CineD congratulates the winners of this year’s CineD Best-of-Show Awards for NAB 2025! As a reminder, we had seven categories in which manufacturers were invited to submit their products.

CineD Best-of-Show Awards for NAB – categories:

• AI Innovation
• Audio Equipment
• Battery Innovation
• Broadcast Innovation
• Camera
• Camera Control & Accessories
• Camera Support
• Lenses
• Lighting Equipment
• Monitors & Recording

Now, it is important to point out that prior submission to the awards by the manufacturers was a requirement for us to be able to prepare and dedicate the required amount of time for judging. 

But without further ado, here are our winners and nominees in each category!

AI Innovation – Winner: HeyEddie.ai

Before you scream, “traitors,” here’s the deal: You can hate on AI, but it will not make it go away. We will not consider products or technologies that are trying to replace creativity – we are considering the ones that are there to augment it.

Remember the days when our fantasies about the future centered around having robotic helpers that would do the work nobody wanted to do? This can also be extended to the most basic editing tasks, where many repetitive things have to be done regularly.

Turns out that both of this year’s nominees fall exactly in this category: the Adobe Media Intelligence and Search Panel in Adobe Premiere and Eddie AI (link to our article). Both are designed to take over the most mundane assistant editor tasks and help streamline the early, often tedious stages of editing.

We decided to give the award to Eddy.ai since we see lots of potential in their approach to help with mundane editing tasks, and their integration with all kinds of NLE’s makes it a versatile companion app. Congratulations! You can also check out their product on their website.

Audio Equipment – Winners: Saramonic and Hollyland

Lots of great innovation is happening in the audio field, which is why we decided to award two very different solutions catering to different ends of the spectrum – but equally relevant for independent filmmakers or small crews.

The nominees were Saramonic for the Saramonic K9, DJI for the DJI Mic Mini, and Hollyland for the Lark Max 2 and the Lark MS2.

Our first winner was Saramonic: The Saramonic K9 is a professional audio system that transmits in a UHF band instead of 2.4GHz. It brings internal 32-bit float recording, timecode sync, and UHF diversity to improve signal reliability and reduce interferences. But what really caught our attention is its miniature Lavalier microphone (only 3mm). In a convincing demonstration, we saw this Lavalier surviving dust, water, flour (and more) and still continuing to work. Even the cable attached to it seemed to be unique in the sense that it was hard to destroy. 
Last but not least, $999 will buy you a kit of two professional transmitters and a single receiver, all in a compact, robust case. 

Our second winner is the Hollyland Lark Max 2 wireless audio transmission system, which consists of two senders, an on-camera receiver, as well as a smartphone receiver. Compared to the first version, it has been updated to support 32-bit float recording inside the transmitters. They offer an optional hot shoe adapter that allows the receiver to communicate directly with Sony cameras, so there is no need to use the cable. What really convinced us was their optional wireless monitoring solution – over-ear headphones that connect to the receiver, which in turn can be connected to the camera, so you are actually hearing what’s being recorded in-camera (which is crucial!). A smart idea for monitoring that does away with the typical cable-connected headphones is especially relevant for one-man band content creation.

Battery Innovation

This is the only category we chose not to award this year. While the submission from CoreSWX for their Nano M-Snap Battery Packs was very solid, we felt it didn’t quite meet the threshold for an innovation award.

Broadcast Innovation – Adobe

We were discussing if this was a better fit in the AI category, but it definitely also fits here: the Adobe Generative Extend in Premiere Pro, which lets you add up to two seconds of new footage to the start or end of a clip using Firefly AI – useful for smoothing transitions without reshoots. Another time-saver for those times when you simply need a few more frames for an edit and don’t have them. Check it out on their website.

Camera – Blackmagic Design

In terms of Camera Innovation, Blackmagic Design stole the show once again with the introduction of the 12K version of their PYXIS camera. What’s remarkable is that they managed to put this extremely high-performing sensor in such a small body. Its performance was evidenced by the results of our Lab Test of the URSA Cine 12K, which was the first camera to have that same sensor.

Other submissions in this category were the Proton HFR camera, DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, and OBSBOT Tail 2.

