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New member! Scarlet plunge questions

MatthewThompson

MatthewThompson

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Hello This is my first post and it's about going for the Scarlet plunge.I wanted to know how people are currently responding to the Scarlet vs. the Epic and the Dragon to come. Are clients asking for the Epic only or is there still a strong market for jobs? I've come across a good offer for a used Scarlet and I don't know if it's too late to start here.My background is AC and operator for small web ads but mostly independent shorts/features. I don't need to make the money back right away but will I ever? Any advice will be useful to me, still working my way through the forum.thank you!
 
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In my experience you won't make money renting out a Scarlet unless you're renting out yourself and the Scarlet comes with it.

People either want Epic/Alexa, or they want C300 (from some reason) or they want DSLR. The Scarlet doesn't seem to get much of a look-in unless you're selling it as a camera/operator package.
 
Have to agree. I make my money DITING with the Scarlet as a package.
I also do weddings and steadicam shoots with it so hit people not suspecting such a high end camera. Sort of reverse advertising!
Not pretty but earns the dollars!
Good luck, you won't look back!
 
I'm n the same boat of Simon. You wont regret it.
Maybe after a while you can make enough money to upgrade to Epic. All you need is to wait till you rent the camera for a couple of 'bigger' jobs. With patience you will look back and realise you have made the camera's worth much earlier than you expected.
 
Feeling welcome, thanks everyone for the quick responses- I guess it looks like I'd be taking more of the RED plunge than just a Scarlet one. The deal I'd be getting for the scarlet is close to the price of an Epic upgrade so if can pull of this one, in the near future doing it again seems feasible. Thanks!
 
I had bad luck with my Scarlet. It should be noted I really didn't have the client base. Never made a dime on it, and the one job I got a board died in my camera a week before the gig and I cancelled lol... So I double downed on Epic...


That being said I put my Epic in a NY rental house and right now its literally my only income until I hopefully get hired at another post house next week at an interview. I think my next purchase will be glass for the rental house. The camera body rental business is too tough is my belief. Constant new models, producers only want the hot ones, in the end its darn hard to get your ROI fast enough on a camera body. Set of Master Primes or Ultras over several decades is a different story though. So thats my next gamble. Though I admit things have been wayyy better for me since I got Epic
 
Brian, I think the Epic is in my future as well. Starting with a Scarlet would be my jumping off point and then the upgrade when possible. I've spoken to a rental houses and they have also confirmed that the Scarlet is not going out as often.

As an operator I hope to use the Scarlet for gigs here and there but I think it will remain a camera for personal use. Now I just have to justify the expense for that ;)
 
it looks like I will be able to go through with the sale in January. Can anyone walk me through the RED transfer of ownership process or a link to information?
 
The camera gets sent to RED for testing, they okay it, then transfer the name. Pretty simple -- you pay, they give you the "okay", and if there's a problem, you and the seller have to deal with it (presumably agreed to before the seller sends it in, otherwise you'll be left holding the bag.)

If I were you, I'd skip Scarlet and go straight to Epic if that's your intention (unless a used shootable Scarlet package is like $7.5k). Scarlet is a costly stop-gap if Epic is your end-game, and in terms of rental-age, there are cheaper alternatives that rent just as much, if not more so (at only slightly lower rates). I'm not sure about others' experience (anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt), but I think the R1mx still rents more often than Scarlet… Likely because rental houses still have a butt-load of them and don't have (m)any Scarlets, so they give the R1s out for budget productions. In other words, just putting "RED Scarlet" in your equipment list will NOT get you a bunch of clients/gigs… It's more like you get the gig first, and then say "By the way, I've also got a Scarlet and can include it for an extra $xxx/day." Usually the producer will see the value in that, even if it's just as a b-cam or backup body.

Conversely, if a lot of your income comes from your own content, it's a great place to start. But bare in mind, you could also pitch on DSLRs and the 5Dmk3 shoots raw and has 60fps at FF35 and no end-user/exec could tell the difference at 1080p… Sooo… I mean, I bet you could garner just as much income that way.
 
Taking the plunge with the intention of personal use, as you put it - is a sensible way forward. There are people who think blowing all their capital on a mid-range cinema camera will immediately usher them into a world of months of block bookings and $$$. I came from the 7D world and, thankfully, had spent enough time reading this forum to appreciate that being a Red owner wasn't going to result in insta-cash.

I never saw the camera as a business investment in a direct way, but absolutely it became an investment in my career. I don't know much about the dry hire scene but getting jobs, as you'll well know from operating/ACing, doesn't happen by itself. Being a Red owner doesn't change that, but my images have been immeasurably improved over the one year I've had the brain. Partly from the quality of the sensor, but largely through the experiences I've had on set - jobs I'd have lost to other DPs had I not been able to offer the camera included in my sometimes minimal, occasionally zero, fee. Being an owner is just one of many ways through this industry; plenty of more successful DOPs than I own nothing on set besides a North Face jacket, but I have absolutely no regrets taking this route. Campaigning the UK jobs boards and the snowballing benefits of better images = better reel afforded by this camera has got me to a point where most of my income is DOPing drama, exactly where I hoped to be.

I should also mention - a year later, the images from this sensor blow me away as much as they did when I first turned on the camera, in a pub in London, unable to wait until I got home to see what it could do.
 
Welcome Matthew and enjoy the ride ;)

To date I havent given mine a name.

I kinda like Scarlet period ;)
 
Congratulations on the purchase. I purchased a Scarlet late last year, originally was looking at something else. Fell in love with it, and then upgraded to Epic.
Initially we purchased to use for some medical filming and some side projects, and its spiralled, and now doing lots of film work, so much so we moved, and i have left medicine ( Wied still runs a medical practice) You'll love the camera.

I also bemoan about the cost at times, :), given i had a budget of about 10K UK, and have probably spent close to 30K now, but its made its return and i am now upgrading to Dragon.

Andrew.
 
I have my eyes on the Epic upgrade but that would be far in the future. So much to learn and experiment with now, I'll be posting various test shoots and projects as they come!
 
MatthewThompson said:
I have my eyes on the Epic upgrade but that would be far in the future. So much to learn and experiment with now, I'll be posting various test shoots and projects as they come!
Click to expand...


When it was announced (EPIC upgrade) it rattled my mind a bit.

Then after working with my Scarlet day after day I realized I dont need it yet.

Sure if someone would throw me 12K (CAD) then maybe I would upgrade but then I can use that towards more gear so I can put my Scarlet to better use.

I got into this knowing that I will be using a camera that shoots 4K at 24fps along with the amazing color science and great workflow.

I think Im content till I win the lottery :)
 
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