Projects
Quality
counts HDCAM/SR
Quality results need a high-end camera and you need look no
further than Sony’s HDCAM range
T
he filmic images produced by the top of the
range HDCAM cameras have made them a
popular choice for many high-end
productions. When filming in difficult conditions a
sturdy model is needed, but at no cost to the quality
of the footage. This was true when Millhouse Films
shot Kandahar Break, a short film set during the
Afghan war, using the HDW-F900R. The camera
contended with intense heat and sandstorms and
still produced sharp imagery. Another member of
the HDCAM family, the HDW-750, was chosen
by Fact Not Fiction Films to shoot a documentary
on singer Hayley Westenra, not only due to its
picture quality but 2/3 lens capability and capacity
to cope in bright and low light conditions. It was
the top of the range F23 CineAlta camera that
Typhoon Film opted for to film a PC World ad,
TABLETOP TECHNIQUES employing a specialist tabletop filming technique
When using the F23 to shoot ads for PC World, agency that uses a motion control rig to blend images.
Typhoon Film used a specialist tabletop filming technique
Agencies Typhoon Film and
M&CSaatchi chose the F23 to shoot a series of This enabed the animation sequences to be shifted
commercials for PC World to showcase the look and within the timeline during the offline, thereby
capabilities of a series of computers, employing a accommodating any changes that emerged after
rather innovative filming technique. Typhoon Film is the production was complete. This gave the product
only production company in the UK to use a specialist hardware fluid movement when it was sliding around,
tabletop filming method that uses a motion control rig opening and shutting and rolling over other products.
to blend images and create a stop frame animation “The F23 is a high-end workhorse HD camera. It
effect, while shooting at 25p. has been integrated into the workflow very well, from
When shooting the commercials, the product crew and lens support through to camera and grip
hardware sat on the motion control turntable and the accessories. This is something that many camera
camera was mounted on a Milo motion control system manufacturers haven’t quite cracked yet,” says director
from Motion Control Cameras. The pan, tilt, rotation, Ben Bannister. “More than anything I think the
track, jib, focus, zoom and turntable was then controlled. astonishing robustness of the camera stands out.
Typhoon Film chose to shoot with the F23 HDCAM Versatility, nicely graded finished material is kind of what
model, with the camera recording to HDCAM SR, due you expect and we found that the HDCAM SR format
to the number of passes required for each commercial. worked effortlessly in every respect – floor use, motion
Every element of the animation was shot at 25fps. control, off and online.”
Summer 2009 theproducer 17
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