Movies

RED Scarlet

A little late to post this.  I was following all the liveblogs, etc (Nov 3rd...watched the Canon C300 ones too) at the time but was too lazy to post anything.  Anyway, the RED Scarlet has finally officially been announced and delivery has started.  The bad news is that its not the 2/3" 120fps at 3k fixed/interchangeable camera everyone thought it was going to be at a $6k kit price point.  The good news is that you still get an awesome 4k (resolution not price) shooter with the same sensor and image quality as Epic that can also do 5k stills.  It's more of a baby Epic than a standalone camera thats still a great cine camera at a great price.  It will certainly be interesting to see footage when people start posting (esp the 2k 120fps mode).  I'm a little bummed cause I was hoping for a sub-$10k package that I could afford and put in my bag along with my still gear.  Ok, ok technically the base Scarlet is under $10k, but those prices will go up after Jan 2012 as RED has previously stated.  Also, a "ready to shoot" package (with EVF or LCD, REDMOTE or side handle which are needed for menu nagivation, RED SSD media, offload gear) will probably run you closer to $20k when all is said and done.    Order Scarlet here.

OneLight DVD

Thanks to a recent black friday sale I got my hands on the OneLight DVD Workshop by Atlanta photographer Zack Arias.  Being relatively new to off-camera lighting, I'm trying to take in all the tips and advice I can get at the moment to make not only my photos better but make myself a better photographer.  Zack is great at what he does and offers a workshop in Atlanta and throughout the country.  Unfortunately the workshop sells out REALLY fast and cost wise is out of my current budget.  For people like myself, he put together the next best thing:  a workshop DVD.  While a little pricey, it's still a fraction of the cost of the real-life workshop, and I've already picked up some tips from the disc.  Can't wait to get through the whole thing and start applying some new tips/tricks/etc.  Some of the proceeds for this sale went to an Atlanta charity, so not only do I get to pick up some lighting tips, I'm putting some $$ back into the Atlanta community.  Hopefully I'll get through it this weekend and get back to shooting some in the near future.  I have several sets of pics I need to edit at the moment, and this being the end of the semester I'll have my plate full for the next two weeks or so.  Til then....

The Zack Arias OneLight DVD Workshop can be purchased from UsedFilm Studios here:

http://www.onelightworkshop.com/DVD_Ordering.html

Peter Jackson, I Hate You

Well I don't REALLY hate Peter Jackson, more like extremely jealous of.  Although I still am a little confused as to how he went from making such films as 1990's Meet the Feebles (probably the raunchiest puppet movie ever) and 1992's Dead Alive (cheeky zombie movie with lots of corn syrup dyed red) to making the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and producing District 9 (awesome take on species relations between humans and aliens, set in the racial hotbed that is South Africa...shot in part with the RED ONE), the man clearly knows how to direct movies and make big productions happen. Right now my latest gadget obsession is the RED Epic (http://www.red.com/products/epic).  It's a 5K digital cinema camera with over 13.5 stops of dynamic range (I believe I read around 19 stops with the RED HDRx feature) that also takes still and can use Nikon and Canon lenses in addition to the pro-cinema PL-mount lenses out there.  In short...I want one.  Jim Jannard of RED recently announced that the Epic is finally production ready after several years of development.  RED is currently taking orders for pre-production Epics, with production on the Epic slated for Q1 2011...I think.  Of course RED delivery times are always subject to change.  Anyway, it was just announced that Jackson's latest production, The Hobbit, will be "filmed" in 3D with the RED Epic.....at least 30 of them!  All jealousy for Mr. Jackson's ability to play around with 30 Epics aside, I can't wait to see the results.  I doubt I'm the only one, Tolkein fanatics worldwide are probably drooling over the thought of a non-animated cinematic adaptation of the famous book.  Jackson's The Hobbit: Part 1 is slated for 2012, so we'll all have to wait til then to lay our eyes on the feature.  Cheers!