Page 2 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 2; Table of Contents
RPC Operations Guide, Page 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents.........................................................................................................2 Customer Support & Legal........................................................................................6 About The R...
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RPC Operations Guide, Page 3 Part 2: Reference Reference Introduction.............................................................................................22 The Ramp Editor ........................................................................................................22 Ramp Menu .....
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RPC Operations Guide, Page 4 The Camera Controller Window.............................................................................33 Connect to Camera Button .....................................................................................................................................33Cam...
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RPC Operations Guide, Page 5 View Menu....................................................................................................................44 Connect to Camera.................................................................................................................................
Page 6 - Customer Support & Legal
RPC Operations Guide, Page 6 Customer Support & Legal For technical support, send an email to [email protected], or contact one of the following ARRI affiliates: Germany Arnold & Richter Cine TechnikTürkenstraße 89, D-80799 Munich, GermanyVoice phone: +49 (0)89 3809-0, FAX: +49 (0)89 3809-1244Ema...
Page 7 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 7; About The RPC Documentation; Documentation Overview; Tips and hints on digitizing video for use with the RPC.; Definitions
RPC Operations Guide, Page 7 About The RPC Documentation Documentation Overview The documentation for the Ramp Preview Controller consists of the following files which are all inAdobe Acrobat PDF format and can be found on the Ramp Preview Controller CD-ROM. Since the Windows and Macintosh versions ...
Page 8 - RPC Operations Guide, 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 entryfield is not in the menu, the first item in the menu can add that number to the menu. Conversely, if thenumber in the text entry field is already present in the menu, the firs...
Page 9 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 9; Introduction To The RPC
RPC Operations Guide, Page 9 Introduction To The RPC A unique feature of the current generation of Arriflex film cameras is their ability to change cameraspeed while the camera is running. Such a speed change is called a “ramp”. Even though ramps areused extensively by some technology savvy DPs, oth...
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Page 11 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 11; How To Get Help
RPC Operations Guide, Page 11 How To Get 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 bycho...
Page 12 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 12; How to Edit a Ramp; inserted after a selected ramp point or at the end of the whole ramp.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 12 How to Edit 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 notethat Internal Ramps are limited to a 100 second shoot time dur...
Page 13 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 13; How to Capture Video; ramp to start. There are two methods for setting Preview Triggers:
RPC Operations Guide, Page 13 How to Capture Video In order to preview a ramp, some video must have been captured into the computer. The RPCcurrently 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...
Page 14 - RPC Operations Guide, 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...
Page 15 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 15; How to Erase Preview Triggers
RPC Operations Guide, Page 15 How to Erase Preview Triggers Preview Triggers can be erased by dragging them down, out of the Preview Timeline. Drag Preview Trigger out oftimeline to erase How to Limit the Preview To start the preview later and/or end it earlier, move the Preview In and Preview Out f...
Page 16 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 16; Notes on Preview Triggers; ramp will bounce back and forth between the two set ramp speeds.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 16 Notes on Preview Triggers • 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. Crea...
Page 17 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 17; How To Preview a Post-Production Ramp; that you can now preview ramps that no real camera can accomplish.; How to Preview an Offspeed; Preview command from the View menu. Choose a movie to preview.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 17 How To Preview a Post-Production Ramp Sometimes it is preferable to shoot a take at the highest speed available, and to create the rampingeffect in post production. This can also be previewed on the RPC: • In the Ramp Editor, set the Camera and Compensation menus to “No...
Page 18 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 18; How To Connect to a Real Camera
RPC Operations Guide, Page 18 How To Connect to a Real Camera The RPC cable that connects the computer to the camera is identical to the cable used for the LaptopCamera Controller (LCC). They can be used interchangeably. DO NOT use any cables that are not clearly marked "RPC", "LCC" ...
Page 19 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 19; How To Connect to a Virtual Camera
RPC Operations Guide, Page 19 How To Connect to a Virtual Camera 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 virtua...
Page 20 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 20; How to Execute a Ramp; same as the camera you are connected to.; Notes on Video Playback
RPC Operations Guide, Page 20 How to Execute 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 Sw...
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Page 22 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 22; Reference Introduction
RPC Operations Guide, Page 22 Reference Introduction This part lists all windows and menus of the Ramp Preview Controller with a short description foreach item. The Ramp Editor The Ramp Editor is the RPC’s main window; it allows creating and editing of ramps. Ramps arestored in a Ramp Archive; the R...
Page 23 - Choose here the mode for the currently visible ramp.
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 aRamp for viewing, editing and previewing. The ramp name can be changed by selecting it and typinga new name. New Button Click the “New” button to create a new...
Page 25 - Click the “Preview” button to open a movie for preview.; Camera Button; Click the “Camera” button to open the Camera Controller window.; Ramp Graph; Speed; Shoot time
RPC Operations Guide, Page 25 FAP Button Only enabled when a ramp segment is selected. Click this button to make the selected ramp segmentas 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 prev...
