News
The Producer takes a trip
EVENTS
around a world of production Festival fever
There’s a truly This month speakers from factual programme making and
global feel to this commissioning will appear at Televisual’s Intelligent Factual
issue of The Festival. The event will have a business focus reflecting the
Producer, with a challenges facing programme makers and also offer workshops
varied showcase of covering shooting, editing and audio using the latest technologies
contrasting
productions from around the world, all being
filmed on Sony cameras. It’s all here, from the
beautifully atmospheric pictures of Rio de
Janeiro (captured on a PDW-700) for award
winning director/producer Jon Blair’s Dancing
with the Devil to the bleak Southern Pakistan
deserts, filmed on a HDW-F900R for David
Whitney’s indie feature Kandahar Break. Along
the way, we take in trips to locations as diverse
as a border patrol station on the Mexican
border, where Alister Chapman used a pair of
HXR-MC1P point-of-view cameras during
the filming, in stereoscopic 3d, of The Storm
Chasers 3D.
The breadth of formats, shapes and sizes of
cameras in Sony’s HD range makes it possible to
find a model to suit your exacting requirements,
wherever in the world you’re shooting, and in
whatever climate. In The Producer report this
issue, we speak to those who’ve taken cameras to
far flung corners of the world. Starting off at the Over 50 of the biggest names from interest for anyone wishing to show
extremes, with a PDW-700 in the Antarctic for Ice factual programme making and off their work or view extracts from
Patrol and HDW-750Ps in Ethiopia’s Danakil commissioning will be speaking at the latest high-impat docs is the 10 x
desert for The Hottest Place on Earth. In Japan, Televisual’s fourth annual Intelligent 10 session. This free evening
there’s a discreet HVR-A1E unobtrusively Factual Festival. The event, which workshop from the Documentary
filming Kelly Osbourne: Turning Japanese, and, across will be held at Gibson Hall on 14 Filmmakers Group gives filmmakers
Europe, Sony cameras capturing the high-speed and 15 July, will feature 14 high- the chance to screen up to ten
action of the FIM Speedway. impact sessions including C4 head minutes of their work and then get
Continuing our world-traversing theme, The of programmes Julian Bellamy’s valuable audience feedback.
Producer’s news section (right) details Sony keynote on his vision for factual TV On day two of the festival the
putting its weight behind one of the most at the broadcaster and leading lights True Vision Masterclass will feature
admirable camera operator awards, The Rory such as Alan Yentob, Alison filmmaker and co-founder of True
Peck Awards. These honour the perilous work Sharman, George Entwistle and Vision Brian Woods and
undertaken by those capturing images in war John Willis talking about the cameraman, director and editor
zones and other volatile areas of the world, with challenges facing factual content in Jezza Neumann revealing the secrets
the operators often putting their own lives at risk ‘The future of factual’ session. behind crafting award-winning docs
in the pursuit of their images. We round up our With fast turnaround films such such as China’s Stolen Children
global trip with the PDW-F800 being taken to as Darlow Smithson’s Miracle on the (pictured) and Undercover in Tibet.
Cannes, then finally back to London again, with Hudson and the BBC’s Shannon: Both shows used the compact Sony
over 50 Sony HD cameras and a handful of Mother of all Lies proving to be ratings HVR-A1E, which Neumann
SuperMotion models making ace work of filming winners, the festival will feature a highlights is the smallest camera to
all the action at this year’s Wimbledon tournament. fast-turnaround docs session in win a best photography Bafta. The
Jake Bickerton which experts share the secrets of session will also explore how recent
this increasingly important genre. cameras, such as the HVR-Z5E,
the editor
This will be a session not to miss for have enhanced on location
those that want to perfect the art of documentary making. To book visit
documentary on the fly. Also of www.televisual.com/festival.
4 theproducer Summer 2009
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