James Tynan
New member
I'd like to see a platform that would allow the RED camera to benefit from the model of open source software development while opening new ways in which crew members could interact with the camera.
The key component would be an API which would open up the ability to monitor and *manipulate* all camera functions using software. Essentially the camera would be able to talk to, and receive instructions from, a computer. The language spoken would be opened up to the 'RED community' of users and developers.
So you might arrive at the shoot with a tablet PC already configured with not only how you want to monitor the camera but also how you'd like the camera set up - resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio. Snap on the tablet PC and plug it in and have the camera configure itself to the way you want it.
Want to change things? The menus are now set up the way you want them. The buttons and dials on the RED now do what you want them to do.
Different users around the world would develop solutions tailored to their own specific environments and would be able to trade them online. The tablet PC (or laptop, or PDA, or whatever) would become like a swiss army knife, allowing developers to easily do things like:
Monitor native HD resolution with scopes and other tools.
Switch between different aspect ratio guides and modes.
Timelapse.
Add wireless connectivity.
I'm sure that all of this can be done via other means. However the benefits of having a single API are the things that I haven't thought of. I didn't know I needed tabbed browsing until I used Firefox.
Benefits:
The tools to add new functions to the camera are placed in the hands of the shooters.
Adding new features becomes as easy as downloading a file.
Your RED camera continues to improve, even as the hardware stays the same.
I love Serious Magic's DV Rack and I think a dedicated API on RED would make DV Rack look like MS-DOS does to computer users today.
The key component would be an API which would open up the ability to monitor and *manipulate* all camera functions using software. Essentially the camera would be able to talk to, and receive instructions from, a computer. The language spoken would be opened up to the 'RED community' of users and developers.
So you might arrive at the shoot with a tablet PC already configured with not only how you want to monitor the camera but also how you'd like the camera set up - resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio. Snap on the tablet PC and plug it in and have the camera configure itself to the way you want it.
Want to change things? The menus are now set up the way you want them. The buttons and dials on the RED now do what you want them to do.
Different users around the world would develop solutions tailored to their own specific environments and would be able to trade them online. The tablet PC (or laptop, or PDA, or whatever) would become like a swiss army knife, allowing developers to easily do things like:
Monitor native HD resolution with scopes and other tools.
Switch between different aspect ratio guides and modes.
Timelapse.
Add wireless connectivity.
I'm sure that all of this can be done via other means. However the benefits of having a single API are the things that I haven't thought of. I didn't know I needed tabbed browsing until I used Firefox.
Benefits:
The tools to add new functions to the camera are placed in the hands of the shooters.
Adding new features becomes as easy as downloading a file.
Your RED camera continues to improve, even as the hardware stays the same.
I love Serious Magic's DV Rack and I think a dedicated API on RED would make DV Rack look like MS-DOS does to computer users today.
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