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ARRI ARRI Ramp Preview Controller manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    Ramp Preview Controller 1.0.0 Operations Guide 8/2000[...]

  • Page 2

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 2 Tabl e o f Cont ent s Table of Contents .........................................................................................................2 Customer Support & Legal ........................................................................................6 About The RPC Documentation ...........................[...]

  • Page 3

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 3 Part 2: Reference Reference Introduction .............................................................................................2 2 The Ramp Editor ........................................................................................................2 2 R a m p M e n u ...........................................[...]

  • Page 4

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 4 The Camera Controller Window .............................................................................3 3 Connect to Camera Button .....................................................................................................................................3 3 Camera Mode Switch (Normal/Ramp) ................[...]

  • Page 5

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 5 View Menu ....................................................................................................................4 4 Connect to Camera .......................................................................................................................................................4 4 Camera Controller [...]

  • Page 6

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 6 Cust ome r S uppor t & L egal For technical support, send an email to rpc@arri.com, or contact one of the following ARRI affiliates: Germany Arnold & Richter Cine Technik Türkenstraße 89, D-80799 Munich, Germany Voice phone: +49 (0)89 3809-0, FAX: +49 (0)89 3809-1244 Email: webmaster@arri.de Canada ARRI Canada[...]

  • Page 7

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 7 About T he RPC Docum e nt at io n Documentation Overview The documentation for the Ramp Preview Controller consists of the following files which are all in Adobe Acrobat PDF format and can be found on the Ramp Preview Controller CD-ROM. Since the Windows and Macintosh versions of the RPC have virtually the same features[...]

  • Page 8

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 8 The combo boxes used in the RPC has another time saving feature. If the number in the text entry field is not in the menu, the first item in the menu can add that number to the menu. Conversely, if the number in the text entry field is already present in the menu, the first item in the menu will offer to remove the numb[...]

  • Page 9

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 9 Int rod uc t ion To The RP C A unique feature of the current generation of Arriflex film cameras is their ability to change camera speed while the camera is running. Such a speed change is called a “ramp”. Even though ramps are used extensively by some technology savvy DPs, others shy away because of the costly tria[...]

  • Page 10

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 10 Part 1: How To…[...]

  • Page 11

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 11 H o w T o Ge t Help • Read the Documentation provided on the CD-ROM. • Rest the cursor over any item on the screen, and a small explanation will pop up. We call this "Quick Help". Once you are familiar with the RPC and Quick Help starts to annoy you, disable it by choosing Quick Help from the View menu. T[...]

  • Page 12

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 12 H o w t o Ed it a Ramp • Using the “Mode” and “Type” radio buttons in the Ramp Editor, choose a ramp mode and ramp type. If you do not know what those are, choose “Ramp Tutorial” from the “Help” menu. Please note that Internal Ramps are limited to a 100 second shoot time duration. • Using the “Cam[...]

  • Page 13

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 13 H o w t o Ca pture Vid eo In order to preview a ramp, some video must have been captured into the computer. The RPC currently does not have any features that allow video capture, so you must use third party software. The ARRI Technical Note “P-1026 RPC Video Capture” discusses this subject in more detail. The RPC c[...]

  • Page 14

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 14 2. The Rehearsal Method • Click the Record Triggers button to erase all existing Preview Triggers and play the movie at normal speed. • Once the movie reaches the point where you want the Preview Trigger to occur, click the Set Trigger button. • When at least one Preview Trigger is set, click the Play Preview but[...]

  • Page 15

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 15 H o w t o Erase Previe w T rig g ers Preview Triggers can be erased by dragging them down, out of the Preview Timeline. Drag P rev i ew T rigg e r ou t of timeline to era s e H o w t o Limit t h e Previe w To start the preview later and/or end it earlier, move the Preview In and Preview Out flags. P review I n F la g P[...]

  • Page 16

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 16 N o t es on Preview T riggers • Preview Triggers can be dragged to a different position at any time. • For Internal Ramps, each new Preview Trigger will affect a reversal in the ramp direction, that is the ramp will bounce back and forth between the two set ramp speeds. C re at ing multiple tri ggers for an Intern [...]

  • Page 17

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 17 H o w T o Previe w a Pos t - P rodu ctio n Ra mp Sometimes it is preferable to shoot a take at the highest speed available, and to create the ramping effect in post production. This can also be previewed on the RPC: • In the Ramp E ditor, set the Camera and Compensation menus to “None”. This will remove all limit[...]

