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Jim Jannard resigns as CEO of camera maker Red


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interesting news from televisual.com

Ive pasted the main part of the news below

 

http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/Jim-Jannard-resigns-as-CEO-of-camera-maker-Red-_nid-3144.html

 

 

Jim Jannard resigns as CEO of camera maker Red

3_1377011776_james%20jannard.jpg

News
Jake Bickerton
20 August 2013

Jim Jannard, the founder and CEO of camera manufacturer Red, has resigned as 'Red Leader', citing what he believes are personal attacks on his integrity as the main reason for his departure.

Following his resignation, he plans to "sink into the background" where he will "work on the future of digital cameras behind the scenes". He has appointed Jarred Land as the new leader of the company.

Jannard, who is reportedly worth around US$1.4billion, made much of his fortune after selling eyewear brand Oakley, which he apparently setup with a budget of just US$300. He dramatically resigned from his position as Red CEO yesterday via a posting on the Reduser forum.

The post, titled 'My Final Post', details the birth of Red and Jannard's thinking behind setting up Red before going on the describe the company's achievements and how he feels he's been unfairly treated by a number of named cinematographers in particular as well as a broader section of the cinematography community.

 

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Jims final post on Reduser:

 

08-19-2013, 03:03 AM

I have said before... I'm tired. I really am.

I started Oakley with $300 and then proceeded to put over 5,000 people to work in California. Against all odds, we passed RayBan in worldwide sales in 1996. I am so proud of what we accomplished at Oakley. Inventions wrapped in art. Thermonuclear Protection. I actually had an impeccable reputation every day from start to finish.

In 2005, I could see that the powers that be (Sony, Arri, Panavision) were going to attempt to persuade the film industry that 1080P was going to be the digital replacement for film. The F900, F23, Genesis, D20. I did not agree. As a film fanatic, I knew that digital would replace film, but I wanted that replacement to be respectful to film. 1080P or 2K was not respectful.

So at the end of 2005, I made the decision to start RED. The idea was to make a 4K digital camera. My thought was to create a film alternative that actually was the equal or better to film in every aspect. Send film to the retirement home proud of what we had done.

Now... replacing film properly is no easy task. It is about resolution, dynamic range, color, ease of use, cost to shoot, post options... quite a lot of stuff. We accepted the challenge.

In 2006, we announced the RED ONE. 4K for under $20K. That was quite shocking. Sony's digital cinema cameras were $200k+. Apparently shocking enough that I almost got into a fist fight with Geoff Boyle in the aisle of NAB where he questioned why we would "scam" people into giving us $1000 deposits for a product that could never happen. Scam? This is the 1st time anyone had ever questioned my integrity. Ever. In hindsight, I wish I would have pulled the trigger. Maybe I'll get the chance one day. Actually... I look forward to it. (furrowed eyes here)

At that NAB in 2006... we also declared Obsolescence Obsolete. We talked about upgrades instead of having to buy a new camera every time there was some new technology advancement. This concept was new. I had never seen a company do what we were talking about. I still haven't. The question is... could we really do this?

We released the RED ONE with Mysterium sensor... 4K for $17,500 in 2007. It recorded 4K REDCODE to a Compact Flash card! The only way we could do that was through incredible compression technology. "Ché" and "Knowing" were shot on this camera.

Our color science improved on a continual basis. We upgraded firmware for free... as we should have.

Then... we developed the next generation sensor, the Mysterium-X. We offered this sensor as an upgrade. You didn't have to buy a new camera, just send your camera in and pay for the upgrade. As far as I know, this was a first in the entire camera world. Obsolescence Obsolete was alive. Several more features were shot on the RED ONE MX, including "The Social Network", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "The Informant" and many others.

I should mention here that there were many color science and feature upgrades... for free. Again, what company ever offered that?

Enter the EPIC. As promised, Obsolescence Obsolete continued. Trade in your RED ONE for FULL price value towards an EPIC. I defy anyone to find a program on any electronics product in any industry like this one. Your "old camera" just became a "new one".

EPIC is legendary. The amount of projects shot on EPIC will go down in history. "The Amazing Spiderman", "The Hobbit", "Prometheus", "The Great Gatsby"... the list is too long to type.

So what next? The Dragon.

The Dragon is an Obsolescence Obsolete upgrade. More resolution. More dynamic range. More color depth. And it is an upgrade.

