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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 :)

Scarlet Buying Guide

Steve Sherrick

Steve Sherrick

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In preparation for the big news tomorrow, I thought I would try to help out some of the Redusers who may be stepping up from other cameras, or perhaps this is their first big camera purchase. Obviously, the details of what will be announced tomorrow are tightly under wraps, so it's hard to know what will be included, which accessories will be necessary add-ons, etc. So, I thought I'd stay fairly general and assume that the basic package will come with at least the following:
  • Camera Body
  • Batteries and Charger (Maybe 2 batteries)
  • Media (Not a given)
  • Lens (Not a given)
  • Redmote (Not a given)

To put this in perspective, let's roll back to 2006 when RED first announces RED One and the price point is set at about $17,500. For anyone buying their first major camera, the price was certainly attractive compared to anything else of that quality. Still, for some it was close to the ceiling of what they could afford. Many tried to squeeze by on budgets of $21-23,000. And some maybe did okay with those types of packages, but there were probably a lot of people who realized that to really do it right meant a considerable amount more and a lot of packages probably ended up in the $35K + range. Little bits and pieces add up very quickly, not even taking into account lenses and things like that. Even small accessories tend to run in the hundreds of dollars, so you have to be prepared for that.

So, here's a friendly list of things to remember as you contemplate your actions tomorrow.
  • Assess what you currently have for accessories and determine what will work with this new camera system and what won't. Budget accordingly, and build in a contingency.
  • Unless your gear is covered under a special home owners insurance plan, you NEED insurance. Don't wait to find this out the hard way. Do research to find insurance companies with a solid reputation in this industry. Be careful of loopholes in certain plans.
  • If you will be doing post production with your footage make sure you have a beefy system. Even at 3K or whatever the Scarlet ends up being, you need some horse power, especially if you want to work with native files and absolutely if you want to use Resolve.
  • If your projects are critical, i.e. a client will be paying you, don't underestimate the need for media. Good protocol is to go to set with more media than you think you need so that you don't run out. If you have a means to backup the media on set, make sure you figure out what your workflow will be for doing so and plan accordingly the amount of media to make that work.
  • Backup storage is imperative to plan out ahead of time. Figure out how much you plan on shooting, then make sure you can afford to back it all up. Trust me, it adds up. I am moving onto cabinet #2 full of hard drives and such. A lot of data. Unless something better comes along, consider adding an LTO 5 to your budget.
  • Repairs. Stuff breaks, gets damaged, make sure you have backup cables, and anything else you can afford to backup. Have some budget for repairs/replacement for items not under warranty.
  • When looking at things like matteboxes, buy once and be happy no matter how much it hurts the wallet. You can spend a lot of time and money chasing after false hopes and ending up with gear that just doesn't work properly. A good mattebox and follow focus should stay with you for a while, even after you move on from your camera. I have used screw-in filters a lot over the years with my still lenses, but I'm moving away from doing that because ultimately there are some thngs a mattebox does better.
  • Don't get sucked into buying things you don't need. Very easy to do, I've been guilty of it. When you have the opportunity try things out before buying make sure to do so. Stop by RED Studios, whatever you have to do. It's easy to go broke if you give into every impulse.
  • If you haven't already, create a business plan. Even if you only plan on doing short films, this exercise helps bridge the gap between your business side and your creative side. Well worth the effort.
  • Remember, as great as we know RED cameras are, at the end of the day it is still a camera. Try not to put yourself in a bad position that will impact relationships, put you in a bad financial position, take away from your child's college education, etc. Calculated risk can be okay, blind faith can get you in trouble.

Just some things to think about tomorrow to go along with the excitement that is sure to be in the forefront. As I've mentioned in another thread, I can't wait to see what some of you are going to do with these cameras. There is a ton of talent amongst some of the young Redusers. I enjoy watching their work and I know they are going to shoot some killer footage and I can't wait. The list above is merely a guide for those who may not have traveled these roads before. Everyone else, this is probably old news.

Enjoy the day tomorrow!
 
Holy Comprehensive Check Sheet BATMAN!!!
 
Awesome post Steve, has backed up many of my current thoughts - in particular about budgetting around purchasing just a camera. It's only the beginning of it all. Thanks.
 
Hey Steve,

How about a posting of: "What's in Steve's Bag"

You are certainly thoughtful and take the time to share. Would love to hear you take on brand specific components like Matte Boxes and Rail System Configs

Cheers!
 
Very good list, Steve. My general policy is that unless the camera comes with a very generous set of accessories then I expect to pay between 60% and 120% of the cost of the camera on extras and any additional support systems I might need (for example: I own a pretty good tripod that I am optimistic will be fine for the Scarlet, but do not own a shoulder rig which I would like to get). If I cannot afford the basic tools (batteries, chargers, media, basic grips, etc.) that are necessary to make the camera practical to use then the camera itself is not a practical investment for me at this point and will have to wait until later.
 
Thanks Steve. You know, I considered posting a mention along the same line in the thread about my R1 for sale, but decided not to. I'm glad you did make the point here that the camera is the tip of the iceberg. Everything you said is 100% spot-on.
 
Josh Beadle said:
Hey Steve,

How about a posting of: "What's in Steve's Bag"

You are certainly thoughtful and take the time to share. Would love to hear you take on brand specific components like Matte Boxes and Rail System Configs

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Keep in mind this is based on RED One.

First lens I bought for this system, thinking it would be my go to lens for smaller projects - Cooke 18-90 Technovision. Amazing glass, got it for $8K at the time. Found out it was way too much for me for those types of projects. Wanted to keep it anyway because it was so nice, but ultimately sold it to Greg at DigitalFX and I believe he still rents it out. I then opted for Nikon glass for those projects and it has worked well. Doug Underdahl made the first Nikon mounts which were great at the time, and then Jacek made the ProLock which really made using the Nikons even more attractive because the mount acts like a PL. Lenses don't move at all.

