ARRI Ramp Preview Controller Operation Manual Download

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Ramp Preview Controller 1.0.0

Operations Guide

8/2000

Summary of Contents for Ramp Preview Controller

Page 1: ...Ramp Preview Controller 1 0 0 Operations Guide 8 2000 ...

Page 2: ... Get Help 11 How to Create a New Ramp 11 How to Edit a Ramp 12 How to Capture Video 13 How to Preview a Ramp 13 How to Erase Preview Triggers 15 How to Limit the Preview 15 Notes on Preview Triggers 16 How To Preview a Post Production Ramp 17 How to Preview an Offspeed 17 How To Connect to a Real Camera 18 How To Connect to a Virtual Camera 19 How to Disconnect from a Camera 19 How to Execute a Ra...

Page 3: ...ontrols 26 Fps Shutter Fields 26 Shoot Time and Screentime Fields 26 Advance Automatic A Manual Ramp Trigger M 26 The Preview Window 27 Ramp Tab 27 Offspeed Tab 28 Preview Status 28 QuickTime Controls 28 The Preview Window Ramp Preview 29 Ramp Tab 29 Record Triggers Button 29 Set Trigger Button 29 Play Preview 29 Preview In Flag 29 Preview Out Flag 29 Preview Timeline 30 Preview Trigger 30 The Pre...

Page 4: ...6 Disconnect Button 36 Preferences 37 Preferences General 38 Autosave Ramp Archives Every XX Minutes 38 On Startup 38 Show Film in 38 Preferences Ramps 39 Change Ramp Points on Graph in XX fps Steps 39 Playback fps 39 When Camera Menu is set to None Maximum Speed XXX fps 39 When Camera Menu is set to None Film Format for Film Calculation 39 Preferences Shortcuts 40 Preferences Alerts 41 File Menu ...

Page 5: ...itor 44 Preview Window 44 Quick Help 44 Preview Menu 45 Open Movie 45 Record Triggers 45 Set Trigger 45 Play Preview 45 Half Normal Double 1 95 Size 45 Help Menu 46 Macintosh Only About Balloon Help Show Balloons 46 Ramp Tutorial 46 Reverse Ramps 46 Keyboard Shortcuts 46 Customer Support 46 ...

Page 6: ...rmation about the RPC and more can be found on the ARRI website at http www arri com Neither Arnold Richter Cine Technik nor its affiliates are to be held liable in any form for any information given in this document Arnold Richter Cine Technik and its affiliates do not assume any responsibility with regard to the performance or use of the Ramp Preview Controller software and all included files an...

Page 7: ...orks with ramps You can either read the PDF version on the CD ROM or choose Ramp Tutorial from the Help menu when the Ramp Preview Controller is running P 1026 RPC Video Capture pdf Tips and hints on digitizing video for use with the RPC P 1027 USB pdf A short description on how to connect a camera to computers with a USB port Definitions Mentioning the 16SR 3 implies the 16SR 3HS unless specifica...

Page 8: ...n 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 number from the menu see picture That way the menu can be quickly customized ...

Page 9: ...to the RPC and a preview of the effect is played back Ramp settings can then be adjusted and the result can be viewed immediately to find the best settings for the desired effect Because this can be done during blocking or pre lighting the RPC will integrate smoothly into the workflow on the set Once a ramp is decided upon the RPC can be connected to the film camera to shoot the ramp on film What ...

Page 10: ...RPC Operations Guide Page 10 Part 1 How To ...

Page 11: ...n Help buttons that provide useful tips and hints The Help menu contains a Ramp Tutorial and a Reverse Ramp Tutorial Send an email to rpc arri com or contact your local ARRI representative How to Create a New Ramp Start the Ramp Preview Controller RPC The RPC stores a number of ramps in a file called a Ramp Archive Only one Ramp Archive can be open at a time The open Ramp Archive will be displayed...

Page 12: ...s you drag the ramp point A ramp segment consists of a ramp point and all speed shutter and duration values from the previous ramp point to this ramp point When a ramp point is clicked the whole ramp segment is selected and turns orange see picture You will also see the Ramp Segment Properties fps shutter angle screentime shoot time change If you want to you can select a ramp segment by clicking i...

Page 13: ...e the Ramp Editor is open before you preview a ramp Click on the Preview button in the Ramp Editor and choose a movie to preview Make sure the Ramp tab in the Preview window is in the front Ramp Tab Now you must set at least one Preview Trigger so the RPC knows where in the movie you want the ramp to start There are two methods for setting Preview Triggers 1 The Quick Method Move the cursor over t...

Page 14: ...ou want the Preview Trigger to occur click the Set Trigger button When at least one Preview Trigger is set click the Play Preview button to see the preview 1 Click Record Triggers to erase all existing Preview Triggers and to play movie at normal speed 2 Once you the movie reaches the point where you want the ramp to start click Set Trigger 3 Click Play Preview to view the ramp preview Offspeed Ta...

