Stas Tagios

American Cinematographer has an online article about David Boyd's fantastic cinematography for "Firefly": http://www.theasc.com/magazine/feb03/firefly/index.html

I was afraid of that. Are you shooting the whole film at 0db gain and 1/48th shutter to minimize noise and the smeary video look of a slower (1/24th) shutter? I plan to shoot at 1/24th shutter and up to 6db gain if necessary to eke out an image in low-light situations, and am hoping that will be enough to produce an acceptable image, as many of the situations I'll be shooting will not allow for any supplementary lighting, except perhaps an on-camera lite panel. I may also check out the Canon XH-A1, which I've read produces beautiful images, is more light-sensitive, and the 24F mode of which pretty closely resembles actual 24P footage, albeit at a slightly lesser resolution than the camera's interlaced mode. Thanks so much for your quick reply! Good shooting, Stas

Hi Marcel, just wondering if you'd started shooting with the V1 yet, and if so, if you have the time to post some more thoughts on the camera's imagery. I'm about to start a three-week documentary shoot using the camera and unfortunately, will not have time to test it beforehand, so I'm relying on reviews and net forums to glean any info I can about how the camera performs. Have you used it in low-light/available light situations? I've read that the V1 is rated even slower than the z1 and that its gain reduces resolution, which worries me, since my shoot will primarily be shot with available light, and much of it will be evening interiors. Thanks for any advice you can provide, Stas

DV magazine tested a slew of lower-end HDV and HD cameras in two issues last year, cameras including the HVX200, the Sony Z1, the Canon XL H1, and the JVC HD100. You can read the articles online at: http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.p...cleId=177103305 http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.p...cleId=192501274

Thanks for the update, Marcel. If you get the chance and have any time to post more details on your shooting of "A Mighty Heart," we'd love to hear about it. Good shooting, Stas

Yeah, it's the Dec. 03 issue (Vol. 82, No. 12), with "21 Grams" on the cover. I had to do an internet search for it before I went digging through my boxes of archived AC's, since I knew it would otherwise take me forever to find it.

Marcel, I finally got the chance to see "In This World," and was blown away by how great it looked. It was a terrific, moving film, and the cinematography -- from the natural lighting to the handheld shooting -- was beautiful. I'd read the "American Cinematographer" article about the film, and knew the film had been shot with the PD-150, but I was consistently amazed at how unvideo-like most of the imagery looked, especially since the majority of it was shot in sunny exteriors. Very impressive to see DV look like this! Also loved the looks of "Code 46" and "Nine Songs." Looking forward to your next project, Stas

I have that issue, but won't be able to access it till the end of Nov. (it's currently stored out of town). If no one else is able to provide you with a scan by then, I'd be glad to send you one.

IMHO, the HVX200 offers a wider variety of features than the Sony, including more variable frame rates (12, 12, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 30, 32, 36, 48, 60fps), true progressive HD recording (at both 1080 and 720), and a manual zoom (disengagble from the servo). Working with P2 cards requires a bit of a shift in workflow if you're used to shooting to tape, and you'd likely want to have at leat three p2 cards, and perhaps a p2 store hard drive to download your clips to in the field. The new Sony (HVR-V1U) is apparently able to shoot true progressive 24p, but you're still dealing with HDV's 15 GOP codec, which according to most reports, causes noticable artifacting when there's a lot of motion in your frame. Is your 10k your camera budget, or your whole feature budget? If it's your feature budget, a full HVX package wouldn't leave you a lot of money for everything else you need, like lights, audio gear, etc. Still, the image will be far superior and more robust to that of the PD170; you'll have frame independent HD resolution, variable frame rates, and 4:2:2 color sampling.

Great idea! My friend and I often talked about doing the same thing; writing a birthday song and offering it for use for free in films and tv in the hopes that it would eventually supplant the "Happy Birthday to You" song, the copyright for which, thanks to the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright extension acts of 1998, now won't expire till 2030 (prior to those acts, it was set to expire in 1991), over a hundred years after the original song "Good Morning to All," was written.

The series "What About Brian," renewed for a second season, shoots with the Genesis as well. There's a full list of Genesis projects in Panavision's ad which usually runs every month in "American Cinematographer."

So Wendell responds to your post with a link to info on VanLint and you jump down his throat and call him names? Way to treat someone for taking the time to help. :(

Yeah, only the miniseries was 35. AC's Dec article on BG is a great read but as you say, not on-line. There is this, however: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/telev...t_id=1000617085 ""High-definition certainly makes sense for effects-intensive shows. Sci Fi Channel's recent remake of the seminal 1978-79 series "Battlestar Galactica" shot its pilot on 35mm film then switched to HD when it went to series, set for a January debut. "HD is about a whole new creative medium that's out there for us to explore," "Galactica" cinematographer Stephen McNutt says. "We just have to understand how to control it creatively, and there are lots of things about it that you can control on-set, in-camera and in post." "

The HVX can shoot at different frame rates, but can't ramp or switch between them during shooting. If you want to ramp speeds in a shot with HVX footage, you'll have to do it in post.

Try Surefire flashlights; they produce a strong, sharp, focused, very bright beam. www.surefire.com