Scarlet preview...

[Anderson Boyd]

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/actofvalor/ shot 80 percent on Canon 5d mark 2 how is this not pro?????

Judging fidelity on the web versus on a cinema screen is as big a differential as you can have. The film looks sharp and professional, but it will not look the same on a 50 foot cinema screen. Being a film about Navy SEALS and the accompanying fast pace action it will certainly have I have no idea how they would shoot around the abysmal rolling shutter and damn moire issues that come with the Mark 2 and 7D.

I worked in post on a Mark 2/7D shot film in the spring and when it was projected for its first theater screening for the filmmakers (well established, professional guys) their faces went white. It really took the wind out of them when they saw the difference in fidelity. Hated that they had to experience it that way.

I generally feel the audience at large pixel-peeps much less than anyone working in cinema does, and that they let much go by if the story is strong. But when the fidelity of cheap, unprofessional motion cameras like these becomes a distraction when projected for TRUE CINEMA, there is a huge problem.

When you shoot RED this problem does not exist---on the web, or on an IMAX screen.

 

[Ruben and Sheri O.]

We where just responding to someone that said 1080p is not pro.. did not intend to upset anyone with this trailer or speak bad about RED luv u all=)

Judging fidelity on the web versus on a cinema screen is as big a differential as you can have. The film looks sharp and professional, but it will not look the same on a 50 foot cinema screen. Being a film about Navy SEALS and the accompanying fast pace action it will certainly have I have no idea how they would shoot around the abysmal rolling shutter and damn moire issues that come with the Mark 2 and 7D.

I worked in post on a Mark 2/7D shot film in the spring and when it was projected for its first theater screening for the filmmakers (well established, professional guys) their faces went white. It really took the wind out of them when they saw the difference in fidelity. Hated that they had to experience it that way.

I generally feel the audience at large pixel-peeps much less than anyone working in cinema does, and that they let much go by if the story is strong. But when the fidelity of cheap, unprofessional motion cameras like these becomes a distraction when projected for TRUE CINEMA, there is a huge problem.

When you shoot RED this problem does not exist---on the web, or on an IMAX screen.

 

[John Caballero]

This is all getting a little heated, silly and unpleasant.

Really? Just a reality check. That's all.

 

[Lawrence Bansbach]

What I find hard to believe about the "parallel development" theory is that RED has been very, very public about the development of the Scarlet 2/3" Fixed. Given that, do you really, truly believe they are the type of company that would be developing another camera at the same time and saying absolutely nothing? Have they EVER done that? Sorry, I don't buy it.

There's always a first time. For them to be able to even release a camera, they'd have to be working on it for many months. They've undoubtedly been working on the full-frame-35 Epic, yet they don't talk about it. If indeed they do release, by the end of the year, a camera largely comparable to the Epic-S that's not the S would mean they've been working on it for a while without discussing it publicly.

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

This thread is already old news... how about a new RED LASER PREVIEW ?

 

[John Caballero]

yet they don't talk about it.

And that is precisely the way it should be.

 

[Jean Guerra]

is scarlet going to slow down the epic sales??

 

[Luc Bouvrette]

your either 13 or really high dude. thats the price point it was announced at in 08

Yeah I was reminded that about 30 posts ago and I acknowledged on the same page I didn't follow announcements back then. But thanks for not posting it all caps.

It's "You're" btw.

 

[Elmer Tenkink]

You are really, really, really funny, really. I've been doing my gig for a very long time and one thing I learned decades ago is not to whine . If I really want a camera I start a project and by the end of it I will have the money for the new toy. That's a no brainer. I actually think that making the Scarlet an exclusive pro item is very good. Price it as high as possible so the wannabes will be out of the picture. Make it expensive so only the elite pro can use it. Keep the struggling students out, as well as amateurs, who needs them anyway. Let them keep using the cheap DSLRs 'cause they are meant for non-pros. They are only 1080p! And we pros all know 1080p is absolute crap! I actually vote to ban it as soon as possible. I am sure the majority in this forum will agree with me that money is no problem for them. No matter how many thousandsof $ they have to spend they will have it at the ready because EVERYBODY in this forum is a working, money making professional in the business. And that is all we want: the pros.

Really bad attitude, in my opinion. I am very sorry for you that your scared for newcomers .. must be scary place

 

[Jeffrey Loewe]

What will be the make it or break it factor 4 u?

Well I have 12K in my RED account and another 4 ready after selling my 7D. Any more than that, and I'll sadly have to hold off and pick up more work until I can afford it.

 

[Tim Peck]

Really? Just a reality check. That's all.

Hey matey. I'm English. What do you expect?

 

[John Caballero]

Really bad attitude, in my opinion. I am very sorry for you that your scared for newcomers .. must be scary place

Sarcasm my friend!!!! That was the intention of the post. Many, many years ago I would travel to 32nd St in Manhattan, where many of the camera stores were concentrated at the time, and return back home weeping 'cause price made a big difference to me. That was about 1976 and I was 15 then. As time passed I worked hard and purchased all the equipment I set my goals to get. I know what dreams are made of and what goals are all about. Regrettably we are living in a situation that will not get better and prices still matter for the newcomers and that really upsets me. Sadly if prices are out of reach the democratization of filmmaking will have to wait for many.

