Honestly how much minimal investment?

[paulketterman]

I was just checking in to see if the scarlet was ready. does anyone know a possible release date yet?

 

[Jason Kartalian]

I think you should drop $35K on a Red one and then advertise yourself as a Red one owner/cinematographer.

 

[Peter Hodgins]

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

Yes it will. (short reply for short reply)

 

[Julian Gerretsen]

I don't quite agree with the sentiment that having a better piece of equipment won't make your films better. I am a pretty good director/cinematographer with a decent wedding/commercial business. When I upgraded from DV to HDV, I was complimented on how much more professional (because I was able to do so much more with the camera) my stuff looked, and it definitely helped my business. I know that RED will help me to make and even bigger jump.

There are good examples of director/cinematographer's who do both jobs.

I agree that life will be easier if you are a good director but not so good at the photography... then hiring a DP would be a good move. However, if you are good at both, then why not go down this route? If you are on a low budget and cannot get a DP to work on deferral, this may in any case be your only option.

But whatever may have been said here, if you are at least a good photographer, RED will undoubtedly improve the quality of your (already well shot?) footage.

Besides, you can always do the setting up and lighting and get a camera operator to execute the moves whilst you direct. Hey, you're shooting on digital... it's not exactly a train wreck if you have to do a re-take.

 

[Gunleik Groven]

Remembering how RED once popped up on the dvxuser forum and created a dream among dvxusers and film-photographers alike, it's fun to read these posts.

And a lot of FUD was generated around the whole shooting on a S35 sensor.

Shure. A RED is not going to give you a freee ride. Whatever you use, you'll need to hone your skills. And setting up a rental business around a basic RED package is just not gonna fly these days. It might for an initial period when the Epic comes out, but I wouldn't bet my house on it...

That said. Owning a cam gives you so much more time to explosere and learn, if you are so inclined. And that way a RED one might very well be the right step to get further.

Just remember: It's not the cam itself, but what you make out of it which will be the difference for you as to before and after you buy a RED One.

Looking at the used cams for sale postings, it looks like quite a few have bought packages they didn't manage to circulate, be it on their own or others projects.

Define your needs. And re-define them if you need.

Wether you should spend your cash on a RED1 or on an actor or on a fantastic photographer should be the result of your own analysis. They may all be equally good choices, depending on where you are and where you want to go.

Good luck!

Gunleik

 

[Cüneyt Kaya]

if you can afford, buy, it makes just so much fun to shoot whatever you want whenever you want...and its your baby...if you want to stop shooting because of a football game, you stop, because you dont have to bring back the baby to the rental company next morning

its funny that redowners say not to buy (i did the same in the past)...hehe
man, you have only one life, if you want to buy buy it!

 

[Gunleik Groven]

if you can afford, buy, it makes just so much fun to shoot whatever you want whenever you want...and its your baby...if you want to stop shooting because of a football game, you stop, because you dont have to bring back the baby to the rental company next morning

its funny that redowners say not to buy (i did the same in the past)...hehe
man, you have only one life, if you want to buy buy it!

Way to go!

I think a lot are trying to protect what rentals they still have.

Pretty much like the film crew tried to convince the HVX guys back in the old days.

You like to shoot!

Get it and shoot!

 

[Cüneyt Kaya]

shoot with it baby...dont listen to the people..hehe

 

[Adil Lahoulou]

buying a red to hone your skills is akin to buying a whaling ship to learn how to fish. Wait for the Canon 550d ($800 body) and buy it along with some (3 or so) fast used primes and you'll have everything you need to shoot a beautiful short that can be shown at festivals, vimeo, youtube etc. When you get good enough to upgrade you'll still have a decent dslr, b cam, bts cam in your arsenal.

 

[Sid Idris]

It amazes me how much content is sourced with RED just so it can be shown on Youtube and Vimeo. I agree with Adil, get the cheap vdslr coming in the next couple of months and focus on your writing. In my brief experience I would say that 80% of directing is about good casting and "no budget" good casting is about having a great story/script.

 

[Scott Crawley]

buying a red to hone your skills is akin to buying a whaling ship to learn how to fish. Wait for ...

I see what you mean, in a manner of speaking. Your argument seems to assume that one is #1 an aspiring writer/director, and or #2 choosing a Red based simply on the basis of resolution. If one is an aspiring cinematographer there are lots of other reasons to choose a Red to cut your teeth on.

However it makes no difference if you are waiting for some future Canon or a Scarlet. If all you are doing is waiting, then you aren't learning anything either way.

Sorry to contribute to the de-railling of the thread.

 

[Cüneyt Kaya]

i dontunderstand why every time someone mentions to buy a red people are talking about the story and actors...maybe there are some guys who have good stories and want resolution

 

[Jeff Coatney]

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.

Having been down this road, here's what I would do: Put half your resources towards your project. I would buy a Scarlet fixed when its released, until then I would rent a Red (preferably hire someone to DP that owns a Red). Buy the top-end Mac Pro tower to edit & finish.

1. Buy the post solution. Mac Tower and three FW drives: approx. $5000 - $6000.

2. Rent the Red camera for Production. Hire crew, especially Sound.

3. Buy Scarlet fixed when released: Approx $7,500

 

[Julian Gerretsen]

To add another of my boring monologues, my cousin is a professional sound recordist who does a lot of work with a director/cameraman/editor who has built up a very successful and solid business based around his ability to both direct and operate the camera at the same time. That's a good example of an "ordinary guy" doing both jobs. He cannot of course manage the sound at the same time, hence plenty of work for my cousin.

An example of a "big time" director/cameraman would be Robert Rodriguez, who likes to handle the camera, direct as well as edit and score.

Peter Jackson, on his earlier films, also doubled up as camera operator and director.

In any event, I guess what I am trying to say is that it is not a particularly unprecedented situation for a director to also be the DOP/Cameraman (or combination of these 2). Some people can manage it extremely well.

 

[Steve Das]

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?

Don't think shooing with higher resolution is going to help your low budget comedies
at all..funny is funny no matter what it's shot on. Hmmm..maybe that is
why there are so few IMAX comedies

In fact sometimes people use a degraded picture for a certain
kind of reality look/budget/attitude. Granted this is not mainstream film/actor
production and is an exception. But it does exist as a market
with the Jackass stuff and reality tv.

Seems like you should just continue shooting with what you've got
and when you feel you have the script/funds/experience to pull of
a feature just rent or buy the best camera you can
at that point. Only worry about resolution when your ready to pull trigger on a feature.

But if your goal is to have your stuff distributed as you say...
then you need to make the leap to feature length productions. As
really there is no market for short film distribution that am aware of.

 

[paulketterman]

Having been down this road, here's what I would do: Put half your resources towards your project. I would buy a Scarlet fixed when its released, until then I would rent a Red (preferably hire someone to DP that owns a Red). Buy the top-end Mac Pro tower to edit & finish.

1. Buy the post solution. Mac Tower and three FW drives: approx. $5000 - $6000.

2. Rent the Red camera for Production. Hire crew, especially Sound.

3. Buy Scarlet fixed when released: Approx $7,500

I appreciate everyone's advice I think I agree with jeff here and this is probably what I'll do, the Billion dollar question is does anyone know when the scarlette is coming? Thanks Again everyone.