Is the RED ONE camera the closest thing yet to representing the human eye? Some regular posters on Reduser.net think so. But now that the first beta cameras are in the hands of working DPs (Peter Jackson and Steven Soderbergh aside), and footage shot in places other than Jim Jannard’s garage is screened, we can see for ourselves if this is actually true.
We’re also now able to see how the camera’s technology responds to a variety of operating and artistic styles, workflows, down-conversions and film outs. The earliest (and controlled) test images revealed naturally lit scenes with little set up and rich, nuanced images that filled the screen and seduced the eye. Exposures in the subsequent independent tests are all over the map, as The Ophanage’s Stu Maschwitz points out on his blog, ProLost. But that’s no reason to lose faith in the camera, he adds, since most exposure problems can be corrected in post.
Will RED become the DeLorean of cameras, pure pixel-capturing perfection only to the select few who can appreciate and deal with all of its eccentricities? I believe that this camera can and will be many things to many different kinds of shooters, once the kinks are ironed out, the larger marketing plan is revealed, and many, many more filmmakers get the chance to rent the camera on a project-to-project basis.
For now, RED ONE remains truest to its first loves- feature and independent filmmakers. James Mathers makes it clear in his review of the beta version on page 12 that DPs will feel most at ease with RED from the outset. Others may face a steeper learning curve. Run-and-gun shooters, for example, have a different set of priorities and are therefore more skeptical of RED’s cred in their search for the perfect all-around camera. Will Holloway, for one, thinks the jury is still out. For Will’s take, see page 42.
While there may not be a camera for everyone, there is probably a plug-in. After reading this issue, however, it might seem like only a few really key plugs are in serious rotation. One in particular- oh, come on, you know which one I’m talking about. Just flip through our showcase, beginning on page P1, and look inside the toolbox of Troika Design Group, on page 56, and you’ll see why Trapcode Particular is the hands-down favorite tool of the moment. If you haven’t tried any Trapcode plug-ins yet, you’ll find a tutorial on page 40 by Sean Safreed on how to use Starglow and 3D Stroke to enliven an animated logo. Sean’s company, Red Giant Software, makes and publishes a lot of other popular plug-ins for editing and effects, but lucky for you, Red Giant also now sells and distributes Peder Norrby’s brilliant Trapcode offerings to a much wider U.S. market.
– Beth Marchant, Editor-in-Chief
bmarchant@accessintel.com