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MillimeterBeta Workflow
Jun 24, 2010 12:00 PM, By Bill Nelson, managing partner, FirstLight Independent
Using Avid Media Composer 5 and RED MX Mysterium on For Robbing the Dead.
Bill Nelson on set with Avid Media Composer 5 and RED footage in CalDigit VR mini.
Here at Firstlight Independent, we're just finishing up photography on a period Western called For Robbing The Dead. Set in the 1860s, our project required a gritty, realistic look, and we're shooting interiors on sound stages and exteriors in and around the Great Salt Lake. Our acquisition technology and workflow helped us make our days all month with beautiful images ready for post.
Using the latest Avid Media Composer 5 software (in beta) and the latest RED sensor on our feature was a double technological treat. We were fortunate to be shooting with the new MX Mysterium sensor, and were treated to spectacular footage captured under some difficult circumstances for any camera. Using CF cards when on Steadicam and drives on sticks, our workflow supervisor Sam Bilodeau adhered closely to his custom-developed workflow to keep our pixels in perfect order.
Audio was acquired using a Sound Devices recorder that furnished master timecode to our camera. The increased latitude and contrast in the new RED sensor allowed for some ambitious night scenes with our governor (Edward Herrmann) and ultra sharp lake shots. The opening scenes with snow falling showcased the capability of the new RED MX sensor to hold sharpness during extensive on-screen motion.
The detail available in the shoulder of the exposure curve of the new sensor allowed our DP to reach up into very bright skies and still hold cloud detail without sacrificing important data in the heart of the frame.
All of this pretty new footage would have been unavailable for Avid users until very recently.
As a beta tester for the latest build of Avid's signature Media Composer edit software, I was able to access the raw and QuickTime proxy RED files without importing a single file, right there on the set. Avid's calling it "Avid Media Access (AMA)," but I'm calling it magic.
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