Camera Control & Accessories – DJI

This is traditionally a very diverse category with a wide range of submissions and nominations, so it’s never easy to judge.

Ultimately, the CineD team agreed to award the prize to DJI for the DJI RS 4 Mini since it shows the biggest advancement in gimbals in a long time because of its very convincing Intelligent Tracking Module.

Other nominees in this category include the Hollyland Cosmo C2, the Bun-G-Ring, and the OWC Jellyfish S24 and ThunderBlade X12.

Camera Support – MID49 and Tilta

Also never an easy category to judge, as camera support covers a broad spectrum of products that are often difficult to compare directly. In the end, we decided on two ex aequo winners for the CineD Best-of-Show Award for NAB in the category of Camera Support: MID49 for the TWIST Ball Arm, and Tilta for the Nucleus-M II.

MID49’s TWIST Ball Arm is innovative because in the area of “magic arms,” there’s usually little magic, but this one is different: its friction design allows for grabbing and twisting it without loosening a thumbscrew.

The other winner in this category is the Tilta Nucleus-M II, which convinced us it was a worthy successor of Tilta’s incredibly popular Nucleus M. Tilta proved that they listened to a lot of customer feedback, addressing many pain points of the original system, and also adding some really innovative functions to this remote follow focus, which is offered at a very competitive price.

Other nominees in this category were Ghost Kits for their Specter device, Atomos for the ATOMOSphere cloud service, and, again, Tilta for their Electronic Suction Cup Monitoring Kit (which allows you to check the status of up to ten of their electronic suction cups remotely – from inside the car, for instance – to check whether they are still safely attached).

Lenses – Laowa & DZOFILM

Lenses are always an interesting category, with many very different products to choose from. We decided to focus on the innovation aspect here and, in the end, awarded two competitors with very similar products, Laowa and DZOFILM, for their new probe lenses. Both models have their advantages, but we can see how both companies did a good job innovating in this field: both offer a wide-angle zoom, both cover full frame, and both have 360-degree versions and periscope versions available.

Other nominees in this category are FUJIFILM for the Duvo™ HZK14-100mm Portable PL Mount Zoom Lens, Blazar for the Mantis 1.33x FF Anamorphic Lens, and Beastgrip for the Beastgrip DOF Adapter Фoton.

Lighting Equipment – NANLITE

In the Lighting Equipment category, we opted to go for something “small” and chose the NANLITE PavoTube II 6XR, which is the successor of an extremely popular tiny RGB tube light. It’s incredibly versatile, can be fully controlled and synched remotely, and so on. Check the details in our article!

Other nominees in this category include Godox for the MS60R/Bi, Astera for QuikSpot, NANLITE for the Evoke 5000B, and Aputure for the Storm XT52.

Monitors & Recording – ASUS

In this category of the CineD Best-of-Show Awards for NAB 2025, the ASUS ProArt Display OLED PA32UCDM convinced us. 10-bit color in an ultra-wide display, combined with a great maximum brightness of 1,000 NITs and 240 Hz for less than $2K, is kind of a big deal and a remarkable achievement.

Other nominees include the DJI SDR Transmission system and the SWIT K15 Field Monitor.

What do you think about this year’s CineD Best-of-Show Awards for NAB 2025? Let us know in the comments below!

While Sunday is the first day of the show, news is already pouring in from all directions. For example, Blackmagic Design already announced their new PYXIS 12K camera (next to other goodies) but trust that other leading companies will follow shortly.

Now, covering such a trade show is extremely demanding. In case you’re interested in some behind-the-scenes, we documented our journey to Las Vegas two years ago, including the preparations we did, and the activities surrounding covering such an event.

Our Team and the equipment we will be using

We have a great and experienced team working together to cover the show: Nino, Jackie, Jeff, Graham, Batu, and I will be on-site, while Jakub, Lex, and Reuben will support us remotely. Filming, editing, uploading to YouTube, writing articles, proofreading, publishing reels, and of course conducting meetings, all in all, we have a whirlwind of four days, all to keep you in the loop with the latest and greatest straight from the show floor. I have to admit, we love the pressure and excitement although it is our x-th time at NAB—though honestly, who’s still counting?

