Jim Jannard likes to joke that to become a millionaire, “start with a billion dollars and then start a camera company.”
That comment isn’t reflective of how his Red Digital Cinema LLC actually performed, according to Jannard’s son, Jamin Jannard.
“If you know him, you know he’s a very tongue-in-cheek person,” Jamin Jannard told the Business Journal.
A validation of the elder Jannard’s decision to move into the camera business came on March 7. That’s when Red Digital announced the sale of his Foothill Ranch-based maker of digital movie cameras to Japanese camera giant Nikon Corp (OTC: NINOY).
While terms of the sale were undisclosed, the deal’s been described as the second successful exit for Jannard, who sold his Oakley Inc. to Luxottica for $2.1 billion in 2007.
Jannard, who now resides in Washington, is worth about $1.5 billion, according to an estimate from Forbes, though the Business Journal has previously estimated his worth at $2 billion or more, based on reputable sources.
The Red Digital acquisition came a few days before the Oscars, where the company has made a major mark on Hollywood filmmaking, winning awards for “Mank” and the documentary “My Octopus Teacher.”
The company has also earned its own Academy Award, for its technical achievements.
Red Digital will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nikon once the acquisition is finalized, according to a statement.
Wild Ride
Both Red co-founders Jannard and Jarred Land have stayed quiet on the matter, only taking to social media so far.
“Two cowboys from California sitting in Tokyo reminiscing on 20 years of absolute insanity … What a ride,” Land captioned a photo of himself and Jannard on Instagram posted one day after the announcement.
“Thanks Jim.”
It’s unclear whether the two will still be involved with the company, or if Red Digital will continue to operate under the same name. The company owns the website name: Red.com.
Merger
In 2005, Jannard founded Red Digital, which became a pioneer in 4K digital filmmaking, with its cameras used in blockbusters including “The Hobbit,” and gained popularity among YouTube channels.
The company in 2018 released its first and only smartphone called Hydrogen One that was shut down a year later after it was panned by critics.
Red Digital was the first digital camera with a sensor capable of delivering footage indistinguishable from film, according to Scott Olivet, former CEO of Red Digital and Oakley.
Olivet said Jim challenged himself and the team to create a smaller camera that broke the industry price umbrella, capable of delivering faster frame rates and being fully modular and backward compatible.
“It was thought impossible by every observer, but Jim, Jarred and Red delivered,” Olivet said.
“For me, that impossible dream was the Red revolution and the reason for two back-to-back consumer home runs by Jim.”
A large part of Red Digital’s business outside of movie productions were music video and fashion shoots, favored by both industries for the resolution and frame rate of its cameras, Olivet said.
Red Digital’s cameras use the latest technology to make images up to 8K and film at 360 degrees. Earlier this month, the company presented a multi-camera live broadcast that could send 180-degree footage from live events to the cloud and eventually to virtual reality headsets like Meta Quest 3.
Red Digital last month introduced two new cameras, the V-Raptor and V-Raptor XL, which the company refers to as the world’s first large format global shutter cameras. Its web page lists 77 products, with the highest price being $45,000 for the V-Raptor XL.
Nikon described the acquisition as “merging the strengths of both companies.” Nikon cited Red Digital’s knowledge in cinema cameras, including image compression technology and color science.
“Nikon will leverage this acquisition to expand the fast-growing professional digital cinema camera market, building on both companies’ business foundations and networks, promising an exciting future of product development that will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in film and video production,” the company said when announcing the Red Digital deal.
Lawsuit
News of the acquisition comes less than a year after the two companies reached an agreement on a patent infringement lawsuit.
In 2022, Red Digital filed a lawsuit against Nikon claiming that Nikon’s Z9 camera copied its data compression technology. Nikon denied Red’s claims as “invalid” due to a “failure to satisfy the conditions for patentability,” according to a legal filing.
Red Digital has sued a variety of companies for allegedly violating its patents, including Sony and Apple.
Followers
Loyal followers of Red Digital are expressing concerns over what this deal means for the company.
“The consumers will most probably not notice any changes,” Red co-founder Land told Y.M. Cinema Magazine. “Nikon has a great reputation for reliability, repair and manufacturing.”
Land compared the deal to Sony’s acquisition of Konica Minolta in 2006.
“This is an example of a big company that buys a small company and cool things happen,” Land said.
Red Digital has approximately 220 employees compared to Nikon’s 18,790 employees as of last March.
Red’s local footprint appears to have shrunk in recent years. After the pandemic, it moved its base from Irvine to a smaller location near Oakley’s headquarters in Foothill Ranch.
Nikon ended fiscal 2023 with $4.2 billion in revenue and forecasted that revenue would climb to $4.5 billion for 2024. Nikon last month reported its fiscal third-quarter revenue climbed 15% to $1.3 billion.
Shares in Nikon, which counts a $3.6 billion market cap, remained unchanged at $11 the day of the announcement.
‘Chief Mad Scientist’
Jannard, who started Oakley out of his car in 1975 with only $300, built it into a world-famous company well known for its sunglasses, goggles and apparel.
Jannard described himself as the “chief mad scientist” of Oakley. He was behind some of its most inventive designs including the Eyeshades, Razorblades and the X-Metal line made with titanium.
Oakley’s headquarters in Foothill Ranch became known for a distinct design that was based on the science fiction films “Blade Runner” and “Metropolis,” Jannard said in an interview with the company’s Oakley Forum.
Jannard took Oakley public in 1995 and eventually sold it to Milan-based eyewear conglomerate Luxottica, adding the brand to a portfolio that also includes Ray-Ban, Chanel and Burberry, in addition to retailers such as LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut.
M-Experiment
Now, the mad scientist is back with a new project.
Jannard, who stepped away from Red Digital in 2019 due to health issues, came out of retirement last year for a new project that he teased on social media for close to a year.
Jannard along with his son Jamin Jannard founded a Lake Forest-based sunglass business called M-Experiment, which currently offers four lines of sunglasses ranging from $90 to $185, along with hats and other apparel.
The idea for another eyewear company first came about 10 years ago, Jamin Jannard said.
“We were just reminiscing about the fun days at Oakley and how many good memories we had over there,” Jamin Jannard said.
“We started a new sunglass company more just for fun without any pressure or expectations because it’s what we enjoy.”
Red’s Biggest Hollywood Hits
Red Digital Cinema LLC makes digital still and motion cameras used by the film industry and professional photographers. The company also owns Red Studios Hollywood to make films.
Oscar-winning films and documentaries have been filmed on Red Digital cameras.
The camera maker’s Helium 8K black-and-white camera was used to film David Fincher’s movie “Mank,” which won two awards in categories for best production design and best cinematography at the 2021 Academy Awards.
“My Octopus Teacher” used Red Digital’s Red Dragon and took home an award for best documentary that night.
Red Digital in 2010 came out with the Red Epic camera, which was used to film “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Hobbit,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “The Great Gatsby.”
More recently, Red Digital cameras have been used in productions such as Marvel Comics’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” nature documentaries like “Prehistoric Planet 2” and Netflix series “Squid Game” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”
