In late April, 2006, Dean Georgopoulos was, along with hundreds of others, strolling through the aisles of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas. As a longtime producer who had worked with the Digital Entertainment Network and Current TV, he makes it a point to keep abreast of new technologies in TV and film production; hence the trips to assorted NABs over the years. But at this event, one booth in particular grabbed his attention.

"I saw this really weird booth so I walked up to it," he recalls now. "They said they were making a 4K camera that would cost $17,500 and they were taking $1,000 deposits for reservations. I gave them my credit card. For me, knowing how much cameras cost, hearing that something with the potential of 4K would cost me $17,500 was essentially like stealing something."

Indeed, in a world where top-of-the-line 2K and HD cameras can cost up to $200,000, the idea of 4K resolution - a level comparable to that of 35mm film - available for under 20 grand is somewhat unfathomable. But many others at that NAB conference did just what Georgopoulos did and put down a deposit on what was to be called the RED One. Upon its release in 2007, the hype generated by the 2006 announcement at NAB reached fever pitch, with no less a director du jour than Peter Jackson signing up to shoot a short, Crossing the Line, with two prototype RED cameras, named 'Boris' and 'Natasha'.

Today, Georgopoulos is running his own RED rental shop, where he farms out his trusty RED One (serial # 31) to projects like Terrence Malick's upcoming Tree of Life (set to star Sean Penn and Brad Pitt) and, on the spot front, David Fincher's latest for Nike. "I'm one part RED owner, one part RED evangelist and one part RED rental company," he says.

As the RED One passes its first birthday, after a year of hype and euphoric reviews balanced with skepticism and growing pains, it seems more DPs and directors are now getting the religion.

BUILDING A MYSTERY
But first, a little history. In 2004, Jim Jannard, founder of eyewear and apparel brand Oakley, was in a quandary. As a rabid camera enthusiast, he'd purchased one of the new HDV cameras on the market, but was disappointed to find that he couldn't edit the footage on Final Cut Pro without an additional software solution, called Lumiere HD. He rang up the co-developer of the software, Frederic Haubrich, and eventually discussions turned towards what it would take to make a new kind of digital movie camera. Haubrich talked to Ted Schilowitz, then a product manager at AJA Video, and told him about the mission.

"The primary goal wasn't, 'Let's see how much money we can make'," says Schilowitz. "It was to see if we could make something that would change this portion of the industry for the better. So we started on this investigative phase for a while and once we knew we could get it there, Jim pulled the trigger."

That investigative phase involved polling directors and DPs about what would constitute their "dream camera", as well as finding out what they didn't like about working in HD. "The DPs didn't like that you had to have a digital intermediate technician (DIT) to paint and create images on the set," he says. "Then, the power is out of the hands of the DP, and you're having a technician advise you on a creative palette. The vast majority of DPs want a tool that they can think about like a film camera." Matching that to Jannard's desire to "build a camera that had the sensibilities of a digital stills camera but that made movies", a multidisciplinary team of scientists and imaging experts set out to create the elements needed for such a beast, including a proprietary imager that could emulate the look and depth of field of 35mm. Also integral to its versatility was the ability to outfit the aluminum alloy body with the lenses DPs have grown to love over years of 35mm shooting; thus, an interchangeable PL lens mount was part of its design.

As word emerged that the RED project was underway, and that the camera was going to be, as Schilowitz puts it, "a sub-$20,000, very democratic tool", buzz amongst the cinematography set framed the effort as a David vs. Goliath moment in time, with RED taking on both the Sonys and Panavisions of the world. And once Peter Jackson's short premiered at NAB 2007, months before the first cameras shipped, the buzz was an all-out roar. But not everyone was buying it.

"[At NAB] the RED guys showed a prototype and did very well, but there were a lot of skeptics," says Brian Heath, post effects supervisor at LA-based post house Kappa Studios. "And I was probably one of them - 'How are they going to make a 4K camera and sell it for $17,500?'"

GROWING PAINS
Indeed, with all the hype that circled around the RED One upon its eventual release, it was inevitable that the early adopters who ponied up the $1,000 deposit to be first in line would weigh in with their thoughts. With the RED One's codec technology (dubbed Redcode 4K RAW) designed to crunch giant 4K RAW images and record them onto either flash cards like the one in a digital camera or a drive, errors in the early cameras cropped up.

Toronto-based DP Vinit Borrison, who owns RED Ones #50 and #51 along with partner Nick Sorbara, has used the cameras on umpteen spots, music video shoots (including clips for Crystal Castles and Dragonette) and features (including Bruce McDonald's latest, Pontypool). "The first day we got it we went out and shot some kids playing in a park," he recalls. "And there were codec faults. What we learned soon after was that there was too much information coming into the sensor and it couldn't compress it all into the Redcode format." Problems with overheating were reported early on, and, as Dean Georgopoulos recalls, "For the first few months we didn't have sound [on the camera]."

But part of the RED mandate from the beginning was to buck the trend towards obsolescence by providing regular firmware updates, called "Builds", which would be devised with knowledge gained from RED users' feedback. With those updates, RED One users saw the camera's frame rates leap from 75 fps in 2K mode when it first shipped to 120 fps. Audio recording capability was introduced with Build 12.

"Even in the 12 months that I've had it, the camera has changed significantly," says Georgopoulos. "There's a new firmware update typically about every two weeks. So in a year, I've had about 26 different cameras."

ENTERING ADOLESCENCE
Indeed, that dedication to evolution and improvement has led to a growing appreciation for the RED One, as seen in its increasing appearances on sets for features, spots and music videos. Steven Soderbergh has shot two features with it already (the two-part Che Guevara biopic Che) and is on his third. The Fincher Nike shoot, according to Georgopoulos, used multiple RED Ones - a first for the director.

"Out of the 70 jobs I've done over the last year with the camera, with about 40 or 50 of them, they were the first times the DP or the director worked with RED," says Georgopoulos. "Once all the questions are answered, they become fans."

"The RED really shines when you start playing with the image," says Borrison. "I've sat in rooms with agencies and clients and when the flat [pre-treated] image comes up, it looks like film. Then when you color-correct and tweak, everyone starts scratching their heads - 'You're sure this isn't film?'"

Schilowitz says the growth the camera has undergone in the past year has moved it into an "adolescence" of sorts. With the announcement of two new RED models set to hit the market next year (see "Collect 'em All!"), more and more DPs, directors and producers are bound to incorporate the RED into their projects. Borrison and his partners have set up a company called REDLAB, offering post services for RED work. At Kappa Studios, they not only

work on several RED projects, they also host a monthly meeting for the RED User Group LA. Meetings feature speakers from companies such as Adobe, Avid and RED, and membership for the group stands

at 420.

"In some ways, for some of the old-time guys, they're a little bit suspicious," says Heath. "It's a 'show me' kind of thing. But all you have to do is look at the footage, and it speaks for itself. It's stunning."

"People used to say, 'Are you shooting 35?'", sums up Steven Soderbergh in an interview posted on the RED site. "I think in a couple of years, maybe sooner, people are going to be saying, 'Does it look as good as the RED?'"

RED http://www.red.com
REDLAB http://www.redlabto.com
Kappa Studios http://www.kappastudios.com
Dean Georgopoulos http://www.redone4rent.com