As a side note, we’ve been asked about the number of videos we are publishing daily. Well, while some are publishing endless amounts of videos in a single show day overwhelming you with copy/paste press releases, we prefer to take the time and spread the gathered content in a more sensible easier to digest way.

What we will be working with

Cameras: For this event, once again we are collaborating with FUJIFILM and will continue to use their trusted cameras. This time, though, we’ve added a small twist: We are filming all the interviews (and b-roll) on the new FUJIFILM GFX100RF. For those who are not familiar with the camera, let me summarize by saying that it is the newest and lightest camera in the FUJIFILM GFX large sensor arsenal. This being said, this camera has a fixed 35mm f/4 lens (28mm full-frame equivalent), and while it might prove to be great for “talking heads two shots”, we are yet to test how it works for everything else that we need like gathering additional product(s) footage. In fact, the only way to “zoom in” (besides physically getting closer to the product), is to engage the digital stabilization option. This will crop the image in a 1.32x factor.

Now you may ask “why are we doing this?”. After all, we could have chosen to work with any other FUJIFILM camera, perhaps one we are more familiar with. To be honest, we love this large sensor camera. It is so small and lightweight that it is tempting to try and use it in such a scenario. It will also support our effort to take good-looking product images for the images found in the articles. Our first interview is on day zero (NiSi Optics’s new line of lenses), so it will be a good chance to test if all is working well. We do have with us the FUJIFILM X-H2 and X-S20 as backup cameras too.

Recording Media: We have been using Angelbird media cards forever and also cooperated with the company bringing to the market more affordable CFexpress Type B (now sold out) and Type A cards. With the FUJIFILM GFX100RF, we are using an assortment of their SD cards.

Microphones: We have come a long way when it comes to recording audio during trade shows and our favorite so far is the Sony UWP-D22 microphones (In case you missed it, you can catch up here here). This handheld mic solution is clean and crisp. We encourage anyone who is in need of such a solution to explore the capabilities of this Sony mic.

Editing hub: This year, we took the iodyne Pro Data with us (review here). This 24TB blazing-fast Raid SSD might be an overkill for such an exhibition, but on the other hand, its capacity next to the ability to easily share files is what will help us with our workflow.

Final thoughts

NAB 2025 is going to be BUSY and we invite you all to join us while we bring the latest news from the show floor. We are going through challenging times in our industry, which makes innovation next to some inspiration more essential than ever. live in challenging times for our industry so innovation next to inspiration is badly needed.

The live stream will be hosted today (April 4th) by Grant Petty, the CEO of Blackmagic Design, and anyone can join on YouTube. Just follow this link and set a time reminder for yourself. The stream will start at 8 AM PDT (Los Angeles time), which equals 11 AM EDT (New York) and 4 PM BST (London time).

As you might have seen already in our previous article (reacting to a photo of Blackmagic Design ad at the NAB venue), the company will most likely announce a new PYXIS 12K camera, among other new products. We at CineD will be, of course, following Blackmagic Design’s announcements and updating you on the most exciting news.

Blackmagic Design at NAB 2024

Last year at NAB, the company surprised us with not just one but several new cameras, including a cube-style full-frame 6K Blackmagic PYXIS, Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K with a 65mm sensor, and full-frame Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K. The latter won the CineD Best-of-Show Award for camera innovation:

What do you think will happen at NAB 2025? Will Blackmagic Design broaden one of their camera lines or present something completely different? We’re currently running a poll, and you are welcome to participate and share your thoughts and expectations with us.

DaVinci Resolve – what to expect?

Apart from gear news, NAB has proven a great time to launch an updated software version when the user’s interest is at its peak. Thus, last year, Blackmagic Design rolled out a public beta for DaVinci Resolve 19. The postproduction platform introduced some AI features back then (like text-based editing, which has already become a convenient “daily business” tool for many editors).

What new features and improvements will users get this year? If you want to be the first to find out, join Blackmagic Design’s live stream today on YouTube. Also, stay tuned and follow our extended show coverage of NAB 2025, which takes place from April 5-9 in Las Vegas.

What products do you expect Blackmagic Design to announce during their pre-NAB 2025 update tomorrow? Is there anything in particular you are waiting for? Some features for DaVinci Resolve or an upgraded version of one of their cameras? Anything else? Share it with us in the comments below, and let’s watch the stream together!

