Editor's Note: The following is part of a two-week series of guest entries authored by Mark Pederson, Owner and Executive Producer of Offhollywood Studios, about his experiences with the very first two RED cameras to hit the public market. The RED is a boundary breaking technology that offers unparalleled HD imagery in digital format at a price point 1/10th that of similarly equipped cameras.
Thursday, 3:30pm. Grace under pressure. I just said that to myself three times. I've been WAY too moody the past few days. I wrote some crazy totally over-reacting emails. I need to relax.
I guess it's a little "be careful what you wish for". And now I am feeling a new kind of pressure. Bigger potential clients want to see tests. They want us to prove the technology. The best part is that the images speak for themselves. And this camera is a little tank. We have really beat on it. And it just keeps cranking out amazing images.
This weekend will be the real test. I can't talk about what we are shooting, and who we are shooting for, but failure is not an option. There will be many eyes on this, and it won't exactly be a great thing for Offhollywood if it doesn't go well. This is a different kind of pressure. But alas, no risk no reward.
Grace under pressure.
It's funny how when you believe in a new technology, get behind it, become an early adopter and really put yourself out there - you find yourself making it personal.
But it's not really personal. It's technology. It's a tool. It's just a camera.
Note to self: Just relax. It's just a camera.
Just a camera?
RED just FEELS like something more. You feel it when you shoot. After you yank that compact flash card out, copy the files to your laptop and open a shot - change a few color settings just to see the amazing amount of latitude you have captured - you feel different.
We call it the 4K BUZZ.
Maybe it is because year after year, we get all these new types of formats and codecs - one after the other, just like another version of the ipod. And to be honest, none of them are really that impressive. 4K Redcode Raw blows them all away.
I wonder when the 4K BUZZ will wear off?
I wonder if our cameras will perform perfectly this weekend?
What happens if we have a serious issue?
Note to self: Just relax. It's just a camera. Grace under pressure.
- Mark Pederson
