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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 :)

REDRAY Comments

Rob Anderson said:
.R3D is 42MB/s so that's almost a 17-1 compression ratio, versus .RED. So a 5TB .R3D will encode down to approximately 300GB .RED? Pretty crazy. : )
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Actually, I think REDCode is recorded in the Epic at up 55 MB/s or even more. :yikes:
 
M Most said:
I'm not trying to dampen the obvious enthusiasm here for what is clearly an interesting new approach. But I really see the whole model as ultimately being much more about streaming to individuals than it is about theatrical exhibition unless some very big players become involved. And current distribution agreements make that unlikely, at least in the near term.
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I see it as almost the opposite. It might take awhile for consumers to decide to buy a REDRay Player in large numbers and for prices to drop to where it is an easy decision, like a BluRay player. However, with 85% of the seats in US theaters going unfilled, on average, I think the theaters are desperate for content that will put butts in those seats. A distribution system like this has the potential to do that. Think "specialty" content with a smaller, targeted appeal; think Rocky Horror show type appeal, only perhaps to local and regional audiences, or specialty "enthusiast" crowds ( think Warren Miller).
 
Tim Whitcomb said:
Come to Portland and ill take you to several new venues that host microbreweries to t
4 40. Seat venues that serve gourmet food and show mostly indies you never heard of and which are always
Packed ... The studios will always dominate the the multiplex but there is a future in theatrical experience ce
And the technological cost of entry keeps getting cheaper and cheaper -

"If a little dreaming is dangerous then the safest thing to do is to dream more, to dream all the time"
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EXACTLY!
J.
 
Joe Pontecorvo said:
It really seems like a .RED would be a great format for off-line editing if all the major edit systems would support it.
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I may be completely wrong, but .RED sounds like it will never be an editable format (in it's current incarnation) and completely restricted to playback on a RedRay playback device,
as it has embedded encrytption that needs to be hardware decoded and tracked for DRM violations.

So, the RedRay player is effectively a DONGLE in order to playback that little USB stick. Quite funny, as I hate dongles and remember that thread recently.
On the other hand, I quite like a 4K laser projector that acts like a dongle...
 
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M Most said:
As someone who did a lot of research into the concept of an independent theater operation to do what so many people here seem to think is hampered only by distribution agreements, I can say that people here seem very naive about the actual costs of creating, maintaining, operating, and somehow making profitable an independent theater. The concession revenues aren't only about the revenue split with distributors. They're a necessary part of making a theater work financially. There are all kinds of costs not only for building acquisition and equipment, but for maintenance, licenses, publicity, and a lot of other things that go along with operating a public space. A new distribution model in and of itself does very little to change the realities of the cost of running a theater. Hence my earlier comment about the dream vs. the reality.

I'm not trying to dampen the obvious enthusiasm here for what is clearly an interesting new approach. But I really see the whole model as ultimately being much more about streaming to individuals than it is about theatrical exhibition unless some very big players become involved. And current distribution agreements make that unlikely, at least in the near term.
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Yep, you're right to a large degree. But you can expect big players, and a new reality. Things are going to change for theaters, as well as homes. No one said all we're doing is launching "A new distribution model in and of itself..." A comprehensive business model is also needed to address all of what you mention. Expect to see that too.
 
Sam Kelly said:
Hi Jon Farhat,

As an independent filmmaker, Odemax sounds like a fantastic platform!

Can I make a suggestion for Odemax (you may be doing this already)? Being able to personalize/customize your channel with bio, photos, trailers, links, news, merchandise etc would be hugely valuable to filmmakers. Connecting with and building your audience / fanbase is an important part of sustainable filmmaking today. It would be great to be able to build that hub within Odemax, so it becomes a place for filmlovers to connect with filmmakers, not just sterile and functional like youtube.

Great job on an exciting initiative!

Sam
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Thanks Sam. Yes... and much more!
j.
 
Jon - I have to say, this is the most exciting and imaginative business initiative I have heard about for many years; probably since RED launched their "scam" in 2006.
 
