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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 :)

Stolen Camera - RED #1088

Is it possible to program the Red camera to embed it's serial number into the footage so that when the footage is ingested into an editing system that's connected to the internet it triggers a "stolen camera silent alarm" that emails home to the stolen camera database giving an ip address and other pertainent info so that the cameras location (or at least where the stolen cameras footage is being edited is determined).
 
Sorry to hear; those f..ers get sophisticated...
Did you call their insurance prior the rental?
In a case where you do and it's confirmed by the insurer the loss should be covered.. I hope.
All the best with recovery.
 
Sorry to hear your loss. Quite a few of REDs have been stolen so far. I think we need a Auto Lock or GPS locator in Epics.

This surely is a wake up call.
 
I hate to suggest this but why not put a multi region GSM sim card in a small circuit that has it's own battery and draws charge from the camera in ALL new models?

Then you can track it's wherabouts to within a mile or within a few houses in a city AND you could also add a small GPS chip too for good measure to get you down to a few feet.

This I think is less than a hundred dollars of kit at todays rates and should be mandatory.
 
If any of the rental places want help with getting such a system give me a PM. It might put your insurance premiums down a little too. :thumbsup:
 
Even if the cameras had tracking cards in them or whatever, what does that mean you would do, storm the thief's hide-out, guns blazing? Having things stolen really pisses everybody off, but in the end its just a cost of doing business.

We had very expensive lenses (rented from Able) stolen from a hotel in Israel, using a key. The front desk tipped them off and set it up. And the theives stole the AC's boots as well (though they didn't take the Arri). The boot thing really made it personal (and of course they weren't insured)...

Shooting in Egypt we wanted to keep most of the equipment in the truck to save on loading time (this did not include cameras and lenses) so the Egyptians set up a security system which was the truck driver sleeping on sound blankets in the back of the truck with a rope tied to his foot and the other end tied to the inside of the truck door. It seemed to work fine, since nothing was stolen, but I think you would have a harder time convincing a teamster to do that in the States...

I think you just have to establish very strict rules for keeping the camera and lenses with you and recognize that there are always smart, capable, experienced people out there who want to steal your valuable stuff. Counting on the milk of human kindness never seems to work out...

I'm very sorry for your loss though, in any event.

Rob
 
When I worked for Otto Nemenz, we ALWAYS made a photocopy of whatever government issue documentation our new accounts provided-- at they HAD TO HAVE A PHOTO ID. (Passport, driver's license, military.) You said he had a fake driver's license, so that means there was at least a photo of this person on this license and surely you at least made a photocopy of this fake license. It may only be a photocopy but at least you have a picture of this guy to go on.
 
Steve Gibby said:
If anyone tries to have that serial number camera serviced at RED, they'll be nabbed.
Click to expand...

That's a thought.

I am very sorry to hear about your theft, but hopefully you will be covered by insurance.

The real loser will be the innocent person who buys it without realising that it is stolen. And then when they register it with Red, they will lose the camera and have no way of getting their money back from the thief.
 
Originally Posted by Steve Gibby
If anyone tries to have that serial number camera serviced at RED, they'll be nabbed.
Click to expand...

Give it time, and I suspect that there will be engineers in various countries who will service Red's with dodgy serial numbers. There has been quite a number of thefts of HD cameras from british facility companies. Some raids have been done at gun point. They know exactly what they are going for... cameras and lenses. The thought is that they either end up in eastern europe or middle east. They don't even bother trying to sell them in UK. Obviously all the serial numbers get reported to the manufacturers, but very few ever get recovered. They presumably get serviced at companies who turn a blind eye to dodgy serial numbers. I came across a lens in Israel once, hired from a very reputable facility, that had the serial no scratched off.

As more reds go into circulation, they will be more of a target as people work out ways of "self servicing" them.
 
Would it make sense to request SSN along with photo IDs and use something like E-verify (US only) to check validity? I believe E-Verify is free to "employers" and could provide a certain level of comfort for prospective rentals.

...just a thought.
 
Scott Crawley said:
Should we have a sticky post or forum area for stolen gear?
Click to expand...

Yes, please. It's been asked for a lot before. Also need the same easy to find "Before you buy a RED secondhand, read this" page on Red.com.
 
Wow. Just when you think you've got all your bases covered...

I guess I'm going to have to start submitting DNA samples and put on a GPS ankle bracelet companies to get gear now? That's about all left that could be done. :D
 
Rob Gardner said:
Even if the cameras had tracking cards in them or whatever, what does that mean you would do, storm the thief's hide-out, guns blazing? Having things stolen really pisses everybody off, but in the end its just a cost of doing business.
Click to expand...

Report it to the authorities and have them reacquire the equipment and arrest the thieves before they can skip off with it.

You'd have to act fast, but if you have a GPS tracker, you can know where they are and where they are hiding it. I am sure it'd take them at least a day or two to get it out of the country, which should be more than enough time for authorities to respond.
 
Wesley Scoggins said:
You'd have to act fast, but if you have a GPS tracker, you can know where they are and where they are hiding it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but these kinds of thieves that go after high tech gear probably know how to take off the tracker pretty quickly.
 
I've learned from an incident with my former HVX-200, where it was not stolen, but rather rented by somebody for an ulterior motive - something slightly digusting you get what I mean, which meant I had to get my camera back from police, and had to spend time with the prosecutor to show them how to offload the P2 footage to present in court.

I've learned to say our business, our rules. If I don't know the person, and the person does not have a history in the region (having lived at the same address for x months), I ask them to get a notarized copy of a secure form of identification - passport, drivers license, and I demand that it be mailed or hand delivered by the notary or legal office, otherwise it is not valid, thus making the chance of a forgery infinitesimally small. Insurance is also a must - NO INSURANCE = NO RENTAL. I had this bloke doing a film called Mortal Remains approach me a couple months ago - fine, I knew the guy, and told him what the stipulations were. A week before the planned shoot, I hear back from him, and now I knew what the shoot involved - therefore I demanded a matte box with a glass be employed to protect the lens. Three days before the shoot, no matte box, still no insurance. The day of the shoot came, and when he was going to come for the camera - still no insurance, and I am glad that I told him to kindly go multiply, only to see him stuck shooting with a DVX-100. It was hilarious to see just how mad he was after having got all his cast and crew lined up, expecting that I would cave, but he quickly found out that I would not fall for stalling tactics. The lesson here for everybody to learn is that if the potential renter can't get his s**t together or does not present you with with documentation, or does not give you enough time to call the broker and verify the validity of the insurance, DON'T RENT - IT'S NOT WORTH THE HEARTACHE AT THE END!
 
Off topic a little i know and not wanting to take anything way from the complete tool act this was, but this is also a lesson in multiple copies of rushes. what if the dailies had been with the camera and not backed up yet. I know personally of laptops stolen from hotel rooms while the dit guy is right there... sleeping... far more expensive than just the price of the red. note to self...keep your rushes in two places .
 
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