8 pages complete and only 90 odd to go. Writing is one of the most challenging professional trades in the world of filmmaking, and arguably the most important.

Over the course of the next few weeks I will be turning my focus to writing as I have just starting working on my 1st feature film, “Chasing August”, a character driven dark comedy. Continuous updates of our screenplay development only here on the Gotham Guerrilla.

Look forward to the contributions from guest writers, both professional and beginners as they share there own trials and tribulations to becoming a writer. I will be also be updating the TOP LINKS widget with some good resources for screenwriters including information on contest and or screen writer related grants. If you would like to suggest a link please forward to haskell@gothamguerrilla.com for consideration.

I will leave you with a quote from friend and mentor during my film school days, Michael Chaney…

“You can make a pile of shit look really good, at the end of the day its still a pile a shit”

April 20th 2008 is the official launch of The Gotham Guerrilla and I would like take this opportunity to welcome aboard two new members of the Gotham Guerrilla staff starting with our new editor and Author Ann Haskell. Ann is a professional writer, has an incredible sense of humor and affection towards furry little dogs.

Next I would like to welcome aboard our resident illustrator John Mitchell. JohnJohn has a background in film and animation and currently makes his bread and butter via threadless, he is the man responsible for the illustration titled “PushIt” pictured above.

We are very excited about what is to follow so look forward to some industry professionals we have lined up to contribute. The ball is rolling here and doors are officially open so I would like to wrap this by welcoming you to the Gotham Guerrilla.

The HVX-200 was and still is how I make my living directing and DPing. It took me a good while, research, and experimenting to finally get the satisfactory results I was looking for and now I am considering having to let it all go in order to support my RED ONE endeavors. Just when I finally have a solid P2 work-flow, a solid HDD back up (arguable) and cranking out pleasing images do I need start all over, back to the drawing boards! I knew it would come to this and I suppose now I am having to cross that bridge…I guess my main concern is how long this RED learning curve will take cause I can not afford to loose work in the transition. So, any takers for a fully loaded HVX200 + REDROCK 35mm adapter combo? I leave you with some stills from my most recent HVX commercial shoot I directed and DPed, produced and written by Patrick Sarni.

With all the recent news and announcements from RED there is yet another uncontrollable fire of hype, skepticism and critiques spreading across the globe. REDuser.net has been an incredible source of information from actual RED users and has been the only way to discuss issues with the RED team and RED leader Jim Jannard himself until recently. Now the forums seemed to be clouded and clogged up by trolls and skeptics and its unfortunate for honest new comers and everyone to have to dig through so much muck in order to find the nuggets, and believe me they are in there.

Jim Jannard recently departed the forum after things started to spin out of control and unfortunately it’s not the 1st time REDUSER.net has lost great contributors, but a 1st for CEO Jannard…enjoy the break Jim.

There is talk about making an exclusive REDUSER forum just for camera owners only or perhaps a REDUSER Pro that you pay a minimal fee for access, although a controversial subject its starting to make sense. REDUSER.net creator Jarred Land’s last comment on the particular subject…

Forum member: I’d like to second (and eighth, etc….) the other owners who have suggested a semi-private or restricted posting “Red Owners” forum.

Jarred Land:

I think we can all agree Reduser has become less of a classroom and more like a pub. I think its good for everyone to step back once in awhile to gain a little perspective on the big picture.. not only in relation to this forum but in relation to other aspects of life.

The drama can be addictive to some.. and mob mentality under a somewhat artificial anonymous cloak can be incredibly seductive and make many people express themselves very differently than they would in the real world, throwing stones without consequences.

Unfortunately, rocks are rocks and it doesn’t matter if we at RED can see who is throwing them or not, they hurt us just the same. At any rate.. lots of good feedback from you guys over the last couple days.. Stay tuned..

Well put Mr. Land. Seriously people, leave the trash talk at the bars! I am curious to see what follows but in the mean time my focus and priority is with The Gotham Guerrilla.

Back in the Hat and it never felt so good! I never thought I would be so happy to see the those little furry rats scamerping about the NYC Metro but anything is better then being lodged in the armpit of America, the dingy smoke filled lounge of The El Cortez Casino.

Home sweet home, unpacking everything and time to make sense out of all this NAB Shwag. A little iSpy anyone? Speaking of swhag, thanks Stephen Pizzo and the Element Technica for hooking me up with the fine ET grip bag and cap…shwag I will actually use.

This is the subject of an email I received from RED today, and that makes me feel warm and happy inside. I am pretty speechless, everything is coming to place and this could not be more timely. Dan is my appointed Rep so I am going to head down to the RED booth today and see if I can hunt him down…watch out Dan! UPDATE: Dan was sent back to the ranch yesterday so you lucked out this time!

