RED Camera Cloud Upload to AWS

Overview

In early 2023, RED Digital Cinema introduced Cloud Upload, the ability to upload directly to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) from its cinematic cameras (RED Raptor and RED Komodo series). This integration allows filmmakers on-set to record clips and immediately upload that content to Amazon Web Services (AWS) without the need to remove camera media or use an external computer. When used in conjunction with the RED Control Pro App on macOS or iOS, it creates a powerful content production pipeline, enabling content creators to easily and automatically ingest to the cloud with minimal effort.

Technology

RED is a premier provider of digital cinema cameras to the motion picture and television industries. Both the RED Raptor and the RED Komodo cameras are enabled with direct Amazon S3 uploads. These cameras have optional Wi-Fi and ethernet connectivity (via USB-C adapter) to give you ultimate flexibility on set. The RED Raptor and the Komodo-X are capable of transfer speeds greater than 1 Gbps over wired ethernet.

In 2023, AWS for M&E produced a short film entitled “Race to the cloud”. This film, created for the NAB Show, was shot on RED and then edited and finished entirely in AWS. Using the RED Camera Cloud Upload feature, the filmmakers were able to instantly access content, allowing crews to provide dailies on-set and even work on an assembly edit as principal photography was still shooting.

How-to

This guide walks you through the steps to configure and enable direct uploads to Amazon S3 from a RED digital cinema camera.

For this process you will need the following:

AWS access Key and Secret Access key from AWS IAM (or your cloud administrator)
Name of the Amazon S3 bucket
Name of the Amazon S3 prefix within the bucket
A network connection with broadband internet access

Ensure your IAM user has the following permissions to the required Amazon S3 bucket and prefix:

“s3:GetObject”

“s3:ListBucket”

“s3:ListMultipartUploadParts”

“s3:ListBucketMultipartUploads”

“s3:PutObject”

Connect your formatted RED camera media to a computer and create a new folder on the media called “aws”. Inside this folder, create two text files called “credentials” and “config”.

Use the following text for the credentials file and replace the bold text with your access key and secret key.

[default]
aws_access_key_id = AccessKeyHere
aws_secret_access_key = SecretAccessKeyHere

In the config file, use the following text and replace the region with the AWS region where the Amazon S3 bucket resides.

[default]
region = us-west-2

NOTE: These files are identical to the syntax used by the AWS CLI configuration file.

Remove the media from your computer and insert it into the camera. You must import the files from the media to the camera by selecting “On Media AWS Config” from the S3 menu and then selecting “Import All”. The credentials can then be removed from the media if desired as they will persist on the camera. (To purge the credentials from the camera, use the “In Camera AWS Config” menu).

Ensure your RED camera is connected to a network with internet access. With the RED Control Pro app connected (or the on-camera menu) select Menu > Communication > Cloud Upload

Red's Cloud Upload menu in the Red Control Pro App for iOS.

Enable Cloud Upload by pressing the “Cloud Upload” button.

Cloud Upload Service: S3

Upload File Types: Select the files you would like to upload from the camera (R3D, MOV, WAV, LUT).

To configure the S3 bucket settings, select the S3 menu page (shown lower left in the previous image).

Configuration settings for Cloud Upload, showing the destination Amazon S3 bucket and prefix.

Cloud Upload S3 Bucket: This is the name of your S3 bucket

Cloud Upload S3 Key Prefix: The prefix (sometimes called folder path) inside the S3 bucket where your media should be stored (optional).

Cloud Upload S3 Endpoint: Override the S3 endpoint the camera should use to communicate with S3. If you are unsure, this can be left blank.

Virtual Addressing: Enabled

Media AWS Config: This is used for importing AWS credentials from the media.

Once these settings are configured, the camera will automatically synchronize media from the card to Amazon S3. Uploads are paused during recording; however, they will resume once recording stops. The Cloud Upload menu page displays the amount of content left to upload, the upload speed, and the estimated time to transfer.

Upload status is accessible to users, including remaining clips, estimated time, upload size remaining, and upload speed.

S3 Transfer Acceleration

The Red Camera Upload feature also supports S3 Transfer Acceleration. This feature is useful when the destination bucket is geographically distant or you can’t use all of your available bandwidth over the internet when uploading to Amazon S3. To use S3 Transfer Acceleration with the Red Cloud Upload feature, enable S3 Transfer Acceleration on the S3 bucket. Then, in the Red Camera settings, change the endpoint to be the accelerated endpoint.

https://bucketname-goes-here.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com

Then modify the bucket name field to be empty.

Configuration menu displaying S3 acceleration settings.

Go back to the Cloud upload page and you should see the status as “Synced”.

Additional features

For the cost-conscious, RED cameras have the ability to limit record times. Setting a maximum record duration helps to control costs by only recording and uploading smaller files and consuming less data. This also reduces the amount of footage an editor needs to sift through to find the correct take.

Images shown are using the RED Control Pro app on iOS. However, settings and status are also available on-camera without the need for external control.

Real-world experience

In working with the Amazon S3 upload capability on a real production with a broadband connection, the team observed the content from short takes successfully uploading in between each take. Once uploaded, the S3 bucket was configured with cross-region replication to create a safety copy. The instant upload to AWS allowed on-set editors, working on cloud-based workstations, to assemble dailies and rough cuts minutes after each take was complete. This replaced complicated processes of on-set card management, manual data transfers, portable hard drives, and third-party vendors.

Conclusion

Beginning the process with the RED Camera Cloud Upload feature, this film production reduced costs and accelerated workflows, facilitating a seamless and interconnected end-to-end cloud-based production experience. RED Camera Cloud Upload makes it easy to ingest content into AWS and empowers end users to create content instead of managing data. Since its founding, RED has been instrumental in revolutionizing film production, and continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of creative content production with AWS.

To learn more, visit the RED Cloud Upload manual reference.

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