I recently had the pleasure to help out on a music video shoot here in the northwest, noteworthy not just because a great video resulted, but because we were shooting with two RED One cameras and a custom RC helicopter for aerial shots. It was interesting being behind the scenes and I thought I’d share a little of the fun. The video itself, for Mt St Helens Vietnam Band’s “Albatross, Albatross, Albatross,” can be viewed in HD over at Vimeo.
The opportunity to see a group of local freelancers and entrepreneurs coming together to make such an incredibly professional product was extremely valuable — technology has democratized and accelerated the independent film and music community to a degree I hadn’t realized. I was brought on because I had access to some special locations (most of the aerial and forest shots are near some family property in the San Juans) and so I could shoot a little behind-the-scenes video of the production. Go ahead and check out that video below.
The above contains video shot by me as well as production stills by both myself and the director, Matt Daniels of ThinkLab. Matt edited it, since I was taking forever.
We had two RED Ones to shoot with, which is rare to find anywhere, really. With careful lens selection, this allowed for some really great multi-angle shots without change in continuity or video quality. For instance, we had Marshall, the drummer of the band, wading in the water in extremely low light (torchlight). One camera was shooting handheld, up close with a wide angle, and the other was about 30 feet away, with a longer lens in a more stationary position. It allows the director and editor to work freely with the scene without worrying about continuity errors, and can also drastically cut down on the time a poor drummer has to be standing in freezing cold water at midnight.
Lastly, the all-digital process makes for such a streamlined workflow that, if we didn’t have to catch a ferry, we could have had a rough cut put together the next day — a huge benefit when you’re working directly with a client, as we were with the band. As one might imagine, this can lead to sloppy productions put together without the caution and care that comes with working in a valuable medium like film — and some people assume that because it’s possible, it’s expected. But that’s as far from the truth as the idea that a film medium guarantees a quality end result. Digital cinema tools simplify the workflow, but they don’t simplify the product.
The helicopter you see is owned and operated by AerialPan Imaging’s founder, Tabb Firchau. I subjected him to a brief interview:
So the camera on the heli is a Panasonic HVX, which accounts for the difference in texture and tone you see in the video. I noticed a similar effect while watching Planet Earth; the Varicams they used for much of the series weren’t able to be used under water, so they used some sort of smaller Sony (I believe) camera for those sequences. The video quality isn’t as high, but the Sony and HVX are far more light and compact than a Varicam or RED One — handy in those underground caverns, or when you need to fly it at 50MPH over water in an RC helicopter.
I was struck by the amount of specialized gear used by both Tabb and the RED operators (Mike Prevette on heli and DP Michael Ragen). Jury-rigged solutions for missing or broken parts, custom fast-charging battery packs, and the lenses… oh, the lenses. And of course, it was interesting seeing the familiar forest and beach we were tramping around on metamorphose into the evocative landscape of the video.
It’s amazing how democratized high quality stuff like this has come, with the advent of (relatively) affordable HD cameras like the RED and pro editing and effects software that can be brought with you to the field. Thanks, crew — it was a fun and interesting look at the soft underbelly of cinematic production.
Good to see more music videos being produced in HD.
It’s a shame so few ever make it to TV channels in or online in true HD. (No, most of those “HD music videos” on Youtube aren’t in HD)
I know… even on Vimeo it’s not the real thing. I got to see the raw footage, and it looked really nice, especially once they got the color correction in.
It’d be nice to have a nice high quality version of the video come free with a track or album download, though.
Exactly.
The quality difference from “consumer HD” to raw video is as big as the jump from SD to HD. Grass and trees look realistic and faces are full of colour.
Even more so with the Red.
pretty sweet video, but also kind of a shameless plug for your friends band
I don’t know the band, actually (well, I do now, after this shoot) – my main friend in the business is one of the RED camera operators.
i wonder what software do they use for color correction
I think they used Magic Bullet Looks.
Holy moly! that chopper camera was badass!!
Can you provide more info about the RC copter gear… For example, what is the helicopter’s make and model? How did they attach and operate the camera?
Thank you for sharing :) Awesome posts !
The RED camera shoots some pretty amazing quality images without a doubt. It’s a dream for green screen work.
Oh and Kieran quite a few videos I have worked on used the RED or P2’s and got rotation on all the major networks. Your going to be seeing it a lot more too for the simple fact it costs less and labels don’t want to shell out the cash for videos anymore. Plus you can do a lot of great graphic work with HD and green screen, which is again cheaper. It always comes down to money in the end.
