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Commercial Footage shot with less than $19k?

michael zaletel

michael zaletel

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There are several posts about what it costs to properly outfit the Red One with costs ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 depending upon accessories and lenses.

I am curious if anyone has actually shot any commercial or feature footage using less than $19,000 in total equipment including the $17,500 cost of the Red One of course. I realize it is only remotely "possible" to do this but I want to know if anyone has done it for hire and lived to tell about it. :)

...and can link us to the footage to show for it.

There is a MASSIVE market of independent filmmakers and commercial videographers for whom $15,000 in gear is the absolute ceiling but could come up with another $4-5k if they absolutely had to. Sure a properly outfitted RED would be optimal but wouldn't footage from the "barest bones" RED setup be far better ANYTHING else in that price range?

Purists please humor me on this discussion. It is valid to some.
 
19K is way to low. You'll need a power pack, Media, and of course lens(es). The lightest packages will be in the 25k range, methinks.

If you have paying gigs you'll probably want to rent...you can get a shooting package for around 2k/week (no bells & whistles)
 
shooter said:
There are several posts about what it costs to properly outfit the Red One with costs ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 depending upon accessories and lenses.

I am curious if anyone has actually shot any commercial or feature footage using less than $19,000 in total equipment including the $17,500 cost of the Red One of course. I realize it is only remotely "possible" to do this but I want to know if anyone has done it for hire and lived to tell about it. :)
Click to expand...

Hmm.... the camera is $18K with the required CF Card option.

Buy a 17" LCD monitor and cable - $200.
Buy one CF Card. $200.
Buy a RED AC Power - $150 (or whatever it is)
Buy a nikon mount - $500
Buy a $100 lens. - $100

That's $19,150. It wouldn't be pleasant but you could shoot something. Probably short form.

I hope you've already got a good tripod, computer, hard drives, software etc.

Original purchasers got a $2500 accessory credit. That helped obviously.

Get an EX1 and put an adapter on it. Or RENT. Or buy a real kit and sell it when your project is over. Probably get 80% of your money back.
 
This is a purely theoretical barebones minimum - ie It powers up and It shoots something.

Red body $17500
1 CF card $199
1 CF Module $500
AC power adaptor $135
Peleng fisheye $380
hansg 17 in monitor $160

Total cost $18,495

The production value and functional limitations imposed by the 19k red set up are so significant that I believe in all cases you will be better served by a less expensive camera. This camera begins to become a flexible shooting option at around $25k.
 
I'm about to make a reservation and my thought is:

cam body 17500
production pack 1250
power pack 1450
raid drive 900
lcd 1700

total: 22800. I'll work out the lens issue later.

I'm not as camera smart as I need to be so, does this make sense? Missing anything?
 
We had a thread about this earlier, and even 22K was a bit too low. You'll find that you need some gadgets and gizmos to make shooting with the camera a success and I said in that thread that I think 25K is what everyone should plan on spending to get a basic configuration that includes the appropriate power, media, and monitoring. And you'll want a Macbook Pro in a lot of situations, so you can see that it's a bigger investment than you may be prepared for. 1 battery wil last you about 90 minutes. You never go out with one battery.

Keep an eye on Scarlet. See what it is and if it offers a happy medium, but I really encourage everyone to look at RED as a minimum $25K purchase, just so there are no surprises. Which we all know, is still a bargain in terms of what the camera offers. The $2500 credit Jim offered to those of us in early definitely helped get more accessories.

Not trying to disuade anyone from getting the camera, just be realistic about it. You may be better off with another camera that you can accessorize more completely.
 
good luck, it could be done, but no "real" DP would shoot on it. RENT what you need!

I have about 35k in ours...and would have paid 2x this for a camera like this.
 
falcon418 said:
I'm about to make a reservation and my thought is:

cam body 17500
production pack 1250
power pack 1450
raid drive 900
lcd 1700

total: $22800. I'll work out the lens issue later.

I'm not as camera smart as I need to be so, does this make sense? Missing anything?
Click to expand...

RED Drive needs a $200 cable.

So functionally - the cheapest working RED is probably $25K. Then add a tripod that'll support the weight.
 
Yes, I really should wait until NAB just to find out what the deal is with Scarlet. Only problem is that I have it in my head that Red might use NAB to raise the price, which I assume will come one of these days.

Anybody have a thought on that?
 
