Projects
baronquality HDCAM/SR
S
Raising the
From blockbusters such as Avatar to low budget features, Sony’s high end cameras formats are turning out cinematic results
onycameras suchas theF35andSRW-9000, recordingtoHDCAMSRaswellas theF950 and HDC-1500 are gaining an increasing
MATHEMATICAL CERTAINTY
Writer/director Dan Clifton and DoP Dirk Nel give their first impressions of the SRW-9000 on Calculus of Love
Award-winning documentarist Dan Clifton has turned his hand to fiction for Calculus of Love, the story of a maths professor’s overriding obsession with a mathematical puzzle.
Writer/director Clifton and director of photography
Dirk Nel were looking for a strong cinematic look and considered a range of digital cinematography cameras beforesettlingontheSRW-9000suppliedby specialist Sony specialist dealer Top Teks. “One of the most immediately appealing features
was the practicality of shooting to HDCAM SR tape, which has become much more cost effective in recent months,” saysClifton. “It’s a simple,provensystemwhich gives you the confidence you need when you are working on a limited budget.” Nel adds: “We used the SRW-9000 in 4:4:4 mode with the supplied board, shootingS-log formaximumflexibility in post. I decided touseaPro35adapter tocompensatefor the2/3" chip
on the camera simply to create a shallower depth of field.We also opted for the Zeiss ultra prime lenses; not the fastest but good all rounders which are sharp wide open – which is how we shot most of the time.” Onekey featureof thecamerawasadynamic range
capable of coping with the visual demands of the storyline,which startswith a luminous, high key look as the professor sets out on his questwith renewed hope, explains Clifton. “But as the story starts to unravel we end up in shadowy film noir as he realises that he is nowhere near solving the conjecture. The camera did fantastically coping with registration into the shadow.” The only drawback was the power demands of the
setup,completewithlensesandadaptor.Minorquibbles aside, Clifton was able to achieve the look he originally envisaged. “We looked at the images after a grade and the results are outstanding,” he confirms.
Above: HDCAMtapes provide prestige quality at affordable prices. A wide range of small and large HDCAMtapes is available. Small
HDCAMtapes offer up to 40 minutes of HD recording time, while large HDCAMtapes store up to 124 minutes of HD footage. HDCAMSR tapes are for supreme quality recordings with 12 audio channels, making them an ideal mastering format. The range of HDCAMSR tapes provide the same amount of recording time as HDCAMtapes.
Spring 2010 theproducer 19
foothold in a wide range of genres of content production. In this issue we focus on the world of fiction and show how filmmakers are discovering that these top end cameras are capable of standing up to the toughest tests to produce cinematic results at amuchlower cost.Provenworkflows andthe cost effectiveness of tape-based formats such as HDCAMSR over filmare proving a combination that is toughtobeat.Under the spotlight inthis issue is the dynamic range of the SRW-9000,whichwas used to good effect on short film Calculus of Love. We also examine how the F35 came first in a beauty contest ahead of other leading digital cinematography brands on Devil’s Playground and how Sony cameras underpinned the success of JamesCameron’s 3d spectacular Avatar.
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