Feature image credit: Blackmagic Design.

NANLITE and their sister brand NANLUX have made a name for themselves with lights that range from portable RGB tubes to high-output fixtures built for film sets. Recent releases include the PavoTube II 6XR, a compact RGB tube with wireless DMX and pixel effects, and the FC-120C, a lightweight full-color LED spotlight aimed at on-the-go productions.

What is Project Spark?

Back in 2023, Nanlite and Nanlux launched Project Spark, a global creative effort to support visual storytellers. The idea was simple: help creators bring an original short film to life by giving them funding, gear, and a platform to share their work. Now in its third edition, the contest continues to look for new voices and encourage creative ways of using light and camera.

This year, there will be two categories, and two winners will be chosen from each category: Narrative Shorts and Experimental Shorts. Winners will be awarded up to $20,000 each for their projects, so get your submission in soon!

How to approach the theme

To guide participants, Nanlite has shared a conceptual take on this year’s theme, Contour. Rather than a technical definition, it reads more like a creative prompt – one that links light, form, and emotion in a way that’s open to interpretation, as expressed here:

First steps

To take part in Project Spark, the first step is to submit a detailed pitch for your short film. The competition is open to both narrative and experimental projects. Your submission should follow the specific guidelines provided and clearly outline your concept.

Once all entries are in, a panel of judges will select the finalists. If chosen, you’ll receive production funding, equipment support, and mentorship to help bring your film to life – from pre-production all the way through post.

The timeline for the entire project is from February 28th, 2025, to January 15th, 2026, but your submission must be entered by April 18th, 2025.

Documents required for your submission

The following documents should be handed in with your submission:

• Fill in the registration form on the event page of the Nanlite website
• Exposition for the submission (up to 200 words in English)
• Story synopsis (up to 100 words in English)
• Script outline (between 300 and 2000 words in English)
• No less than 10 reference video clips
• Entrant’s previous works

Once your entry has been accepted, you will need to provide the following:

• Complete Script
• Storyboard
• Project Proposal
• Production Budget Sheet
• Concept Poster

The timeline

Once submissions close, five projects will be shortlisted in each category – narrative and experimental. Shortlisted creators will then take part in an online interview, after which two finalists from each category will be selected. Finalists will be announced on May 31st via Nanlite’s social media channels, marking the official start of the production phase.

How to submit

You can register and submit all required materials through the online form on Nanlite’s website. For full details on rules and eligibility, visit the official guidelines page.

Are you planning to submit to Project Spark this year? What would make you take the leap and pitch a short film? Let us know in the comments!

In a surprise move, DJI has dropped the price of the RAW license that is required to record ProRes RAW video on the Ronin 4D (both 6K and 8K versions) to $1, from previously $979 (prices differed around the world, it was €999 in Europe, and is now €1).

Ronin 4D price drop

At the same time, they have dropped the price of the Ronin 4D itself, too: The 6K version now costs $4,999 (a $1,800 price drop), and the 8K version comes in at $9,999 (a $2,839 price drop).

With Adolescence, Netflix’s amazing mini series about a teenage murder that was entirely shot on Ronin 4D in elaborate long takes lasting entire episodes, the Ronin 4D is definitely finally hitting “mainstream” in high-end storytelling. Check out our article on Adolescence here.

Speculation: are things around Nikon/RED’s “raw patent” evolving?

We have no information as to why the price drop of that raw license is now, but curiously, we have seen more “movement” around internal raw recording from camera manufacturers recently. As you might remember, RED, and now its new owner, Nikon, holds a patent for in-camera compressed raw video recording. That patent was challenged before by several companies without luck, including Apple, and after Nikon took legal action against it, the companies started talking to each other, which eventually ended with Nikon’s acquisition of RED.

Why is the Ronin 4D ProRes RAW license $1 and not free?

Again, this is pure speculation, but Nikon might have changed the “rules” around the licensing of their compressed RAW video patent, which might have affected DJI’s pricing of the Ronin 4D ProRes RAW license. Curiously, they don’t give it away for free, but still, it’s $1, which might (or might not) have something to do with that license. We might never know.

