Codex + ARRI Workflow

Codex and the ARRI Alexa Family – From Camera to Post

“The Alexa’s dynamic range and film-like image quality, coupled with the in-camera Codex recording to 120FPS, is remarkable.” Robert Richardson, ASC

Codex has worked closely with ARRI during the development and launch of the Alexa family of cameras. The Codex Onboard Recorder was the first recorder to be certified to record ARRIRAW from the Alexa back at the beginning of 2011 and has since been used on hundreds of feature films and commercials worldwide.

ARRIRAW has become the output of choice for feature films, including The Avengers and Skyfall and Codex recorders have become the recording standard. The ARRI Alexa features a 35MM CMOS bayer sensor. The sensor data is output over T-link to the Codex Onboard Recorder, where it is recorded on a Codex Datapack or Capture Drive. ARRIRAW is 12 bit logarithmic raw Bayer data. The resolution for 16:9 is 2880 x 1620 and for 4:3 it is 2880 x 2160. ARRIRAW can be output and recorded at up to 60FPS for 16:9 and up to 48FPS for 4:3 to an external recorder.

Fast forward to 2013. ARRI and Codex announce the new Alexa XR (extended recording) Module. Building on the success of the Alexa/Codex combination, Codex and ARRI have developed a module that incorporates Codex recording technology directly into the camera. This alleviates the need for cables between the recorder and camera, makes the camera package smaller, and further simplifies ARRIRAW recording. It also enables higher speed ARRIRAW – up to 120FPS for 16:9 and up to 96FPS for 4:3. These developments are bound to intrigue cinematographers and further cement the Alexa/Codex/ARRIRAW workflow as the standard for digital production.

And Codex is not just a recorder – it’s an entire workflow to get your images from camera to post. Use a Codex Vault or a Codex Transfer Station to QC your camera originals, manage your metadata, archive your data and produce dailies. And having been the leader in RAW recording for years, it should be obvious that with Codex, “It just works”.

The Alexa/Codex/ARRIRAW workflow has been used successfully by the world’s leading cinematographers – Robert Richardson, ASC, Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC, Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC….. the list goes on and on. Seamus McGarvey used Alexa and Codex on The Avengers, his first digital project and had this to say:

“The Avengers was the first movie that I shot digitally. Fortunately, shooting ARRIRAW with the
combination of ARRI Alexa cameras and Codex Onboard Recorders made the transition easy. Everything worked flawlessly and the images look amazing.”

Sources at:
more information at CODEX – ARRI