Monthly Archives: December 2007

I have only recently gotten around to reading another book by one of my favorite authors, Kim Stanley Robinson. After reading his Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars, plus the companion book, The Martians, after which my latest short film is named) for the first time many years ago and recently rereading them, I have picked up The Years of Rice and Salt.

In both (all five?) instances, he repeatedly returns to the idea that one life measured from birth to death can be measured also as many lives led by a single person. Essentially, any stretch of a life – living in a certain home, working at a particular job – constitutes a ‘life’ unto itself, and is ended when one moves on, the new phase of their physical life marking a new life in the mind and of the spirit.

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In the last post I said I would have plenty of time to figure out how to pay for the Red One camera I had just made a down payment on before it shipped. Given the interest, the already sizable waiting list, and my only recent reservation, I figured that a summer delivery would be optimistic, with a more conservative estimate approaching a year.

Enter an email from Kelly Fairbanks today:

It looks like your Red Camera number is
#2939 and will hopefully be shipping around April or May.

I knew the present hold up was due to an engineering delay and that full production had yet to begin and that once it did, deliveries would come faster than the few prototype models that have been delivered so far – but April or May! It shocks the sensibilities (and the wallet)! Ah well, four to five months is plenty of time to figure something out.

I can make thirty thousand something dollars in four months…

Uh…

Today I made a purchase. If you’re a filmmaker, you might have heard of it:

In brief, the Red One camera, the brain child of Oakley’s founder Jim Jannard is destined to change the face of filmmaking (and indeed, is well on its way). It’s the first digital camera that can deliver a picture quality as good as 35mm film, as well as 16mm quality, various HD resolutions, and Standard Definition video. This camera promises to deliver feature film quality picture (and is already doing so) for a fraction of the cost, putting true professional capabilities in the hands of many more people.

I could go on, but it would be little more than a love letter to the Red One, so instead I’ll just implore you to do a little reading and watching.

Of course, given the company’s engineering delays and the already sizeable waiting list, it’ll be quite awhile before I actually get my hands on it. Which is just as well since I have no absolutely no idea how I’m going to pay for it (a down payment of 10% is required at time of order, with the rest due at shipment), but I’ve got plenty of time to figure it out.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the newly released poster. And if it’s any indication, we may have something resembling the original movies after all:

At the moment I’m writing from warm and sunny Florida, where I have made one penultimate trip down to accomplish a varied spectrum of things, one of which was to witness and photograph the last shuttle launch I may have the chance to see for awhile.Alas, it was not to be, as some troublesome fuel sensors have condemned Atlantis to a January launch. It’s a shame, as NASA and her subcontractors have been doing an impressive job cranking out shuttle missions over the past half year – just about getting back up to a schedule that the program was intended for all along (no doubt largely thanks to my many smart and dedicated friends toiling away at both Kennedy and Johnson Space Centers).

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