It’s here at last! Red Digital Cinema, makers of the famed Red One and the Red Epic cameras known for their low costs and high-quality outputs, officially announced the launch of its India operations on Tuesday.
Red’s move comes at a time when Tamil filmmakers have shown a preference for the cameras made by the company. In fact, several Tamil films, including the Prasanna-Sneha starrer Achchamundu Achchamundu and the Kamal Haasan-starrer Unnaipol Oruvan were made using Red One.
At the launch, Ted Shilowitz, expert on Red cameras, debunked myths propounded by critics of the camera, which many small time producers, cinematographers and filmmakers in India consider a boon.
“The biggest myth concerning the Red is that it is not suitable for places with high temperatures. The cameras perform exceptionally well in all weather conditions. They are professional tools and need to be treated with professional care. Just because the transition from film to digital has happened, it does not mean this is an amateur camera. There are 75 students who have been shooting with the Red Epic for the last two days in Chennai and they haven’t been having any problems.”
The expert used the opportunity to explain in detail the advantages the Red Epic had over the Red One, which would slowly be phased out.
Advanced version
“The Red One is amazing. But the Red Epic is more advanced. The Red One has a 4K sensor and its resolution is on a par with a 35-mm film. That is why when you shoot a film with Red One, it looks like a movie. The Epic actually exceeds the image of 35-mm film, which is why so many big filmmaking companies are now using it for their films, both in 2D and 3D,” Ted said.
On the belief that post-production costs would shoot up if one opted for digital cameras such as the Red, he said: “Nothing could be further from the truth. The Red (Red One, Epic and Scarlett) cameras have efficient, logical, cost-effective post-production work flow. It is better than film and is much quicker. No expensive machines are required to open files, work on them and deliver them to the big screen,” Ted claimed.
The company, which has entered into an agreement with the LV Prasad Film and TV Academy, also held a workshop on digital cinema. Both intend to conduct such workshops it the future.
