Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Log in
  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Young Man looking for Used RED

G

George T.

Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Hello REDUsers,

I'm George T., and I'm sure you have seen my posts looking for used RED's on the website. I'm sorry if my posts have cluttered the site and for that I'm sorry. I was advised to start my own thread, hoping that people respond. I'm an upperclassmen in college looking to jump start my independent filmmaking career. I originally had the funds available to get a new RED directly from the company, however due to the economy my funds have been cut short. I have already started pre-production for a TV show and a feature film, the TV show starts production in a couple months so I'm desperate to get my hands on a camera. I'm trying to max out at $19,000, but even that I'd have to try to pull strings for. If it could be less that'd make me eternally happy. Anyone trying to do $20,000 I will most definitely consider and try to pull it but I doubt that I can achieve that. Anyway, thank you to all that consider, I hope there's someone out there willing to help a young man make his dreams become reality.
 
err... ok.

So why not just shoot in on HD and get your chops up on HD - a format you could get your hands on a whole lot easier than a RED cam it seems. Limiting yourself to RED is a bit silly.. you're hamstringing yourself right from the get go. Why would you do that?
 
Because I've had experience on the RED, and one of the members of my company has knows it like the back of his hand. The RED is alot better investment, and as you know its upgradeable and is a good investment in the long term. I've done projects in HD and don't need to get my "chops up" on it. I'm just trying to pull some strings right now and hope that a miracle presents itself. I wish you had something more helpful to offer than your post.
 
Why not rent a R1 for now, and once your films have paid off you can get yourself an Epic?

The thinking behind this being if you hire a DP with his own R1, you also get a lot of expertise on the technical side filmmaking with it, thus freeing you to do the directing job.
 
A little free advice...
Owning a Red Camera will not jump start your film career.
The Red, like any camera, Arri 535, Arri BL4, is just a tool.
Owning a camera such as the red, is a matter of economics rather than an investment.
If you have enough paying clients lined up to shoot on the Red & generate enough income to pay off the camera, it might make sense to own one.
If on the other hand your a college student who's dream is to shoot a feature on the Red camera but you don't have the funds to purchase one, it might make more sense to rent one.
 
I'm building what I think is the least expensive rig that will be able to do feature film work and it's around $34,000 with Canon lenses (not including sound, computer hardware, tripod). $20,000 is no where near realistic in the current Red market.

You could get an used HVX-200 / 35mm adapter rig for ~$7,000. Add lenses and audio and needed accessories would be around $16,000. It would do fine for a dramatic HD TV show (although you would work harder on set) but it wouldn't transfer to film well. (Actually for a TV show you could do a pair of new HPX-170s, ditch the lens adapter, and capture more than double the usable footage.) If you do it right the ~7,000+ worth of accessories and additional workflow components would transfer to the Red when you can afford it.

The other thing to consider is how much computer horsepower is required to make the Red workflow work as fast as you would need it to for a weekly show (weekly being an assumption). This is another place the Panasonic camera will save your bacon as you can pull the card right out of the camera and start editing the content, no fuss no downscaling.

Dreaming is essential to the industry, but when it comes to production you have to get very realistic very quickly. If you can't lay your hands on $35,000 and don't have absolutely everything else in your production(s) budgeted for, then your not being realistic. Think it through...

Good Luck,

Bob
 
Bob makes a very good point. Even though the Red is "affordable" compared to the alternatives, it is still expensive. The camera is the tip of the iceberg. You are going to need some serious computer horsepower and storage capacity to work with the footage in post. Do you have that already?

It's not a bad idea to go the way of the Red, just be careful about how much you are really going to spend. Realistically, you need to budget over $60,000.00 for camera and computer, minimum. Otherwise, you're just kidding yourself.

The poor economy is hurting everyone right now. Watch your pennies so you don't have to count your dollars. A delay in owning might not be such a bad idea; you can always purchase the camera tomorrow. But not having the added financial burden hanging over your head might be a smart move as you are just getting started building your business.
 
George,
as others have said, I can see you getting a body and base production pack and maybe batteries for that price but what are you going to do about the other necessary equipment? There is so much else that you need - tripod, computer, drives, cards etc. I don't mean to rain on your parade but RED is maybe not what you need. For that price you could get a nice EX-3 package. This is a great camera that would be more than sufficient for what you want to do. (I'm assuming that your projects are ultra-low budget, correct me if I'm wrong.)
Best of luck,
Shane.
 
