Update...

[Ortzi]

Apocalypse

Apocalypse

http://www.notodofilmfest.com/index.php?corto=17180

 

[Peter Majtan]

As Shawn, Tim and few others correctly pointed out - the way out of this is encourage spending. In the past I have lived in Japan for several years and when their economy goes south the government always comes out with special program that encourages both consumer and corporate spending. This is the safest and fastest way out of this mess. In my honest opinion the government should offer 100% tax deduction on purchase of all brand new equipment made in the USA (and mind You - I'm not from, nor do I live in the USA). Most companies that actually make money are always finding way to "avoid" paying the taxes - largely by siphoning it overseas. So the government does not collect much of the tax anyway. This way at least the wealth will be pumped into the veins of this sick economy.

But what I believe Jim is saying is to pump the actual wealth You have - not a credit line or other form of debt, unless the things You buy actually do make You some money therefore generating the real wealth - which You can in return pump back into the economy by going out and spending (wisely) more...

Just my 2 pesos...

Peter

 

[Todd M.]

That is such a fallacy and part of why we are in this mess in the first place. The reality is that the buying spree of the las 8 years was an optical illusion fueled by credit cards, erroneous home refinacing, Wall St. shenanigans and Ponzi schemes gallore. Now everybody is waking up to a huge hang over. The sad truth is that a lot of folks have to choose between buying the $1500 plasma TV and paying this month's rent. Guess which one is a priority. Couple of years back I read about how the people in the United States had the least bank savings in the entire world. The article warned that this was a dangerous position to be if there was an economic meltdown and no cash to rely on in case of job loss or worst. And guess what? Here we are, in that same situation. There are certain items in your life that you need to purchase for essential personal use or for business. There are others that are luxuries. You have to be very clear which is which because when the landlord comes knocking on the door you won't be able to pay him with your plasma TV.

John is exactly right and this is one of the prime reasons I get so frustrated when people claim a tax cut is going to get us out of this. As someone who is out of work at the moment, even a rebate check coming to me would only get put towards rent and food. That really doesn't stimulate the economy that much. I like to think of myself as a fiscal conservative and generally I am in support of limited government spending. That being said, there also must be a recognition that drastic times call for drastic measures. Our country, and in fact, the world has not seen an economic disaster like this since the great depression. A lot of people are going to have a serious wake-up call over the next 6-months as the true damage starts to reveal itself. There was a great article on Salon.com about the benefits of spending in times like these. Here's an interesting observation:

For example, according to Economy.com's model, every dollar lost to the Treasury from increased infrastructure spending would add $1.59 to the gross domestic product in a year. Every dollar lost to a cut in the corporate tax rate would add 30 cents to the GDP in a year.

While many items in the stimulus package may seem unnecessary, the fact is all spending right now will create new projects, new jobs and lift consumer confidence again so that they will return to spending. The fact is that you want to spread the money around to as many sectors as possible. I just hope the money gets pumped out soon so I can finish financing my company and get in line for a camera or 3

 

[Joel Kaye]

John is exactly right and this is one of the prime reasons I get so frustrated when people claim a tax cut is going to get us out of this. As someone who is out of work at the moment

Word. If you don't have a job tax cuts don't matter. Tax cuts for the RICH over the past 8 years did nothing but see the rich get richer. They simply didn't invest it back into America.

Any solution that doesn't involve job creation is doomed. An Apollo project for alternative energy makes sense to me as PART of a plan. All kinds of corporate loopholes could be closed so money doesn't keep moving out of the country. Outsourcing simply didn't work. It only works if a new, better job replaces the one that was lost. Didn't happen.

 

[Ralph B.]

Don't argue with me, just take my money!

Don't argue with me, just take my money!

I'll encourage you to buy your RED dream if:

1. It makes you money
2. You can really afford it if it doesn't make you money.

Otherwise, relax on it until #1 or #2 is valid.

Jim

blah... blah... blah...

so uncle jim when will I be writing you a check for that scarlet you are making for me? June? August?

I'm just so excited about your cameras and perhaps even more so for the company you are building. Somewhere along the way the world became convinced that "businessmen" and a market is all that would be needed for a business. I'm just glad to see a true enthusiast running a business that has something to do with their passion.

Build your passion and the market will come!

 

[Alberto Caprioglio]

If it does take three years for our economy to come back, it will be because people stopped eating at restaurants, stopped buying computers, stopped taking trips and stopped lending and investing to avoid risk.