Somehow... I read on CML and other idiotic forums, that I an a hypester, a scam artist. I just have to wonder what these guys are smoking. But I have to say... they have gotten to me. I don't need this. I don't deserve this. Life is short and I am tired.

I can only hope that the incredibly stupid posts from people like Geoff Boyle and Art Adams (many other CML posters) do not in any way taint the work we have actually done.

With the release of the Dragon sensor... I have finished my mission. I am done posting. I will no longer be the face of RED. Mercifully, Jarred will take my place and he is worthy times forever. Jarred is me... only 30 years younger.

My final thoughts...

I have done my best. I saw a fatal flaw in the camera industry. We did our best to address it.

I will now sink into the background, I hope with my reputation intact. I will work on the future of digital cinema... behind the scenes.

God love us all.

Jim
"The camera is arguably one of the most important of all inventions… it is the single tool that has the ability to stop time, record history, generate art, tell stories, and communicate messages that transcend language like nothing else ever conceived."

"Everything in life changes... including our camera specs and delivery dates..."

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone with a bad attitude.
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Yes I think he will be remembered as a pioneer and inventor of modern film making that actually competed with film. I wont say beat or replaced film as in my opinion film has a much richer nicer look but that's my opinion. But I wouldn't be looking forward to my new BMC if it wasn't for him. When I first heard about Red I really thought it was some kind of joke. He wasn't joking and turned digital literally on its head.

 

Thanks Jim the World needs visionaries like yourself.

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Has he really retired, or just withdrawn temporally from forum posts?

 

Jarred seems to be anointed successor, as he's younger.

 

Geoff Boyle's response is on the article comments (first comment)

 

http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/Jim-Jannard-resigns-as-CEO-of-camera-maker-Red-_nid-3144.html

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I'm thinking two things:

 

1) Either he tells the truth, is a control freak and probably can't cope with the new social media world and feedback from people online

 

or

 

2) He has understood that if he is dramatic, people will write about it and it will gain more attention to RED, as in the old phrase "all publicity is good publicity".

 

 

Either way, I really wondered what was going to become out of RED when they had announced the RED One. Back then I thought "OK, this will be successful for a while. After that, they won't be able to compete at all when the other manufacturers strike back". I was wrong, and it's amazing to see what RED has been able to achieve.

 

What I hope for the future of RED, is that they will find an interest in producing some more affordable cameras that compete in BMCC / BMPC segments, otherwise I'll probably never own one of their cameras. One can wish at least... :)

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I'm not a huge fan of Cult RED..... But Jannard set out to make a camera to replace film, and from what the Dragon has shown, he looks like he has achieved his goals, so fair play to him and happy retirement.

 

I think him leaving the CEO role is perfect for RED though.... Hopefully now they can work like a proper company... Open distribution centres, customer service centres worldwide. Stop obsessing about just 4K+ and get a damn 1080p Module working and just go about their business with less fighting and posturing.

 

I might then start thinking seriously about going RED.

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  • 6 years later...
On 8/21/2013 at 11:55 PM, andy lee said:

interesting news from televisual.com

Ive pasted the main part of the news below

 

http://www.televisual.com/news-detail/Jim-Jannard-resigns-as-CEO-of-camera-maker-Red-_nid-3144.html

 

 

Jim Jannard resigns as CEO of camera maker Red

3_1377011776_james%20jannard.jpg

News
Jake Bickerton
20 August 2013

Jim Jannard, the founder and CEO of camera manufacturer Red, has resigned as 'Red Leader', citing what he believes are personal attacks on his integrity as the main reason for his departure.

Following his resignation, he plans to "sink into the background" where he will "work on the future of digital cameras behind the scenes". He has appointed Jarred Land as the new leader of the company.

Jannard, who is reportedly worth around US$1.4billion, made much of his fortune after selling eyewear brand Oakley, which he apparently setup with a budget of just US$300. He dramatically resigned from his position as Red CEO yesterday via a posting on the Reduser forum.

The post, titled 'My Final Post', details the birth of Red and Jannard's thinking behind setting up Red before going on the describe the company's achievements and how he feels he's been unfairly treated by a number of named cinematographers in particular as well as a broader section of the cinematography community.

 

He wants to be perceived as a visionary inventor whereas in fact he is just a businessman only. The recent videos by Jinni exposed many of his half-truths (I’m afraid to be sued so I’m going here some kind of British understatement). Let’s see if Apple’s suit against their industry damaging patent will go thru. If yes, his resignation is a way out to avoid trouble. 

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