The RED Bomb Squad was created to manage the reservation holder’s accounts, when your number is up you should expect this email and identify who your contact is. To find out what serial number batch is currently shipping check the www.RED.com home page. I will warn you, when this email arrives you may want to keep a clean pair of underwear near by. I will not further disclose info about this sacred email as it is prohibited, but in a nutshell it means now is the time to finalize my order.

DP/programmer Ion Bloom is currently giving a presentation on his very own Crimson workflow, this almost makes the party worth it alone. Ian is an honest guy has he did his best job at not selling his software which he only updated this evening. I spoke with him briefly about it and he simply was trying to be clear that he is not a large company with tech support…no, quite the opposite really he is just one “dude” as he put it. So if you are interesting in his workflow then you should scope it out.

UPDATE: The Vegas update version 0.9.0 is available as a free download.

UPDATE: What I liked about this party the most is I can actually put a face behind the avatar. All this time I thought I was actually speaking to the Hoff in a spedo when its actually Finner, a nice fellow RED user from Canada. LordnumberZero, he is not a lord after all! The party was great, it was a pleasure meeting all of you guys and let me say thanks to Steve Sherrick and gang for organizing and Ketch for bringing desert!

The game is certainly changing in every aspect and not only are your fellow RED user coming up with solutions but this party confirmed for me that there are major players working hard to pave a path for your RED work-flow, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

To say its ground breaking would be an understatement. I checked out of my pyramid shaped motel and headed to the convention center where I have been lingering the RED booth all day. I am speechless, RED showcases their next generation in digital cinema and its EPIC, no pun intended. 5k 1-100 fps, full frame S35MM MYSTERIUM X Sensor with WI-FI control to boot. WTF! I know many RED users and RED ONE owners and reservations holders are beside themselves, I certainly am.

I spoke with Big John who many know from the REDUSER.net forums and he gave me the lowdown and said that this was essentially a conversation starter, the breadbox style design weighs in only at 6 pounds and the technology is here to make it. I say one hell of a conversation starter that plans to deliver in early 2009.

Many RED ONE owners and reservations holders including myself were not expecting a next generation RED so soon so I can not yet imagine how the RED community will react to this next gen RED. At 40,000 dollars, EPIC is apparently aimed at a different market with deeper pockets. My initial reaction was one of concern considering I take delivery of RED ONE in only 2 weeks but then I was informed that RED is offering full credit of your RED ONE, that is 17,500 dollars towards the purchase of EPIC, not bad at all…now I am interested.

RED currently has one camera actually available today and thats the RED ONE so if you want to get in line for EPIC then the only unofficial way to do so is by dropping a deposit for a RED ONE today and take delivery for EPIC some time late 2009 if your lucky.

The Scarlet is another addition to the RED family and from what I can tell its going to be right at home. Ridiculuos amounts of speculation took place since the “Red mini” was announced at NAB 2007. Today RED showcases SCARLET, a 3k professional pocket camera capable of up to 120 frames per second (180 fps burst) with a 2/3 sensor and a fixed lens capturing to dual CF cards all for less then 3 thousand dollars.

Ted Schilowitz, voice of the RED rebellion

“From soccer mom’s to indie filmmakers, docs, episodic tv, commercials and big studio features, no boundaries of what Scarlet can do.”

RED continues to break all the rules, continues to change the industry and make the best tools possible for everyone. The SCARLET will be compatible with RED ONE accessories as seen here and support WI-FI control. Indie filmmakers worldwide rejoice, affordable high end filmmaking just got better so keep an eye out for Scarlet 2009 delivery.

RED RAY. Although slightly hidden under the hype of Scarlet and Epic, the announcement of Red Ray has me very excited. In a nutshell this is a RED deck of sorts and when connected to a display, projector or HDTV it will auto scale for screening dailies directly from the CF card or a hooked up RED drive…but that’s not all! This box is capable of playing back 4k, 2k, 1080P, 720P or SD on a standard DVD.  From what I told it can store two hours of 4k on a 9gb DVD and 1 hour of 4k on the 5gb DVDs.  Imagine if film festivals that are already adopting in high end and expensive digital projectors would consider shelling out an extra grand for the ability to screen 4k, a RED READY festival if you will.

I will do a follow up when I gather my thoughts and have time to reflect on what is all going down in the world of RED Digital Cinema.

Just landed in the city of Sin. Yes, Its that time again, NAB 2008. Over 100,000 visitors flock from all over world to snoop the latest offerings from just about anyone and everyone in the broadcast and motion picture industries. Yes, NAB is a mad house but this year is a crucial year for RED who have come a long way so I could not skip out.

RED has 3 big secrets up their sleeves and plan to unveil tomorrow! My associate producer Andrew Lubetkin booked me a room at the Luxor…basically a pyramid shaped motel 6 but impressive architecturally speaking. I will be checking out tomorrow and heading straight to RED booth SL3820…then I got to find a room, but this is Vegas….should be easy right?