Happy birthday us: RedShark is four years old today

RedShark is 4 years old today!

Four years ago today, we launched RedShark. We had no idea whether what would happen when we started on this journey and we weren’t even thinking that we might be in the position we are today as one of the top websites written for, and read by, the entire Moving Image Industry. 

We have to admit that Moving Image Industry is a term we invented ourselves, but we had to — there was no single existing umbrella term that described what we wanted to do, which was to be a daily-updated website for anyone that works (or plays) with moving images. So we’re not just about cameras, not just about post, not just about editing, and not just about distribution (streaming, etc). We’re all of those things and more. 

Most of all, we continue to be excited by the rate of change and by the opportunities created by it. Almost from day one, we said that 4K would be adopted quickly and would be an everyday part of the filmmaking and video industry — this at a time when others were saying it would take “decades”. We were right: try finding a TV shop in a major city now where the majority of the TVs aren’t 4K. 

We (well, I!) have been wrong too. I predicted that 21:9 TV sets would become the norm. They haven’t, and it’s a pity. Perhaps that’s for another day. 

Whether we’re right or wrong, we can be sure that we’ll be fact-checked by our community of commenters. Some comments are superbly informative. Some have even gone on to become articles in themselves. What we do know by talking to our commenters is that our readers are astute and influential. And for those who just read RedShark for fun — as opposed to those in an active career in moving images — we’re delighted to have you too. 

We’ll let you be a judge of what we’ve become, and we’re not going to change; at least, not radically. We will probably update a few things over the coming few months, but we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

As Editor-in-Chief of RedShark, I’m incredibly grateful to our readers who keep us on the pace, and to our advertisers, who allow us to provide this continuous coverage of the industry. Thanks, too, to our writers. We have some of the best people in the industry, in the US, UK and around the world. And an extra-special thanks to those of you who very occasionally submit articles to us for publication: some of our very best pieces have been the result of seemingly random emails from potential writers. We love getting these: so if you think you have an article in you, please send it in. 

Now that we’ve reached this ripe old age, we’re not going to take it easy. We’re excited by the future, and optimistic, even in these strange times. We’ll be trying a few new things out, but rest assured: RedShark is here for the long game. 

Thanks again, and we’ll see you on our fifth birthday!

Birthday cake graphic: shutterstock.com