Tech Focus and Product Reviews

Sincepurchasing Panasonic’s AJ-HPX2000 P2 HD camcorder last fall, Millburn, NJ-based production company Midnight Media Group Inc. (MMGI) has found the 2/3” shoulder-mount camera to be an able performer on a number of blue-chip shoots for companies and organizations including Unilever, Rutgers University and automaker Subaru.

MMGI has more than 20 years experience offering full creative and production services to such high-profile clients as Apple Computer, BMW, BD and Quest Diagnostics. For the past several years, the production company has created video-based dealer training materials for new Subaru automobile models, initially shooting these with Panasonic’s AJ-SDX900 DVCPRO50 camcorder and then upgrading to HD production with the Panasonic VariCam and AJ-HDX900.

MMGI’s most recent Subaru assignments, through marketing communications agency Coyne Communications ( Basking Ridge, NJ), were for the Impreza WRX STI (a late 2008 model debut) and the 2009 Forester. Both dealer videos were shot with the HPX2000, the WRX STI shoot in November and the Forester last month.

“When it came to making a production-quality HD camera purchase, I’d decided that tape was quickly becoming passé,” said Dave Emmerling, MMGI producer/director. “I felt confident that P2 technology was solid and there was a tested workflow.”

“We’re always looking for top quality production tools, and were especially impressed with the HPX2000’s ability to shoot 10-bit, 4:2:2 master-quality video via its AVC-Intra codec, in addition to DVCPRO HD,” Emmerling added. “We just loved the pictures the camera produced.”

MMGI purchased the HPX2000 with five 16GB P2 cards from Abel Cine Tech ( New York, NY). Emmerling rented a Canon super wide-angle lens for the November shoot, and subsequently purchased a Fujinon 16 x 6.3 HD wide-angle lens to outfit the HPX2000.

Each Subaru video is approximately 26 minutes in length. About one-third of that is outside running footage, with the balance being shot in a studio. Because of its rally heritage, the talent and running footage for the WRX STI was shot at the Willow Springs Raceway ( Lancaster, CA), and for the Forester the outside work was done at Tejon Ranch, CA. The studio work for both shoots was done at South Bay Studios ( Long Beach, CA).

“While these videos were produced for the Subaru dealer staff, we always assume that there is the distinct possibility they will be seen by prospective customers,” Emmerling explained. “In short, they have to look beautiful as well as being informational.”

“When we turned on the HPX2000 for the first time in the studio, my Subaru client was more than impressed,” he continued. “‘I can’t believe the beautiful detail,’ he said. ‘It all looks amazing!’”

While Emmerling described these assignments as “typical car shoots,” the parameters, especially of the outdoor work, were demanding. “The HPX2000 lived on a jib on a camera car, while the talent (driver and passenger) were in the front seat of the Subaru,” he explained. “At other times, we had an HVX200 on a panther mount on the hood of the car, shooting through the windshield. I sat in the back seat behind the driver monitoring the pictures, with the writer behind the passenger. We also had a 6’3” teleprompter operator in the trunk!”

“At the Raceway, we had a professional rally driver who would streak into the shot, and we got nice, fluid motion footage that helped accentuate the WRX STI’s lines and rally breeding,” Emmerling said. “The HPX2000’s DRS (Dynamic Range Stretching)* really helped us out, both outside - where we encountered lots of shadows due to a sun low in the sky - and in the studio, where we shot in places that were hard to get adequate light to, like brake pedals and the red LED lights used for night-time illumination.”

Emmerling shot DVCPRO HD at 720P 60fps. “The HPX2000 was fully loaded with five 16GB cards, so we had plenty of record time,” he said. “We’d offload at the end of the day and download our seven full P2 cards (two from the HVX200 we also used) into an AG-HPG10 P2 Gear that was hooked up directly to a 150GB hard drive. Back at the MMGI studio, we dumped all the material into a fibre channel array and backed up on a LTO drive.”

“With P2, I love the fact that I can dump the footage into my computer as I go, edit right after I shoot, and turn a job like the Subaru shoot around in a week and a half-- even editing on the plane ride home, if need be,” Emmerling noted. MMGI handled the Subaru edits, done on Final Cut Pro. The finished DVD was delivered to Coyne Communications for release to the Subaru dealer network.

“Currently, these are standard definition DVDs, but that’s likely to change,” Emmerling said. “And there are good reasons to shoot HD even if the end product is still SD. You never know how the material will be used residually. Also, if a move from a jib operator did not work out, it is likely I can fix it without a re-shoot, as I have twice as much resolution as I need. I want that kind of flexibility in how I can use my images.”

Since purchasing the HPX2000, Emmerling’s partners have also used the camera to shoot interviews for Unilever and for a video facilities brochure for Douglass Residential College at Rutgers University.

Midnight Media Group, Inc. was founded in 1981 by David Emmerling and Walter Schoenknecht, both experienced producer/directors of non-broadcast audio and video programs. In 1993, Midnight Media Group moved to a 5,000 square foot facility in suburban Millburn, NJ designed expressly for its creative operations, and in 2003 added Bob Camitta, formerly of The Videocenter of New Jersey as a third partner. For more information about the company, visit www.mmgi.tv.

About the AJ-HPX2000

The AJ-HPX2000 P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorder integrates native HD progressive 2/3" 3-CCD performance with the ultra-high reliability and speed of P2 solid-state recording. As one of the most flexible, full production-quality cameras available, the AJ-HPX2000 records pristine high-quality images in over 30 HD and SD formats ranging from 1080p, 1080i, 720p to 480p, 480i and 576i. With the new AVC-Intra codec option board (AJ-YBX200G), the AJ-HPX2000 can deliver 10-bit, 4:2:2 master-quality video for outstanding video production and news acquisition. The AJ-HPX2000 holds up to five P2 cards offering users extended recording time. With five 32GB P2 cards, professionals can record over six and one-half hours in AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD at 720p 24 native, or close to three hours in other AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD formats. 

About Panasonic Broadcast

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North

America . The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company’s web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast .

*The HPX2000’s Dynamic Range Stretching function allows the camera to precisely capture high contrast scenes that have varying degrees of shadow and highlights.

EDITORIAL CONTACTS:

Stacy Moore - (201) 392-4458
Pat Lamb - (518) 692-8150