A portrait of committment

[Steve Gibby]

Goal-oriented people are tenacious! Let me share this NAB week story of tenacity with you:

Ken Corben, also known as "Sharkguy" on RED User, went to Las Vegas this past weekend totally psyched to see the RED camera he had reserved and view the demo footage. Ken is a big healthy guy who is a great water cinematographer. He swims up to great white sharks and whales with cameras and gets some of the amazing sequences you see on National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel. He's a good friend and a business associate of mine.

Enter Ken's NAB week obstacles and drama:

On Sunday he started feeling pain in his chest and weakness. A trip to the emergency room confirmed a diagnosis of pneumonia (non-contagious). Ken's dream trip to NAB to experience the RED booth then turned into a nightmare. He's been taking antibiotics all week, flat on his back in a hotel room, while the rest of the NAB crowd and the Internet world marveled at the rollout of RED at NAB. My wife and me called him several times a day to make sure he was OK. He sounded like he was in great pain. He was even in too much pain to fly back to Los Angeles, so he had to just hang out and wait for an opening to travel. The posts on RED User this week by Ken were made from a prone position in great pain.

I talked with him yesterday before I left to come back to California, and though he was still in great pain breathing, he told me that he hoped to feel well enough to go to the RED booth this morning to see the camera and the Peter Jackson piece before he went to the airport to standby for a flight home. I contacted Jarred Land and asked him to help get Ken into the RED booth quickly this morning. Good news! Jarred and RED came through for Ken this morning. They got him in so he could see the camera and Jackson short. I talked with him via mobile phone as he was heading out for the airport. He sounded so much better - totally amped and adrenalized by being able to see the camera and footage!

He's still sick and undoubtedly will have to hospitalized when he get's back to L.A., but the bottom line is he set a goal when he came to Las Vegas, and nothing was going to keep him from it. There are a lot of RED User members who for various reasons couldn't get to NAB to see all the cool RED stuff. Then there are a few like Ken who had to go through great obstacles to see it - even though they came to NAB. I'm really inspired by the tenacity and perseverance of those who traveled great distances, at great expense, and/or overcame obstacles to visit RED at NAB. Guys like Ken, Johnny (Baja Productions), Olaf (Iceland), and so many others who sacrificed to get here - and stay here. I'm also impressed by how RED steps up to take care of those who have supported them. A class act for sure…

I hope Ken won’t mind me sharing his NAB story with this forum. If he does, I'm sure I'll hear about it! As I write this, he’s waiting in pain at the Las Vegas airport for a standby flight back to Los Angeles. But the bottom line is that people are definitely taking RED seriously - seriously enough to travel a long ways and/or be in pain but still reach out for their goals.

The RED Team has shown great tenacity and perseverance through the development process – and a great many of their supporters share those same qualities.

Food for thought…

[Rick Darge]

Amazing story.

Get well soon Ken!

:)

[Blair S. Paulsen]

Mad props and big support for Sharkguy from the REDheads. I want to echo Gibby's comments about the Red Team in the tent at NAB - despite the circus atmosphere and the long lines they put out a positive vibe. I think it is a credit to the Red Leader and the culture he has engendered at RED that the RED crew is so amazing.

Props to the Red crew for taking care of Ken and get well soon brother.

[Justin O'Neill]

Hope you get well soon Ken!

Glad you were able to overcome adversity and get to see the camera and Jackson's footage.

[Keith Nealy]

Get well soon Ken and thank you Gibby for supporting him realize his mission.
As busy as you were, your efforts and concern are appreciated by all.

We are all part of an amazing experience and have become 'ohana as we say in Hawaii, or family, and taking care of our own is what we do.

It sounds like Jarred and the Red team feel that way also.

Aloha,

Keith

[Andrew M.]

Hope you get well soon Ken!
I guess God didn’t want you to see all other stuff on NAB just the RED:-)

[PaulClements]

Yeah Ken, hope you get better soon mate, good job you got to see it in the end though. Grats to Red team again for helping out. A friend of mine had pneumonia and it's not fun at all.

All the best ken and thanks for sharing the story Steve.

[Adrian T.]

Ken, I wish you a speedy recovery!
Gibby, thanks for sharing this touching story.

[Justin Kirchhoff]

Ken, you made me feel like I could have gone myself! Stick in there man....We are all jealous that you got to see that stuff!

[Craig Bowman]

Heres hope for a speedy recovery Ken!

