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  • 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 :)

Honestly how much minimal investment?

P

paulketterman

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Hi I don't want to waste anyone's time but I am looking for advice. I've edited in both professional and personal settings and shot lots of amateur short videos. I am about to sell a store I own so I'm going to have some money. I daydream about getting a Red One in hopes of garnering more attention to my shorts and possibly being inspired to shoot a feature.

Is this a realistic idea? I shoot with a canon g1, multiple low priced panasonic 3 chips and edit on both MAC FCP and Adobe Premiere on PC.

What is the minimal investment I would spend on a camera, lens, storage and a mac that can process this footage? 35,000.00?

I guess I am asking you (red one users) if I shoot my low budget comedies on Red One and get a film look will it become more legit to try and sell to distribution companies? I know the odds but I'm just curious if any of you have reached a new level of production/profile by adding this awesome invention to your equipment.

Thanks in advanced to anyone who spends any time on this and I hope I'm no intruding on the board.
 
brad is right.. everyone thinks RED is the key to an oscar.
Red is a tool.. so is a canon G1..
I would rather watch an amazing story told and shot on a canon G1.. than a piece of shit shot on RED..

Im not saying your story will be a Pile.. Im just saying, your investment can be used in all around production..

In fact, production design, and a good DP are much much better than owning a red and trying to figure out years worth of knowledge on good lighting and set design.
 
excellent advice. taking 35k and buying a red to shoot a film is a little like taking the same budget and buying a backhoe to build an apartment complex, figuring that you can do everything yourself so long as you own the expensive flashy gear.
 
Brad Webb said:
Invest your $35,000 in your best short. Hire a talented crew and a DP with a Red.

Owning a Red won't make your films look better.
Click to expand...

If you're a writer/director then hire a DP with a RED. If you must buy something for your little shorts then shoot it on the upcoming Canon 7D.

You're way, way, way better off spending your money on script doctoring, actors, costume designers, props and art, colorist and a DP that can get you the look you're after.

RED is more like buying a great set of golf clubs. If you're not already a pretty strong golfer they aren't going to help you win anything.
 
thanks everybody sounds good i'm am curious about any who has a story in relation to this question:

Have any of you have reached a new level of production/profile by adding this awesome invention to your equipment?
 
Although I think that you are all correct and very well know what you are talking about I have to add my 2c:

Owning a camera gives you a tremendous feeling of freedom. The thought of "endless practise" (every free hour you could go out and shoot for fun while learning a lot) and getting smaller jobs (Germany for example lacks professional local advertising in cinemas; you wouldn't believe what is produced here!! Kids will make better stuff on the iPod nano soon!) until you have the perfect idea for a script that get's you a production deal and finally a breakthrough.... you have to admit that it is hard not to dream about it!

Realistically, if you do try that you should have a plan B ready!
 
Hi Paul,

Thanks for your post. You sound a lot like me. Before Red I was mainly an editor, but always had a decent prosumer camera around to shoot my own stuff.

I longed for more freedom, experience, and quality. I decided to buy a Red One and it was everything I hoped for. Great success.

Now, if I were in your shoes, I would set my sights a little lower, maybe getting a Canon 7D or a Scarlet.

I don't recommend sinking $35k into either a camera or a short film. Get a great affordable camera that you can build some chops on.

As I said, the Red One lifted me out of obscurity and I now work on some very high profile projects.

But for me, I already had all the relationships and experience in place, the camera was just the final piece of the puzzle, not the entire game.

Best of luck!

Jim
 
Your $ will go a lot farther if you can wait for Scarlet. Then you can get additional things that you will need- like more lenses, a good tripod, light kits, grip gear, mics, etc. etc. etc.
 
thanks guys I was unaware of the scarlet and that looks like the way to go for a first timer, just a few more questions, what will i need to edit this footage? If some one uses mac maybe they can tell me about their setup: the processor, ram, and any cards i may need. Also how much memory (recording module) and storage space do I need to feel comfortable? Do I need a fleet of external terrabyte drives? Thanks
 
Zakaree Sandberg said:
brad is right.. everyone thinks RED is the key to an oscar.
Red is a tool.. so is a canon G1..
I would rather watch an amazing story told and shot on a canon G1.. than a piece of shit shot on RED..

Im not saying your story will be a Pile.. Im just saying, your investment can be used in all around production..

In fact, production design, and a good DP are much much better than owning a red and trying to figure out years worth of knowledge on good lighting and set design.
Click to expand...


