any poor-@ss filmmakers sharing costs?

[Keith Alan Morris]

I've been approached by 3 other people who want to go in on my Red, though I am unsure. Anyone else planning on this? Pros, cons?

[Álex Montoya]

I may do this, though it is someone I trust completely. If so, the only con I see is setting strict rules for usage: what to do if the camera is needed for two projects at the same time and so on.

[Keith Alan Morris]

I trust one guy completely but I dont know the other two.

[Jason Francois]

I've had plenty of people offering to use my camera, but nobody wanting to chip in yet. :)

I'd say the only problem with sharing a camera would be the same problems that plague most partnerships....eventually people start to look at the business in different ways.

In the end the only person you can trust is yourself....then again if you really want the camera and need to offset costs then it might be your easiest option.

[miskamagic]

Most camera sharing deals I've seen filmmakers do tend to lead to problems. It seems invariably one guy (or guys) want to use it more than the others and then someone is wondering why they paid equal share in a camera they don't use as much.

I think if you are running a commercial production company and you have partners and a steady stream of work, and the camera is making money on client jobs that benefit all partners of the company then it could make sense.

Otherwise I'd suggest fronting costs yourself and then working out a favorable rental deal with a few select 'partners'. If you have the camera for making personal projects not commercial, and its going to be seeing a lot of downtime while you are in development anyways, then you can recoup some of your costs by renting it out to a few people you trust.

Instead of splitting it, say you get a $25k package and rent it out to 4 other guys with features for $5k each. You practically pay for the camera and yet retain control of its ownership so there is never a question of where its going when and why. Your partners get a deal on a camera pkg and don't have to stress all the details of putting it together.


-m

[C.H.Haskell]

Exactly what became problem for me…Usage

IMO…This can work but I kept it in the family.

My brother and I have made successful investments before with Film cameras only. By successful I mean we were able to buy an Aaton A-minima package, shoot 16mm for a year and then we sold it for more then we bought it.

I drafted a simple agreement on usage and liability etc that we both signed and I would recommend doing the same. The main Con for me was that my brother (or business partner) always had something to shoot and our shooting schedules always had to cater each other and this became a nuisance.

Will the RED camera hold its value??, Perhaps I should post that in another thread.

Just have to ask yourself about those going in on the RED with you, are they shooters or investors? If they are investors then you will need to focus on their return and if they are film makers then you have to deal with sharing responsibility as business partners etc.

IMHO, if you can afford it on your own then I would. If not then choose wisely. ☺

Best

[Keith Alan Morris]

miskamagic, i tried pitching them the 5k rental idea. but for that kind of money, they want to be part-owner. therein lies the rub. (i bought my first XL1 years ago with one partner and eventually bought him out when i ended up using the camera way more.)

my whole plan has been to rent out the Red to cover costs and/or send it out with a tech, but i've found, when people find out the price of the camera, they start thinking of buying their own.

and i've read almost every post on this board and know its all about marketing to get the right renters...still...if there was a way...

i figure reservation holders have a window of a half year from when we get our cameras til everybody has one/makes plans to hold off and not rent.

thats an important 6 months.

[Joel Kaye]

miskamagic, i tried pitching them the 5k rental idea. but for that kind of money, they want to be part-owner.

You have something they don't - a reservation. My opinion would be you should call their bluff and rent it to them. Or let one of them buy it and rent from them if you're only going to use it for one show.

Once people have to start writing checks the rubber hits the road. Until then some people say (and probably believe) just about anything.

Anyway - if you've got friend's that think they're entitled to your gear this whole thing could end up badly if the agreement isn't clear.

[deathrose]

I think the only way that co-owning any type of equipment with anyone is if you were in business together. Even if you lived in the same town, but weren't working on a lot of the same projects, it would probably be hell trying to divide up the time of usage between you two (or three, or four, or five...etc). Whereas if you were in a company together, it would be the company's camera, and while you'd still have to divide the time up, it would be easier than just simply going in with a couple of friends. At least that's my opinion.

I'm still a poor college student, so Red is a way's off for me. But I still like reading up on all the stats and stuff. I personally work with a Canon XL2, as it's all I could afford. And besides I didn't know about Red when I bought it. :bleh: But even I would have qualms about going 50/50, or even more with someone else if I wasn't in a business venture with them. It would just seem like hell in my mind. What happens if you're both working on two different projects and both want to use the red? What happens then? Chaos is what happens then, my friend.

[Shawn Nelson]

My father and I are splitting Red our Red #27. He is a pro videographer and I am a filmmaker, so our uses should be pretty symbiotic. We split everything an even 50/50. Even then we are going to draft a contract to clearly spell things out so there's no misunderstanding.

[Moir]

IMHO, if you can afford it on your own then I would. If not then choose wisely.

Pretty much sums it up.

[Jason Murphy]

And here I was hoping this thread would be about the realities of setting up Red Communes across the country. That's not un-American anymore is it? :shiftyph34r:

[Keith Alan Morris]

And here I was hoping this thread would be about the realities of setting up Red Communes across the country. That's not un-American anymore is it? :shiftyph34r:

Now THERE'S an idea, Jason. I should've reserved two. Grrrr! That would've solved everything--go the hippy route and share (all that free love shit) and hold the other Red close to my heart and just polish it over and over again (my precioussssss).