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Tech Focus and Product Reviews
Director of Photography Suny Behar chose a cutting-edge recording technique to shoot a music video for alternative rock band People in Planes, utilizing a Panasonic AJ-HDC27 VariCam® HD Cinema camera recording direct to the portable AJ-HPM110 P2 Mobile solid-state recorder. The video, which promotes the first offering, “Pretty Buildings,” from the band’s forthcoming CD release, “Beyond the Horizon,” (Wind-up Records) recently premiered on www.purevolume.com. Behar’s background as a freelance director and cinematographer encompasses camera layout on PIXAR's animated feature, Cars; shooting many live in-studio rock bands for Digital Planet; and shooting numerous short narrative films, feature films, and commercials. He has worked extensively with the VariCam. “I specifically chose the combination of the VariCam and P2 Mobile because the music video called for a lot of variable speed ramping from 24 fps to 60 fps and back,” said Behar. “Currently, if you record those ramps to tape on the VariCam there is no way to see them in real time, played back at 24 fps, without the use of a Frame Rate Converter box. And even then, you are recording to the box with DVCPRO HD encoding, and then having to play out via HD-SDI and recapture the Frame Rate Converted footage back again into your NLE or onto another tape. “Now with the HPM110, you can record straight to P2 solid-state memory, and play back your off-speed clips immediately after recording them, and all that at a higher quality than the camera itself is able to record (a full 10-bit, 1280x720 AVC-Intra, versus the 8-bit, 960x720 DVCPRO HD native to the VariCam).” A remarkably versatile, full production-quality HD field recorder, the HPM110 is designed to work with virtually any professional camera system, from tape-based digital cameras to high-end cinema cameras with 1080/24PsF output (in full-raster 1920x1080 or 1280x720). The “Pretty Buildings” video, directed by Walter Robot, was a one-day shoot that took place last month on three separate sets at The Escarpment, a multi-purpose soundstage just south of downtown Los Angeles, CA. Equipment was rented from Birns & Sawyer ( Hollywood, CA). Behar outfitted the VariCam with P+S Technic’s Pro35 film lens adapter and a complete set of Zeiss Super Speed lenses. “We used this gear to achieve the same depth of field control that you would get from shooting on 35mm film, which would otherwise be impossible shooting with a 2/3” CCD sensor,” the DP noted. “The camera pretty much resided on a Steadicam all day, as all the shots required this ‘floating’ kind of feel to match the mood of the song track.” “We recorded full-raster, 10-bit AVC-Intra 100 onto the HPM110,” said Behar. “The camera has a full 10-bit signal path coming out of its HD-SDI port, but with no ability to record it onto tape, as the DVCPRO HD deck runs a native 8-bit codec at a raster of 960x720. By connecting the VariCam to the P2 Mobile, I was able to take advantage of the very high quality imager that resides in the VariCam.” “We had one 32GB card and four 8GB P2 cards, which were more than sufficient to keep the most amounts of media viewable for review in the P2 Mobile,” the DP continued. “In terms of workflow, we had a Media Manager on set (David Colclasure) who reviewed all the takes on the P2 Mobile’s screen during record to ensure that there were no drop-outs. He would monitor the capacity of the cards in the P2 Mobile (all five cards were loaded at the same time), and decide when cards needed to be offloaded. For offload, we had a PowerBook G4 on set with P2 Genie software. The cards went straight into the G4’s PCMCIA II slot; P2 Genie would automatically detect the card and start the transfer to two simultaneous back up hard drives, a FireWire 800 drive and a USB 2.0 drive.” In addition to the high-end recording potential, Behar said pairing the VariCam with the P2 Mobile was cost-efficient. “There was no need to rent an extra FRC to see the slow-motion played back, and once we were done shooting, we could immediately begin the post-production phase of the show without the need to rent an HD deck and pay someone to log and capture all the footage shot,” he noted. The People in Planes music video was edited on Final Cut Pro 6.0.2, with compositing work handled in After Effects. “One main reason for wanting to shoot AVC-Intra 100 is the ability to take the footage in 10-bit full raster into After Effects for all the composite work,” Behar said. The deliverables to the record label were a full resolution QuickTime movie in Apple’s ProRes HQ, and a smaller QuickTime movie for YouTube distribution. About the AJ-HPM110 The AJ-HPM110 solid-state recorder is ideal for use in the field, in mobile vehicles or in the studio, because it offers master quality recording and playback in a wide range of high-definition formats, including 1080p (native), 1080i and 720p, and in standard definition. The HPM110’s six P2 card slots allow users to record continuous, extended clips in sequence onto high capacity P2 cards or output an extended play-list from five mounted cards to the sixth card slot. In addition to native 1080/24p recording and support of 1080/24PsF, the P2 Mobile offers recording in multiple frame rates, 24p pull-down removal as well as real-time playback of 720p variable frame rates for work with speed effects like over- and under-cranking. About VariCam Panasonic’s AJ-HDC27 VariCam replicates many of the key features of film-based image acquisition, including 24-frame progressive scan images, time lapse recording, and a wide range of variable frame rates (4-fps to 60-fps in single-frame increments) for “overcranked” and “undercranked” off-speed in-camera effects. The AJ-HDC27 VariCam also features CineGamma™ software that permits Panasonic’s HD Cinema camera systems to more closely match the latitude of film stocks. 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. .
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Stacy Moore (201) 392-4458
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