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News NOT From NAB 2009: RED Digital Cinema Announces RED Rocket

hdfilmtools — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:45:27 +0000

Jim Jannard, founder of the RED Digital Cinema Camera Company and community appointed leader of the RED revolution has announced a new product which, once again, looks like it has the potential to shake the very foundations of both the production and post production industries.

As promised, at 12:01 AM, Jannard posted information about RED Rocket, a PCI-Express card for Mac, PC and Linux workstations. RED Rocket will enable those working with native RED R3D files to decode, debayer and playback high quality, 4K (at 30fps) and 5K (at 25fps) files in realtime. RED Rocket will also accelerate Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Assimilate Scratch, RED Alert! REDCINE, RED Rushes and any application using the REDCODE SDK. The card will sport Quad-DVI and Quad-HD-SDI and will sell for under $5,000.

Jannard and RED decided to skip the NAB conference in Las Vegas this year, opting to deliver this news about the company’s latest product directly to the faithful via the RED user community boards at REDUSER.net.

Clip from HYBRID – Shot on the RED ONE Digital Cinema Camera

hdfilmtools — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:37:23 +0000

As a follow up to our series of interviews with John Leonetti, ASC about his experiences shooting one of the first feature films with the RED Digital Cinema Camera, here is a clip from the soon to be released film, “Hybrid“. The film was produced by Oliver Hengst and Elizabeth Wang-Lee, directed by Eric Valette with cinematography by John Leonetti, ASC. Hybrid was also the first feature film in Canada to be shot with the RED.

Thanks to Jakob Boersch at Stallion Media, LLC for helping us get this clip online.

Link to Interview with John Leonetti, ASC Part I
Link to Interview with John Leonetti, ASC Part II
Link to Interview with John Leonetti, ASC Part III

Sony Announces Major Commitment to 4K All Digital Workflow

hdfilmtools — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:36:29 +0000

Major announcement for anyone working in the motion picture and television industries.

CULVER CITY, Calif., Oct. 2, 2008 – Sony Pictures Entertainment will use 4K digital technology in the making of most of its filmed productions, it was announced by Sony Electronics.

“With the industry moving rapidly to embrace the improvement in quality that digital cinema can offer, we believe that 4K resolution gives audiences the best seat in the house,” said Gary Martin, president of Production Administration and Studio Operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment. “That’s why we will be making more of our filmed productions at full 4K resolution, scanning at 4K, using a 4K workflow process, and releasing a 4K DCP to theaters. The crisp and vibrant images provided by 4K are the only way to ensure that audiences both today and in the future will really be able to see the full range of what we can capture on film.”

Sony Pictures has already released the summer blockbuster “Hancock” in 4K, with the motion picture grossing more than $600 million at the worldwide box office to date. Movies released in 4K can play in theaters with either 4K or 2K projectors. Among the next motion pictures to be digitally imaged in 4K by Sony Pictures, and available for 4K distribution, are expected to be “2012,” “Salt,” and “The Green Hornet,” with more titles to be announced.

“This commitment from Sony Pictures continues the momentum that is building behind 4K,” said Gary Johns, vice president, Digital Cinema Systems Division at Sony Electronics. “Exhibitors are realizing that 4K is a reality now, for enhancing their customers’ experiences, and studio support is a critical element to take advantage of the superior resolution of Sony’s 4K projection system. The growing number of 4K-equipped theaters will now have even more 4K content potentially available to offer their customers.”

More information about SXRD™ 4K digital cinema systems is available online at www.sony.com/digitalcinema.

John Leonetti, ASC: Shooting with RED, Part III

hdfilmtools — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:33:00 +0000

Today we have the 3rd installment of our 3-part interview with cinematographer John Leonetti, ASC, about his experience shooting his latest film, “Hybrid”, with the RED ONE digital cinema camera. In this last segment John and I talk about the state of screening dailies in present day Hollywood and whether he had a DIT (digital imaging technician) on set while shooting “Hybrid”. I then get down to brass tacks and ask John my two most pressing questions; his feelings about the future of celluloid and if he thinks the RED digital cinema camera is revolutionary enough to change the balance of power in Hollywood.

iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch – Small
Windows Media Format

Link to Part I
Link to Part II

John Leonetti, ASC: Shooting with RED, Part II

hdfilmtools — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:14:45 +0000

Today we have Part II of our interview with cinematographer John Leonetti, ASC about his experiences shooting his most recent film “HYBRID” with the RED digital cinema camera. I ask John about the level of training that was needed for himself and his crew and the kind of support he received from Toronto rental house PS Production Services. We go on to talk about the Cooke S4 lenses he used and his thoughts on how these lenses complimented shooting with RED. Next he tells us about shooting 4K RAW and what it is like reviewing his work using 4K stills on his MacBook Pro. Finally I ask him if and how he changed his working style shooting with RED. It’s a fascinating and informative talk for anyone who is interested in the “bleeding edge” of digital filmmaking.

iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch – Small
Windows Media Format

Link to Part I
Link to Part III

Filmmaker Profile: Cinematographer, John Leonetti – Shooting with RED

hdfilmtools — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:43:55 +0000

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The RED digital cinema camera is causing a stir. It’s the paradigm shifting, production tool equivalent of Apple’s Final Cut Pro and it’s changing everything about ultra-high resolution digital cinematography. Directors such as Peter Jackson and Steven Soderberg have embraced it, and the Southern California based company can not make the camera and its accessories fast enough. In fact, if you were to order a RED camera today, it wouldn’t ship until December; that’s how hot this thing is.

That’s why I was delighted when I heard my friend, cinematographer John Leonetti, had just shot his latest film, HYBRID, with six RED cameras on location in Saskatchewan, Canada. HYBRID is an action thriller, and as John reveals, the thirty-one day schedule really put the RED system to the test. Here is part one of a three part series on John’s experience shooting with the RED; his background with digital cinematography cameras from other companies; his thoughts on the future of film and finally, the RED camera’s potential effect on the future of Hollywood.

iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch – Small
Windows Media Format

Link to Part II
Link to Part III