This is a simple diagram of how the RED 4K Mysterium sensor compares to both film and video resolutions.

The 4K sensor records resolution on par with Super 35mm motion picture film and far exceeds that of HD video (lets not mention poor old SD - it did serve us well though!)

So why shoot 4K instead of film?

To put it bluntly, the reason is to cut film (pardon the pun) and all its associated processes out of the equation. We are not film haters by any means, in fact we love film and it still the prefered medium for certain specialised work (in particular shots that require frame rates above 120fps).

Film is expensive, and not just to purchase. It requires processing. That costs money and time. It requires transfering for rushes and NLE. More money and time. It requires scanning or telecine for grading and effects work. You get the picture.

If the film has to be digitised for NLE or grading anyway, would it not make sense to capture the image digitally in the first instance? Well, yes, we think so too!

Enter the RED One

RED really came up with the goods.

The RED ONE Digital Cinema Camera provides 4520 X 2540 pixels of resolution at frame rates up to 30 fps shooting 4K REDcode RAW (REDs own propriety 12bit RAW wavelet compression). To compare it to anything - think Canon 1Ds 12 mega-pixel CMOS DSLR on steroids! In addition, the RED ONE camera is capable of higher frame rates in other resolution modes - currently 60fps in 3K and 120fps in 2K. Basically, up to 120 frames fps of clean progressive scan image data recorded to a CF Card, RAID or RAM based recording system. Because of REDCODE (as much a revolution as the camera itself), recorded data rates are kept to a very manageable 28-36MB/sec. It is an ideal medium for effects based work and it provides the cleanest images for chromakey hands down.

Once recorded the data can be handled on a Mac or PC (including Laptops) using REDs propriety software REDCINE, much in the same way that image files from DSLRs are handled (including metadata like camera/lens settings and timecode). Apple are soon to provide full support for REDCODE so current versions of QuickTime based applications such as Final Cut Studio and After Effects can natively read and manage the camera footage. Currently, perfectly workable solutions exsist as REDCNE can output any QuickTime format or image sequence (eg TIFF, DPX,ProRes) you require for NLE or other post work.

This means things like virtually instant dailies, colour grading on set, checking chromakeys before shooting, even transfering footage to an effects house from set are all possible. Because its digital data and not physical film, all the infinite posibilities of digital workflow are available almost immediately.

If you can do it now with any digital file (eg: email, FTP, iPhone etc), you can do it too with footage shot on the RED ONE. With current computing techlology, working with the files from this camera is very manageable and is only going to improve as technology improves. And this works for the bottom line too. Computers and data storage have been steadily impoving as prices decrease for many years now, and this trend looks likely to continue as the information age progresses.