By Daniel Restuccio
The five-day intensive Red camera training, called REDucation, is headed to the next level with the four-month-long REDucation-X, the first Red "alternative" to traditional film school training for the next generation of moviemakers.
The logic, says Red's Ted Schilowitz (pictured being interviewed for Post-TV at NAB), is that feature films, commercials and "everything in between" are shot with Red cameras. In addition, post production with Red files is happening all over the world, so Red has created a streamlined way to REDucate yourself "if you are a student coming straight out of high school or wanting to reorient your career."
REDucation started in July of 2009 as an "experiment," recalls Schilowitz. "The cameras were a new force in the industry" and Red noticed to there was an intimate relationship between production and post production to truly understand the capabilities of the camera. "You don't really separate the two, it's one thing."
Hence REDucation was conceived.
The first classes were held at Los Angeles Center Studios in downtown Los Angeles and covered production and post production. They had around 50 students from all over the world. "There were students from Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe, and all over the continental United States," shares Schilowitz.
They ran the five-day intensive course once every three months, mostly in Los Angeles and then expanded to New York and London. The content evolved to include Red Epic and Red Scarlet, as well as the Red One. Post production evolved as well. "When we started there was no Red Rocket," says Schilowitz, referring to the accelerator card that makes realtime playback and transcoding of Red files possible. Now they cover stereo production and as well as more in-depth post topics such as stereo post, color science and the different digital intermediate processes for television, features and commercials.
As they watched the REDucation classes becoming more successful, a revelation occurred. Says Schilowitz, "If you look at the pace of technology, and pace of the motion picture industry that we live in now what people want is a way to immerse themselves in the most relevant technologies and get themselves out into the working world within a few months."
REDucation-X will cover the entire workflow, from concept through completion and distribution. The goal, continues Schilowitz, is that you walk out with all the relevant skills to develop a project, produce a project, "get it through editing, see it through finishing and then get it up on a big screen for millions of people to see."
Students will work with the same high-level production and post production technology that is used on feature films and television. Industry professionals will teach many of the classes.
The four-month course costs $15,000. Applications are being taken now until May 31st on the Red site. (http://www.red.com/learn/reducation-x/reducation-x-2012)
The first class size is limited to 20-25 students and will run from October 1, 2012 - January 25, 2013.