[Aaron zander] "Oh and btw, I know what a basic lighting kit is (:"
I'm sure you do... you sound like you have a good knowlege of the way things work, and I have no doubt that the RED is the right choice in
your situation, regardless of your age.
Abilities and experience are certainly not based on how many candles were on your last birthday cake. I have one internet friend in California who is barely 20 (in film school now), and managed to shoot a full-blown 35mm feature (perfectly polished and professional) with name actors and every piece of equipment any filmmaker could want, and was more than completely competent to do so. He made great use of "student freebies" from everyone from Panavision to Kodak to Mole and was able to make the equivalent of a couple-million-dollar film for peanuts which was accepted to and very well received at Tribeca... quite a feat for "just a kid."
I have another CA bud who is literally the best DP that I personally know... and I think he is 24 or 25. I hate him, he is so good. If I ever get around to directing the feature we have been planning to death, he is definitely shooting it.
Is the RED right for these guys? Abso-frikkin'-loutely.
Conversely, there is a guy I know here in my area who is about 45ish has been shooting for a loooong time, and was chatting me up about the RED a while back ("It's only about $17,000 but the dang thing don't even come with a lens."). Calendar experience aside, he can't shoot his way out of a wet paper bag and wouldn't know what to do with a RED if you
gave him one. Is the RED right for him? Doubtful.
I am just afraid I am
sometimes seeing people getting caught up in the techno-wonders of it all and winding up with a great piece of equipment but not the chops it takes to use it. I'm not railing against these people, just shaking my head a bit over it. As COW guru Tim Kolb reminded me once, "technique" comes before "technology" in the dictionary, and it should in our daily work, too.
I'm probably somewhat jaded because as an employer and as creative director of our little company I get reels in every week from young people looking for a job... shooters, editors, DPs, etc. I am polite and accommodating, I do indeed extend them the courtesy of watching
every reel that lands on my desk, and even gladly meet with the ones that "do the drop in" when I am available. It's just amazing to look at the quality of some of the stuff out there... some (not all)
know what all the buttons on the camera do,
know the technicalities of editing with FCP or PP2 or Avid... but have no idea
how to compose a frame this way, or
how to light a scene that way, or
why to make a cut
here instead of
there. Many are filmschool grads, but no one even
attempted to teach them the things that they really
should know... just which buttons to push. It's disheartening at times. Occasionally though some kid will show up, and I'll pop in his reel and get to say to myself, "Oh wow,
yeah." I wish that happened more often, though. We had a young After Effects artist drop off a reel last week that was phenominally good.
Age has nothing to do with it... talent, experience, and ability do. It sounds like your school is doing a great job of pointing you in the right direction, giving you experience, providing resources, and teaching you the things you should know. Sadly, mine didn't...had to get it out in the "real world."
I think the RED certainly
is a viable choice for you. You defintiely do not fall into the "newbis" category that I was somewhat ranting about.
Shoot well,
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