But with RED’s recent price drop of $2000 for their very own RED KOMODO to just $2,995, I think it’s safe to say that things are clearly moving ahead with RED as part of Nikon, and we look forward to hopefully finding out what’s in store next for them. The same goes for DJI – a price drop like this on the Ronin 4D could be a sign that something new is just around the corner.

What do you think about the price drops on the Ronin 4D and the RAW License? Are you pulling the trigger on a purchase? Let us know below!

The initiative brings together customers, technology partners, and media professionals to explore workflow optimization through practical discussions and real-world scenarios. Sessions will demonstrate the integration between iodyne storage products and other industry technologies, showcasing how diverse tools can work together effectively throughout the creative process.

In case you missed it, we recently reviewed iodyne’s USB-C Thunderbolt 4 cables in a real-world test, and we also reviewed their iodyne Pro Data SSD – claimed to be the “fastest SSD storage on the market” – before.

Industry experts join inaugural series of iodyne Workflow Kitchen

Confirmed participants include representatives from RED, Hedge, Softron, USC, and ETC Entertainment Technology Center, alongside film technologists, photographers, and digital creators. Topics will cover live event production, multi-cam setups, cross-platform solutions, and virtual production workflows incorporating mobile, hybrid, remote, and cloud-based approaches.

Focus on actionable workflow optimization

Martin Christien, iodyne’s Director of Workflow, stated: “The goal of Workflow Kitchen is to equip professionals across various roles—including creators, editors, colorists, DITs, VFX artists, big and small production teams—with actionable takeaways to optimize their own workflows.” He emphasized positioning data storage as a central planning element rather than an afterthought in production workflows.

Asli Sonceley, Director of Marketing at iodyne, highlighted the company’s connection to the creative community, noting that the team includes both engineers and creative professionals with film backgrounds. “We want to support them with the best available tools and practical advice,” said Sonceley, adding that “tech shouldn’t get in the way of intuition and raw inspiration.”

Content distribution and NAB Show presence

Content captured at NAB will be distributed across social media and industry platforms, supplemented with workflow diagrams and case studies on iodyne’s website and YouTube channel. This content aims to serve as a comprehensive knowledge base to enhance collaboration and productivity in the media industry.

Attendees can visit iodyne’s booth in South Hall SL8410 during the NAB Show to experience the live sessions and insights firsthand.

What do you think about such an initiative? Are you looking forward to the content that will come out of it? Let us know in the comments below!

Michael Cioni is always an interesting guy to hear talk – he’s literally been at the heart of Hollywood’s technology for decades, and we’ve talked to him several times before – at last year’s NAB, we also awarded them one of our coveted CineD Best-of-Show Awards for NAB (submissions for this year’s awards are open still).

The competitive moat that became a barrier

In his recent keynote at the HPA summit, Cioni begins by describing how Hollywood built an impressive “competitive moat” over decades, centered around the pursuit of high quality. This moat consists of specialized talent, bespoke technology, sophisticated distribution systems, standardized practices, and professional organizations, including trade groups, unions, guilds, and professional associations like the HPA.

“Hollywood has built this incredible competitive moat… It’s this barrier that protects you from bad actors,” Cioni explains. “But there’s a byproduct of this competitive moat… in order for us to maintain that quality, we introduced a lot of friction.”

Cioni argues that this friction permeates the entire process – from production and post-production to distribution, exhibition, and marketing. Even consumers bear this friction by waiting in lines or for weekly episode releases. Until now, the exceptional quality justified these inconveniences.

The early adopter’s perspective

Positioning himself as an early technology adopter, Cioni shares how his early career taught him two crucial lessons: betting on emerging technology can initially work against you (he failed in school for using digital tools when his teachers demanded analog), but if you bet wisely, you can be “catapulted so far ahead” when that technology becomes standard.

This perspective informs his analysis of Hollywood’s current situation, where he sees many businesses “acting on their momentum and no longer their propulsion” – coasting rather than driving forward with new energy.

The zero-friction alternative

The turning point, according to Cioni, came in 2005 with YouTube’s emergence. While initially dismissed as a failed dating app pivot with the slogan “Broadcast Yourself,” YouTube represented something revolutionary: storytelling without friction. This spawned the creator economy – an ecosystem where the ability to create, edit, and distribute content has virtually no barriers.

