Does Owning a Red Make You More Attractive as a Cinematographer?

[Tommy Kraft]

Hey all!

I typically rent cameras and own a Black Magic 2.5k, and when it comes to where I invest my money for purchases, I would much prefer to buy lighting and grip gear. I strongly believe that a great cinematographer can make a cell phone look great, and I think (depending on the project), camera choice has much less effect on the outcome than the skill of the person shooting and lighting.

However, I find a lot of smaller productions really like the idea of Red but can't afford it (know the feeling!), and they often want me to bring my own camera. In your opinions, would it make me more attractive as a cinematographer to own a Red? To those of you out there who do own, do you find that owning the camera gets you more jobs? Is it worth the initial high investment?

PS. As I said, I realize the quality of your work is much more important than the camera you shoot on. I personally loathe buying cameras, so I'm asking mainly from a business standpoint if having the higher end camera makes you more reputable, attractive, or more likely to get jobs.

Thank you!

[Nick Pujic]

Hi Tommy, I can only speak for my (our) own experience, but the short answer is yes. We've landed more jobs because we have 3 REDs in-house. Not sure of the logic behind it as I agree with you about all of the other gear making a huge difference regardless of camera, but the notariety that comes with RED, probably due to such awesome image quality, makes us much more attractive to deal with.

Hope this helps!

Nick

[Bing Bailey]

Owning a red will make you a god damn sexual tyrannosaur :)

[John Brennick]

Owning a red will make you a god damn sexual tyrannosaur :)

LOLOL!!

[Terry VerHaar]

I don't know... I've owned a RED camera for about 6 years now and when I look in the mirror, I just see someone getting older, not necessarily more attractive. LOL

[David Collard]

Red Owner Singles dot com has been a bonanza for my dating life...

At the lower to medium end budgets, owning your own equipment can make you "more attractive", but at the higher end it does not matter.
Most DOPs don't own their own equipment. They work with whatever they're given. Happy filming.

[Tommy Kraft]

Thanks for the responses, all. I'm currently in the mid-to-low end in Michigan, which is part of the problem I'm having. I deal with a lot of people who just have to have Red, and it drives them away when I tell them I own a 2.5k BMCC and prefer to rent for larger cameras. It's frustrating because I have actually lost some jobs due to not owning a higher end camera, even though I own every light with grip gear you could ever need. But what do I know? It's all about the name brand! I'm sorry, I'm not bitter lol. But really, I wouldn't hate having a Red, it's just such a huge investment.

[Bob Gundu]

Thanks for the responses, all. I'm currently in the mid-to-low end in Michigan, which is part of the problem I'm having. I deal with a lot of people who just have to have Red, and it drives them away when I tell them I own a 2.5k BMCC and prefer to rent for larger cameras. It's frustrating because I have actually lost some jobs due to not owning a higher end camera, even though I own every light with grip gear you could ever need. But what do I know? It's all about the name brand! I'm sorry, I'm not bitter lol. But really, I wouldn't hate having a Red, it's just such a huge investment.

Sounds like cheap clients who don't want to pay for the gear. Whether you own the camera or not, the client should be paying for that gear. T lol them you have whatever camera they want and build it into the price.

[AndreeMarkefors]

I deal with a lot of people who just have to have Red, and it drives them away when I tell them I own a 2.5k BMCC and prefer to rent for larger cameras. It's frustrating because I have actually lost some jobs due to not owning a higher end camera, even though I own every light with grip gear you could ever need.

I don't understand. You say you prefer to rent the larger cameras. That's a completely valid approach. So when your clients say they want a RED, you rent that and shoot with that, right? In that sense "you have a RED".

It seems simple enough? I don't really see where the issues arise. Please expand.

[Gunleik Groven]

I don't know... I've owned a RED camera for about 6 years now and when I look in the mirror, I just see someone getting older, not necessarily more attractive. LOL

Owning a RED totally changed my life and carrieer in many ways. And repeatedly.

I am not on the top of the "newest and latest" now, but that is because the RED eventually took me into a field where that just doesn't make sense at the moment.

I hope to get back in the center of things, and my red is still crucial to what I do and have been for more than 8 years now.

Yup.
getting older, too