Appeared first in Tango Echo:

“I Shot A Film With The Red One Camera…It’s Not Film, You CAN

Color Correct Though!”

 

By David Adam Seader

 

I’ve been making films, writing and directing since I was in high school, and have used all sorts of cameras.  I even had a little stint in television a couple of times, and have used cameras such as the Umatic and Canon XL-1 among others.  I would say, every once in a while, a digital camera comes along that will supposedly help us overcome our need to only shot feature films on Motion Picture film stock.  People in the film industry have a love of celluloid that makes it almost impossible to make films without some knowledge of 16mm, 35mm, or higher film stock.  There are many good reasons why, one major explanation for this that I do agree with, is the ability to color correct it, and change the total look, while still keeping a perfect image.

 

That is a major breakthrough that the RED ONE camera from RED Digital Cinema Camera Co. http://www.red.com/  has overcome.  It delivers a digital image that is comparable to almost any motion picture film format, and allows you to color correct it.  Giving you the ability to change everything about the image, while maintaining a perfect resolution.  The RED ONE, the first camera they released, allows you to film, with a comparable image up to what they term 4k, and is comparable to 35mm motion picture film stock. 

 

I wasn’t looking for The RED camera when I started out, but decided to look at some cameras, that might cut costs, like the HVX from Panasonic.  I didn’t want to compromise the image, and The HVX to me is too much of a condensed image, and you can’t do true color correction, and it does look a little video, and needs to be bumped up, and transferred to be sent to festivals.  So, I did a lot of research before I decided on how to shoot “The Shaddy Doppelganger,” my short film (http://shaddydoppelganger.com/), and found the RED One camera. 

 

There were a couple of rental houses in my area that had RED cameras for rent, right after it had been released, and I was able to make a deal with one of them, to get the camera for a good deal, and I was all set. 

 

The camera shoots the same as film, where you need light readings perfect, and everything else, because the image captures everything.  That is where the RED is the digital twin of a motion picture camera.  If you screw something up, you can fix it, it’s not a pre-defined image, you are unable to change in post like the HVX, or some other cameras.

 

Before you ever start working with the RED though, I suggest you get some instructions on how to set the camera up.  The camera is put together like a jigsaw puzzle.  So do like I did, and go get the half-hour, or so training on the camera.   Then you’ll feel comfortable with the camera.  It may only look like a football when you first look at it, once put together it does things I never thought I would be able to do with a digital camera.  That’s where the fun can begin.

 

I couldn’t have been more pleased with the results, but a little on use first.  Make sure that everyone on your team knows how to use the RED, or know how to work with regular motion picture film.  The RED camera is used exactly the same (although digital), in my opinion, so you should try and find a good Director of Photography, and rest of the crew.  Something I did do, before even deciding on the camera.  Then shooting will be easy.

 

After shooting my film, “The Shaddy Doppelganger,” I was interested, and maybe even a little excited to see what the image looked like.  I was even more interested to see how color correcting would be.  I had downloaded a few programs from the RED website, that enable you to work with the files, allowing you to process a RED file in to any type of video file, while doing color correction at the same time. 

 

The RED camera records images in a Redcode Raw file.  These files aren’t very usable in Final Cut Pro until you download the RED codex from the website, and then it still doesn’t edit as quickly, as after conversion in RED Rushes, or RED Alert.  That makes it a slow process like film, but if you use RED software to it’s full potential, I think you will be very happy with the results.  Downloading all the programs from the website, to really take fuill advantage of the RED Camera is pretty quick, and if you have a Mac with an Intel processor, you will be really happy you did.  The programs are free of charge, including RED Rushes, RED Alert, and RED Cine, and of course the RED Codex, that does give you full playback in Final Cut 3.  I found though, for best results, and to take full advantage of the RED, it was best to use RED Rushes to view the footage and transfer a rough image, and RED Alert to color correct.  I wasn’t a big fan of RED Cine, it is good for some color correction though, and I would advise doing as much with the RED software, before using Final Cut Pro, or any other editing program.

