Something Old and Something New

[Phil Holland]

While visiting Duclos Lenses today to look at a few things I stumbled across an old familiar face:

That is a Red One with the original sensor. Decently early serial number too. Sitting next to it is the current Red Epic Dragon.

It's interesting looking at both of these now. Been years since I've had my hands on one of these. Still remember getting those first .R3Ds at my old offices and trying to make sense of it all too That really did make my eyes open a bit with excitement.

Red has come a long, long way since the release of the Red One.

Last week while picking up gear at Red Studios Hollywood in the store there's a REDRAY Player playing 4K material shot on various Red cameras. That's a 4K player Red designed at a historic studio location in the heart of Hollywood that's currently shooting features and episodic content. 5 camera releases. 3 sensors. A multitude of various accessories and components. Heck, even lenses. Hard to think back at it now and remembering all of the "vaporware" chatter that rambled across the camera industry. These cameras are all over the world now shooting on the biggest and smallest motion picture productions. That's the way it should be really. That juxtaposition between making a digital cinema camera more affordable to get into the hands of passionate professionals and

I've had equipment shipped the same day I've ordered it. Various cables and accessories shipped overnight just in the nick of time. They've provided great support on and off set from what I've seen first hand as well.

I'm on the pre-pro side before my next Dragon shoot and it was neat to run into something that fueled a bit of nostalgia in me. Certainly provided a lot of reflection on the last few years as a Red owner. Red cameras have allowed me to create the type of images I want to create, with Dragon no more so than ever. Larger format, high resolution, and high bit depth. Moving pictures. I run into people abroad and here on REDuser who have just started or have been around the Red ecosystem for a bit and are experiencing much of what I have gone through. It's a big decision to step into the world of serious production cameras, but for many that's part of the steps in the right direction.

Just a happy thought on a Tuesday evening while freaking out about deadlines

Back to the grind and baking some ideas.

 

[Will Keir]

I'm so glad I do not own that old missile launcher. Those were the alpha days and I'm glad to be finished with them.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Great post Phil. Love the sentiment too. Buying a RED was greatest investment I ever made (besides lots of tantalizing lenses). It changed how clients perceived me, and how I perceived myself. It gave me more latitude and gradeable "depth" than ever before. It's opened up so may doors, not just professionally, but creatively. And the journey keeps going - looking forward to completing my Scarlet to Epic MX upgrade this Friday! Dragon should be on horizon at some point too. I'm considering getting a second camera possibly...

But...it's not just the cameras, it's also the people. I've met so many fantastic collaborators in this small, dynamic "community". I've worked with a number of them on set, and learned so much from others on Reduser and beyond.

It's been a wild fun ride. Can totally relate!

best.

 

[Elsie N]

I think I might trade one of my Epic Dragons if RED could put the Dragon boards and sensors inside. On sticks, that form factor just had a nice aura and feel.

I'm not often nostalgic, but I can almost feel the rounded top of that camera under my downward facing hand. I've always preferred rounds to corners.

 

[Diego Querzoli]

You know Phil.. I was having the same nostalgic feeling the other day... Triggered by the huge amount of brown paper i got a real taste of the day our first red one arrived. I remembered that in the excitement I almost damped some parts in the recycling bin (I actually did ) to recover them after doing the checklist in my box and camera part filled small NY apartment.

Thanks for sharing this Phil!

 

[Phil Holland]

For me the freaky bit was holding the Red One in my hands. Looking at it almost for the first time. Thinking of them still being in use out there. Which is impressive.

The DSMC style brains with Mysterium-X or Dragon are less than 1/2 as long as a Red One. Also impressive. Not too tiny to be considered too light, but not to big to be considered unusable by one man crews. I dig where this went.

It's crazy what we have the ability to do with these cameras if you really think about it.

 

[David Battistella]

One day I will track down and reown Red One 758.

I get more nostalgic about the attitude, how red user was early on, and the great users who have come and gone. I have made many friends and connections on RED user. The effects of putting the first RED one into the "environment" that is the film and television and content creation business is still being felt worldwide.

4k for the rest of us, some still have not caught up.

There have been growing pains, but it been fun to run along side and watch this whole thing unfold. Still, I think the camera and the r3d will endure for many many years to come.

Battistella

 

[Gunleik Groven]

The gentleness of the M sensor, when exposed within its limits, still stands out in the pack.
It's not all DR and noise...

And the period leading up to me getting the #930 early March 2008...

Anticipation --> happiness

 

[Elsie N]

For me the freaky bit was holding the Red One in my hands. Looking at it almost for the first time. Thinking of them still being in use out there. Which is impressive.

The DSMC style brains with Mysterium-X or Dragon are less than 1/2 as long as a Red One. Also impressive. Not too tiny to be considered too light, but not to big to be considered unusable by one man crews. I dig where this went.

It's crazy what we have the ability to do with these cameras if you really think about it.

Agreed, and I actually do think about it on an almost daily basis. The fact that I do not come from a film background and was unimpressed with camcorders and DSLRs makes me giggle when I just look at what I've got and what it allows me to do.

A life-size Jim Jannard Golden Phallic Idol (representing Hermes, the God of boundaries and exchange, according to Wikipedia) should be cast and donated to the Smithsonian Intitution to commemorate the source of democratization of content-creation everywhere.