I would say good casting, editor, script, sound (in that order) are what make a solid pic. We will forgive a bad visual as long as the story is solid and sounds decent.
 
Hi Paul,

Pretty much any decent computer will work, it's really a matter of time and convenience. In other words, an iMac will transcode Red footage just as well as a Mac Pro, but it will take longer, and your monitoring options are more limited.

Many Red users are getting great results from PCs as well, so you really shouldn't feel limited by your computer power.

Check out Scarlet and see what you think. There are some fantastic options.

Cheers,

Jim
 
paulketterman said:
thanks guys I was unaware of the scarlet and that looks like the way to go for a first timer, just a few more questions, what will i need to edit this footage? If some one uses mac maybe they can tell me about their setup: the processor, ram, and any cards i may need. Also how much memory (recording module) and storage space do I need to feel comfortable? Do I need a fleet of external terrabyte drives? Thanks
Click to expand...

I agree with jimhare.

I edit on PC/Windows systems. I can edit using Adobe Premiere CS4 on both my powerful desktop, and my puny notebook.

But on the notebook, I have to watch in 1/8 resolution.

Yes, you will need Terrabytes of storage. I have only shot a few things on the Red so far, but already have 3 Tb.

You will also need to work out how you will back it all up, because hard drives fail from time to time. LTO-3 tape drives seem to be the general preference around RedUser.
 
If you want to make movies, hire people and rent gear. If you want to play with the toys, buy the toys. It's hard to be a gear-head AND a writer AND director AND make great films. I've tried it in my own minor way. Even Steven Soderbergh has trouble pulling it off sometimes. Figure out what your objective is and focus on that - because once you spend the money it's gone.
 
In the country where I live there are 4 RED Cameras. Three of them are for rent.
Our camera is the fourth and we don't rent it, just use it for our own production.
Most people opposed this idea. We did not hear them and bought RED as we
have done with all our gears, (buy them, never rent), because that helps us experiment more.

With RED, the production went to a new level, our customers liked it a lot.
Owning a RED (or your own gear) gives you a lot of freedom, helps you learn
more but, as other mentioned, you'd better know what you're doing. Having a
RED made us try harder and learn more to catch RED Quality up. We worked
more on casting, preproduction, lighting, editing, color Correction etc.

It's not just about buying or renting a RED (or even Scarlet). It's about you
being ready to work harder to go up to RED's (Scarlet) level, not bring it down to your
level. As the proverb says: "The strength of the chain is in the weakest link".

To summarize it. It's up to you. Take your time to think. Don't just listen to what others say.
You know yourself better than anybody. Just, are you READY?
 
paulketterman said:
Hi I don't want to waste anyone's time but I am looking for advice. I've edited in both professional and personal settings and shot lots of amateur short videos. I am about to sell a store I own so I'm going to have some money. I daydream about getting a Red One in hopes of garnering more attention to my shorts and possibly being inspired to shoot a feature.

Is this a realistic idea? I shoot with a canon g1, multiple low priced panasonic 3 chips and edit on both MAC FCP and Adobe Premiere on PC.

What is the minimal investment I would spend on a camera, lens, storage and a mac that can process this footage? 35,000.00?

I guess I am asking you (red one users) if I shoot my low budget comedies on Red One and get a film look will it become more legit to try and sell to distribution companies? I know the odds but I'm just curious if any of you have reached a new level of production/profile by adding this awesome invention to your equipment.

Thanks in advanced to anyone who spends any time on this and I hope I'm no intruding on the board.
Click to expand...

A camera's a camera man.
The way I see it, if you want to pursue a directing\writing\creative career, investing in an expensive camera is the wrong step.
Many people think that buying the next big thing (now is the RedOne, tomorrow it might the Epic or something else) is the wisest choice, because it's much more tangible than a short film: but at the end of the day, if you don't use it or rent it, what you have is just a large, heavy and hefty hornament. Using the same amount of money to do a short eventually can turn out to be a better investment.
 
If you can put the cam to use...: Buy it.

If it's a paperweight... Rent by project.

Don't calculate renting in your budget. Take it as a bonus.

Cheers!
 
mostly I agree with everyone here, but I would add, if you buy it used you can resell it later, depending on conditions.. there are several used red ones for sale..

I generally agree with renting, but if you're looking to develop your craft, having it around to test and practice with might be worth what you'll lose when you resell it.
 
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