Red or 7D?

J

johnnyspack

Active member
OK here's the deal...

I'm shooting a short for 1 night. It's a 2 hander in a hotel room, half inside, half outside on the balcony with spectacular city views. There'll be no sudden movements or action and I want to do some focus play.

I have at my disposal an awesome DP and AC and either a RED or 7D (or XHA1 + Brevis + Nikons), but not much cash for lights and am shooting guerilla in this space, so I want minimal crew.

The other thing is it will be a PR advantage to shoot on a DSLR ("look what we made with this thing"), but ultimately it's the film that counts. It's a very intimate script so it would be ideal if the shoot wasn't about the camera.

My post path will be minimal on FCP and Macbook Pro (hopefully) and will be delivered SD initially on DVD then Digibeta.

Any thoughts or advice about camera choice and other pitfalls.

Dman
www.sixfoot6films.com
 
Definitely RED if you can afford a good package. Otherwise 7D is the bargain equivalent- in the right hands.

Noah
 
If you have the RED at your disposal and have the available computing power/time ratio, don't even think about the 7D. There really is not comparison in quality. The only reason to do it on the 7D is if the situation or budget warrants it. It sounds like neither of those are you case.
 
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Plus, with what sounds to be a minimal lighting budget, you could help avoid some nasty macro blocks in the darks by going with any of the other packages over the 7D.
 
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Outside-The-Box Option C: Rent off the RED for a day and use the cash for some lights. You could shoot the best scene in the world but it doesn't matter if you don't light it right.
 
NoxNoctus said:
Outside-The-Box Option C: Rent off the RED for a day and use the cash for some lights. You could shoot the best scene in the world but it doesn't matter if you don't light it right.
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Ha- that's one way to go. But I'd guess the 'favor' would not extend to that sorta idea.

Noah
 
bwwd said:
RED,but do you have computer to handle all the raw data and edit 4K ?
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You don't have to handle the full rez at any point really. You can choose your proxy file to work with and then get the final output size during the render process.
 
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I would go with a RED if it's in your budget. the 7D is awesome but if you can work with a RED then why not?

By the way.. what's an AC? Kind of embarassed to ask.
 
Air Conditioner. Many sets usually don't have them.

j/k its 1st Assistant Camera, aka focus puller guy
 
Joshua Brown said:
You don't have to handle the full rez at any point really. You can choose your proxy file to work with and then get the final output size during the render process.

-Josh
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Exactly, as well as the fact that 4K R3D files are only a little bit bigger in file size than 1080 ProRes HQ files. 1TB fits about 9 hours of 4K Redcode RAW.
 
kenn michael said:
Exactly, as well as the fact that 4K R3D files are only a little bit bigger in file size than 1080 ProRes HQ files. 1TB fits about 9 hours of 4K Redcode RAW.
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True. Though in color correction, it's always best to work with the full rez. That said, I've worked with full quality 2k's in color on an iMac with no lag sooo....
 
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kenn michael said:
Exactly, as well as the fact that 4K R3D files are only a little bit bigger in file size than 1080 ProRes HQ files. 1TB fits about 9 hours of 4K Redcode RAW.
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Yup...which is part of the reason some people dislike the RED...it records half the data per frame compared to the Genesis, etc.
 
Borrow both cameras, and stick the 7d on a cheap tripod, scrounge up and extra $50 if you can for the extra work your DP will have to do (or operate it yourself).

Rationale: put up a Red vs 7d comparison on Vimeo or smugmug o wherever that links to your project, and you'll get a ton of extra hits, as well as (probably) praise for the camera work and buzz about the project. Use the 7d for shooting 'behind the scenes of a Red shoot' footage, rope in an editor friend so you can blog about the differences in post. All the benefits of the hip 'shot on a DSLR!' indie-ness, all the professional aura of shooting on Red. You're pretty much guaranteed to get >5000 views for a comparison between the two cameras, maybe double that. If you or your DP doesn't have an account on Reduser then set one up and prepare to make an impact.
 
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