Well...
Body: $17,500
CF Module: $500
8GB CF: $199
Nikon Mount: $500
AC Power Adaptor: $135
HDMI LCD: <= $400
HDMI Cable: <=$20
Nikon Glass: <= $200
Total: $18954

Without Tax Or Shipping!

This is not the best idea...but it should work and record.

Renting is a better idea for wanting to spend that amount. You should be able to get a Red One with Red Glass and setup for about $14500 for a month.
 
Rent!

If you need to buy, wait a few years, then buy one used. Or go back in time, put your $1000 down early, and get the $2500 early reservation holder discount.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com
 
Me... 2 cameras w/cf module - 36k
2 CF cards - $400?
2 Nikon mounts - 1k
2 50-300 Nikon lens (on hand) $600 total
2 95mm ND filters - $90 bucks
2 mini tripods (for lens to rest on) about $12 bucks
2 AC pouer adapters - $270
2 Xantrex Power 1500 battery carts w/ac inverter - (I think) about $600 total
books and moveable small table to set and prop camera on - priceless, because they are already on hand.

Already have monitors to hook up to each camera and obviously they will not be used "run and gun", or handheld at all.

Computers and most software needed already on hand. Will worry about additional software once I get to post. This is just how I (will) roll when shooting.

I'm sure there are many who wish to help who will say "but you need this and you need that"... and they will be right. But this is on the very edge of a razor blade and if I fall either way, I walk away in one piece. But if I fall straight doun I become cleaved, so please don't try and sway me one way or the other. I'm male and don't need cleavage.

I don't know how this fits in the $19,000 camera set up the first poster inquired about... I just know that the above figures are what are staring at me personally.
 
Bruce Allen said:
Or go back in time, put your $1000 down early, and get the $2500 early reservation holder discount.
Click to expand...

Gee... I was there then! I totally forgot about this! Wow!!! Flashback! But then again, I was scared shitless then...

But I went for the 200€ pair of real cool Oakleys though... As I do every summer, they always get snatched on holiday! Hope I get better luck with the Cam! ;P
 
Even if you have $25,000.

Rent the camera, because you still have to post the project in that budget right?

I hope you already have an 8 cores and monitors, storage, FCPS2, and Etc...

Any one thinking of buying this camera should budget for $40,000 plus to have a real package.

Tek
 
so you've got the other stuff, right? what about tripod, sound, post, etc?

another option: lease the equipment. i heard 60k would cost maybe $1200 in monthly payment. you could stretch 19k out to 16 months of 60k worth of equipment (enough time and equipment to shoot several features).

of course, you'll have to have a day job that could come up with an extra 1200 after the 16months.

or, just lease 25k and stretch it out accordingly.

that's a really rough estimate, though.
 
Thanks for the replies... ($19,699 setup)

Thanks for the replies... ($19,699 setup)

Thanks for all the great replies on this thread.

Definitely need the CF module and CF card but the power pack isn't a "necessity". The AC Power adapter at $135 will suffice with extension cords and AC/DC converters in most cases. I think the Nikon mount makes a lot of sense because nearly every city has a camera shop that rents Nikon lenses. There are surplus 22" monitors with HDMI inputs to be had for $214 and even that Michael Douglas feature pictured in another post is using old-school mounting solutions like crates, carts and sandbags. Figure some cheap shop lights and shower curtains from Home Depot and a couple of mics from Radio Shack and you can shoot a feature film for under $19,699. (Not including Post of course)

Red One = $17,500
Nikon Mount = $500
CF Module = $500
(2) CF 8GB = $398
AC Power Adapter = $135
22" HDMI surplus monitor* = $214
(2) Crates = $16
Sandbags = $4
Shop Lights = $150
Shower Curtains & PVC pipe = $100
Green Paint = $27
Radio Shack XLR mics = $80
**RENTAL (Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S Lens) = $75 per week.

Knowing you shot a feature film for less than a catered lunch, PRICELESS.

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's RED!


BTW, I'll probably take everyone's advice and budget $25k, but it's still fun to talk about the original "under $20k" dream that started all this.


** 22" HDMI monitor $213
http://www.starsurplus.com/viewitem.lasso?i=HG216DPB-R
 
Figure some cheap shop lights
Click to expand...

NO, NO, and NO.

Stop right there.

Please buy the Kino Tubes and Home Depot housing for your lights. Less than $100 lights just put it together yourself.

Cheap even lights.

Shop lights does work because of color temp they don't match and they are not even. Can not do color correction if they don't match.

LOL, break a leg.

Tek
 
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