Re: My Take on RED...

I've followed the RED saga from the beginning and I agree that it's been an incredible marketing program. When you have people lining up years before the product actually exists to plunk down their 1000.00 to reserve a spot on the list, well, the PR people have certainly done their jobs well.

That said, I think that Leo has probably done enough homework to know that if the camera performs as described (and there is no real reason to question that), then it will integrate perfectly into his workflow and serve his needs. When he bought a Varicam or CineAlta, he didn't need to "try it out" before hand because he had the experience and intelligence to know that this camera would work for him and address his needs.

Todd brings up an interesting and I would venture to say accurate take on the subject as well. While it may sound "elitist" to flat out say that some folks have no business owning a RED, the fact of the matter is that he's completely correct. I'd take it a step or two farther and state that there are an awful lot of people out there in the "industry" who have no business owning a camera of ANY type.

Fortunatly or un-fortunately, we live in a wonderful country where even the least talented or creative people can join the show if they have the price of admission. Will they produce better product if they own a RED? Most likely the answer is no. Will RED's flood the market when the posers and dilettante's find out that it's a real pain in the arse to operate? Perhaps, and then others will step up to fill in the void and take advantage of the wreckage of those broken dreams.

The fact is that the RED is only the tip of the iceberg. More and better technology will come at us hot and heavy in the next 10 years. What we perceive as cutting edge today will be akin to what the VX-1000 is regarded as today. Storage will become cheaper and cheaper, edit systems will become faster and more capable and a small percentage of users will produce fascinating, exciting content while a majority of people will produce crap or nothing at all. In other words, nothing will change, only the resolution and speed at which people can produce junk.

If you want to see the best of the best, a good place to start is right here at CREATIVECOW. Check out the list of people who contribute to this site and you'll find some of the best and most creative and SHARING people in the industry.

I'm waiting for someone to find out that the RED isn't good for wedding videos so I can relieve them of their burden.