Page 26 - Playback fps can be set in the Preferences window.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 26 Zoom Controls The zoom controls allow you to increase or decrease the horizontal resolution of the ramp graph. Thezoom 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 selec...
Page 27 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 27; The Preview Window; Ramp Tab
RPC Operations Guide, Page 27 The Preview Window The Preview window allows you to preview either a ramp or an offspeed. A ramp preview will applythe fps changes defined in the Ramp Editor to a movie, thus allowing you to see what this ramp willlook like once it is filmed. An offspeed preview allows ...
Page 29 - The Preview Window - Ramp Preview; Make sure the Ramp tab is in the front when previewing ramps.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 29 The Preview Window - 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 moviewill play at normal speed. At the momen...
Page 30 - Preview Trigger; will scrub through the movie.; movie at normal speed.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 30 Preview Timeline The Preview Timeline is where the Preview Triggers and Preview In/Out Flags are set. PreviewTrigger define where in the movie a ramp point is triggered. Preview In and Preview Out Flags showhow much of the movie can be previewed; only the part of the mo...
Page 31 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 31; The Preview Window - Offspeed Preview; Offspeed Tab; Make sure the Offspeed tab is in the front when previewing ramps.; Preview In Flag
RPC Operations Guide, Page 31 The Preview Window - Offspeed Preview Preview Timeline Preview In Fla g Preview Out Flag Preview Status Offspeed Tab 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 p...
Page 32 - Shoot fps
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 afilm camera at the speed set in the Shoot fps combo box. The preview will start at the Preview InFlag, and end at the Preview Out Flag. Please note that how...
Page 33 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 33; The Camera Controller Window; Connect to Camera Button
RPC Operations Guide, Page 33 The Camera Controller Window The Camera Controller window allows basic remote control of a connected film camera, includingrun/stop, activation of ramp mode, camera status display, ramp trigger, phase, changing of fps andshutter angle. Status Information Came ra Type/Ca...
Page 35 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 35; Trigger Button; Phase Button
RPC Operations Guide, Page 35 Ca mera not ready beca use m ovement is no t c omplet e ly closed The ARR I logo is replaced by a short message indicating wh y the camera i s not ready Please note that different camera models behave differently when a roll out occurs. The 535, 535Band 16SR3 can be res...
Page 36 - The Connect To Camera Window; The “Status” text show the current status of the connection.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 36 The Connect To Camera Window Connect To Menu This menu allows you to connect to a real or a number of virtual cameras. A virtual camera makes thecomputer believe that it is connected to a camera, even if it is not. Virtual cameras are a great tool forfamiliarizing yours...
Page 37 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 37; Preferences
RPC Operations Guide, Page 37 Preferences Section List The Preferences are divided into four different sections: General, Ramps, Shortcuts and Alerts. Youaccess a section by clicking the respective icon in the Section list. It is a very good idea to familiarizeyourself with these settings, as they o...
Page 38 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 38; Preferences - General; Autosave Ramp Archives Every XX Minutes; the same positions that they were in when the program was quit.; Show Film in
RPC Operations Guide, Page 38 Preferences - General 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 Ram...
Page 40 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 40; Preferences - Shortcuts
RPC Operations Guide, Page 40 Preferences - Shortcuts Here you can assign F-Keys and normal keyboard keys as shortcuts for the most common cameracontrol and preview commands. The camera control commands (Normal/Ramp Mode, CameraRun/Stop, Ramp Trigger and Phase) will always work, whereas the three pr...
Page 41 - RPC Operations Guide, 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 Alertitself. This is where they can be enabled again.
Page 42 - File Menu; This command will close the window in the foreground.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 42 File Menu New Ramp Archive When no ramp archive is open, this command will create a new ramp archive. Ramp archives arefiles 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 exist...
Page 43 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 43; Edit Menu; Undo; This command will undo the last action performed.; This command will open the RPC Preferences window.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 43 Edit Menu 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 yourcomputers documentation. Preferences This command will open the RPC Preferen...
Page 44 - View Menu; This command allows you to enable or disable Quick Help.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 44 View Menu 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, ...
Page 45 - RPC Operations Guide, Page 45; Preview Menu; Open Movie...
RPC Operations Guide, Page 45 Preview Menu 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, allexisting preview triggers will be erased, and the movi...
Page 46 - Help Menu; A short description of keyboard shortcuts available in the RPC.
RPC Operations Guide, Page 46 Help Menu Macintosh Only: About Balloon Help & Show Balloons About Balloon Help will show a window with information about, well, Balloon Help. Show Balloonsturns Balloon help on. Since the RPC does not use Balloon Help, ignore those two commands. Ramp Tutorial This ...
