Projects


Life at the high end


H


DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER How the F900R stood up to the test of capturing the clarity and colour of the world’s best quality diamonds


De Beers Forevermark diamonds have a reputation for being some of the best quality gems in the world. So when it came to making a film about Forevermark for De Beers’ international clients telling the story of the gem from “mine to finger” a tough, adaptable camera capable of producing the highest level of detail was required. Produced by Crossfire, cameraman Jonathan


Young from hire company Debrouillard recalls: “The range of locations throughout Africa and Europe, the lighting setups and the shooting style all meant that the camera of choice had to be robust, flexible and capable of producing a quality image. After all, who wants to see muddy or grey looking diamonds?” On the commercials side of the production team some of the crew were very interested to see the results from the F900R shooting to HDCAM tape on an almost daily basis, recalls Young. “Very quickly they


were won over by the level of detail and the richness of colour reproduction from the footage, especially when shooting the diamonds themselves.” “Diamonds are intrinsically very small and complex


in their construction and colour, and capturing that in visual terms was critical to tell the story of a diamond on its journey from mine to jewellery piece”. Having used the F900R on challenging shoots including Sky’s Ross Kemp In Afghanistan Young had no doubts about


its abilities, but the camera coped


with African mining conditions beyond everyone’s expectations. “Its HyperGamma curve was a great asset throughout. It didn’t matter whether it was an African worker under the noon sun, or fluorescent strip lighting in the polishing rooms of Antwerp, the F900R meant I could really squeeze the maximum out of every shot.”


Winter 2011 theproducer 19


HDCAM


Top quality camcorders such as the HDW-F900R and SRW-9000 are finding fans on a wide range of projects


igh end Sony cameras including the F900R and the SRW-9000 are establishing a firm reputation for quality


across the board from documentary to drama and commercials. Based on Sony’s top of the range CineAlta technology they offer high quality recording in a rugged one-piece camcorder body with film camera style ergonomics and creative control.


In this section we profile two


of the latest TV dramas to be shot on the 9000, children’s drama Just William and Living TV’s glossy supernatural series Bedlam. Plus we profile a recent corporate job for De Beers diamonds shot on the F900R.


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