Scarlet Accessories: Now or Later?

[Fabián Aguirre]

Hello,

I realize there have been a number of threads posting this question, but I decided to begin a new one to reflect my own situation a bit more clearly, and with high hopes to receive some clarity of thought from the vast source of professional filmmakers on this forum-- and it goes as follows.

I am writing because we are in the process of producing our very first, formal, short film (we are finalizing scripting and pre-production), and have begun the purchase of additional and necessary equipment. The film is being produced under a very, very low budget (about $10,000). At the same time, I have been accumulating a separate set of funds for the purchase of an S35 Scarlet when it is finally up for sale, but because this may not even happen until the end of the year or next year, I decided I would go ahead and produce this film with our current, limited, equipment and get our feet wet in the interim.

My current equipment is comprised of a Canon XHA1, a Cinemek G35 adapter, Cartoni tripod, and a Steadicam Pilot. I am on the verge of ordering the appropriate baseplate/rod system, mattebox and followfocus for our rig, but the thought of my imminent upgrade to Scarlet has me thinking whether I should invest on professional equipment now in hopes that it can be used with Scarlet when it finally arrives.

If my current budget for a mattebox, followfocus, and support system is roughly $3500, should I invest on a professional kit such as the Arri MMB and try to adapt this to the XHA1/Cinemek, or should I spend as little as possible on the most economical system (Redrock, etc), and re-purchase a professional system suited for the Scarlet later?

Clearly, I would much rather make a sound investment and spend the money on truly professional equipment that can be adapted to my current, semi-professional equipment, and that can later work with a professional rig based on the DSMC system, but I'm afraid the release of Scarlet will prompt a host of much more accessible (and price-comparable) accessories for Scarlet (by RED and others), and will thus render today's investment obsolete.

I have been following the forums for a long, long time, and my admiration for the work of many here should not go unmentioned. I anxiously look forward to hearing your thoughts on my dilemma, and I thank you in advance.

Cheers!

Fabián Aguirre

 

[Mitch Gross]

First off, who knows what is or isn't coming down the road? There could be something hidden behind door number two that we know absolutely nothing about.

But I doubt it.

I think the sensible thing to do always is to buy as good an item as you can afford. It will be more satisfying for you to use now and more likely to work with your future gear later. The MMB-1 mattebox and the MFF-1 follow focus are great examples of this. Your $3500 budget is another story, but it is worse to buy something junky that will be worthless to you in a few months.

 

[Justin O'Neill]

We use both the ARRI MB20IIs and the Redrock mattebox and while the ARRIs are definitely sturdier if I was producing a project I would go with the Redrock because you are getting almost all the same features for about 1/7th the price.

The ARRIs are a must if you plan on renting out the package, though, as many DPs simply won't accept anything less.

 

[Liam Hall]

Good advice from Justin, the Redrock is great value and with the money you'll save you can get yourself a bunch of filters.

 

[Lee Saxon]

The ARRIs are a must if you plan on renting out the package, though, as many DPs simply won't accept anything less.

*shakes head*

 

[Fabián Aguirre]

I think the sensible thing to do always is to buy as good an item as you can afford. It will be more satisfying for you to use now and more likely to work with your future gear later. The MMB-1 mattebox and the MFF-1 follow focus are great examples of this. Your $3500 budget is another story, but it is worse to buy something junky that will be worthless to you in a few months.

Thanks for the valuable input, Mitch.

The MMB-1/MFF-1 package on Abelcine.com is very tempting-- so much so that I would be willing to adjust my budget to accomodate for it. Nonetheless, the possibility of seeing RED come out with its own, closely-priced support system for Scarlet is always on the back of my mind, so it's a tough call. :banghead:

We use both the ARRI MB20IIs and the Redrock mattebox and while the ARRIs are definitely sturdier if I was producing a project I would go with the Redrock because you are getting almost all the same features for about 1/7th the price.

Justin, thank you also for your comment. Have you used the miniFollowFocus from Redrock, and if so, how would you compare its performance against others?

Cheers,

Fabián

 

[Justin O'Neill]

First I want to say that Redrock has just come out with an updated version of their follow focus that we have not tried but I have heard is much better. We use the original Redrock follow focuses with our M2 kits and they are great for that but they really don't come near the ARRI FF4 or Arri MFF-1. We have had parts on the Redrocks break multiple times.

The ARRI FF4 is a solid piece of metal that will just never break. The MFF-1 is a great little one sided follow focus for less then half the price but still incredibly sturdy.