red-spider-nab09

Anyone who has been to NAB for the last two years has undoubtedly seen the big red RED tent dwarfing the show floor, with a somewhat constant line of people waiting to get inside behind a couple of big, burly bouncers guarding the velvet rope like a hot New York night club. If nothing else it’s been great marketing that gets the exhibit noticed and show goers talking. Like a lot of companies this year, RED announced that they weren’t going to attend NAB 09, instead possibly holding their own event when the time was right. But then just this week RED announced that they would … sort of … be at NAB attending the Reduser party being held on Wednesday April 22nd. It looked like an exciting announcement as they would be “displaying prototypes of Scarlet and EPIC, along with the RED Professional lenses.” That sounded like some really exciting news to those of us who have been following the Scarlet camera development. While we have no idea when it might ship, just seeing a Scarlet prototype live and in the metal-flesh would do a lot of good to making the camera seem real! There’s even been a pic or two of Scarlets in action (plus the first footage) to whet the appetitte even more.

Today is now April 1st, April Fools Day, and Red Leader Jim Jannard has posted this:

Things are changing again?
Due to discoveries, competition, boredom and obsessive/compulsive disorders… Scarlet and EPIC have changed again.
Just when you thought you have settled in to your normal routine and begun to think you know what RED is doing… we have gone and changed the playing field one more time. Development is a combination of what we can do, what we think we can do, what our competitors can do, what our competitors think we will do and what we just figured out what we really can do. Which is it? All of the above.
Rejoice… this is the RED way.
Jim

Depending on your time zone this may or may not have been posted on April Fools Day but just a couple of posts down Jim says it is no joke and details will emerge at the Reduser party at NAB. So there. Does that mean RED won’t be showing any Scarlet or EPIC prototypes now? Only RED knows for sure but either way I would bet good money that they will have something new to say or show. It’s too tempting of an event not to. Consider youself updated and keep an eye toward Jim’s Recon for the latest.