  • Page 18

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 18 H o w T o Co nn ec t t o a Real C a mera The RPC cable that connects the computer to the camera is identical to the cable used for the Laptop Camera Controller (LCC). They can be used interchangeably. DO NOT use any cables that are not clearly marked "RPC", "LCC" or "WLCC". The Arriflex CC[...]

  • Page 19

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 19 H o w T o Co nn ec t t o a V irt u al Came ra A virtual camera will make the computer believe it is connected to a camera, even if it is not. • Choose Connect to Camera from the View menu, or click the Camera button in the Ramp Editor. • Set the Connect To menu to one of the virtual cameras. • Click the Connect b[...]

  • Page 20

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 20 H ow t o Execut e a Ramp • Make sure the Camera Controller is open, and connected to a camera. • Make sure the Ramp Editor is open, and that the camera chosen from the Camera menu is the same as the camera you are connected to. • In the Camera Controller, switch the Mode Switch to Ramp. M ode Switch Trigg er But [...]

  • Page 21

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 21 Part 2: Reference[...]

  • Page 22

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 22 R eference In t rodu ctio n This part lists all windows and menus of the Ramp Preview Controller with a short description for each item. Th e Ra mp Edit or The Ramp Editor is the RPC’s main window; it allows creating and editing of ramps. Ramps are stored in a Ramp Archive; the Ramp Editor displays one Ramp Archive f[...]

  • Page 23

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 23 Ramp Menu All ramps stored in the currently open Ramp Archive are listed in this menu. Use this menu to select a Ramp for viewing, editing and previewing. The ramp name can be changed by selecting it and typing a new name. New Button Click the “New” button to create a new Ramp. This ramp will be stored with the alr[...]

  • Page 24

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 24 Camera Menu This menu allows you to set the camera you will be using, which will determine: • maximum and minimum fps, • maximum fps per second (fps/s) limit, • electronic shutter present or not, • internal ramps possible or not. Choose the last item in the “Camera” menu to get help and a list of the limits[...]

  • Page 25

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 25 FAP Button Only enabled when a ramp segment is selected. Click this button to make the selected ramp segment as Fast As Possible, to set it to the minimum ramp time for the camera and compensation chosen. Preview Button Click the “Preview” button to open a movie for preview. Camera Button Click the “Camera” but[...]

  • Page 26

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 26 Zoom Controls The zoom controls allow you to increase or decrease the horizontal resolution of the ramp graph. The zoom level shows which of the 7 zoom settings is currently active. Fps & Shutter Fields The fps and shutter fields show the speed of the currently selected ramp point. A new speed can be entered by sel[...]

  • Page 27

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 27 The P re vi e w W in dow The Preview window allows you to preview either a ramp or an offspeed. A ramp preview will apply the fps changes defined in the Ramp Editor to a movie, thus allowing you to see what this ramp will look like once it is filmed. An offspeed preview allows you to see what the movie would look like [...]

  • Page 28

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 28 Offspeed Tab Click on the Offspeed tab to preview what the movie would look like if the film camera would have run at a speed other than the playback speed defined in the Preferences. This tab is always available, even when the Ramp Editor window is not open. Preview Status Preview Status shows the shoot fps used for t[...]

  • Page 29

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 29 Th e Previe w W indo w - Ramp Preview Ramp Tab Make sure the Ramp tab is in the front when previewing ramps. Record Triggers Button Once the Record Triggers button is clicked, all existing preview triggers will be erased, and the movie will play at normal speed. At the moment in the movie where you want a preview trigg[...]

  • Page 30

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 30 Preview Timeline The Preview Timeline is where the Preview Triggers and Preview In/Out Flags are set. Preview Trigger define where in the movie a ramp point is triggered. Preview In and Preview Out Flags show how much of the movie can be previewed; only the part of the movie between those flags will be played back duri[...]

  • Page 31

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 31 Th e Previe w W indo w - Of fspee d Previe w P review T im el in e P review I n Fl a g P revi ew Ou t Fl ag P review S tatus O ff s p e e d T a b Offspeed Tab Make sure the Offspeed tab is in the front when previewing ramps. Preview In Flag This green flag defines the point in the movie where the preview will begin pla[...]

