The LDT-R2 injects frame by frame lens metadata into the R3D files. This guide gives a breakdown on how the metadata can be extracted, where the LDT's phase its data, how they are stored and where they can be found.
The metadata are collected as dynamic metadata, meaning each individual frame of any clip will have accurate FIZ data associated with it. Depending on which format is being used, the output file consists of a table of cells arranged into rows and columns and referred to by the X and Y locations. X locations are the metadata headers, Y is the data collected. The longer the length of the clip the bigger the size of the table.
Timecode is embedded in the .csv and is used to sync the footage.
REDLINE is required in order to extract frame by frame data from R3D footage.
REDCINE-X Pro also contains REDLINE and it can be downloaded from the RED website:
https://www.red.com/downloads
On Terminal use the following command:
REDline --i /Path/To/Clip_001.R3D --useMeta --printMeta 5 > /Path/to/Export.csv
Where '/Path/To/Clip_001.R3D' is the source and '/Path/to/Export.csv' is the destination path. DCS suggest to make a scpit to automatise this process. The export CSV files shluld use the name of the R3D file.
The CSV file is a comma delimited type of file, the first row is empty, data starts from line 2. This list consists only of the column headers that are relevant to the LDT-R2 or where the LDT-R2’s data can be found:
Below we also identify which data is expected to be dynamic (D) and which is expected to be static (S)
| Header name | Metadata type | Description |
|---|---|---|
FrameNo |
(D) | An incremental number, one increment per frame starting from 0. |
Timecode |
(D) | The timecode of the camera at that moment in time |
Aperture |
(D) | Aperture is a value using one decimal place. |
Focus Distance |
(D) | Distance expressed in millimeters (mm). Infinity mark is expressed with the value 1073741824. |
Focal Length |
(D/S) | Focal length expressed in millimiters. Static value if prime lens have been used, dynamic value if zoom. |
Data size will vary depending on how many columns REDLine is set to extract, below there is an example of data size for reference. A CSV file extracted from a R3D file contans 143 bytes of headers and ~88 bytes/frame of data, for ~2255 kbps @24fps.
Here is a sample file showing three frames:
/*this is an empty line*/
FrameNo,Timecode,Aperture,Focus Distance,Focal Length,Acceleration X,Acceleration Y,Acceleration Z,Rotation X,Rotation Y,Rotation Z,Cooke Metadata
0,14:44:10:16,5.600000,3215,32,0.015000,0.094000,1.019000,11.243000,-2.257000,-2.257000,
1,14:44:10:17,5.600000,3215,32,0.031000,0.094000,1.019000,11.243000,-2.257000,-2.257000,
2,14:44:10:18,5.600000,3215,32,0.015000,0.094000,1.003000,11.243000,-2.257000,-0.008000,
3,14:44:10:19,5.600000,3215,32,0.015000,0.094000,1.019000,11.243000,-2.257000,-0.008000,