 

I wound up doing quick conversions of all my RED footage, converting to quicktime files with RED Rushes, and then doing a basic edit in Final Cut Pro.  That way I was able to have a rough cut of my film before I did real color correction.  Having worked in, and made films for a long time I decided to just pick one setting for all the RED footage pretty much.  I then used those settings, or compared footage, even if I had to change F-stops, something that is really nice about the RED software, and RED Alert in particular, all the setting that you can change in RED Alert.  The truth, it felt like I was at a film post house, doing real post-production, changing everything, and trying to make the whole film, and each image look identical.

 

I do have to admit I had a little more fun with the post work being able to do all the post in my apartment.  Not having to go to some Post house, to have all the film footage transferred, and telling some guy working there what all the settings were, and being able to play with the color correction, was a huge advantage.  In some ways, my film is a little bit of a painting, and I wanted it to be a futuristic world to people.  I believe there are things that you can do with a camera sometimes, and in post, that you can only do with film. I was able to do some of these, if not all with The RED camera, and software.  I was making a sci-fi film, even if it is based in real life.  I wanted the world of The not totally real, but possibly real, and it really did come out amazing with the RED.  My film “The Shaddy Doppelganger” is that, and I loved shooting with the RED camera, for this film and working with it in post.

 

They are right now in the process of unveiling two additional cameras, “The Epic,” and “The Scarlett,” and “The Red Ray,” a stand-alone RED footage player.  With these new products, and all of their advantages over the original RED camera, we may be making films with RED cameras for a while.  Maybe even signaling not an end to film being shot exclusively on film stock, but that some films that you might see in the theater, or at home, will be shot with some type of RED camera.  You won‘t know it, and it might not happen, but then again, about 100 years or so ago, no one thought film would be brought from the small arcades, to home.  So will The Red cameras, and the software become something more than VHS, or another Umatic, Beta, or something?  I think it’s going to be something else in between film stock, and VHS, we’ll see though.

 

	Short Film Critique:     The Shaddy Doppelganger    Director: David Adam Seader    Expected Rating: PG    Distribution: DreamTv, Sprockets & Splices    Budget: $19,000    Genre: SciFi/Drama    Running Time:18 minutes 41 seconds    Release Dates: December 1, 2008    Website: Click Here    Trailer: Click Here    Review Date: January 1, 2010    Reviewed By: Monika DeLeeuw-Taylor Final Score: 6.6 How do we critique films? Click Here To See.

At a time in the future, an illness known as agoraphobic brain disease (known as AGD) has crippled much of humanity. Many citizens are unable to leave their houses and are unable to have much contact with other humans.

One of these sufferers is Stephen, who longs to be with his girlfriend who he only sees via video chat. He sees a commercial advertising a robot called the 'Shaddy doppelganger' which is supposed to take on the face of anyone the user wishes to talk to. Because of its realistic appearance, the users will feel as though they are actually talking to each other face to face.

Stephen jumps at the opportunity, despite his girlfriend’s hesitancy. But what seems like an ideal solution has consequences he had never even thought of.

	Stephen, along with many other people... ...is suffering from extreme agoraphobia.

Content
This certainly is a unique plot, and one that not many people would think of. Futuristic films generally revolve around totalitarian governments and not a future that, apart from an odd mental pandemic, seems relatively unchanged. It also raises some interesting questions; despite the information age, we still crave human contact, but what lengths will we go to get it?