 

[Ruben and Sheri O.]

I think ur set!!!!

Well I have 12K in my RED account and another 4 ready after selling my 7D. Any more than that, and I'll sadly have to hold off and pick up more work until I can afford it.

 

[Elmer Tenkink]

Sarcasm my friend!!!! That was the intention of the post. Many, many years ago I would travel to 32nd St in Manhattan, where many of the camera stores were concentrated at the time, and return back home weeping 'cause price made a big difference to me. That was about 1976 and I was 15 then. As time passed I worked hard and purchased all the equipment I set my goals to get. I know what dreams are made of and what goals are all about. Regrettably we are living in a situation that will not get better and prices still matter for the newcomers and that really upsets me.

oooh I am very sorry I thought you were real about it! (it is not the first time rant like that for real were here).

If I could I'll buy you beer!!
Cheers mate!

 

[Jeffrey Loewe]

I think ur set!!!!

Yeah. Here's to hoping that'll cover some kind of lens/lenses or a Canon mount forgot to mention, I'm already set for media.

 

[John Caballero]

If I could I'll buy you beer!!
Cheers mate!

I don't drink alcohol but thanks anyway! A few more days of anxiety til the 3rd! Cheers to you too!

 

[Rob Ruffo]

This is all good news - at some point the pro world having minimum price points that are still within reason has many benefits.

 

[Jean Guerra]

do you guys think scarlet is going to slow down the epic on shoots and sales?

 

[Rob Ruffo]

But see, this is kind of a complex thing because if you look at it as an artist, are you saying in order to make my art I have to have a Scarlet, and because it is out of my price range, I can't make art? I'm trying to be sensitive here because the economic situation is not good and many people are struggling. So please understand that I'm actually trying to ask this question in a tactful way. Because quite honestly, I believe one can make art with a hacked GH2 for $1000 right now. One could also make art with a $200 HDV camcorder. The hacked GH2 comparison works better because it's closer to Scarlet than the $200 cam but my point is, what is the equivalent in other art forms. A better quality oil paint? A higher quality canvas? Artists make art with the tools they can afford, or build, or borrow, etc. right?

Now, if we are talking about commercial production, then that seems like a better argument. Perhaps the technology is what could drive certain aspects of that. Then again, I've been on many commercial shoots that used DSLRs, which IMHO were far inferior to what they could have afforded to use. The commercials did okay.

Scarlet is going to be great. There's no doubt in my mind about that. But as filmmakers, indie producers, whatever the case may be one has to put everything into perspective. The price of the camera will be set, and whether that price is right for you is largely dependent on where it fits in your economic landscape. There's only so much RED can do here. It seems they have realized that they want to hit a particular market - professional. That has equated to a higher price point based on the features they wanted in the camera.

And... You can always rent!!! For 100 years almost no one owned their own camera, yet art was made, and lots of it, some of it stellar. It's only been a few years since we partnered with Van and had our own, albeit shared cameras, but before then I shot all kinds of stuff all over the world by renting, and was no less of an artist for it.

 

[Rob Ruffo]

hey Steve, your gentle take on the tools not being the art is well taken and right on. Picasso (if you regard him as an artist of merit, which many do, and not as the clown he declared himself) had a "blue period" as that was the only pigment (the least expensive) he could afford. Not a few would say these blue period paintings are among his greatest and most human. I, at one point, as a really young guy, owned a then "obsolete" camera, an Eclair NPR that no less an artist-filmmaker than John Cassavetes (much underrated IMHO) used to make his film FACES which is a classic of American cinema. There are great race car drivers who drove brilliantly the cars of their day. Jean Renoir managed to make a still great film and even advance camera movement as an expressive element of cinema with a rig that would make an Alexa look like a pocket point and shoot with Rules of the Game.

In general our culture is obsessed with technology as the means to an end. But form has to be married with content, and style is not all. (Although often passes as such.)
I don't think even Jim embraces the Red as a required tool to artistry, while being a genius that has the vision to "democratize" quality so that as many present and future cinematic artists -- and content providers artistic and commercial, can afford the finest canvas and a multitude of pigments. It is a great tool. But it will not salvage a mediocre blueprint or a mundane vision. It will just make it "look" better than it is.

And remember, what is a reality now was hardly even a dream of possibility a mere decade ago. If your game is beautiful imagery, it has never been more within reach with less compromise. I feel I was born too soon.

I hear this all the time, and it has grown tiresome. I don;t like the look of Cassavetes, and I really, really don't like the doco look. Some looks are easy to do with cheap tools, others impossible. The better your gear, the better you can do ANYTHING, not just a hippie-style doco-look and harsh naturalism with ungraded 16mm, or a close-up at f1.2 with a DSLR. A good camera also saves money. Cheap cameras are not so cheap when you consider how much it costs to light for them, and how unforgiving they are in post. In sum, good gear removes creative limitations and saves time and money on set, while avoiding potential horrible events like unusable set-ups.

This idea that it's the story that matters and nothing else always leads me to this advice: If you think that, quit film/video production and work in radio or theatre, better still, stick to writing.

Whatever gear you need, you can always rent. Buying is a cash-flow aid, that's all.