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Tim Whitcomb said:
Not necessarily by the programmers... its impossible. Do the math - instead they hire pre-screeners to watch films and recommend them up the hierarchy. heaven hope they like your film. In 1998 they had 880 and were up in arms because they could not watch all the films submitted, so while sure they may have a mechanism in place to screen films that does nothing to induce confidence that a decision maker actually watches the film unless its "kissed" on the way in.

Ask RED how easy it was to watch 325 movies submitted both long and short form ...

So lets say 10,000 are shorts. 2000 are features... at 90 minutes each and say people watch 5 a day 8 hours a day 5 days a week (which would be exhausting)
100 people watching 5 per day = 400 days to each watch 2000 movies assuming they watch them all to the end.

So forgive me but that "mechanism" sounds like a great marketing tool to convince people to send $50 in x 12,000 films = $600,000 in submission fees.

No way the 5 programmers watch 12,000 films - they probably watch 50 to 100 each and you haven't brought politics and distributor pressure into the discussion yet.
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Well put Tim! It's currently four times harder to get into Sundance than it is to get into Harvard. Film Festivals are essential to the independent spirit of filmmaking, but most have grown beyond what their geographic space and resources can accommodate. REDray and ODEMAX have set our sights on empowering the various festivals with a global reach and streamlined selection process.
 
Hi Jon,

Are you also considering an online Rating system (poor to Excellent) with comments we can enable (or turn off) , so let's say people can rate content in realtime for movies they watching?

Also would be helpful for us to be allowed to monitor comments, so people don't write spoilers.

This feature might help spread word on highly rated movies on local basis...
 
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Hi Jon,

Thank you (and of course RED) for your efforts to create true egalitarian change in an area of our industry where it is so sorely needed. Many a project and talent wanes in the face of trying to find distribution and or win the confidence of distributors and sales agents. This is a huge step in a very positive direction, and a massive thanks for it.

Best

Lliam
 
Lliam Worthington said:
Hi Jon,

Thank you (and of course RED) for your efforts to create true egalitarian change in an area of our industry where it is so sorely needed. Many a project and talent wanes in the face of trying to find distribution and or win the confidence of distributors and sales agents. This is a huge step in a very positive direction, and a massive thanks for it.
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Thank you Liam. Without our partnership with RED, and the brilliant REDray format, it would be impossible. We've wanted to do this for a long time and are very excited to be aligned with such a dynamic group of people at RED.
 
Sounds like the powerbrokers in the present cinema and video distribution chain who have been cooking the books to screw independent producers all of these years just might be in the unemployment lines soon unless they find work at McDonalds. So long boys, looks like your ride is almost over.
 
I told an indie buddy about this concept, in spite of managing to sell his movies to the likes of Miramax, he's pretty jaded. It's tough to get anything more than a shrug and a grunt out of him. This put color back into his cheeks. Jon, you're good to go. ((( :
 
Brandon J.F. said:
I would LOVE to see Criterion films on REDRAY!
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+1, although the way the licensing works I expect for theatres this might have to come through Rialto/Janus instead. Also, if it did come from Criterion, I imagine that would affect their exclusive deal with Hulu.
 
As far as online video channels are concerned, do you expect that this will always be tied only to ODEMAX, or would RED be open to allowing the player to work with YouTube/Vimeo/Hulu/Netflix/Amazon/Apple/LoveFilm/Mubi/Sony, assuming those providers were willing to restrict the available content to 4K or something along those lines.
 
waiting to see some redray in action in india....
 
Tim Whitcomb said:
The image quality is stunning on a variety of displays has been my experience regardless of specs, is my take on that.
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I have to agree with Tim here, at least what I THINK Tim is saying. When you're in production mode, you want the highest quality specs you can have. But in playback/distribution/viewing mode, the only thing that matters is how does it look? And if it looks stunning, who really cares what the tech specs are. Viewing is the end of the train and if it looks how you wanted it to look, then 8-bit, 2-bit, 12-bit... who really cares? The footage has done its job.
 
Is ODEMAX going to allow limiting distribution to theatres and end users within a specific country? On the one hand, I hate that model, but on the other hand it seems to be the basis for most content licensing, so I assume it's a fundamental requirement for most content distributors.

With that in mind, how would such regional restrictions be enforced? Would it be IP address-based (e.g., Netflix/Hulu) or credit card based (e.g., iTunes)? Or both?
 
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