First things first, clients should NOT care what you own. I know tons of dudes who shoot all of their projects and the only thing they own is a fast Mac Pro and maybe a handful of lenses... Every time a job comes their way, they include rental prices like a regular production.
Thats how I work with my Epic/Scarlet, people have to rent the camera for the day, then rent me to run that camera for the day. You should price out all your gear that you use as if you DO NOT own it.
You could argue that owning a camera can get you more work, but I have had people who have hired me and then asked me to shoot something on a Phantom, and I don't own one of those...
At the end of the day, its about skills and storytelling over what gear you own.
As far as REDUCATION X goes, it is a very interesting idea. I would argue that it could be better then 4 years at film school. The idea behind the program is that to get accepted you have to pitch a project that you want to make (in the end you would use this project to be your calling card). Another thing to think about is the networking possibilities associated with this course, the people you will meet and be surrounded by.
I feel a lot of filmmakers underestimate how important networking actually is. There is an old saying "it's not what you know, it's who you know". Think about the big directors who are associated with RED, and whats to say that they won't stop by and see what students in this program are working on? It is at Red Studios in Hollywood so I think the chances are pretty good.
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