Once

[David Mullen ASC]

I saw this charming little Irish musical-romance film today, "Once" -- a very simple movie by any measure but well done in a sort of slice-of-life crude handheld method.

 

I was baffled by the shooting format - while it was clearly prosumer video from the deep focus, edge artifacts, zooming at night, but the softness and noise seemed somewhere between DV and HD.

 

I think this may have been the first HDV feature I've seen in the theaters, which I can't say is all that technically impressive. My guess would be something like a 50i Sony Z1, I don't know. If that's what I saw, it's definitely not on the same level as an pro 2/3" HD camcorder; it's somewhere just above regular DV.

 

But it suited the material, which was pretty low-key and unstylized. Day scenes looked the best, more like soft 16mm.

[Chris Keth]

I saw this charming little Irish musical-romance film today, "Once" -- a very simple movie by any measure but well done in a sort of slice-of-life crude handheld method.

 

I was baffled by the shooting format - while it was clearly prosumer video from the deep focus, edge artifacts, zooming at night, but the softness and noise seemed somewhere between DV and HD.

 

I think this may have been the first HDV feature I've seen in the theaters, which I can't say is all that technically impressive. My guess would be something like a 50i Sony Z1, I don't know. If that's what I saw, it's definitely not on the same level as an pro 2/3" HD camcorder; it's somewhere just above regular DV.

 

But it suited the material, which was pretty low-key and unstylized. Day scenes looked the best, more like soft 16mm.

 

I just shot a thesis film on HDV with a Redrocklens adapter and I must say I'm not at all impressed. I was consistently disappointed with how the format just falls apart with any sort of camera movement.

[Antti Näyhä]

For what it's worth, the director is just talking about "DV" in his interviews. He also mentioned a Sony.

[David Mullen ASC]

For what it's worth, the director is just talking about "DV" in his interviews. He also mentioned a Sony.

 

I was just basing that on this quote:

 

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_12026.html

 

MoviesOnline: What camera did you use to shoot it?

 

John Carney: We shot it on three of those little Sony HDVs. I think they?re called 325?s or something.

 

---

 

But the only "325" I can find online is a Digital-8 TRV-325 PAL camcorder, so you may be right.

[eoin mc loughlin]

Hey David,

Check out this link....the Dp Tim Fleming leaves a little note about the film...and how it was shot

 

 

http://www.filmmakersnetwork.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=898

 

ps. You were right about the Z1s!!!

 

Eoin Mc Loughlin

Dublin