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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 :)

ALERT: Red Cameras & Access. Stolen in Boston

Derek Devine said:
Love the idea, but I feel sorry for the guy that buys this "used RED" off ebay
only to have it nuked because he/she didn't know it was stolen. I'd hate to see more victims of this crime. But, how cool would it be to create a camera that no one their right mind would want to steal.
Click to expand...

Which is why we need a central very sticky place to look for details and serial numbers of stolen RED and associated kit before buying anything related on Ebay!
 
I had this kind of unfortunate incident happen to me back in 2006 with my HVX-200, when I rented out my camera to a chap who had a local digital entertainment company going by the name of Iron Mountain Entertainment Group. His phone calls went unanswered, and I reported the camera as stolen. About a month later, I get a call from the police that they got my camera back from him - after he used it to film his sick pleasures rather than a public service advertisement for the local Rotary Club. It turns out the insurance certificate he presented me was a forgery. Sadly, he was acquitted on a technicality, and he's still out there in the Vancouver area. I got my camera back, but sadly the P2 cards were retained as evidence.

My advice is to ask for a security deposit, and ensure it clears the bank, or else take something like a passport or other form of secure ID as security until the goods are returned. It also does not hurt to phone the insurance broker on the certificate to verify its authenticity.
 
I am curious why the rental house would consider the gear stolen if the return date hasn't been missed yet?

Also why would someone choose to order lower-end gear like Zeiss primes instead of more valuable stuff if they were planning to steal it?

There was a great thread a few months ago about the possibility of building theft protection into a camera. Can anyone dig it up?
 
Brent J. Craig said:
I am curious why the rental house would consider the gear stolen if the return date hasn't been missed yet?

Also why would someone choose to order lower-end gear like Zeiss primes instead of more valuable stuff if they were planning to steal it?

There was a great thread a few months ago about the possibility of building theft protection into a camera. Can anyone dig it up?
Click to expand...

More details will be revealed when appropriate I'm sure. Part of the reason for not posting too much detail about the people who rented is that technically the return date has not been reached, but let's just say that there are circumstances which leave little doubt of what happened. I'm going to leave it up to Billy from Film Star and Dave from Rule/Boston Camera to take it from here.

They can provide follow-up and perhaps provide the community with any new information that might surface.

I appreciate any help you guys may provide to them, as they are both good companies here in Boston and really have embraced the Red camera.

Thanks!
 
If anyone buys $20K+ camera from Ebay, or anywhere else for that mater, without checking with RED and getting it re-certified - they are asking for troubles IMHO... At the very least they should check (and verify) original purchase documents and invoices from RED.
 
It is sad .. that is why I am not comfortable to rent my RED to unknown party .. oh its the only thing I love apart from my family .. inseparable :)
 
You can be damn sure I will keep a look out for your stuff. I am sorry that happened to you. Lets nail those bastards! I have zero tolerance for that crap.

If we can help down here in Florida, please contact us.
 
there have been some cheap phones like the fire fly from at&t they were baby phones for kids and parents could go on line and locate the the phone usually in the child's pocket and find the kid in any given situation. that little GPS chip is stuck in the phone to provide that that sevice. hint hint on a new optional feature-is it possible to stick those things in the camera and when ever you want to go on line and locate the thing it gives you the location and eh hopefully an option to disable tha camera from further use until reactivated by the owner??? then sue the donkey-holes that stole it? hmmmmm?
 
Details on Stolen RED One

Details on Stolen RED One

Thanks for everyone's patience in getting the details out about the theft of our RED One camera package. Everything takes a little longer around the holidays. On the positive side, we own more than one RED camera so we are still renting. We appreciate everyone keeping their eyes open for our stuff, but, more important, we hope that some details will prevent it happening to others.

First, what was take:

RED One serial# 1746
includes: CF Module, Base Production Pack, RED Viewfinder, RED LCD Monitor, Element Technica Video Breakout box, Element Technica EVF Support Bracket

Cooke 18-100 Lens serial# 789291

Also stolen:
320GB RED Hard Drive, 4 RED Camera Batteries, 2 RED Battery Chargers, A&J Cases with BOSTON CAMERA engraved on the valance plus cables and accessories

2 Film Tools Car Mounts, 1 large 3 suction mount and one single car mount


Some details of what happened that might help to prevent it happening to someone else.
The equipment was being rented by a new client who called themselves B and H Films although on some of the paperwork it also appeared as Band H films. The names given for the Rental Application were Rich Robinson and his partner Rachel Robinson. *They were in town to do a T-Mobile spot, and they hired 3 locals over Craig's list as Production Assistants. Their insurance certificate was checked and valid. They listed one of the local PA's hired as well as another local Rental House as references. Since both were part of this job, they were able to corroborate a relationship with the client.

All new clients are COD. The Production Assistants came in on Wednesday December 24th to pick up the equipment. Since they are local crew, they were known by the employees. One of them had a check from the company which did not draw any red flags and they left with the equipment and met two other people identifying themselves as Nick and Christina in another town who took possession of the equipment. One of the local crew members had previously met Nick and Christina when he was hired for this spot so still no red flags. He described them as both African American in their Late 20's or early 30's, driving a Red Pontiac Vibe with North Carolina plates.

