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 Words from Jim (Soderbergh & the making of Ché)
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:21 pm    Post subject: Words from Jim (Soderbergh & the making of Ché) Reply with quote

Words from Jim about Steven Soderbergh and the making of "Ché":

"Steven Soderbergh...

Let me tell you what is incredible about Steven Soderbergh in my eyes.

1. Academy Award winning Director.

2. Loves to shoot his own stuff. And edit it.

3. He doesn't ask anyone's permission to do what he thinks will work.

4. Made a decision to shoot two Ché features (Benecio Del Toro) based on seeing Peter Jackson footage and one quick test shoot at his house (with Jarred, Deanan and myself) on two prototype, pre-production RED ONE cameras.

5. Assembles his troops in Spain waiting for two RED ONEs to show up. Has told his team he does not need backup cameras. RED will come through. We got the CF cards working minutes before shooting begins by emailing firmware to Deanan, Rob and Ivan in Spain. They then drive to location and fire up the cameras and start rolling...

6. 1st day shooting in a walk down only valley, 100+ degree temperature. Cameras overheat. SS says "put ice packs on them until RED can figure this out" and continues shooting. Continues this process for a few days until we can email a firmware upgrade. Pre-production firmware, no exposure assist or frame guides of any kind, 24fps only... barely more advanced than "Boris" and "Natasha" used by Peter Jackson. Never complains. Not once. Only... "happy to be here".

7. Sends me an email how thrilled he is to shoot RED and probably will never shoot anything else, no matter what the budget. Loves the cameras.

8. After finishing the 1st (2nd) Ché movie, decides to shoot the next one anamorphic. We tell him he is nuts. He believes that we will find a way to make it work. We do. He is thrilled with the results.

9. After shooting and editing the two Ché movies, SS informs us he is shooting "The Informant" (Matt Damon) on RED. "What do you have in the way of improvements?" We give him Build 15. Off he goes.

10. Next up is "The Girlfriend Experience". Shot on RED Build 18 (with anamorphic support). His 1st AC surprises him onset that he can actually view the anamorphic footage correctly on his monitor. He wrote me a note to tell me, "you won't believe how good this stuff looks... well, maybe you will."

11. Next up... 3D on RED.

I have to say several things about Steven. He is wickedly smart. He never gets flustered (that I have seen). He is an incredible story-teller... one of the best.

He never once complained about "what RED couldn't do". He always made work what he could do with any given version of RED. If I tell him that we just enabled something, he'll respond with something like "well that will be nice. I could use that." Steven has never once asked us for any special treatment... only pushing us along by believing in us. Amazing what a powerful technique that is.

Sometimes on this board we get so carried away with every spec, feature or wish that we paralyze ourselves with actually doing something. I have learned a lot from Steven. Not just about cameras and shooting, but about living. "We have what we have and that is plenty enough (for today) to do something meaningful. If you give me more, I'll do more. But I have enough now." I just love his philosophy.

I have met many people during my business career. Michael Jordan is a close friend. As is Lance Armstrong. Steven Soderbergh soars to the elite list of people that inspire me. Peter Jackson is on that list as well. None of these people are on my list because they are big names. It is because they are big people doing big things without complaining about "what they don't have". Lance never said "I can't do this anymore because I have cancer". Peter never said, "OK... I'll look at these prototypes when they are really ready."

God love those that are brave and inspire us. Today, it is Steven Soderbergh for me. Not only did he believe in RED, he didn't wait for someone else to "do it" before he got brave and shot a large budget film(s) on completely unproven prototypes. He forced us to perform by believing in us. How could we ever let him down?"

Jim

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Last edited by RedCam Central on Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:16 am; edited 4 times in total
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RedCam Central
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:22 pm    Post subject: A response to Jim's statement. Reply with quote

Jim,

Reading your words had me thinking many of the same thoughts about you. You have been such an inspiration. It's truly a wonderful thing when like minds get to work together and propel each other even further as you have done with SS.

What stood out was the example of someone using an amazing product for what it was at the time, believing in it, and striving to make the best of what they had, knowing they were in uncharted territory.

I run into folks in the industry sometimes (professionals that I respect and admire) that for whatever reason, just somehow can not understand the concept that creating something great takes amazing dedication, leaps of faith, development time, and a great passion for what you do. These folks said early on, "Oh, RED is vaporware." or "C'mon, from a sunglass company?".

These same folks now are saying things like, "Where are the built in ND filters?" or "Well, it's technically not 4K".

There just are some people that won't (or can't) grasp the idea of creating something new for the sake of passion. They don't see the goal, they don't see just how difficult it is to pull off, they don't understand that it isn't even a choice, to forge ahead, when you have a dream, but just a question of how.

Of coarse, there are the ones that don't want change, want to protect their jobs, are envious of others, etc., but I think there just are those out there who are wired differently. They are great people too, but operate on a different wavelength. To those, a product that stays within the set boundaries, doesn't push the envelope, or think outside the box is just fine with them. They would rather stick with what works for them and that is their choice. But that isn't how the making of Motion Pictures is going to advance. That isn't how new ideas will develop.

Also, there are many people that are never going to use the product themselves that love commenting on it technically. Being out in the field (100 degree Spanish Jungle) creating artistic shots for a masterpiece is just slightly different than analyzing a camera sitting on a workbench at a rental house or talking tech specs on a forum. :-)

There are cycles that come and go like the tide. Right now, we are just beginning to witness a tidal wave of change. And those who are open minded, creative, passionate and are early adopters are leading the way.

I'm so happy to be living during this unique period that will allow for my cinematic aspirations (as well as many other's) to be realized.

Thank you, Jim, and RED, for all of your efforts, past, present, and future.

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EPIC-M #5XX & #6XX - Rentals Now Available
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