Good news for RED shooters with an iOS device: a just-released app helps users learn the RED camera menu from their iPhones and iPads.
It's an all-too-typical scene: on set, a shooter and a camera assistant crowd around the LCD menu display of a production camera, trying to make sense of the camera menu. For those who have been confronted with this situation, you probably thought, "I wish I had more time to learn the menu before we started shooting." Instead, you wasted valuable time during your shoot day laboring to dial up the correct settings for your next set-up.
This usually occurs when shooters are confronted with a camera that they don't ordinarily use (or it was the producer's decision to go with the 'hot' camera, regardless of his-or-her cinematographer's experience working with it). For anyone shooting with a RED camera for the first time (or even experienced shooters who want a refresher or an easily accessible resource), there's an iOS app that could alleviate a lot of headaches.
Donna, available now through the App Store, replicates the menu system on RED Epic and Scarlet cameras, so that users can get better acquainted with the menus without needing cameras in front of them.
To be clear, this isn't a 'remote' app, meaning you cannot adjust in-camera settings through the app, but it's useful nonetheless because, as I described earlier, you really don't want to eat into your shooting day searching through an unfamiliar menu. Plus, if you're having troubles with your RED camera on-set, you can start a support ticket through Donna. This is a FREE app, so there's really no excuse not picking it up, unless you (and your team) only use Android devices. An Android version of Donna may be developed in the future, depending on demand.
More information on Donna can be found HERE. And check out the demo video of Donna below.