Cameras: News and Updates

(Wayne, NJ) JVC Professional Products Company, a division of JVC Americas Corp., announced that Carnival Cruise Lines is using JVC ProHD cameras on several of its cruise ships to provide video coverage of both on-board and shore side activities for its guests. The move to ProHD is part of an overall transition to a tapeless workflow for the cruise line.

James Riccio, Carnival's supervisor of AV media, said Carnival Magic was the first ship to begin using JVC cameras in May 2011. Since then, two other ships have replaced their tape-based Sony cameras with ProHD models. Carnival Breeze, the newest ship in the fleet set to debut June 3, will have two GY-HM750s and one GY-HM150 camera (the standard complement of cameras per ship), and plans are in place for two additional Carnival ships to begin using ProHD cameras in 2012.

Each ship produces a live morning show, which features the cruise director, usually in one of the ship's lounges, discussing the day's activities. It's a simple production – two GY-HM750s on tripods capture the action. The cameras are tethered to "camera panels" that tie them directly the ship's broadcast room (which also serves as a control room and edit suite), where graphics are added and the show is distributed throughout the ship. Currently, Carnival Magic and the upcoming Carnival Breeze are the only ships in the fleet that have an HD infrastructure; the other ships downconvert the HD footage and distribute it in SD.

After the morning show, the video crew covers a variety of on-board events, contests, and activities, which are recorded to inexpensive SDHC media cards, then edited using Adobe Premiere Pro in the broadcast room. With JVC's native file recording, footage can be accessed immediately – no transcoding or ingest required. "We love ProHD's durability and solid-state recording," Riccio said. "We have events that happen on a regular basis, especially on our at-sea days, and we want to get them on TV as soon as possible."

For each cruise, the video team also assembles a documentary filled with trip highlights, including shore excursions. Videographers will join passengers on shore excursions, and Riccio said the small, handheld GY-HM150 is the ideal camera for recording memories without being intrusive. Plus, its compact size allows them access to historic buildings and other areas where a full-sized camcorder would not be permitted. "We like to blend in," he added. "It's less intimidating, so guests feel relaxed."

On occasion, the video team is hired to record weddings and other celebrations during a cruise. As a result, particularly when he is shooting a wedding, Riccio appreciates a new feature in the GY-HM150 that allows simultaneous recording to two media cards. "We've never had a problem," he noted, "but that's an event that you don't want to lose. Having that redundancy provides peace of mind that the footage will be there."

Resources:

pro.jvc.com

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