Mastering Multi-Cam
CASE STUDY: A HYBRID 10-CAMERA RED 4K AND EFP HD PRODUCTION — JOURNEY: LIVE FROM MANILA *
Production Team, Red Crew
I was jazzed to learn about this production because of the show’s hybrid nature: 10 Red cameras on the rock band Journey in Manila in the Philippines. It may be the most exciting case study of this book, because it exemplifi es great craftsmanship executed with passion and a bit of risk-taking in order to ratchet the entire industry up a notch. A great big mash-up, the Journey/Manila show combined Red 4k with 720 p HD-SDI video, traditional video lenses with cine and SLR lenses, was directed for live IMAG and a feature-length edited concert, and employed crew members from around the world. And now, thanks to the team’s generous communication with me, this study can help to clear the way for future Red 4K-EFP hybrid productions to evolve.
Steve Gibby: “For the challenge-driven, this was Nirvana — because we were on the leading edge of changes in a converging industry between the EFP world, the former fi lm world, and the still photography world. We had to use technology from all three in order to pull off what we were trying to do.”
Dan Barnett,
Executive producer Dan Barnett making a crew announcement from the stage. (Courtesy Pam Gibby/ www.cut4.tv.)
executive producer of Wizard Entertainment and producer of the Journey/Manila concert and film, has decades of experience working as a concert promoter with the biggest names in show business. He has a passion for video and a keen eye for creativity and integrating talent and technology for a seamless production. After analyzing Red 4K camera technology with DP and Red owner Champe Barton, Barnett determined that he could get the best quality resolution and logistical fl exibility by going with a hybrid EFP-Red 4K multicam production.
Champe Barton, owner HD Suite, Inc.: Shooting Red gave us not only the opportunity to capture in 4k RAW, it also gave us the ability to ISO ten cameras. We shifted the critical decision making for edits, color, and overall look to the post process, where we have the luxury of more time.
Dan Barnett: Basically, with Red you get a higher-quality production at a more affordable price and you’re delivering 4k resolution. The fi nal edit of this show would be able to go theatrical or to IMAX, based on the
resolution.
When the basic equipment decisions had been made, Barnett set out to assemble an amazing crew, starting with veteran director/editor Eli Tishberg. Tishberg comes from the editing world and directs for the edit (when there is one) but also does a live cut.
Eli Tishberg: I fi rmly believe that a multicam show should be directed with a live line cut and not just 10 cameras being watched on 10 monitors. I fi nd that the camera operators are reacting both to the music and to me talking in their ear, and they can hear where I’m going, what I’m doing, my pace — and they match their moves to that.
Eli Tishberg, Dan Barnett, Oli Laperal, Jr. and Steve Gibby in an impromptu preproduction meeting. (Courtesy Pam Gibby/www.cut4.tv.)
The show also had not one but two directors of photography:
Steve Gibby and Champe Barton.
Steve Gibby: There were two DPs because there was such a massive amount of coordination and tech to wade through in order to integrate what is essentially a digital cinema camera system with modifi ed equipment into a traditional, EFP-style production. We had to balance out which lenses to use, which techniques, which shoulder rigs, what frame rates, everything down the line — it was just a lot of work. So we double-teamed it. It was great to work with another DP; two really good and experienced minds are better than one when you have a lot of problems to solve.
Download PDF (8.5MB)