Remember when it was about the story not the quality

[Ruben and Sheri O.]

Scarlet X

 

[Nick Wernham]

It's true that no amount spent on camera gear is going to make a bad story good or poorly shot footage look like well-shot footage, but nice gear can assist in making well-shot images look especially beautiful. Cinema is a visual medium and, assuming the cinematography is good, a nice camera like the Scarlet-X can only help in the goal of telling a story visually in an engaging way.

 

[Timothy Eaton]

Scarlet X is coming so.....Remember when all we cared about was telling a story and didnt care what dv cam or super 8 or whatever low budget cam we had, we where just excited to tell the story and didnt really care about quality.
I feel some of us have lost that passion and now all it's about is how clear I can get my footage to look even if the story is crappy lol, just getting nostalgic watching some of our old dv cam vids and we saw the pssion behind them and didnt care about the quality. Tell your story about your first crappy cam you ownd and had fun with befor the dslr, RED movent and now how excited you are to own a real cinema cam Scarlet X should be fun to hear :lurk5:

I don't remember that. I've always cared about quality and tried to make the best of whatever resources were available. Sometimes that meant messing up the image on purpose when it suited the story, but otherwise poor quality images are distracting. Story is king, but in my view, it is always best served by the very best images we can manage.

Tim Eaton

 

[Daniel Dols]

I think sometimes, just sometimes, not having the best look in the world can also be a big advantage. You won't see little make-up screw ups, on the technical side for example. But a little-less-quality picture also can add to the 'indie' feel, making it more genuine, more honest, it shows the crew and everyone tried to make the very best thing they could with the limited stuff they had.

But, also, when we'll see all the indies with pixel-perfect 4k imagery, when everyone has that 'pro look', maybe the story WILL become more important again?

 

[Dan Kanes]

Like back then:

 

[AndrewThomas]

I never felt that way. It has always been important to me to capture as good of a quality image as I was capable of in addition to telling as good of a story as I was capable of.

But I also do work that isn't narrative and I still want to have as good of a quality capture as I am capable of.

 

[Julio Quintana]

I also have always worked for technical quality as much as writing and story quality. Story is important, but this is a CAMERA forum for people trying to further the art of digital cinematography, not screenwriting. If DVCam were good enough then Red and Reduser wouldn't exist. No offense, but these sorts of sentiments are better suited for FinalDraftUser.net.

 

[Roshdi Alkadri]

You're talking to (mostly) the right crowd my first camera was bought from the pawnshop, a big ass vhs camera. It took about a year until i afforded S-VHS then Hi-8 then digital 8, from there mini DV, DVC Pro and then DVC Pro HD. Yes you're right alot of people get mixed up with technology and forget the true art. There has to be a balance of both, but one can never forget what he/she started with.

 

[Sheri L.]

I remember shooting with my parents camera that you would take a pic and it could instantly come out the from and develop forgot what they are called how far we have come

 

[Roshdi Alkadri]

I remember doing this too =)

And that's what makes the road adventurous, doing unique things with minimal equipment. That's something a lot of people don't taste because unfortunately in the industry there's many stuck-ups.

 

[Timothy Eaton]

What is it with you ppl I try and create something nice for you all to tell your storys of brfotre there was red or dslrs and u still find a way to take issue with it geesh simply don't understand this..

I've made most of my living as a DP and/or Director/Cinematographer. I didn't mean to rain on your parade, but I just look at it differently, that's all. I think image quality is always important, even if the goal is to degrade picture in the end. It doesn't mean you can't make a terrific film if you don't have an expensive camera, but even when I didn't have the greatest gear, I always paid attention to what's in the frame.

Tim

 

[George Butterfield]

It's true that no amount spent on camera gear is going to make a bad story good

Just watch "Trespass". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1674784/ What a waste of a bogus Budget: $35,000,000 (estimated)

 

[D Fuller]

What is it with you ppl I try and create something nice for you all to tell your storys of brfotre there was red or dslrs and u still find a way to take issue with it geesh simply don't understand this..

Well, let me try to explain. You just slapped many of us in the face. I know you didn't mean to, and I know it will surprise you to hear it. But I've spent my entire life trying to perfect this art that I do. Image quality has always been a huge part of what i strive to put on the screen. It is much of what i think about every day. How can I stretch the dollars so that I can make this thing I'm shooting look better than it has any right to on this budget? YouTube is full of stories that look like shit. And it breaks my heart. Cinema, even commercial films, ought to be beautiful stories beautifully told. If the craft of film making doesn't drive you to beautiful image, you should be writing books.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Scarlet X is coming so.....Remember when all we cared about was telling a story and didnt care what dv cam or super 8 or whatever low budget cam we had, we where just excited to tell the story and didnt really care about quality.