We were contacted by one of the local Production Assistants on Saturday December 27th. This was the scheduled shoot day and only the local crew members appeared on location. Since then we have been in contact with the police, insurance companies, everyone involved and other local contacts trying to put all the details together. The job was scheduled to return on Monday December 29th and, of course, did not.
 
That's nuts... they sure went to a lot of trouble to make it look legit.

Curious - Did anyone contact T-Mobile to see if they had anything to say about doing a spot?



I live and do a lot of work in South/North Carolina - eyes and ears are open.

Alas - Happy New Year : )
 
Andy Dunn said:
Thanks for everyone's patience in getting the details out about the theft of our RED One camera package. Everything takes a little longer around the holidays. On the positive side, we own more than one RED camera so we are still renting. We appreciate everyone keeping their eyes open for our stuff, but, more important, we hope that some details will prevent it happening to others.

First, what was take:

RED One serial# 1746
includes: CF Module, Base Production Pack, RED Viewfinder, RED LCD Monitor, Element Technica Video Breakout box, Element Technica EVF Support Bracket

Cooke 18-100 Lens serial# 789291

Also stolen:
320GB RED Hard Drive, 4 RED Camera Batteries, 2 RED Battery Chargers, A&J Cases with BOSTON CAMERA engraved on the valance plus cables and accessories

2 Film Tools Car Mounts, 1 large 3 suction mount and one single car mount


Some details of what happened that might help to prevent it happening to someone else.
The equipment was being rented by a new client who called themselves B and H Films although on some of the paperwork it also appeared as Band H films. The names given for the Rental Application were Rich Robinson and his partner Rachel Robinson. *They were in town to do a T-Mobile spot, and they hired 3 locals over Craig's list as Production Assistants. Their insurance certificate was checked and valid. They listed one of the local PA's hired as well as another local Rental House as references. Since both were part of this job, they were able to corroborate a relationship with the client.

All new clients are COD. The Production Assistants came in on Wednesday December 24th to pick up the equipment. Since they are local crew, they were known by the employees. One of them had a check from the company which did not draw any red flags and they left with the equipment and met two other people identifying themselves as Nick and Christina in another town who took possession of the equipment. One of the local crew members had previously met Nick and Christina when he was hired for this spot so still no red flags. He described them as both African American in their Late 20's or early 30's, driving a Red Pontiac Vibe with North Carolina plates.

We were contacted by one of the local Production Assistants on Saturday December 27th. This was the scheduled shoot day and only the local crew members appeared on location. Since then we have been in contact with the police, insurance companies, everyone involved and other local contacts trying to put all the details together. The job was scheduled to return on Monday December 29th and, of course, did not.
Click to expand...

Firstly, I'm very sorry for your loss; I hope you are made well and the miscreants are caught and justice served.

Now I must say that your assertion of "no red flags" leaves me to conclude that you are much more naive than I.

Crew hired via Craig's List? What legitimate production company does that? To me that's a major red flag. Don't production companies use professional forums and personal endorsements from other companies to search for crew? At least that's my experience.

Did you check any references other than the circular chain of local crew, none of whom had prior experience with the "company?" Did you check with any other rental house? If not, why not?

I'm assuming the check you received is no good and that you failed to call the bank to verify the account. Even a retailer would have required a driver's license to accept a check. Sounds like you did not even meet the renter in person. Wow.

Finally, your comment about everything taking longer around the holidays is quite curious; if my camera had been stolen, I would have been all over the forums giving as much detail as possible to the community.

I'm interested in the insurance certificate; you say it was checked and was valid. What does that mean? Is it ID theft? What exactly did the issuing company say?

I hope this does not sound harsh, it's not my intention at all; I just find it quite surprising that a rental company would fail to see so many red flags.

I wish you a new year filled with legitimate clients!

Best regards,

Leo
 
Leo Ticheli said:
Crew hired via Craig's List? What legitimate production company does that? To me that's a major red flag. Don't production companies use professional forums and personal endorsements from other companies to search for crew? At least that's my experience.
Click to expand...

Actually, Craigslist can be a pretty good place to get crew. I've been hired as a PA a couple of times a few years ago for out of town companies for shows on Discovery and Nat. Geo. I've also been hired as a camera op for a show on CMT through it. That said, there can been so crap jobs offered. Of course, I've always been able to do research on the production company and they've always wanted references.

Of course, Tennessee is far different than NYC or LA when it comes to craigslist.

Matthew
 
Hi Noah! Happy New Year!

Perhaps I've been missing a lot of work!

When I've used Craig's List to advertise real estate, all I've gotten are Nigerian scam replies. I did get a very good figure model from one Craig's List ad, so I can't say it's all bad.

I still believe a red flag should have been raised over the Craig's List involvement in this particular case.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
As a Red owner in North Carolina (and knowing all of the other RED owners around central NC), we'll keep an eye out, too.

Hopefully these guys will be found.

Good luck.

Kevin
 
Key Code

Key Code

:angry02:
An optional key code sounds great. And if the RED is rented the renter could call the rental house for the key code on a daily basis. Of course the codes would be user defined. Maybe? Just to piggy back off the earlier thought of a key code. A useful deterrent I'm sure. :ph34r:
 
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