Technology migration to general purpose

As the creator economy grew, it pulled established companies toward it. Cioni cites several examples of manufacturers who shifted from specialized products to general-purpose technologies:

• RØDE: Transformed from a niche microphone maker to a market leader by adding USB connectivity, selling millions of units
• RED: Introduced digital cinema cameras at $17,000 that record to files when the industry was still using film and tape (check out our recent feature on Jim Jannard’s origin story of RED)
• Blackmagic Design: Purchased Resolve and released a Mac version, now downloaded by several million users
• Dolby: Moved professional theater technologies like Dolby Vision and Atmos into consumer spaces

The creator economy also birthed entirely new companies focused on serving content creators: Aputure, Blue, Condor, Creme Source, DJI, Frame.io, Beastgrip, CapCut (with 300 million monthly active users), Moments, SmallRig, and Splice.

“This is going to change everything,” Cioni warns. “This is the threat that we’re really facing… a new community that has changed the sphere of influence.”

CapCut is the world’s most popular editing system. They have 300 million monthly active users.

Michael Cioni

Changing consumer tastes and the podcast revolution

Cioni highlights how consumer tastes have shifted dramatically. “About 10 years ago, only about 50 of you ever heard a podcast,” he tells the audience. “Today, I bet half of you listened to one on the way here.” He points out that video podcasts represent the fastest-growing market for media and entertainment, with 84% of podcasts now including video elements. “It’s like radio video, and it’s a completely new invention. This format didn’t even exist, and Hollywood had nothing to do with it and has no idea what to do about it.”

Sobering statistics

Cioni supports his argument with eye-opening data (check this Nielsen report):

• The average American bought only two movie tickets in 2023
• 33% of all media is now consumed on mobile devices by adults, not just Gen Z
• YouTube represented 10% of all television viewing in July 2024
• 50% of YouTube is now consumed on television rather than on mobile devices

“YouTube is the startup for creativity. YouTube is the new television,” Cioni states, quoting YouTube’s CEO.

Success stories at the intersection

Cioni highlights several positive examples of traditional media engaging with the creator economy:

• Netflix exploring podcast content
• Amazon becoming a distribution path for MrBeast
• “Talk to Me,” a horror film made by YouTube creators for $4 million that earned nearly $100 million and achieved a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score

He suggests these successes aren’t rare flukes like “The Blair Witch Project” but could be replicated “52 weeks a year if you just knew how.”

The shrinking technology gap between Hollywood and the creator economy

In the presentation’s most dramatic demonstration, Cioni showed footage of the same interview shot with three drastically different cameras:

• A $90,000 ARRI Alexa Mini (the “gold standard” of professional cinema)
• A $7,500 Fuji GFX 100 (a “65mm sensor capable of 8K recording in ProRes LOG at 15 stops”)
• A $1,200 iPhone 16 with a B-Script depth-of-field adapter (allowing cinema lenses on an iPhone with “13 stops of dynamic range”)

The setup also featured affordable RØDE wireless microphones ($300 for a three-pack) and compact, powerful Aputure lights controlled via Bluetooth.

“A camera that costs closer to $100,000 and $1,000 is not that dramatically different,” Cioni observes after showing the comparison. “It’s all about accessibility… This is the visual proof that accessibility has gotten so narrow that we need to think twice about it.”

A path forward for each sector

Rather than presenting a doomsday scenario, Cioni offers specific recommendations for different industry segments:

For everyone: “Learn to influence the influencer.” – The creator economy already reveres Hollywood through memes, references, and emulation. The industry can leverage this to positively influence creators.

For manufacturers: “Build a technology migration path” that serves both professional and creator markets simultaneously. Companies maintaining niche specialty products are “taking an enormous risk.” He advises against spending resources on one-off solutions for specific directors or productions.

For vendors: “Separate the creative stack from the tech stack.” – Creative service bureaus should focus exclusively on creativity, as they cannot outpace the technology development in the creator economy. Vendors should consider infrastructure-as-a-service models like Sohonet.