Thanks for sharing that Gibby.

[Tom Lowe]

Cool story.

I got "walking pneumonia" in Afghanistan a couple years ago. It only took a couple days to recover, though, once I was diagnosed and started on the antibiotics. So hopefully he will recover sooner than expected. I was back to 100% in a week or so, though about 10 pounds lighter. Not sure if he has the same type of pneumonia, though.

[Mike the beginner]

Sorry to hear the news Ken hope you make a speedy recovery. If you make that early trip to Scotland i shall do what i can to see you get filming the basking sharks.

Mike the beginner

[Corrado Silveri]

Get well soon, Ken.

I'm feeling some shame, after the words of Steve... Too bad that I can't come to the show...

[Hrvoje Simic]

All the best wishes to you, Sharkguy. Hope you get well soon.
It's great what you did Gibby, as well as sharing this story. This is really admirable move from REDcrew.
Beautiful.

[Matthew Verkler]

Ken, I hope you get well soon. My wife was with me for NAB and she got quite sick as well; we had to stay an extra day for her to recover enough to travel. Luckily we had already been to the RED booth before she got sick. Don't worry RED Team, it wasn't contagious!

I'm not surprised that RED was so accomodating - they are a class act in every possible way. Jim sets the tone and is surrounded by like-minded people. I felt so lucky to be able to spend some time talking with him at the booth, and he made sure to give full credit to everyone on the team. A rare thing indeed, and totally sincere.

I also think that the RED community is full of great people - the care that Gibby and others are showing toward Ken is a perfect example. I'm glad to be here.

[Alexander Nikishin]

I hope you have a speedy recovery Ken, and remember that a Red One a day keeps the doctor away. :)

[Mark Thorpe]

Huh, I dunno......anything to get your own headline eh Ken?

Hang in there mate. Get well soon.

Cheers,
Mark.

[Jared VanLeuven]

Mad props and big support for Sharkguy from the REDheads. I want to echo Gibby's comments about the Red Team in the tent at NAB - despite the circus atmosphere and the long lines they put out a positive vibe. I think it is a credit to the Red Leader and the culture he has engendered at RED that the RED crew is so amazing.

Props to the Red crew for taking care of Ken and get well soon brother.

The RED team was amazing in their unflappable enthusiasm and good cheer in the face of the Tent Horde. Everyone was friendly and eager to answer each and every question we had. Jim was very considerate despite the constant deluge of attention from the masses and the pressures of manning the theater logistics himself. Example: one of our team had his cellphone start up like mad (on vibrate, mind you :tongue: ) over and over again smack during the middle of the demo. He assumed it was a desperate family situation or emergency and got up and made his exit quickly. I'm sure that Jim was startled to see someone leaving the theater mid-show, but when our guy let him know what was happening, Jim was gracious and concerned and understood immediately. That's class. BTW - it ended up being a family member who was impatient and just wanted to talk about some trivial matter RIGHT NOW. Our guy read her the Riot Act, lemme tell you! :turned:

I've been to a few NABs and RED is the only place besides Apple who's ever caused a morning "Running Of The Bulls", where folks are literally doing the 100-yard dash at top speed to get there. We were at the gates waiting for the doors to open on the 2nd and 3rd days and everyone around us was talking about RED. Incredible.

And Ken - Hope you're starting to feel better already.

[Clayton Harper]

Get well Ken! You did the right thing by recovering and making it to the show. I'm sure you thought it was worth it. :tongue:

People who have not seen the PJ short get ready to change your underwear!

[Brook Willard]

Get well man... missed you at the booth.

[Paul Hazlett]

Ken, the shark, has been an integral part of my reduser.net experience and I have enjoyed his posts. Here is to your speedy recovering and admiration for
your perserverance.

And thanks to the G-man for the very moving story.

[Ken Corben]

Thanks to my RED Commrades - Big Time,

Unfortunately I was delayed in getting to the RED booth at NAB. I was there Monday morning at 8:15 "ready to join the running of the bulls" when all of a sudden I simply broke out in fever/chills and could not breathe. I was rushed to the hospital and after 10 hours of IV drugs, CAT scans, radiologists, internists (and a cute nurse that reminded me of Kelly) I was diagnosed with severe bilateral pneumonia - WTF, so much for day 1. But hey, I figured Tuesday would still be nearly as good. It was not meant to be. I was so sick I couldn't breathe let alone stand in line for two hours to get in. Same on Wednesday. I did make it today (Thursday) with help from my friends on this forum and the Redteam. Special thanks to RED Commrade Generals Gibby and Jarred for getting me in to the first screening and also my buddy Johnny (Bajaecotours) who despite his grueling travel challenge brought me food and chatted about RED underwater until the wee hours.

