[John Sharaf]

Try the Mathews “Baby Boom Arm”. I use them to hold either 400 or 800w Jokers with Chimeras attached. Of course for this weight you need strong stands like combos and to ballast with both a sandbag on the stand bottom and on the opposite end of the arm from the light unit. As with all boom arms, care should be taken to position arm over the lead leg of the stand.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Paul,

It doesn’t matter what the director says, the Varicam only records in 720p either at 59.94 or 60 systems frequency. That doesn’t mean you can’t transcode the playback on a 1200A or 1400 VTR to “output” a 1080 signal into your NLE or projector or whatever.

In order to record 1080 from a Varicam you either need to transcode the 720 to 1080 by passing it through one of the previously mentioned decks (e-to-e)and record it on a second deck set to 1080 or use some other sort of standards converter between the camera and the deck. In this setup you need to also provide trilevel sync in 1080/59.94 to both decks.

The HDX900 makes this transcode inside the camcorder and allows 1080 recording, but remember that it is also a native 720 camera and is merely a transcode and not equal in quality to a native 1920×1080 camera. The only such camera in Panasonic’s camcorder line is the new “3000” which is not yet deliverable.

[John Sharaf]

FYI, Varicam can not record at 1080i. This must be your problem. Firewire import only at 720p, you may use the deck to “transcode” the output to 1080i but you must then import to FCP through capture card via HD-SDI connection.

Good luck!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Yeah,

I agree with Noah, but here’s another idea; record the audio with time code on a digital recorded like the Sound Devices 744T and you can email this file to the editor who can then paper cut by the track. Presumably because it’s an interview, all the picture would be fine and just fall right into place.

Of course, this is one area where the Sony XDCAM system with “proxy” video files excells, but really only if you need the footage before 10:30am the following morning (via FedEx).

JS

[John Sharaf]

Beau,

The light you describe is really meant for use as an on-camera light for news style reportage and to illuminate a reporter “standup”, not for portraiture like the oral history interviews you describe.

You have the right idea by doing them inside, away from the harsh light and heat outside, not to mention extraneous noise. Your best bet would be to stage the seats and the camera in such a way as to take advantage of some nice diffused window light; either north light or through white curtain, while keeping the background darker, or at least devoid of other windows.

If you are forced to use artificial light, because of the layout of the interior or night-like conditions inside, you should consider a twofoot fourbank kino or a quarts light inside a small chimera. These make excellent keylights for portraiture. A typical portrait kit would also include a backlight for separation from the background and perhaps a fill light, although with a soft source this is not always necessary, or can be accomplished with a white card. In addition, a splash of light or color from a source four or similar unit on the background often is a nice touch.

It does not seem however that you’ll have access to this type of equipment, so really your best shot is to get creative with the available light, which means staging the action to take advantage of the light that naturally exists. This can often be very successful, especially when dealing with “non-professional” talent who might otherwise be intimidated by having a bright light in their eyes.

Good luck,

JS

[John Sharaf]

Pete,

In either case you must understand that you’re buying a “compromised” camera vis-a-vis some of the other (more expensive) options. Of course both are non-linear which offers great advantage in importing quickly, but the Panasonic does use a better recording format, namely DVCPRO100 vs. MPEG2 in the Sony (100 Mb vs. 35/50). In addition you correctly note the distinction in the imager size which advantages the Panasonic again. Of course the 2/3″ lenses will cost you more, but they’re going to be better and will fit on subsequent cameras that you’re likely to grow into.

The only drawback to the HVX500 is that I don’t believe the imager is a full native HD resolution; it uses pixel-shifting (like it’s little brother the HVX200) to accomplish it’s sharpness and resolution, but what do you expect for the price?

So, ultimately the educated choice should be made by a good old fashioned “shoot-out” that takes the type of scene you’ll be typically shooting and carries it throough your normal post workflow and judged on a high quality HD monitor (like an eCinema or 20″ Sony CRT) by blind test. Anything short of this will leave you second guessing yourself forever!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Rock,

This query has occurred several here recently, so I recommend that you search the archives, but in order to best reply, it would be extremely helpful to know the details and substance of your intended shoot, as with any magic trick, like day-for-night the devil is in the details!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Sketchy,

The reason many producers have abandoned film in favor of HD production is that the modern HD cameras successfully imitate film cameras both in motion simulation and with cine gamma curves which emulate the ability of film to control highlights and reach into the shadows. In addition the resolution is much improved over previous video formats. All this comes with a considerable savings of money in film purchase, processing and telecine. As most postproduction now is done in the digital domain (are you still slicing film and finishing with answer prints?) HD cameras also simplify the workflow and save considerable time.

There are very few reasons to continue to produce in film, especially if your distribution is to broadcast or cable clients, and you should seriously be considering a purchase (or rental) of HD cameras like the Cine Alta, Varicam or HDX900. JMHO.

JS

[John Sharaf]

Sketchy,

Sony acquisition standard HD formats are XDCAM, HDCAM and HDCAM-SR, delivery in the latter two. Panasonic acquires in DVCPRO100 and delivers in D5. On the horizon however is acquisition and delivery in MPEG4/AVC-I which offers better quality with storage savings and delivery could be by computer file.

Because this type of gear is so expensive and changes so often, it really pays to learn all about it before you spend the big bucks. Mistakes can be very expensive!

JS

[John Sharaf]

Sketchy,

You really should ask the “networks” you are presently delivering to to specify their accepted HD formats. HDCAM, HDCAM-SR and D5 are the accepted standards, but this only complicates the matter of which of three decks to buy. Furthermore, the delivery format might be different from your acquisition format, necessitating another vtr for ingest.

JS