However, there really are a lot of things that need to be mentioned about this film.
First of all, the initial reference to AGD comes during the infomercial advertising the Shaddy Doppelganger. Considering that the vast majority of the population has this illness, there is certainly no reason to explain it in detail to them. This important aspect could easily be introduced at the beginning of the film in either narration or even just text. (The Mask of Zorro did this very simply, and Equilibrium used narration, video, and text very effectively.) In addition, the infomercial itself really didn't sound like an infomercial. The man speaking about his invention wasn't as bubbly and excited as infomercial hosts usually are. There were none of the standard black-and-white shots of people doing things horribly unsuccessfully to demonstrate a need for the product, and none of the standard cheesy lines ("But wait! There's more!"). Infomercials are so common that they are very often imitated.
And speaking of the infomercial; after viewing it, Stephen talks to his girlfriend and repeats the entire thing over again. Even if she hasn't seen it, the audience doesn't need to hear it. There could either be a cut, after the interview ends, to that conversation and the girlfriend expressing her disbelief. Or one could go the more artistic route and cut the two scenes together, alternating between the infomercial and Stephen's conversation. This would be particularly effective if more of a standard cheesy infomercial format was followed, as there wouldn't be as much dependence on listening to everything that is said there.

Finally, what is perhaps the most important thing to mention, the title of this film is spelled incorrectly. The word "shaddy" (shad-ee) was used in the title (and the website), and at first I thought I was mistaken in my assumption, but the word "Shady" (shade-ee) was used by the characters. It is likely that many people won't notice, as it is an odd word, but any good spell checker will fix it. While spelling may not be everyone’s strong suit, proper grammar and spelling in a film's title is absolutely critical. It is the first thing that anyone will see when lookin at your movie, and any misspellings will give it the label of unprofessionalism right off the bat. (If the reality was that, like the band Linkin Park, the name was changed to match a website URL availability, then ADR needs to be applied to the spoken word in the film to match the spelling.) [Editor's Note: Apparently the disparity was an intentional choice by the director, believing that, in the future, the breakdown of the written and spoken language will lead to multiple acceptable spellings and pronunciation for most words. Since this isn't otherwise indicated in the film, it's unlikely that the audience would be aware of this intent.]

Visual Look
The Shaddy Doppelganger is one of the new micro-films to be shot with the RedONE camera. As such, most of the visuals look quite good.

As far as the effects go, since the Shaddy Doppelganger is meant to become the person that one is talking to, their face actually changes into the projected image of that person. It's an interesting concept, and very difficult to accomplish with special effects. This effect was done quite well, though there was one instance where an image seemed to shake around a bit excessively. (Of course, it goes without saying that the actor must either stay very still for their lines or their face would have to be tracked. I’m not sure which of these was done here, as both are difficult.)

The transitions are also good, making use of the common dip-to-black dissolve. The fading through black fits very well into the mood of the film. It was also interesting that the entire thing takes place in one location: Stephen's apartment. Given the AGD referenced in the movie, this is a very fitting choice.
The only exception are some dreamlike sequences of Stephen venturing outside. They were great washed-out images with lots of camera shake and zooming in and out. It's a great sequence, as I'm certain Stephen constantly dreams about this possibility.My one complaint is that it only pops up twice toward the end of the movie. It would have been nice to see the sequence throughout, perhaps as a transition between scenes, getting longer and longer.

	Stephen longs to be with his girlfriend Allison... ...but he gains hope from seeing an infomercial.

Use of Audio
I liked the music in the film. It was limited, but very eerie, often dreamlike, which matched the tone perfectly.

There were, however, some audio problems, mostly with dialogue volume.
The beginning of the film starts with music and a sound of what is perhaps typing on a keyboard. The volume of that sequence is rather low, so I turned up the volume. Then the infomercial starts, and the speaker's voice is so loud and forceful that I had to quickly turn it back down again. Later on, as his Shaddy Doppelganger begins to malfunction, Stephen lets out a bloodcurdling scream. This would have been great...if it didn't blow out my eardrums. Again, the volume was way too loud compared to the rest.

Also, during many of the conversations, the volume of both individuals doesn't match. One would assume that, when chatting online, Stephen's voice would be louder, but in some instances it's actually quieter. And the same is true when he converses with the Shaddy Doppelganger, one voice usually overpowers the other.