George T. said:
Because I've had experience on the RED, and one of the members of my company has knows it like the back of his hand. The RED is alot better investment, and as you know its upgradeable and is a good investment in the long term. I've done projects in HD and don't need to get my "chops up" on it. I'm just trying to pull some strings right now and hope that a miracle presents itself. I wish you had something more helpful to offer than your post.
Click to expand...

Sorry I didn't tell you what you wanted to hear... read the posts that follow mind and you might start to understand the real costs involved in putting together a RED package.

Ignore the considerations at your own risk.
 
I just love the title of this thread. It sounds like a personal ad.

Here's my own version:

"SWF seeks BBS (big, beautiful sensor - tall, dark and Mysterium) for creative, professional relationship. Must be comfortable with being handheld in public and up for long walks on the beach. I'm open to any kind of body/build as long as you can keep up with my active shooting schedule! Sonys need not apply."
 
I heartfully agree.

I just invested 35K USD in an used RED rig and still am looking into renting lenses, mattebox, follow focus and tripod.

In the next few weeks we are going to spend another 5K on the Mattebox, Follow Focus and Filters, and rent lenses to make a feature happen.

Those 5K have been earnings made with the RED so far, but no profits yet.

Don't go RED, if you're starting out, go HVX200 and LETUS, much more affordable.
 
Cameras pop up for sale pretty frequently and with the economy the way it is, you might just find one. Evolve has a standing offer to buy anyone's RED for $12k. There was also briefly a fractional ownership program for RED that someone started. Also, if you can raise $19k, you can most likely raise $20k. You just might have to put that last $1000 on your credit card. There is a long risky tradition of filmakers pulling off their dreams on their credit cards. Something to consider though, Rodriguez shot el mariachi for $7000. And he shot it on film....
 
Ok, you guys are taking it the wrong way. When I say I'm looking for my start I'm saying the next step in the industry, not just "starting out". I'm experienced, I've uses the Arri, HVX, even the CineAlta, 35mm cameras, 16mm cameras. I have a decent budget for the TV show, it's just not allocated for the camera which was supposed to be brought on by me, and the film is the same story. I have a full set of prime lenses, I have a full set of arri lights and kinoflo's, and a steadicam on order so I'm not a completely inexperienced college kid looking to shoot stuff in my backyard. I have mostly everything else I need, including the memory and computer power I need, but we fell short on the camera because of economic reasons. I have a few people part of my production company who know the camera well, having worked on a few productions with it. And for the amount of rental time I'd need it for it would actually surpass the price of the camera, and thats a fact I've already figured out. I'm not trying to be rude or anything to you guys, and i thank you guys for the advice, but I really just need help with the original post I sent and nothing else. So if anyone is interested in my offer please PM me, and otherwise I'd please ask you to not waste your time posting.
 
Hey George,

There will always be those saying you're wasting your time and money. :ranting2:

From my conversations with you it sounds like you are on the right track.

I wouldn't trade my Red for an EX3 or HD cam in a million years. And I've found you can go a long way with not a lot of gear.

Cheers,

Jim

Hold to your guns and best of luck. I'll keep my eye out for a used kit.
 
Hi George,

Perhaps a mixture of buying and renting might be the right answer for you at this time.

How about purchasing a RED ONE body and renting the other gear until you can pay for it.
 
George,
You are on the right track, and if you already own the set of primes and the computer horse power you are more then half way there. The other big expenses beyond the body are the sticks, MB, FF, EVF, ext monitor, etc. I am still waiting on my red monitor, and am using HD-SDI out into my older one, not ideal, but works.

I am sure that with say around $25K you can get the base items you need to start shooting, and beg, borrow, rent the rest. Some good MB's show up for sale on here very often, the RedRock among others. The base items you would need on the Red are the Body, EVF, at least 2 Batteries and charger, 6 is much better (You can also drive the camera direct from the charger if that will work on set) Cheese plate, Rod set, MB, FF.

I do not know about the sound on the Red, I capture to a Aanton Cantor and this works well, but others can tell you more on the quality of sound on the camera itself. So it could be done on the budget you have and then invest in the key other items as you move ahead. As others have said, I would rather shoot on my Red than anything else, and I am pretty new with the camera, having moved from Sony XDCAM systems and love it and will even be taking this back with me to Kabul to shoot Run and Gun Doc work over my companies new Sony PDW700 which is the new ENG love child.

Just my two cents
Ron
 
like most people... red will not get you to the oscars...or to sundance or to anywhere any faster than anything else will..

sounds like your projects are aimed for tv.
HD best...

I would get a ex3 and a lens adapter...and lighting (on your budget)
 
But he stayed in a Holiday Inn last night

Ron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top