Projects
SHOOTING THE TA AND THE TALIBAN John Conroy explains why the Z5E was his closest companion when embedded with 2 Para in Afghanistan
The contribution made by 12 part-time Territorial Army soldiers on the front line in Afghanistan is the subject of UKTV’s latest six part ob doc for Watch TA and the Taliban – made by Indie TwoFour. While few would doubt the bravery of the
soldiers themselves who face Taliban attacks and IEDs on their patrols, spare a thought for the cameramen who shoot the footage and face the same risks as the soldiers. It’s a fact underlined by
cameraman John Conroy’s experience
embedded with a TA soldier with 2 Para, who was shot in the leg during one Taliban attack. Now fully recovered Conroy explains that when
choosing camera kit for the job, single operator cameras which can take being knocked around inside cramped armoured vehicles and which are light are the priority.
“You need to be able to
carry everything yourself out there so every gram counts when you have to keep up with super fit soldiers as well as carry your own food, wet weather gear and body armour.” Conroy went for the HVR-Z5E backed up
with an HVR-A1E for night shooting. “A good proportion of your key shots are at night – and the A1 gives you the lovely green image which adds that texture to your filming,” he explains. “I like the Z5E because it feels better
balanced than most other handheld cameras,” says Conroy who tends to hold the camera by the top handle and look down onto the screen rather than use the viewfinder which is safer in a battlefield situation. Other useful Z5E features are its 20x zoom G
Lens, which meant that he didn’t need extra glass. “The iris ring on the front of the lens means that
I can control exposure, focal length and focus by touch, which again means that I don’t have to look down – all good features on any shoot but ten times as important in Afghanistan.” Conroy also rates the ability to control sound
levels with external switches and the camera’s low power CMOS sensor, which again minimised the number of battery packs he needed to carry. “The other important consideration is that all
your gear has to be waterproof. When you are under attack and with possible IEDs the safest place is a waterlogged ditch, and if your camera isn’t waterproofed you’ve lost all your rushes.” If Conroy had one recommendation for Sony
it would be to produce a handheld camera which combined the night shooting ability of the A1E with the all round performance of the Z5E.
Summer 2011 theproducer 29
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