Writer/director Noah Kadner provides training and workflow presentations for moviemakers at all levels. He has worked at Apple, testing future versions of Final Cut Studio as part of a special internal production team. Noah hosts and produces Call Box, a series of digital filmmaker training courses on DVD; he works as a forum administrator for 2-pop.com, CreativeCow.net and DVXuser.com, and is an Apple Certified Trainer. He also writes for publications such as 3D World and American Cinematographer. Noah was an early adopter of RED and has owned two RED cameras since October 2007.

Excerpt from Noah Kadner’s book…

“Configuring a RED ONE camera package can be a challenging prospect because of the sheer variety of choices. Hundreds of accessories are available from a number of manufacturers, including RED, such as batteries, mounting hardware, onboard monitors, an electronic viewfinder (EVF), and two sizes of camera-mountable LCD monitors. RED also offers its own branded set of prime and zoom lenses designed for the camera. The camera is also compatible with many preexisting 35mm optics and accessories as well as new products designed by third-party manufacturers especially for the camera system.

So, what do you really need in a RED package—and what’s nice to have if you can afford it? In this chapter, we’ll look at the major categories of equipment and accessories and I’ll offer my own personal recommendations. Then you’ll learn about assembling RED packages at specific price points and for specific purposes.”

The RED ONE is an amazing piece of kit but you need a PHD in Mecanno to build the thing and an engineering degree to make it happen so if you are contemplating using a RED ONE for your next production make sure your cameraman has read this book at least 10 times !

Peachpit Press Book form $49.49    Adobe Reader $39.59

http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321617681

If the fusion of video cameras and dSLRs hadn’t blurred enough before, Esquire shot their June issue cover of Megan Fox in video—a purported first in the magazine world.

Rather than click and endless series of stills, photographer Greg Williams shot the cover with the 4K Red ONE video camera. Fox essentially acted out a scene for 10 minutes, the best moment of which will appear on the June 2009 cover. (Not to be wasteful of Megan Fox footage, the video will also be uploaded to Esquire’s site, of course.)

It’s fascinating that as digital cameras evolve, so will the roles of photographers, models and publications. I can’t see traditional photography ever dying, but whether photos will always be captured in photographs is another question.

The diagram on the right shows you the sensor sizes so it’s not surprising that the Red ONE 4 K video camera filming in 1080p captures Megan Fox for an A4 cover shoot.

Personally it’s a gimmick, let’s not kid ourselves we all know video runs at (UK 25fps) (USA 29fps), so if you shoot enough FPS with a large sensor running at 1080p you are using a glorified digital stills camera running at 29fps. Nothing special, apart from the cost of hiring a Red ONE for a morning.

It’s the coin flip on the digital SLR having the ability to film in HD…so what. Camera manufacturers are becoming obsessed with the “MUST DO EVERYTHING” these days, personally I still prefer a DSLR for taking photographs and a camcorder for filming live action. If I ever get round to upgrading my Lumix G1 to the GH1 I may rethink my last statement.