[Leo Ticheli] "2. For the work I do, RED is ideal. I believe the same is true of feature motion picture production. For other types of work, perhaps not."
I think Leo has fairly hit the nail on the head.
I think the RED will be GREAT for the right users. What is bewildering is that the
wrong users (in my humble opinion) seem to be lining up in droves.
I think RED will be GREAT for those of us who are lucky enough to see our work up on the big screen. But how many of us is that? Those
really dealing in "digital cinema"...one percent, maybe? Maybe it's a lot more, but I'm willing to bet a HUGE portion of the RED zealots do work, like me, that only winds up on the boob tube. Sure, I'd love to be shooting movies... but I'm not. I'm shooting television.
And sure, I'd love to have a RED. More importantly, I'd love to have the NEED for a RED. But I
don't need it for the work I do. What the heck would I do with 4K? I don't need that resolution, and can get the 35mm DoF with my great glass and my P+S Technik converter (and have been doing so since long before the first $1000 was plunked down).
I've ran into more than one shooter soooo anxious to get his hands on the RED, yet his reel (and ability) consists of little more than dance recital videos. I was directing a location shoot a year or so ago and a shooter here in town happened to approach me and asked if I'd heard of the RED (he'd just read about it in "Videography is Almost a Real Word Monthly," or something). He said something like "It's only $17,000, but I don't think that comes with a lens." Sheesh.
I'm predicting that two camps will emerge:
1) REAL Cinematographers who use (and probably like) the system, who are
used to popping filters in and out of a matte box at will, who are
used to changing primes 50 times a day, who are
used to recording double-system sound when needed, who are
used to nailing a 2" deep DoF with a moving subject, and who
realize that the RED is just a tool, just a few pounds of metal and plastic that
can help them do their job better, if they are
already good at it in the first place.
and...
2) Those who have no business trying it in the first place, who put it up for sale within six months because they can't find the "autofocus" button.
I just think RED was and is marketed to the wrong audience (maybe wisely so, if the makers were just wanting the biggest fastest buck). I bet if you stopped 100 people at the mall going into, say, Wolf Camera and polled them (and isn't that painful?), that few if any of them would know what the words Genesis, Cinealta, Viper, or Dalsa mean.... but I bet 20 of them would have heard of RED. Marketing.
Maybe potential RED buyers should have to pass a test... and prove they have successfully shot at least 100,000 feet of 35mm, or 100 hours of HD in full manual mode with primes. Bare minimum.
Oh, I'm just dreamin'....
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