Everyone knows they have been eating too much resources, buying and buying without even affording it. What is that they haven't consumed? their escrements?
On top of this eating giant, unbelievable greedy and idiots did the rest. Or the other way round, it's the same. What's the cost of millions of obese, of mantaining the media and the perennial shows, of financing never ending wars, of burning millions of petrol, of new buildings, silly skyscrapers, speculation at every fucking level, of having the masses hammered on their head every minute by advertising therefore having them falsely convinced they need to buy and buy, and therefore, as if this mess wasn't enough, also messing their own and other countries land.
Funny your solution implies that people did not enough of such things.
Welcome, people, never mind if your liver is going to explode: please have some more.
If you have no money and have lost your job, please go to a shop and buy a new hifi, you can pay with your pants. On the way back to your trailer, have a rest to to a good restourant, but beware, not a cheap one! Economy requires you to spend more!
Who cares if you havent.
If you have no money, do as the riches do: spend!
And remember that not too many years ago, the government made a fantastic new law for you: it is now legal to sell one s own body organs for money.
Yes, after all, you are a free man.

Even if consuming more than american average were not a revolting vision, how are people supposed to increase their expenses if credit is finished?
It would be more healthy to give things for free for the ones who can.
If you who have resources do not want to meet other's lowest paying capability because you do not want to loose much, you may more directly finance the Nasa, so another planet to perforate and exploit may be found.
It's only a matter of will. It's so easy.

 

[Alberto Caprioglio]

my grandmother has a quad core for her emails, like almost everybody in Europe and America.
She partially caused the economy to collapse by not buying a newer computer with the new year. And she doesn't go to the restaurant very often either, can you believe it? She eats.... at home!!!!
I'm sure politician will find a way to force her. Lead her into believing she can afford more than what she actually can.
IF the governements absolutely want poor families to spend money they have not, what about those governements giving money to the people (people who need it, of course, that is taking a little bit more from the ones who have say over 10 millions?) instead of taking it from the people?
But I know governments don't want this, it would be a crime against freedom. If it wasn't for the riches... only they seem to defend freedom, while the poor, they can only think about vulgar food, and now they even refuse to consume. Very bad.

But so then, why this daily western politic of fear? For years they told us the world is a shit and getting worse... and we should throw away the last money for the pleasure of the usual cream, who only wants to invade us with it's crappy mass products? Better to find different jobs and send them to hell. A valuable message would be.

 

[Alberto Caprioglio]

Come on, you can't ask the old and new poors to finance economy by consuming more.
Give them those money to make circulate, or look elsewhere.
Why don't the riches consume more? They can!
Or, why don't the riches, instead of buying more boats and eating more esquisite food, don't finance directly their or others healthy (in any sense, not just economically) companies with their only money instead of asking for the governemnt to use everybodies money to finance less healhy activities like automobile, porn and wars?
ANd why give moeny to the bankers in order to save peoples's saving? They really want to save people savings instead of the bankers asses, thy would give that money to those people directly, and please make the bankers sink alone.
We need someone to start doing the right things, with no more tricks.
But it can't happen in this type of culture with its rules. It can't happen in here. Economy will somehow get better anyway, there is no need to exploit people more than average. Relax. It's difficult for almost everyone, but we don't want to be exploited more than this, we don't want to be sacrificed. It's not necessary.
it's unjust.

 

[Christopher Nagel]

We aren't in this to "make our quarterly numbers"...

Jim

So, in this case, could I ask if you'd please release the lowest-cost Scarlett first? Last schedule I saw had the most economical Scarlet appearing *last* in the lineup...

:innocent: Chris :devil:

heh - I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but WTF...

 

[GPSchnyder]

So, in this case, could I ask if you'd please release the lowest-cost Scarlett first? Last schedule I saw had the most economical Scarlet appearing *last* in the lineup...

:innocent: Chris :devil:

heh - I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but WTF...

I second that. Kind of. Do you mean the fixed? As She is the cheapest (sounds kind a wrong) Than I'm with you. And as the Fixed is the nearest to the "original" Scarlet she deserves it to be the first ;-)

 

[Alberto Caprioglio]

As CRAZY as it sounds, The WORST THING WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW
IS SAVE our $.

go then, spend your last remains with a smile.
Enthusiastic.
You forget there is no money to spend, since your richest country on earth is now the poorest, and you don't even own your own debt anymore, which is now property of a communist nation! China partially controls America. You lucky, uh?
you forget you have no money to spend, only to work like a donkey for the rest of your life and the life of your children just to pay for the most inhumane debt ever, if it ever helps to solve the problem, because there are almost unsolvable political problems, environmental problems, and psicological problems of planetery scale.

But if you feel that going out naked and proclaim prosperity with a super smile would help rising someone's mood to the point of someone else doing the same, till someone finds some dollars in a bin and therefore is able to spend it on a lottery or magic tech toy while renouncing to the daily breado to start a miracle based on god only knos what, then by all means do it.