For studio technology teams: “Relax on these standards and practices” that impede innovation and speed. “We do not need a list of cameras that are approved for us to shoot on anymore,” he argues, pointing out that the creator economy operates without these constraints.

For studios: Focus on exhibition, distribution, and marketing – “Your power is in exhibition and distributing and marketing because you can take a small film like ‘Talk to Me’ and you can get it in front of a hundred million people.”

Bridging a new future between the creator economy and Hollywood

Cioni concludes with a call to action, urging the industry to reconsider its traditions and embrace change. “What got us here is not going to get us there,” he emphasizes. “If we really believe that the saving of our industry is going to be based on trying to get it back to where it was in 2019, we’re going to lose it all.”

Instead of attempting to return to pre-pandemic models, he advocates for “draining” what’s left of the competitive moat and using it as a bridge to connect with the creator economy.

“Our future is going to be fantastic if we work together directly with them, but our future is going to be very, very scary and dire if we just try to protect ourselves,” Cioni concludes. “The Hollywood that we can make successful… it’s not about ‘survive through ’25,’ we can thrive. We just have to admit that it’s going to look a lot different.”

The message is clear: Hollywood can still thrive by focusing on high-fidelity narrative content while welcoming and collaborating with creator economy participants – a formula that could preserve what makes traditional media special while tapping into new creative and technological possibilities.

Where do you see “Hollywood” going? On the one hand, traditional theatrical distribution is clearly under pressure, and so are Hollywood’s features – on the other hand, highly produced streaming content is still doing remarkably well, and that’s in addition to YouTube. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

In case you haven’t heard about Eddie AI, which just launched in October 2024, you can read up on my colleague Jeff’s article here, in which he explores its video editing functions in depth. Now, they are launching The Rough Cut, a ‘magazine for your inbox’ – a weekly newsletter featuring stories of the mavericks who have shaped the video industry and continue to drive it forward.

The following is an excerpt of Eddie AI’s first feature from today’s newsletter. It explores the story of Jim Jannard, the billionaire founder of the sunglasses brand Oakley, his team, and how he founded camera manufacturer RED, which Nikon now owns. If you are interested in not only the full version of this story but want to follow along as they uncover more untold stories, make sure to sign up for their newsletter.

The sunglasses billionaire who got Hollywood to leave film behind

As we stand on the brink of another major shift in filmmaking, let’s look back at a moment when technology redefined how we tell stories. What would you say if we told you one of the most influential camera companies of all time – RED – wasn’t just created by a Hollywood outsider but by someone with absolutely zero film experience?

Nearly 20 years ago, Jim Jannard, the billionaire founder of Oakley (yep, the sunglasses brand), and his team of industry bandits changed cinema forever. And hardly anyone knows what really happened behind the scenes…

An exit from Oakley and the start of a new frontier

Here are a few key dates we need to establish from Jim Jannard’s career:

• He founded Oakley in 1976 — naming the company after his English setter, he took his first steps in business by selling motorcycle parts out of his van. 
• In the 1980s, Jannard turned his attention to sports equipment, apparel, and the sunglasses Oakley is famous for today.
• By 1995, Oakley had gone public, raising $230 million in the process.
• And lastly, in 2007, Jim sold the company for $2.1 billion to Italian eyewear manufacturer Luxottica. 

Sometime between Oakley’s IPO and its eventual sale, Jim started looking to the next frontier. As a bonafide camera nut, ideas man, and entrepreneur, he set himself a new target: Create the world’s most powerful (digital) cinema camera. 

“Insane.” “Crazy.” “Stupid.” These were the words lobbied at Jannard when he first spoke of his dream – and they weren’t exactly wrong. Film cameras had a 95% share of the cinema market then, while digital hovered around 5% at best. 

Jim seemed to be dreaming up the impossible, but that didn’t stop him.

The Heist (or making the impossible possible)

• The objective: Creating an impossible digital camera comparable in image quality to film but for a lower price and in a smaller size. 
• The target: Making digital the dominant mode of Hollywood filmmaking.
• Chances of pulling it off? Next to nil, until…

Frederic Lumière (of no relation to the Lumière brothers) was a camera enthusiast and IT expert who created Lumière HD, the first plugin to allow users to edit HDV. His software provided a simple, feature-rich, high-definition video editing tool intended for the low-budget filmmaker. 

