RED feature in a month??

Steve Laramie

Steve Laramie

Veteran
DPing a feature within the next few weeks and we are shooting on a rented red one. The director wants to attempt to shoot it all in one month to save some money. However I kind of doubt this. It is my job to try and make stuff happen before I say no. The film is not effects driven it is very traditional and nothing to fancy... I have never shot with RED so I dont know the workflow just yet. Do you think its possible to shoot in a month? It has a runtime of 2 hours.
 
Ok. I know its possible with the HVX. What do you guys think. Do you think HVX redrock moves faster then RED or vise versa? Also what is the fastest way to learn the RED basics?
 
reduser.net

The RED should be faster to shoot with than the HVX/Redrock combo just because you don't have to deal with any adapter setup, limitations or considerations (light level/shutter speed, making sure you don't see ground glass, etc...).

Once familiar with RED (on set), it shoots as fast as a film camera (except for the boot time).

I just finished shooting a pilot presentation (22 minute) - drama. Shooting 5 pages a day for 4 days with TONS of coverage. No issues. You could shoot a feature in a month easy.
 
I think the leses become part of the equation. What type of package are you using? If you've used an adapter you obviously know the time constraints of a shallower DOF. But if you are using a slower lens you may need even more light than with an adapter, depending what you are used to using.

But I would try and find some way to get some hands on time with a Red One before you shoot. It's essentially a computer with a lens. It's not terribly complicated, but if you aren't used to the menus you may spend more time than you would like to trying to figure out settings on set.

Does the editor have a handle on the Red workflow? I would recommend as much research on data management as actually shooting with the camera. (I've used R3D Data Manager a lot and it has served me well).

All that being said, the speed at which you can use the Red has as much (or more) to do with the skill and knowledge of the operator than anything else. In the right hands it's a joy to work with.
 
I know it's a kind of preposterous question, but is someone breaking this picture down? Is there a line producer?

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It is my job to try and make stuff happen before I say no.
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You should not be scheduling the show at all. That is the job of the Assistant Director (ideally someone who knows how to breakdown a show into accurate timings. Without an AD a month shoot might be out of the question.

Technically it can be done. I've scheduled a show that went a week plus one day. It was a feature. 8 Days. It wasn't a good film, but it was a film (on RED). I've also been on shows that struggle to get 2 pages a day done.
 
So much of this is about more than the camera. Having worked as both an AD and a DP on features (not at the same time :grin: ) I can tell you that nothing is more important than having a clear understanding of what the director expects from the script. I realize that is something you probably already know, but it bears repeating. But if the DP thinks the script calls for a specific set of shots, the director wants something different and the AD is expecting a third option and schedules accordingly, you will have chaos and will have a hard time getting it done on a camera phone.

If you can't do storyboards, have shot lists. Have a meeting with the AD and the director and go through the script scene by scene and talk about how many set-ups you will need, where inserts and close-ups are required, if and when you will need to use a jib, a dolly or other moving shots, etc. Collaborate with them and set realistic expectations about how much time you need for all of that. I have been on some films that burned through 13 pages in a day because they were simple, dialogue driven things. I have also spend whole shooting days on an action line like "Bob chases Bill through the street" Make no assumptions (I can't tell you how badly I have screwed this up in the past)

Also when you say a "month" are you referring to 30 shooting days, or do you mean you have a single month to get it done before you have to return the camera and other gear?
 
There is no line producer. I am also not making schedules I was just saying it would be 30 10 hour days. By month I meen 30 days which is also the amount of time we will have the camera. I'm sure the production could afford another week or two if possible.
 
This is really a question for the line producer / AD. If a film camera can cover 120 pages in 4 - 6 weeks, why couldn't a RED camera crew? What are your breakdowns telling you? How many pages are your script and how many unique locations / sets?

You've already said that it is a somewhat conventional show, where we should assume that intensive special effects, massive period sets or hundreds of extras (and so forth) aren't a big factor.

I've worked on shows that easily accomplish [an average of] 6 - 10 pages per [10 hour] day. But this is with a proper crew with some pre-rig from electrics and grip. One primary unit and a b-unit doing pick-ups / 2nd camera.

e
 
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