Page 15: ... Triggers can be erased by dragging them down out of the Preview Timeline Drag Preview Trigger out of timeline to erase How to Limit the Preview To start the preview later and or end it earlier move the Preview In and Preview Out flags Preview In Flag Preview Out Flag ...

Page 16: ...al Ramp will make the ramp toggle between the first and the second ramp speed For External Ramps each new Preview Trigger will be associated with a ramp point from the Ramp Editor until no more ramp points are left Any new Preview Triggers will be empty marked with a and will have no effect Please note that the last ramp point in an external ramp has no corresponding preview trigger as it ends the...

Page 17: ...ew ramps that no real camera can accomplish How to Preview an Offspeed To open the Preview window either click on the Preview button in the Ramp Editor or choose the Preview command from the View menu Choose a movie to preview Click on the Offspeed tab in the Preview window Choose a Film Format and camera speed Shoot fps Click the Play Preview button Once the Offspeed preview is playing you can ch...

Page 18: ...computer Insert the Fischer connector of a RPC or LCC Cable into the CCU receptacle on the camera Insert the other end of the cable D 9 pin for PCs Mini DIN 8 for Macs into the computer s serial port If your computer does not have a serial port but instead has a USB port you can use a USB to serial adapter See the ARRI Technical Note P 1027 included on the RPC CD ROM for details Choose Connect to ...

Page 19: ...sconnect from a Camera It is not necessary but a good idea to disconnect from the real camera when you quit the RPC put the computer to sleep or shut it down When you unplug the cable you do not have to disconnect the RPC will attempt to re connect until the cable is plugged back in When you unplug the RPC cable temporarily between setups for instance it is best to unplug the RPC cable from the US...

Page 20: ...ill run at the first speed set in the Ramp Editor Click the Trigger button to start the ramp The fps and shutter angle values will change In the Ramp Editor an orange line will move through the ramp to indicate the current position Current Ramp Position is indicated by orange line Notes on Video Playback Currently only speeds that are faster than the playback speed set in the Preferences can be pr...

Page 21: ...RPC Operations Guide Page 21 Part 2 Reference ...

Page 22: ...amps Ramps are stored in a Ramp Archive the Ramp Editor displays one Ramp Archive file The Ramp Archive s name is displayed in the Ramp Editor s title bar The Ramp Editor window can be resized From this window the other two important windows the Preview and the Camera Controller window can be opened by clicking the Preview or Camera buttons Ramp Menu Zoom In Zoom Out Zoom Level Ramp Point Ramp Gra...

Page 23: ...ontroller like the Ramp Preview Controller To activate and execute an external ramp the controller has to be connected to the camera Since external controllers can have more memory and processing capacity than the camera has external ramps can be more sophisticated including special features such as multiple step ramps or exponential ramps Ramp Type Linear Exponential Only external ramps provide t...

Page 24: ...ne maximum fps range that can be compensated for maximum shutter angle change s maximum fps s Choose the last item in the Compensation menu to get help and a list of the limits imposed by the different compensation methods Please note Other camera properties are set by the Camera menu How fast a ramp can be is based on the setting in this menu and on the setting in the Camera menu When switching t...

Page 25: ...ime the gray numbers below the shoot time Ramp Points are editable instances in a ramp Each ramp point when selected clicked on will show its fps shutter angle shoot time and screentime below the ramp graph Ramp points come in two flavors automatic ramp points are instances where the camera will automatically continue with the ramp once the automatic ramp point is reached Manual ramp points are in...

Page 26: ... it takes to shoot an event If for instance a car drives in 4 seconds from point A to point B shooting this event will also take 4 seconds no matter what fps rate the camera is running at Screentime is the time it will take to play back the selected ramp segment Screentime is defined as the time it takes to playback a length of film It is the time the event filmed will be visible on screen Screent...

Page 27: ...will look like once it is filmed An offspeed preview allows you to see what the movie would look like if the film camera would have run at a different but constant speed Preview Trigger Preview Timeline Preview In Flag Preview Out Flag Preview Status Offspeed Tab Ramp Tab Ramp Tab Click on the Ramp tab to preview the ramp displayed in the Ramp Editor window The controls in the Ramp tab are only en...

Page 28: ... Moving those flags will change the numbers in the Preview Status QuickTime Controls Directly underneath the movie are the normal QuickTime controls They allow for changing of the sound level normal speed playback and stepping through the movie one frame at a time Please note that the QuickTime play button will always play the movie at normal speed A preview can only be achieved with the Play Prev...

Page 29: ...erased and the movie will play at normal speed At the moment in the movie where you want a preview trigger to occur click the Set Trigger button A preview trigger will be placed in the preview timeline Play Preview Once at least one Preview Trigger has been set you can use the Play Preview button to playback the preview The preview will start at the Preview In Flag and end at the Preview Out Flag ...