Lumière HD had built a legion of supporters after years of exhibiting their products in the tech world. Their supporters included Apple, Sony, JVC, and one eccentric, idealistic billionaire…

Phase 1: The billion-dollar email

“I was helping out with IT support for Lumière HD, and one day I got this email,” Fred explains.

Jim and Fred continued to chat over email for the next few days. “What started as a support chat escalated into a discussion of crazy ideas. It was relentless.”

Like Jim, Fred dreamt of creating a digital camera that could rival analog. After all, a movie shot on an ARRIFLEX 35II made in 1960 could still provide a great image 60 years later. Why couldn’t digital do the same? 

“If you’re interested, I would love to partner with you to build this camera. Give me a budget on how much you think it would cost,” said Jim before asking Fred to meet him – the very next day.

Jim lived in southern California, and Fred lived on the East Coast. A good 3,000 miles separated the pair, but the following morning, Fred was on the next flight out. Little did he know he was about to embark on the greatest heist in cinema history. 

Phase 2: Assembling the O-Team

Fred arrives in California and gives Jim a figure. 

The figure was the budget to undertake the entire project from start to finish: camera development costs, costs of the crew, everything. 

It was a large number, but Jim hadn’t expected it to be a small sum. The deal was finalized.

Despite the emails, Fred flying across the country, and meeting Jim in person, it still didn’t seem real. The next day Fred’s wife – who was the CFO of Lumière HD at the time – called Fred and said, “Honey, we’ve just received a sh*t ton of money. Do you know about this?”

Jim had sent the money straight to the company account. No contract. No invoice. Just sent.

And so the job began. 

The task was simple on paper: to create a digital camera that would not only compete with film but render it obsolete. The only way to steal film’s Hollywood customers was to ensure that digital was the hands-down better option.

So, who were they up against?

For the full essay, check out The Rough Cut by Eddie AI. Every week, they will break down the craft of video editing and filmmaking – what’s new, what’s next, and what’s worth remembering.

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When it comes to mirrorless cameras, without a doubt, Japanese companies dominate the market. Canon, Sony, Nikon, FUJIFILM, Panasonic, OM, and Ricoh, are all very well known (and extremely capable) companies that have been producing cameras “forever”. DJI on the other hand, is a company that likes to enter existing markets with innovative improvements to (in many ways) enhance the product, then works to take over that market segment. They did so with drones and gimbals, and are now poised to do so with wireless transmitters and mics. Of course, the company is already making cameras in all forms and shapes, but not a dedicated mirrorless one. I mean, DJI owns Hasselblad, which do make mirrorless cameras (and backs), but not under the DJI brand name, and also not in a sensor size or lens mount that may be appealing to most potential customers.

As the nature of every company is to grow and sell products, it wouldn’t be a big surprise if DJI decides to enter the mirrorless camera market. After all, the company has all the technology it needs (Ronin 4D 6K/8K anybody?), and on top, is a member of the L-mount alliance. (Developing such a camera with their own DL-mount might not do such a camera justice). Add an internal ND filter, LiDAR autofocus, or even internal audio receiver for their DJI Mic 2 (à la Osmo Pocket 3) and there you have it: a potential mirrorless camera that can rock the market and disrupt the Japanese dominance.

So, in today’s poll we are interested to know if you would like to see such a mirrorless camera from DJI. Please see below and vote according to the different voting options.

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Thank you for participating and if you have a minute to leave a comment too, it will be appreciated!

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A while back, Ram, a long-time CineD follower, approached us with a simple question: “Why isn’t there an easy way to show appreciation for written content without leaving a comment?” And they’re right. After all, so many people are consuming our content, but commenting takes an extra step – and sometimes, you just don’t have a strong enough opinion on a topic. So, we asked our site development team to create something simple and positive: the “Like This Article” button. You’ll find it at the end of each article, and if you find the information valuable or interesting, we’d love for you to take a second to click it. And at this point we would also like to thank our readers–We’re incredibly grateful to all of you for following CineD, no matter if it’s your first visit or if you’ve been doing so for the past 15 years!

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