Another crazy camera test

I have a long list of unusual camera techniques I'd like to test.  I tend to keep these to myself because a) I don't want to make people question my sanity more than they already do and b) on the off chance it works, I'd hate for someone else to do it first.

I'm going to throw this one out there because I am frustrated with the state of color rendition in digital imaging.

RED said 2k wasn't good enough, made 4k happen, and showed the world why it matters.

I'm still waiting for someone to say 12-bit Bayer ( or whatever) isn't enough, make a sensor that does color better than film, and show the world why this matters.

Here's a camera test that might work as a proof of concept.

Grab three Epic-M Monochrome cameras you might have laying about, along with the usual accessories. Get a red filter, a green filter, and a blue filter. You might want to have these custom made.

Carry all this up a mountain with clear air and a nice view to the west. I'd recommend doing this in Arizona in August, and bringing some rain gear just in case.  

Put one filter on each camera, line them up side by side and genlock them.  Compose a frame where everything in frame is far away.  Enough so that the distance between the cameras is irrelevant.  Since the idea is to use stereographic principles to create three identical frames, personally I'd ask a stereographer to help out.  Up to you.

Set exposure and focus.  Go for hyperfocal if you can.  Wait for sunset.  Roll cameras.  Cut.  Wrap.   Cook steaks on a campfire, put the rest of the food out of reach of bears and get a good night's rest.  Continue in this manner until you see the perfect sunset, run out of food, get attacked by bears, or wish you were on Asteroid B-612.  Go home.

If you don't live in a post-production facilty, go there next.  Tell them what you did.  Give them the footage and let them sort it out.  Wait awhile while they figure out how to handle an unprecedented DSMC color space.

This might not be easy, so don't be surprised if they complain.  When that happens, just throw fat stacks of cash at their heads.  As long as no one loses an eye, it'll make you both feel better.

Once the software development is done, get in the projection room with your colorist.  If he or she doesn't look at the vector scope and start crying, either you did something wrong or it didn't work.

Either way, at least you got to go camping.  With any luck, you've probably got the nicest footage of the colors in a sunset that anyone has ever made.