I don’t mean to belittle our enthusiasm over the technological wonder that is the RED Camera and its forthcoming progeny the Scarlet camera. Yes, for independent filmmakers this technology gives us a competitive option to play along the likes of a full feature film for a fraction of the budget. However, the camera is not the deciding factor. The biggest key to competition is the filmmaker.

The Red can deliver amazing picture quality, to be sure, and the Scarlet is expected to deliver similar performance for low-budget, independent filmmakers.  Although a Red kit can be had for $30,000 (a far cry from the $500,000 and up of a traditional digital cinema camera) even the pro cameras won’t magically make a beautiful film.  The skill, but more importantly the vision, of the filmmaker is what sets a mediocre video on YouTube from Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog.  The technology is just a component in a larger puzzle.

So why, again, are we excited about these cameras and the technology?  Well, right or wrong, we think we can use these cameras to make something special.  To be able to make something people will enjoy.  The technology is bringing the playing field to everyday people like us, in much the same way that the printing press made paper distribution a feasible option in 1440, and the advent of web-publishing and blogs brought that to anyone with a computer.

It won’t happen immediately, but within the next five to ten years the landscape of the media will have changed dramatically. In much the same ways that blogs and websites have altered the newspaper and magazine industry, the rise of high-quality, citizen media production will alter how entertainment and news are presented and consumed.

And I, for one, can hardly wait.