Red Open Day - the unveiling of the new Mysterium-X sensor

by David Wyatt

On the 10th February 4K London attended the Red Open Day at the Soho Hotel where the new Mysterium-X sensor was unveiled. Red are currently offering the Mysterium-X as a sensor upgrade to the original Mysterium sensor that shipped with the Red One camera. The Mysterium-X will also be the powerhouse of the upcoming Epic-X camera, the successor to the Red One, which is expected to debut in the Summer of 2010. We were shown a very impressive digital screening of Red’s new show-reel, shot on a number of Red Ones upgraded with the new Mysterium-X sensor, which mostly showed off the low noise characteristics of the new sensor - even when rated as high as 2000 ASA!! Another nice surprise was the guest appearance of the upcoming Epic camera, which was much smaller & lighter than expected.

Like many of the new ultra-sensitive DSLR sensors coming to market recently, the Mysterium-X sensor is able to shoot in low light conditions with virtually no noise in a way that is practically unknown on film - in fact low light sensitivity appears to be the latest DSLR battleground after the Megapixel wars! However the difference with the Mysterium-X is that it is shooting motion rather than just taking stills, and it is doing this in the RAW format just like the DSLRs use for their stills. The latest DSLRs can of course do video as well, but crucially they only currently offer inferior codecs like H.264, and are limited to 720 or 1080p resolutions, whereas the Mysterium-X can offer similar low-light, noise-free performance but with RAW motion images with up to 4.5K of resolution. Due to the lower noise floor of the new Mysterium-X sensor the dynamic range has also increased (in lab tests to as much as 13 stops).

One shot from the Mysterium-X show-reel which particularly stuck in the mind was a test scene shot by David Fincher and his DP Jeff Cronenweth, who are currently using 2 Mysterium-X upgraded Red Ones on their latest feature “Social Network”. The test scene takes place in a dark unlit room where Leonardo Di Caprio sparks up a match and lights a cigar. The match is the only light source in the room apart from a little light spilling from the door and window which helps silhouette Di Caprio. The surprising thing is there is practically no noise in the entire scene and this was achieved at 2000 ASA with no noise reduction at all. Really impressive stuff!!

Having seen the proof of the pudding 4K London have decided to go ahead with the upgrading of their Red One camera to the new Mysterium-X sensor and are currently very much looking forward to low noise, low light-level film-making in the near future.

As for the arrival of the Epic this summer, 4K London will have one of the first ones in the country and we’re almost speechless with excitement! On top of the low-light, low noise capability of the Mysterium-X sensor, Epic will offer even higher resolution (5K) and will be able to achieve up to 100 fps at its full 5K resolution (as well as even higher frame rates at lower resolutions).

With the arrival of Mysterium-X upgraded Red Ones and the release of the Epic camera, 2010 is shaping up to be the most exciting year since the first release of the Red One… Watch this space!

Posted on Wednesday 3rd March 2010.

Dinosaur Land Sound

by Matt Platts-Mills

Even before the animation truly got under way it was clear that sound was going to be a hugely important aspect of the film. To really sell the imagery we need to bed it in an impressive and encompassing soundscape. To achieve this the production has enlisted Adrian Roads. Adrian has worked on a number of fully animated films. Quickly, Adrian found himself recording animals at the zoo; from the glee that bounds across his face when he tells you about it you get the impression that he doesn’t find this part of his job a chore.

A short segment of the film had been taken to previs (the animals are given basic movement cycles and the backgrounds are loosely sketched) as an experiment and Adrian got swiftly to work with the soundscape. We took our seats in Goldcrest Theater 1 and 4 minutes later we couldn’t wipe the grins off our faces. Dinosaurs. What’s not to enjoy.

Since then Adrian has been building a selection of soundscapes and environments coupled with a palette of creature noises. These armaments have been incredibly useful in the edit, allowing us to bring even dinos on skates to life. Timing a shot becomes infinitely easier when you can punctuate it with a few choice grunts or roars.

Posted on Tuesday 23rd February 2010.

Dinosaur Land

by Matt Platts-Mills

In a departure from what 4K is usually engaged with I’ve just started cutting a CGI Dinosaur film. That’s right, 30 foot tall monsters eating each other.

The film is to be entirely CGI, no back plates, all the landscapes will be computer generated as will the characters (beasts). The story is based on the factual journey of one species, the Edmontosaurus, from what were - at that time - warm Arctic forests to the southern planes in Canada. It follows the plight of one young member of this herd, Scar, as he battles his way south. To make it even more challenging the animals don’t speak and we are trying to keep the VO to a minimum. This means that the narrative drive is all done through the picture cut with the sound and score working extra hard to back this up. It’s very ambitious.

So far it has been an interesting experience, very different from ‘usual’ editing as we are doing it backwards. The director, Matthew Thompson, and I started by cutting a story reel together. From that point we began going through the scenes and working out the best way to tell the story. To keep it engaging it has to be very precise in terms of story points per shot. A very lean cut. We choose camera angles, character movement, etc.

So far it has proven to be much more challenging than cutting conventional live action drama because we are tasked with imagining the shots, shots with unlimited scope. Nailing down just what is necessary for the story, keeping the shots concise, has been hard but great fun.

Posted on Thursday 18th February 2010.