  • Page 32

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 32 Play Preview Click the Play Preview button to see what the movie would look like if it would have been shot with a film camera at the speed set in the Shoot fps combo box. The preview will start at the Preview In Flag, and end at the Preview Out Flag. Please note that how fast the movie will be played back by the RPC i[...]

  • Page 33

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 33 Th e Ca mera Controlle r W indo w The Camera Controller window allows basic remote control of a connected film camera, including run/stop, activation of ramp mode, camera status display, ramp trigger, phase, changing of fps and shutter angle. S t atus Informat i on Ca m e r a Type/C a mera Mess ages C a mera Mode S wit[...]

  • Page 34

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 34 If the value in the field is not in the menu, the first menu item will be “Add XX to the list”. If this item is chosen, the number in the field will be entered into the menu. If the number is already in the menu, the first menu item allows you to remove it. Thus this menu can be easily and quickly customized. Statu[...]

  • Page 35

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 35 C am era no t r ea d y b ec au se mo ve me nt i s n ot co m p le t el y cl o se d The A RR I logo is replaced b y a sho r t messa ge ind i c a ting w h y the ca m era i s not ready Please note that different camera models behave differently when a roll out occurs. The 535, 535B and 16SR3 can be reset by pushing the Run[...]

  • Page 36

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 36 Th e Co n ne ct T o Camera W indo w Connect To Menu This menu allows you to connect to a real or a number of virtual cameras. A virtual camera makes the computer believe that it is connected to a camera, even if it is not. Virtual cameras are a great tool for familiarizing yourself with the software and the features of[...]

  • Page 37

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 37 Pref erences S ection Lis t The Preferences are divided into four different sections: General, Ramps, Shortcuts and Alerts. You access a section by clicking the respective icon in the Section list. It is a very good idea to familiarize yourself with these settings, as they often determine the underlying behavior of the[...]

  • Page 38

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 38 Pref erences - Ge n era l Autosave Ramp Archives Every XX Minutes When checked, this option will save Ramp Archives to the hard disk in the time interval specified. Saving is suspended while connected to a camera and the camera is running. On Startup Choose here what the Ramp Preview Controller should do when it starts[...]

  • Page 39

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 39 Pref erences - Ramp s Change Ramp Points on Graph in XX fps Steps This setting determines in what increments the program will attempt to change fps when you move a ramp point on the graph. The actual increment used may be larger than the one set here since the smallest increment that can be displayed depends on the siz[...]

  • Page 40

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 40 Pref erences - Short cu t s Here you can assign F-Keys and normal keyboard keys as shortcuts for the most common camera control and preview commands. The camera control commands (Normal/Ramp Mode, Camera Run/Stop, Ramp Trigger and Phase) will always work, whereas the three preview commands (Preview Set Trigger, Play/St[...]

  • Page 41

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 41 Pref erences - Ale rt s Some Alerts can be prevented from appearing again with a "Don't Show Again" checkbox in the Alert itself. This is where they can be enabled again.[...]

  • Page 42

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 42 File M en u New Ramp Archive When no ramp archive is open, this command will create a new ramp archive. Ramp archives are files created by the RPC that store a number of ramps. Open Ramp Archive… This command will lead to a directory dialog that allows you to open an existing ramp archive. Only one ramp archive can b[...]

  • Page 43

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 43 E dit M en u Undo This command will undo the last action performed. Cut/Copy/Paste/Clear/Select All These are the standard commands found in any program and should be explained sufficiently in your computers documentation. Preferences This command will open the RPC Preferences window.[...]

  • Page 44

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 44 Vi e w M e nu Connect to Camera This command will either bring the Connect to Camera window to the foreground, or, if it is not open, will open the Connect to Camera window. Camera Controller This command will either bring the Camera Controller window to the foreground, or, if it is not open, will open the Camera Contr[...]

  • Page 45

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 45 Pr e vi e w M en u Open Movie… This command allows you to choose a movie that will open in the Preview window. Record Triggers Choose this command to record preview triggers. Once the Record Triggers command is chosen, all existing preview triggers will be erased, and the movie will play at normal speed. Use the Set [...]

  • Page 46

    RPC Operations Guide, Page 46 H elp M e nu Macintosh Only: About Balloon Help & Show Balloons About Balloon Help will show a window with information about, well, Balloon Help. Show Balloons turns Balloon help on. Since the RPC does not use Balloon Help, ignore those two commands. Ramp Tutorial This short tutorial is required reading for anyone [...]