Ask reduser.net: Would you shoot a feature this summer with red one?

[Roger Patronen]

I am shooting in spring are the camera's stable yet?

[Emanuel A.]

Not yet this summer. But there will be potential customers, no doubts here.

[Finner]

This is a tough one. I would say if your Director and DOP like the look of the RED and think the look will fit the story then go for it. Unfortunately we really don't have that much of an idea of "the look" of the Red. I feel it is too hard to judge the overall look of the RED from the short clips we have seen. I need to know a few things. What were your budget options for mediums (35mm,16mm, HD)? I would say if you were planning 16mm or HD then Red would probably be a much better decision. Red VS 35mm would be tougher, but you say your on a tight budget so the Red savings may be worth it along with the fact that probably a lot of interest will be generated in some of the first films shot with RED. Also if you can create a very new high quality look with the Red, that will be a big bonus.

My suggestion would be wait to find out more information and keep it on your list. If you can leave the decision of exactly what to shoot on till the last minute would probably be best.

[Dominic Jones]

Quickly assuming Red vs 35mm, financially the situation is fairly simple - you make a stock, dev and scanning cost saving by shooting with Red (a fairly large one), but you also take on board the extra risk of shooting with an emergent technology. So essentially you are "insuring" yourself against possible technical problems (which may, if severe, outweigh the cost gains in stock etc) by shooting 35mm.

So, in summary, 35mm is more expensive but safer, vs Red's cheaper but more risky (at this point) - you need to determine what you think the likelihood of any technical hiccups costing more than shooting 35mm is, and how much risk you are willing to accept.

In all seriousness, I think for a team experienced in digital post production, that was assuming a 4k/2k scan from 35mm anyway, shooting with Red adds little potential for problems (as you don't have to get very far down the line until you're back into your 35mm-originated workflow anyway) and therefore is probably a good call.

Artistically/logistically, you need to make sure that the DP is going to get enough time to test the new medium before getting onto set - I think this is the more realistic concern. I would have thought your DP will want to do a considerable amount of testing, both technical and artistic, before being confident about taking the camera into a live situation. So talk to your DP seriously about how much time he or she feels they will probably need to get to grips with the format/camera and only opt for a Red acquisition if you can comfortably guarantee that you will be able to get hold of one in time to allow for this testing before principal photography.

That's my 2c, at least...

[Gunleik Groven]

As for me, I tell everyone that I hope I have'er by this autumn, but then again I'm #930...

Gunleik

[donatello b]

spring ?? .. you did say TIGHT budget !! . IMO go for it ... simi plan for RED ( rental) and make sure you have a backup camera ( rental) in the budget (plan B) if you can't get a RED ... you should know by end of march of RED release date? ..find a rental house or persons that has a under # 50 reservation for rental ...
if you have a experienced DP .. they should get a general idea of camera 2 days testing .. 1 day if pushed .... shoot RAW ... again have a plan B

[Obin Olson]

Well for me, as soon as I get my dirty little hands on my Red I am shooting our feature thriller. no questions asked. but then again, I tend to be on the crazy side..built my own 22foot jib, have a design that I am using for a crazy cold lit soft box light and am going to make a metal halide "HMI" style light system..... not to mention the crazyness with the hvx200+redrock setup I shoot with right now!

If you have any people in your group that get strung out on stuff that's not "real" and fear strikes them hard when you try new things....wait wait wait ...Red is gonna ROCK, but I can tell you with certainty that you WILL have issues with lots of things RED, workflow bugs codec issues with 3rd party software/hardware etc..it's the nature of cutting edge IMHO.

[Mark L. Pederson]

We 100% expect to shoot a feature this summer with our RED ONE cameras.

Our last feature we shot was 2-perf 35mm with Russian cameras modified in Sweden - so, we are pretty fearless - "beta" or not - we will shoot - a low budget indie feature production is a GREAT TEST to see how the Red One holds up in various situations - 6 days a week - 12-13 hours a day, etc.

[Eirik Tyrihjel]

I beleive it was stated by the RED team that "early 2007" could technically mean May 31st., and that is for the RED camera #1...
For my camera I will not make any plans untill I know the first cameras are shipped and received. After all this is a huge task for the RED team, and although they would hate to admit it, you should calculate some delays - or get disappionted!

[Thom Steinhoff]

Planning to shoot June/July with Red. You just have to sleep with your fingers crossed. If it gets too close and they are not ready, then we'll make other plans. But for now--that's the plan.