Red Digital Cinema "Industry Killer" Hits the Market

This month marks the official shipping of the Red Digital Cinema system, a Super 35-mm sized 12-megapixel Mysterium™ CMOS sensor system in a portable, rugged, professional-quality camera by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company.

In other words meet the so-called "industry killer" that's been keeping mainstream execs waking in a cold sweat, and independent filmmakers rubbing their hands together with giddy delight. It's April, and the first units are finally shipping.

Much like Walter Murch did for Final Cut Pro when he edited the entire Cold Mountain blockbuster using the as-of-then untested editing suite, Peter Jackson has released footage to RED showing the gorgeous color and fidelity of the basic RED camera prototype he used in his upcoming film.

While the buzz has been going on for quite some time, many every-day filmmakers are still following in the traditional debate of film quality vs. production cost, under the assumption that digital still looks like the inferior nice try substitute of film.

I spoke with a new filmmaker the other night and was surprised to hear he still gets dressed down for not using 35-mm over the HD he has available. I for one find this unfair, as it basically encourages new filmmakers to throw all their money away on community status rather than focusing resources on the story itself. Most people don't have the backing to shoot real film. They get their shot on digital because it's the only way they get their numbers. It's not being cheap, it's a matter of making the film or not. Shooting Koyaaniquatsi with a cam corder would have been missing the point, but "Tape" an indie starring Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke, is a good example of a film that could have been shot on almost anything, and still been a good movie. The fact that "every day" fimmakers are now being offered affoardable high-end quality for right around $10,000 for the basic unit is a huge breakthrough, and something that new filmmakers need to be gunning for. You don't have to settle anymore, or be put off by purists demanding you bleed your credit cards to process real film. You won't be the first.

I considered some of the best films of the festival circuit last year, many of which were quietly shot in HD using rented filters to translate in the rich, simulated 35-mm details that many miss-took for the real 33-mm thing. You'd have to ask to know for sure, and they'd only tell you if you asked, meaning the ruse had been going along just fine for most of their screenings. While they were able to smartly spend on the more important elements of their stories, they could coast quietly over the concern about using HD by purists who still expect to "see" film. They got their budget, and the end result looked good enough to pass. And so it goes.

As a writer and not a professional DP by any stretch, I can only tell you in artistic terms that the digital 35 mm simulation systems do have their own distinct "look" that can in some lighting clue you in that you're watching digital. I do a lot of work in digital still photography, and notice the similar cues from working in that medium, even though they're pretty miniscule and well-handled by the ever-improving filter systems out there. It's a cleanness that keeps your eyes focused on the screen and the action, not the blur of interpolation, meaning you have to be looking for that specific tone in the film to know it's digital, and the only real giveaway besides the effect of the lighting temperature on the color is that HD looks better than traditional low-grade video, and in some cases even cleaner than true high-end film. 90% of the audience, including filmmakers who don't know about all the special filter systems available to mimic film won't immediately notice they're not watching a much higher budget traditional 35-mm project.

Now it's going to be even harder to tell the difference, marking a shift in the industry similar to what has already happened in still photography.

The RED system has done it, and industry leaders are already jumping on board, meaning independent filmmakers are soon to follow, and the new golden age of democratic filmmaking as a form of extended grassroots communication is really, finally happening. It's a good time to be in film, as documentary creators and traditional story-tellers looking for the best film, both artistically and visually.

Today yet another short film producer at the festival was applauded when she came clean that her beautifully directed short was produced on HD with a budget of $400. That record lasted precisely thirty seconds, as the next filmmaker in line admitted he'd managed his project with two actors in one setting for a jaw dropping budget of $50. That's less than a cab ride to JFK - for those of us who tip.

Check out Red sample footage here:
http://www.red.com/gallery-video.shtml