The Nikons are cine-modded and work well for a lot of things. For higher budget jobs, the PL mount goes back on and we use a variety of cine glass.

As for mattebox, I'm using an Oconnor O-box and a Redrock follow focus, although on the bigger jobs that gets replaced with either an FF-4 or FIZ. Matteboxes are tricky. If money is no object, an Arri MB-20 is a solid option for a lot of lenses. Chroziel makes some good stuff too. You really have to look at your lens arsenal and determine how you're going to interface with them. For example, still lenses can sometimes telescope and that causes challenges for matteboxes and you have to accommodate that.

For rails and such, early on I went with a lot of Element Technica gear. Baseplate, dovetail, top plate, drive iso mounts, EVF mount, etc. Their stuff was built with professionals in mind who will put the stuff through wars. And it has gone through some and survived. Sometimes spending the extra money means saving money in the long run.

I use a Miller Arrow 55 with HD150 legs for tripod system. Also have a manfrotto hi hat which is a cute mini tripod. I've thought about getting a Gitzo 5000 series tripod for run and gun setups. Might still do that at some point. It will work well with GH2 setup as well.

I have various mounting gadgetry, things that make life easier attaching accessories.

Ultimately, what you have in the bag is determined by what you'l pull out for most jobs. That's why it's key to think through how you shoot and what gear will work best for you and not someone else.
 
Nick Wernham said:
Very good list, Steve. My general policy is that unless the camera comes with a very generous set of accessories then I expect to pay between 60% and 120% of the cost of the camera on extras and any additional support systems I might need (for example: I own a pretty good tripod that I am optimistic will be fine for the Scarlet, but do not own a shoulder rig which I would like to get). If I cannot afford the basic tools (batteries, chargers, media, basic grips, etc.) that are necessary to make the camera practical to use then the camera itself is not a practical investment for me at this point and will have to wait until later.
Click to expand...

I think your numbers are accurate. Hard to say about what's coming with the announcement tomorrow, but even if RED is generous like they usually are with their package deals, there are still going to be some additional costs involved. So if the camera is announced at say $8995 (don't quote me on that), having at least a budget of $15K is probably about right to get started. But looking at my list, some of those other things will eat away at the budget quickly, so really breaking it all down in a good ol' fashion spreadsheet is a wise move.

There are a lot of options for shoulder rigs out there. Just need to see what the final ergonomics are like with Scarlet.
 
Hey Steve, thanks for the checklist. Very thoughtful and helpful.
 
Post Production
  • If you have a lot of editing experience, you probably know which NLE you are comfortable with. If you don't, welcome to the wild, wild west right now. There is a lot of transition happening. FCP 7 will be phased out. FCP X is in its infancy and does not support R3D(yet). Adobe is doing a fine job with keeping up with RED. Vegas seems to do okay on that front too. Avid is alive and well with a new 64-bit version on the way and native Epic support. What to use depends on you really. I suggest taking advantage of trial offers and getting a feel.
  • Grading. Clearly Resolve is moving to the forefront of desktop grading. Take courses now if you plan on using it down the line. Also be prepared to have the hardware to make it work well. Follow the guidelines that Black Magic has posted. Color will be phased out, perhaps some of the tech will end up in FCP X. Adobe is jumping into the grading waters a little bit. Other tools are coming. If you have the hardware, Resolve is tough to beat for the price and what it offers.
  • Monitor. Welcome to the biggest gotcha of the grading process. How to accurately monitor all that great footage you've shot. Honestly, under $20K there are still going to be some compromises but having said that, the options have gotten better and for $3-5K you can get a "critical" monitor. Hook up a Red Rocket or AJA/Black Magic I/O and you're in business. But do make sure to head over to www.mikemost.com and read up. Some great info there.
  • Did I mention storage? It will be the one thing that makes you long for the days of compressed 720P. But then you'll open some clips in Redcine-X and be happy again.
 
Thanks for the post, Steve. It's very helpful for a newbie like me to have a bit of a checklist. I've spent about a month looking over all the different parts of the cameras and the necessity or lack thereof of each accessory. It can be a tad overwhelming.
 
Pricing
For those who will be using their cameras for paid work, here's another little checklist.
  • Be careful of undercutting to get work. Ultimately this will most likely not benefit you or the rest of the industry.
  • Look at the bigger picture. If we want the industry to thrive and we want to be paid like professionals, we need to be aware of our marketplace and price oursleves accordingly. Not talking price fixing here. Talking about understanding the economic landscape and finding the right balance.
  • To really find out what to charge, I suggest using various tools out there that help you determine cost of living, market analysis, etc. Some of this info can be found at places like www.score.org
  • Respect your colleagues in the filmmaking community. Treat people fairly, help people when you can, and be someone that everyone wants to work with. That's one of the best ways to get work.
  • Bring a positive attitude to every job. Be a problem solver. Remain calm when chaos breaks out.
  • If a client tries to screw you over, offer you low rates, etc. consider walking away from it politely. Thank them for the opportunity and move on.
  • Whether we know it or not, we're all in this together. We need each other. We need a thriving industry. If we respect it, hopefully it will respect us back. The last thing we want to do is cheapen it to the point where it no longer makes sense to work in this industry.
 
Great and very educational posts Steve. I appreciate you sharing this info from your own personal experiences. Do you have a recommendation for a specific monitor in that $3k-$5K range you spoke of?
 
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