Like most reservation holders who did not attend I was following the posts everyday starting Monday night (no wireless in the ER) and was very bummed since I was right down the street but could not go.

The other threads have covered most elements very well such as thanking Jim and the Redteam, PJ's "camera test", Redcine/Apple Prores, the lenses etc. I think what really hit me the hardest, as a member of the reduser community, was the reality of the physical camera in my hands. As an admitted life long camera geek the REDONE camera, accessories and it's end-to-end workflow exceeded my expectations.

When I looked at the REDONE all assembled and on display powered up what I saw in my mind is the complete underwater system - This is no minor achievement by Jim and the Redteam. The potential and possibilities of this revolutionary tool will challenge all of our creative abilities across the board for many years to come. For us underwater storytellers, I can only say WOW!

I am still very sick and may have to be hospitalized for agressive IV antibiotic treatment tomorrow if I do not improve by tomorrow afternoon (Day friggin' 4 and not responding to the treatment). Logging on and seeing the support from this community really was a tremendous dose of medicine money can not buy - thank you.

That said, I would suck it up again in a heartbeat to get the infusion of energy I got from the Redteam today at their booth. Poor guy sitting next to me during the screening probably thought I was Tuberculosis Tom - that's all right I recognized him as a Panasonic executive despite his disguise anyway.

My passion is underwater storytelling and the pursuit and documentation of these type of behaviors/encounters under the sea - only now it's 4K REDONE as my tool of choice bar none.

Sharky

[Ivan G]

Glad to hear your ok and hopefully on the way to recovery!

[Ace]

Glad your okay Ken! Get well soon ey.

Having had my plans to come to NAB foiled by a similar situation (not me, but family member is ill) I can share your pain of missing playing with the friends and toys. No doubt there are dozens of people who wouldve loved to but couldnt make it. Oh well! C'est La vie my friend!

As you said, reduser has been an absoloute asylum for those who couldnt pay pilgrimage to the RED booth.

[Don Woods]

Hope you get back to a 100 percent very soon Ken. Would not be the same with out you around here.

Gibby thanks for the heads up

[Joel Kaye]

Sad to hear this!

Get well soon Ken - we're all pulling for you!

[Mark Thorpe]

Good on ya Ken,
Hope you ain't up to pitching off the boat as we trip our way to Cocos or some other obscure rock to film the bejeezas out of some unsuspecting fragment of life.....sure all's well mate. We all get the odd wake up call every now and again. Its at time like this though that you can see blatantly obvious is the fact that this community has started to become more than that....we are a bretheren of kindred souls my man, when one falls we swoop to rescue, when one trips we reach to affirm, when one labors we gather to support......all in all you're in good hands.

Back on the road to recovery. Here's something to cheer you up from this morning, taken in front of the Palau Pacific Resort, 3 hours to get this bugger to sit still.......better off taking a staple gun!!

Mark.

http://www.4koceanstock.com/Images/GoldGoby.jpg

[Steve Gibby]

Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread - especially Sharky himself! Glad you made it back to L.A. OK Sharky. Get some good medical treatment and get well. I think you can tell from the outpouring of "Get well" wishes on this thread that RED User is much more than a tech forum - it's a community, or more accurately, a big, worldwide family. We're definitely connected by an interest in technology, and specifically RED, but beyond that everyone here is an important part of the mozaic that is RED. It's really evident to me that RED as a company genuinely cares about their supporters - IMO a breath of fresh air in an otherwise hectic business environment. Nobody gets lost in the crowd here...

Get well...and get back in the water. We expect a lifetime of stunning environmental images from you...

[Gunleik Groven]

Get well. Your posts are a must read. Look foreward to see more of them in a near future.

Gunleik

[Kelly]

get well!!!

[Jochen Schmidt-Hambrock]

Very few things are as good a medicine as a big dose of enthusiasm.

Get well.

Jochen

[Roberto B]

yeah get well..

[Jason Francois]

Sorry I missed this earlier. Get well.

[Rob Lohman]

Sorry to hear about this Ken, glad you did make it to the screening! Get well soon!

[luis bustamante]

best wishes!