Video is weird as hell, but looks INCREDIBLE.
Did you shoot in 4K?
I think we were shooting in 3K actually, but don’t hold me to it. In any case once it’s downsized for web 3K vs 4K doesn’t enter into it too much. You can tell with the aerial footage though.
The DP says below that it was mostly 4K, with 3K for slow motion
I have a feeling RED may end up like SGI. The world is rapidly moving to even lower end production solutions. And camera cost is not a factor in Hollywood top end.
Can you provide more info about the RC copter gear… For example, what is the helicopter’s make and model? How did they attach and operate the camera?
custom
It’s all custom made, if you watch the interview you get pretty much all that Tabb wanted to put out there. Anything else can be found on AerialPan’s site.
mostly 4k. 3k was only used for slow motion.
great review of a low cost quality video production shoot.
I “saw the light” when I bought a Canon 500D SLR and could use depth of field to record movie clips in Full HD for the first time – I sold my cheap video cam the same day. Of course, this pales when compared to the wonderful video seen here – amazing colors, very effective use of the technology (and a great song, too!). I think the RED is one of the most amazing things that could happen to modern cinema (and to music vids, documentary, web-only video production etc.). Since it is (more or less affordable), small teams and companies who are willing to invest time and learn the technology now can create amazing videos like this one without having to borrow boatloads of money and/or make artistic compromises. It could do for digital film making what the early Mac and the LaserWriter did for desktop publishing.
I’ve worked on a few RED shoots – features – the most recent shot with two REDs. They aren’t as rare as you suggest – not in Los Angeles anyway. Over 6,000 are in existence according to our camera operator (and RED owner).
I suppose that’s nothing compared to point-and-shoot digicams but the RED isn’t a prosumer tool – it’s a professional cinema camera.
The latest version of Apple’s Color can grade in 4K – before that it was 2K. It’s not uncommon to grade a feature with Scratch because it handles the native, raw, 4K files. Only reason to stick with 4K is for a theatrical release. Finishing at 2K is the norm for DVD.
Well, in LA things are a little different! :)
But with 4K that’s true, unless you’re adding effects. They were doing composites, so high res was essential for the raw stuff.
hey this is a fun post. yay RED. i was watching an interview on vimeo last week about jay z and the producer used his cannon to shoot the whole thing.
albatross, albatross, albatross! will definately check out the video. i’ll pass this off to some friends who really like this band.
Nothing like using a military carbine to shoot a black man under the guise of shooting a bird. Seriously, get a brain next time you pick a firearm for a video. Nobody in their right mind would ever shoot a bird with a bolt action carbine! Its used for big game hunting and shooting people. The music rocks, the artistry in the video is amazing, but the stupidity in the gun selection is reprehensible.
seriously?
this is my favorite reply so far
mine too.
Very interesting post Devin. Love seeing creativity at play.
One question: There must be some kind of a live feed on the ground from the camera in the helicopter, right? I.e. how do you know you’re getting what you want from the heli-cam?
I’m not sure exactly how it worked, only the camera and heli operator were using it, but there was a little wireless feed and our second camera operator was controlling camera angle and stuff via that.
I loved the post….. Thanks Devin. I’m always excited to see how the RED is being used in the field. It seems like an amazing camera and the company itself does a pretty poor job of featuring/promoting the system. Enthusiasts need to go find stuff on their own. Anyhow, I’ll be excited to see future coverage of RED at TechCrunch/CruchGear.
They’re not targeting it at enthusiasts. The camera costs well over $100,000 to outfit.
As common (and often comical) as it is to see “super-hobbyists” running around with $5,000 DSLRs with $200 toy lenses attached, the RED is out of the reach of basically everyone not using it to make money.
Those who need to know, know. Assuming you’re not in video capture or production (and you could very well be), no one at RED could care less about whether you’ve even heard of it.
David:
Could you go read the “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”
Please. I haven’t seen the video, so I don’t know if they were making a play on it though.
Yes, read the play. Been there, done that. However, I’m critical of the selection of the firearm and how it was used and the message that it sends.
It’s not a play… the guy was an army guy so that’s why he has an army rifle…. and he shot the kid on accident because he was shooting at the bird in anger! What message is it sending?!
Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing. I’ll do the same when I finish my shoestring budget music video in about 2 weeks!
want one