Beyond HD
23 March 2011
Playing with RED test footage in REDcineX
I've been playing around with some RED test footage lately. RED has recently released their new Epic camera into the wild, and I'm curious to learn more about this type of imaging technology. To give you an idea of what this camera is capable of:
5K resolution - The epic features a massive 14 megapixels of resolution (5120 x 2700 pixels). Do we really need that many megapixels? Depends on who you ask. I've often found that, in order to get a nice, crisp high definition look, you need to start off with a higher resolution than what your output is going to be. It also leaves some room for cropping and stabilization in post.
Shooting RAW - Imagine being able to color grade your footage with the same ease as editing a RAW photo in Aperture or Lightroom. In fact, each frame of video footage on the Epic is in effect a RAW photo. All this power comes at a price of course, in the form of huge file sizes.
Flexible frame rates - Up to 120 frames per second, for epic (pardon the pun) slow motion shots.
High dynamic range - The Epic has a built-in HDR more, in which a second, shorter exposure is made for each frame, increasing the available dynamic range.
Modular - The Epic is not so much a camera, it's a modular system. At it's core is the "brain" as RED calls it, in essence a box with a sensor in it. You can attach all sorts of storage, power, monitoring and other modules on the back and lenses on the front of the brain. This makes it extremely flexible and versatile.
The Epic is designed as a modular system
So is this the new HD-DSLR killer? Not quite. This is a professional tool that comes with a professional price tag. Moreover, it requires a slightly more involved workflow. Working with high-res RAW footage demands a little more planning (and disc space), although some new tools are starting to show up that make the process a little more manageable.
Storm lets you review, tag and organize your RED footage, and even do simple edits
The visual effects software developers at The Foundry have released Storm, a nifty application that allows you to review, tag and organize your RED footage before moving into your editing software of choice, not unlike you would with your photos in Aperture or Lightroom. It even lets you do simple edits and grading, so you get a feel for what your final result is going to look like.
So it looks like some very exciting things are on the horizon in the world beyond HD and I can't wait to get my hands on this technlogy at some not too distant point in the future.
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