 

[Alberto Caprioglio]

As Jim said, with financial situation so bad and precarious, the aboslute worse thing to do is to make risky expenses. You invest in tools thinking people will run to you will to pay, but they won't, because many actives are closing down and the demand falls. In this case, your painful investment would have only freezed your little money into stone, and you will more poor then before.

 

[David Dennis]

So, in this case, could I ask if you'd please release the lowest-cost Scarlett first? Last schedule I saw had the most economical Scarlet appearing *last* in the lineup...

:innocent: Chris :devil:

heh - I'm probably going to get flamed for this, but WTF...

You know, Jim isn't in this to make his quarterly numbers, but to make his friends and customers happy.

And who are his best friends and customers? The people who have been with him since Day One, of course! Why, nice folks like that OffHollywood guy, Gibby, Peter Jackson, and a whole bunch of other people who really, really want Epic and the more upscale Scarlets.

My guess, though, in all seriousness, is that he will get ready first what is technically easiest for him -- and that may be the lower volume stuff. He may have a plan to get out the lower volume stuff, fix the distribution bugs with people who he knows will tolerate them, and then with those lessons learned, distribute the more mass market stuff last.

I actually wonder myself how he will ramp up from small-scale production (under 5,000 in about two years) to something like Scarlet fixed which will sell tens of thousands of units or more. It's not going to be easy and those of us - including me! - who are interested in the fixed lens Scarlets will have to show patience.

D

 

[Alberto Caprioglio]

When things get very bad, the only thing to do is going back to real needs: that is starting from potatoes.

 

[Chris Parker]

this too shall pass.

by obama's 2nd term (and not much sooner than that) america will start balancing it's books again, and we'll have a 'clinton-esque' economic run.

i do think it will take at least two, more likely, three years of hard times until we begin to see that happen though.

on the bright side, the commercial film business seems healthy for now. and i think the poor economy will actually help RED, as companies want to produce the same number of commercials, but for less money. last year, maybe they said, 'ah, shoot film, it's only an extra $6,000.'

this year, maybe they want to save that 6 grand......

 

[Todd M.]

this too shall pass.

by obama's 2nd term (and not much sooner than that) america will start balancing it's books again, and we'll have a 'clinton-esque' economic run.

Not unless Al Gore invents the internet again. I do think green-tech has the potential to be a huge economic catalyst in the coming years, but I don't think we will see anything like the Clinton-era 'tech-bubble' for many years to come. Unless... maybe there could be a Jannard-era cinema bubble!?!? :tongue:

 

[Gunleik Groven]

My 2C on the subject...

http://www.twenty398.com/


G

 

[Nils J. Nesse]

Inspiring words, Gunleik!

 

[Nick Wolf]

When things get very bad, the only thing to do is going back to real needs: that is starting from potatoes.

You make some valid points, never the less maybe its time to get out some more?

Maybe get laid?

Its always darkest before the dawn.


Ciao,


DogDay.

 

[Albertdup]

Hi

This is my take on the global economic crisis, perhaps a bit of a different perspective. I live in South Africa. For the last couple of years Africa has had the highest economic growth after China and India. Yes politically things are not always stable yet there are many stable African governments. South Africa had growth of 5.6 % last year before the credit crisis. Our prime interest rate was at 15.5% it has come down by 1.5% since. 5.2 Billion US$ of foreign investment was withdrawn from or country in a mater of weeks because we were suddenly seen as a risky investment. Our currency was oversold and lost nearly 40% of its value against the dollar. It now cost R10 for $1. This results in higher import cost. The reduction in the oil price was basically wiped out by the change in our currency. All this by scared fund managers running on emotion.
For me this means a 40% increase in price on a RED camera.

We have laws that protected our banks from the economic crisis, they were not allowed to take on "bad" debt from overseas banks. We had no direct exposure to the credit crisis. We do not have to "bail out" our banks. Our National Credit Regulator helps protect the public from debt by making sure they can only borrow what they can afford.

Put simply those foreign investments were perfectly save, with a guaranteed return of investment. We currently have large infrastructure projects taking place to help us prepare for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. This is keeping our economy going strongly.

Yet we are exposed to the world economy, exports in precious metals had fallen dramatically. Exports of locally manufactured cars for sale in Europe is down sharply. Some mines have closed completely others are scaling back, retails sales are down and growth for this year is projected at 1.2%. Still we are not in a recession. The sooner the rest of the worlds gets better the sooner we will improve as well.

I am just wondering what all those fund managers and investors gained from withdrawing all that money. Just keeping it in a bank in the US is more of a risk, you don't know if the bank will make it. Growth is negative and interest rates so low, what interest will they earn at all?

What I'm trying to say is there is huge opportunities to make money in these times if people will just look at the facts and stop running on emotion.

my 2c...