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Upcoming Technology For Your Stocking:
A MicroFilmmaker's Wish List

by AJ Wedding

The Day of the RED Announcement, 4:38 PM PDT
Technology changes so rapidly nowadays that microbudget filmmakers have unprecedented access to quality tools that rival and will soon exceed what has been available exclusively to industry professionals for 50 years. The introduction of digital video recording and editing to the general public in the early 1990s spawned a bevy of microbudget filmmakers anxious to run and gun, creating their projects in increasingly higher quality with each passing year. Today, we have seen the image size and resolution of a digital camera surpass the level of 35mm film...and it increases exponentially with each passing year. Here is a brief look at what is becoming available in the coming months, though it is possible that by the time this article is printed, the information may already be out of date!

4k and Beyond
Dalsa created the first 4k, 8 million pixel uncompressed image sensor in the 1990s after successfully using their technology in film scanners that allowed for the restoration of countless classic films. This allowed them to pioneer the now-standard digital intermediate process. Their Dalsa Origin 4k camera system was released in 2003, and has been going strong ever since. The camera was rather bulky and difficult to use in practical situations, so the Dalsa Evolution soon followed. The new camera was much smaller and easier to use, though the price tags on both cameras were out of the range of most filmmakers. Assuming their competition would come from Panavision, who developed a system called the Genesis, Dalsa set up shop in Woodland Hills, CA...right next door to their supposed rival.

Little did they know, a popular sunglasses manufacturer had decided that microbudget filmmakers should be given the same tools that pros use. Jim Jannard and his team worked with the best camera techs available and built the ever changing Red One, which has revolutionized the indie film world. Most people know that Red had plans to release a 5k Epic camera and a smaller, 3k prosumer camera called Scarlet in 2009...little did they know that their competition was about to change the game once again.

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