Page 30: ...this Move the cursor over the Preview Timeline Push the mouse button down and keep it held down Now move the cursor to the left or right you will scrub through the movie Preview Trigger Once you get to the place in the movie where you want the Preview Trigger to occur let go of the mouse button If you want to rehearse the trigger button push you can use this alternate method Click the Record Trigg...

Page 31: ...e 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 playing from Drag the flag left right to adjust the in point Preview Out Flag This red flag defines the point in the movie where the preview will stop playing Drag the flag left right to adjust the out point ...

Page 32: ...he RPC is based on the speed set here AND on the playback speed set in the Preferences Once the combo box has been clicked on you can quickly step through the numbers in the menu with the arrow up or down keys on the keyboard To use the arrow up down keys to change the QuickTime audio volume either click in the movie window or hit the tab key once Film Format To properly calculate the film needed ...

Page 33: ...nged from the Camera Controller and the Ramp Editor window cannot be edited until the camera mode is switched back to Normal Speed Combo Box A new speed can be set on the camera by selecting the text and typing a new number A new speed can also be set by choosing a value from the menu associated with the Speed field A new speed entered will be transmitted immediately to the camera If the value in ...

Page 34: ... When the Camera is in standby the background is gray When the camera is running the background is green When the camera is not ready the background is red When the camera is not ready the ARRI logo will be replaced by a message identifying the reason for the not ready state To the left is the speed the camera is set at the shutter angle only visible on cameras with an electronic shutter and the T...

Page 35: ...en the Camera is put in ramp mode the Trigger button will be available Once a ramp is executing clicking the Trigger button will trigger the next ramp segment Ramp Trigger Button Camera Controller is in Ramp mode Ramp Trigger button is visible Phase Button When the camera is in standby clicking the Phase button will inch the camera On cameras without an electronic mirror shutter after about 20 sec...

Page 36: ...ll be listed in this menu If you plug a USB adapter into the computer but it does not show up in this menu close the window and open it again to reset the menu Status The Status text show the current status of the connection Close This Window on connect Checkbox When this box is checked the Connect to Camera window will close once a connection is successfully established Help Button Click on the H...

Page 37: ...lerts 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 other parts of the program Most importantly the Playback Speed set in the Ramp section determines the preview behavior of the Preview window ...

Page 38: ...hat they were in when the program was quit Ask which Existing Ramp Archive to Open the program will bring up a dialog asking you to open an existing ramp archive file Open Default Ramp Archive Here you can select a ramp archive that will automatically be opened when the program starts The file s name will be displayed underneath this option Use the Select button to choose a file Show Film in This ...

Page 39: ...tant It is also the basis for the screentime calculation It cannot be higher than the maximum speed for the None camera Note The baseline in the graph shows this value Clicking on this number to the left of the graph will cycle through the 3 most common telecine playback speeds of 24 25 and 30 fps When Camera Menu is set to None Maximum Speed XXX fps When the Camera menu is set to None the value e...

Page 40: ...un Stop Ramp Trigger and Phase will always work whereas the three preview commands Preview Set Trigger Play Stop Movie and Play Stop Preview only work when the Preview window is in the foreground Caution As long as a key is assigned here you will not be able to use this key in Ramp names Note Other shortcuts can be found in the menus behind the menu commands and in the Keyboard Shortcuts window ac...

Page 41: ...RPC Operations Guide Page 41 Preferences Alerts 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: ...en at a time Close This command will close the window in the foreground Save Ramp Archive This command will save the currently open ramp archive Save Ramp Archive As This command will make a copy of the currently open ramp archive and save it under a new name Deauthorize This command allows you to remove the authorization to run the RPC from this computer and move it back to the hardware key This ...

Page 43: ...and 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: ...nd will either bring the Ramp Editor window to the foreground or if it is not open will allow you to open an existing Ramp Archive or to create a new one Preview Window This command will either bring the Preview window to the foreground or if it is not open will allow you to open a movie Quick Help This command allows you to enable or disable Quick Help When Quick Help is enabled you can rest the ...

Page 45: ... Preview Trigger has been set use the Play Preview command to playback the preview The preview will start at the Preview In Flag and end at the Preview Out Flag It will speed up or slow down the playback of the movie to simulate what the ramp in the Ramp Editor window will look like once filmed Please note that how fast the movie will be played back by the RPC is based on the speed set here AND on...

Page 46: ...ne who works with ramps It defines and explains the following terms Ramp Internal Ramp External Ramp Linear Ramp Exponential Ramp Shoot time Screentime and Reverse Ramp It also discusses exposure compensation and the use of ramps with HMI lights Reverse Ramps A short text on what a reverse ramp is and how to run them with the different models ARRIFLEX cameras Keyboard Shortcuts A short description...

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