It should be remembered that one of the common industry standards for dialogue is –12 Db, with music beds normally being mixed to –18 Db and sound effects often be mixed at –8 to –6 Db. Mixing levels to their appropriate mean average and then matching these standards will make this film much easier to watch and enjoy.

Use of Budget
This film's $19,000 budget was spent on film equipment, a studio, production, Kraft services, and promotion.

The movie was shot on the Red One camera, which really is excellent, though certainly taking a sizable chunk out of the budget, as it’s rental is somewhat spendy. And as there were very few problems with the visuals in this movie, I think that was a good choice. Prices for Kraft services and promotion are pretty standard, but without further detail it's difficult to say whether the production expenses were well spent.

Perhaps the one thing that sticks in my mind are the many problems that need to be addressed, like the spelling issues, pacing, and execution of the infomercial, but more importantly in the area of the audio. Too often filmmakers want to have the sharpest looking film out there and neglect paying as close attention to the audio. Audio is actually about three times as important as your visuals, so, at the very least, you must pay an equal amount of attention to them. (People will watch a film with horrible visuals but great audio, but hundreds of films with beautiful visuals and bad audio have never seen the light of day.) Because of this last fact, it's hard to say that the budget - quite a large amount of money for a digital short - was well spent.

	A new invention promises the illusion of human contact... ...but Stephen is unprepared for the consequences.

Lasting Appeal
I do have a soft spot for unique movies that make one think, and The Shaddy Doppelganger was certainly one. It has a great concept, but the many issues that exist are certainly detracting from it. There's a lot of potential here, but it's kind of a diamond in the rough at this point. The visuals are strong, and show a good amount of knowledge, but those strengths are hampered by the problems.

Overall Comment
The Shaddy Doppelganger is a unique take on the futuristic drama. Though a whole society exists outside, the audience only sees the world of one man, confined to his home for fear of venturing outside. It's a great contrast between fear of the unknown and desire for companionship. The movie needs a lot of work, but it has great potential.

	Content             6.4 Visual Look             8.1 Use of Audio             5.9 Use of Budget             5.7            Lasting Appeal             7.2        Overall Score 6.6 How do we critique films? Click Here To See.

The author of half a dozen screen plays, two novels, and a proficient camera-woman in her own right, Monika DeLeeuw-Taylor is Microfilmmaker's lead writing analyst and one of our top film reviewers. When she's not writing a critique for Microfilmmaker, she's writing screenplays for Viking Productions.

Stephen is one of the many mindless youths, connected, and disconnected, from life.  Now connected to computers, and the internet.  Living through his computer.   Only speaking with his friends, and girlfriend through it.  His society is through the computer, and school is there, he does, feel need for true social connection.  However, when he finds an infomercial for a new fully human like robot, that he can interact with.  That he and his friends will be able live through, with each.   He decides to purchase some for him, and them.  The decision, he thinks, would be good for the time...but is it....or is it worse, and only going to make things worse?


The Shaddy Doppelganger is a film to look at a generation that grew up on the internet.  A great tool.  It can be used for research.  Sometimes that research is something like the Ovid, or Jane Austin like what I read, or have read when I was younger, when I was at Stony Brook University.  If you didn't learn from the right people, or were taught certain things.   You might not understand a few things about the knowledge.  That's why it can be used, in a bad way, in simpiest terms.  There's the danger.  That's the problem the main character Stephen encounters.  He finds one infomercial, it's not the best idea, and it doesn't work out.  He learns though, and is better, for learning.  I found something on the internet.  Easiest answer, it was top secret, and it doesn't need to be explained, but I already understood what I learned.  It was an interesting thing i read.  But I've read Newton, and Einstien, and didn't need to speak about whatever I read.  Stephen, didn't need the robot, but the robot in the film, is beneficial, if it wouldn't have been made the way it is.  The internet, in my opinion, can be more beneficial, if it begins to relax.  A little too much control.   A little more control.  It is a society in flux, we as a society, need to go outside though, as Stephen does.    Reading helps though.  Talking is even better though.  A conversation begins a relationship.