reflection)…which makes it like a futuristic ad for kohler faucets. Again, perhaps the control in RED camera for still shots won’t work at all times….or is it hard to find the right shots?

    Page 50 and 51: Since reflection is the main concept, the mood and aesthetics work together.

    Page 52 and 53: The soft focus on Emma does not translate into motion nor the silhouette of Bruce Willis translate into mystery (it’s too bulky and flat)….again in my opinion focus and exposures and shutter speed (can we say that?) are not helping the concept.

    Page 54 and 55: nice focus perhaps because of a still pose and nicer lighting on Emma, however the texture of the wall and sharp focus on the yellow railing steals the show just a bit…

    Page 56 and 57: interesting but mostly a set filler…although I like the subtle movement on the bracelet, but it feels more shaky than a movement really.

    Page 58 and 59: Sharper focus on Emma’s knee than Emma’s face…intentional? I think perhaps we can detect a pattern here.

    Page 60 and 61: Soft on Bruce and Emma? to create an atmosphere? not really sure…my guess is not.

    Page 62 and 63: Under exposure is apparent for/on relevant dramatic elements in the image.

    Page 64 and 65: focus and exposure and lack of proper texture cheapens the shot in my opinion…it does read well with the rest of set….the concept is fun of course.

    Page 66 and 67: while the lovely post work on Emma has created a beautiful aesthetic, the motion in Bruce’s head and hand seems too soft without any intensity …. it’s simply too mushy…

    In my humble opinion, the camera “probably” doesn’t give enough control to photographers who are after precise aesthetics… then it becomes a very expensive gimmick tool (to create/imitate certain looks) …or if it does give the power of control, it’s not evident in the W set (while in a quick review it’s a very attractive and eye catching story of course)

    • @Wolf189, You should shoot it next time.

  17. the real conversation here should be that ad agencies will be shooting broadcast commercials and just pulling still frames for there print campaigns. the photographers who are also directors will get the opportunities for these kind of productions. or else in many cases the photographer will get bypassed and the agency (i’m talking about ads) will say they own all the footage of the commercial. thus, goodbye to the © and usage agreements that have always been apart of ad shooting’s revenue.

    • @bb, yes. But pure still grabs will be a pain in the ass, so they will simply use the new Red cameras which should allow the camera to be used like a medium format camera for a stills portion, perhaps during rehearsal. Then it could be used with strobes as well if thats your thing.

  18. I agree this should have a note at top “Special Advertising Section”

    This convergence is still a few years off but the novelty is enough to scare the heck out of photographers who suddenly think they will be out of a job unless they learn a new trade.

    .Net coding language or java eventually gained footholds over Cobol but guess what? There are still Cobol programmers and banks still being run by millions of lines of Cobol code. What makes anyone think that overnight or in the span of a year or two video and frame grabs are going to supersede still photography?

    Was it Virtual Reality at one time that threatened to replace the need for live actors? Or now who is sick of yet one more animated movie? The novelty has so worn off and I predict so too will the novelty of Red One as the revolution.

    But I may brush up on my video and editing skills JUST in case.

    • @Alan Matthews, I thought the same thing with digital. One day I was loading my 12 RZ backs with Provia, the next day I was on line for a 1ds.

      • @Donnar Party,
        Yeah I know. I think what I’m saying is change is coming but how fast is a question. I think the rates are too high and the complexity is too great for such early adoption and early panic.

        • @Alan Matthews, rates are too high from a place like IC, like Splashlight, etc. They make it seem complicated and overwhelming, which it isn’t, so they can justify that high rate. Frame pulls from a Red is a gimmick, really, and won’t be how the Epic/Scarlet will be used.

      • @Donnar Party,

        I’m not so sure the comparison to the film – digital changeover is the same. My studio invested 100k in digital equipment in the late 90s, the first in the state to do so. We then charged double for digital shooting. It was a huge hit – paid the camera off in about 4 months. 1 year later, we sold off the RZ’s because they hadn’t been used in 6 months.

        The reason for the popularity wasn’t the quality (early back was 6 mp 3 shot capture.. great color but thats it), it was the speed and convenience. Agencies would come with a tight deadline and walk out of the studio with a CD *in hand*. No more film lab delay. And no polaroids to develop, what you saw was what you got. THIS is why digital took over from film in mainstream commercial work. Speed.

        Now with video frame grabs, okay you have to send your raw data to the post house to be turned into usable visuals, this takes time, okay you’re shooting at 1/30th of a second so if you’re shooting a moving person you gotta do it faster, but thats way more data, takes the post house more time… more time is more money… etc etc. Too much time.

        And yes, I’m sure on some large ad shoots with both the budget and the patience to handle this, a digital video camera with decent frame grabs will take stills using the already crewed up lighting and set. No doubt. But I will say, that shoots with that level of resources are not so common.

        And it’s not like that isn’t what already happens today anyway – the production company sets up a still camera on set…

        Not everyone has a half million dollar budget though.

  19. I heard somewhere that Taryn Simon is using the RED at the moment……

  20. it seems again that the world of commercial is cheapening an art form. No need to develop an eye anymore-let’s just grab an image!

  21. Saw the images, and they are all soft. The concept would have benefited from a hard edged approach, so I think in a way that softness detracts from the images. A few of the images also show the perils of electronic viewfinders, in that critical focus is off. While a focus puller and measured marks can work well when the actors and cameraman are in motion, it becomes far more difficult to hit those marks at 1/24 to 1/30 for stills.

    At least with strobes and a stills shoot, you can get away with slow shutter speeds because the strobes freeze enough of the motion. Some of the RED shots in the W shoot seem to have suffered from movement of the talent too. While I would bet the final motion piece from this shoot looks cool on a big screen HDTV, it simply does not hold up when printed. I think this shows the problem of viewing while the shoot is happening, and thinking everything is working great. Even the best HDTV is low resolution compared to a two page spread in a big magazine.

  22. Like it or not …. the fact is …. the Canon 5D Mark II has a larger chip, is capable of faster shutter speeds and captures better quality film stills …. hands down! I am a long time large format, medium format and now HD digital photographer slash videographer and I AM LOVING IT ! I have honestly doubled my income overnight! The RED is an awesome “camera” but ten times bigger than my old Mamiya RZ……why step backwards?

  23. Many companies are engaged with Red and these services. Shop around for a competitive packages, especially if you’re in New York City.

  24. Box did the retouching on that W story with Bruce Willis. Looks great!!


Comments are closed for this article!