No.

I remember when I was 8 and I was unhappy with my semi disposable $5 camera. I remember how much I liked my own camera that had exposure control when I was ten. I remember how much my control and quality increased when my dad passed down his dslr when I was 12. I remember completely dismissing digital for the immediate future after playing with one my mom borrowed from her school which shot 640x480 to 2.5" floppies. I remember how frustrating it was to "downgrade" from 35mm to DV when I started getting interested in video in earnest in college. I remember how disappointed and frustrated by backwards idiotic systems such as 24f I was and the endless trial and error finger crossing of pulldown.

I finally have a 35mm replacement and thankfully it's square pixel and progressive without compression artifacts that destroy keys. And to top it all off unlike dv or super 8 I can actually shoot exterior vistas and see details in the clouds! When was it ever just about story? I'm a visual story teller, picture quality is important to me. DV with its limited resolution and dynamic range has always been a handicapped medium.

 

[Tyler Bourns]

The beauty of a film in my mind is everything coming together to form the final product. The story of course is at the center, but that is no reason to ignore the importance of cinematography, art design, music, editing etc. Every part of the production process, when in the right hands can really enhance the story you are trying to tell.

Although i can appreciate the time when I went, grabbed a camera, and made a fun "story," it's now amazing to me that equipment has gotten so much smaller, cheaper, and accessible that I can, with a very limited budget, really make my story shine with production values that enhance rather than distract from what my film is trying to say while also opening up so many creative possibilities to take my said story to.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Give me William Goldman, Steve Spielberg, Janusz Kaminski, Walter Murch and any camera on the planet and chances are the end result will probably be some decent storytelling with good writing, good directing, good cinematography, and good editing. Great films are not just about the story, they are about many parts of the process coming together and when they all come together at a high level sometimes its a perfect storm that leads to a classic film that sticks in people's minds for a long time. There's just as good a chance of that happening today as it was years ago. It was always hard, and will always be hard. We have covered this ground several times on Reduser. Story is one facet of the process. We make stories told in moving pictures. Those moving pictures can be 4K crystal clear images or they can be Pixelvision images. All that matters is what comes together in the end. Does the audience react well to the film or not. Great cinematography does not always call attention to itself. Sometimes the best cinematography, best editing, best sound design is invisible but works on the audience at the subconscious level.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

 

[Timothy Eaton]

you all misunderstand our intention of course framing etc and quality was important as well but I remember we didn't care the quality of the cam so long as we had so, anything to shoot with I want worried about if i had 20k plus camera I was happy just shooting is what we meant of course, but you all always have to take issue with anything I guess it's in yur nature..

Could have been a misunderstanding. It happens you know. And sometimes people just disagree. It happens. But now you're into some serious Tude. I guess you're not called Impulse Kitty for nothing. Save the claws for someone else and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Michael Dalton]

I put a lot of love and passion into my ideas. It a way they are part of me, and an expression of my creativity. Why would I ever want to put them on anything less then the best image. I had those crappy cameras, I don't feel nostalgic about them. Thanks red for understanding this, and not thinking my vision is crap.

 

[Eric J Kosinski]

are we speaking another language we are not trying to insult anyone go back and read the post that this thread started with what is going on here ??? we just asked yolu all to tell your storys from the past that led you all to finally getting a RED scarlet not argue!!!!!!!

I get what you are saying Ruben, it is the story and not the equipment. Also it is the operator of the tools and not always the tools themselves that make the image. I have been on the path for the perfect camera and like Michael, I want my visual art to be at it's best when presented. I have the tools inside me and the knowledge and experience, and some of the reason I haven't shot the films I have written is because I was waiting for the right tools. Now that Scarlet is here at this price point, there really is no room for this argument any longer about quality vs price.

The tools are here in our hands (well not literally yet) but when I get my Scarlet X I will feel confident to finally bring my stories to life.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Ruben, a polite reminder. You don't get to close down a thread. I understand you are new here (August 2011) but there are some guidelines. Others may want to comment, and it gets shut down when a mod decides to shut it down. You can ask a mod to shut it down with a good explanation of why.

You asked a question that will certainly bring out the passion in everyone because a lot of folks here put a lot of effort into all facets of the process. That's why you see some of the responses. I encourage you to have thick skin, weather the storm if comments are opposing viewpoint, etc. If people get out of line, mods will take care of it. Otherwise, people are offering their take on things and we all see the world differently.

No one looking to run you over, I don't think.