September / 2009

Scared Secrets:
My Secret Adventure

by John Banovich csc

John Banovich csc in Athens, Greece. Photo credit: Melissa Isaac

It's 5:00 p.m.… the following evening after I left Vancouver. After several touchdowns and connecting flights, I am finally here. But where was most of my luggage? And look at the state my tripod case is in. Cracked and split. After the two-plus hours it took to file my claim and some many coffees later I'm awake again and pretty much ready to hit the road… except that my local contact has not showed up. This is going to be an adventure.
I found myself climbing up hillsides, mountains, old fortresses, castles and through massive cathedrals for my most recent project. Over a five-week period, I travelled from Croatia to Greece, including some of the islands, and finally Italy, via planes, trains, ferries, buses, cars, quads and even a donkey. I encountered mountain goats and wild boars. Every country presented its unique challenges along the way. For instance, even with the appropriate permission, I still had difficulties at a number of the archeological sites in Greece. On one mountain top directly across from the Parthenon, a security guard and two municipal police officers approached me, asking me to leave the park with my broadcast camera, citing it was not allowed. On the way down I tried to explain that I had followed procedures and had authorization to shoot there. The two police officers departed shortly afterward and at that point, the security person informed me he would be kind enough to let me go back and continue… for 50 Euro. Needless to say this was not my first nor last such encounter of this nature.

Another interesting challenge was the process to gain access to several sites in Italy, even more so Rome. A local bureaucrat I met along the way noted that Italy is a country were everyone is very important, as I found out for myself first hand. Most officials I approached had an opinion on what was right way of doing things. The situation only evolved in to a bigger problem once two or more of these authorities gathered to discuss who was more correct. Something I recommend you avoid should you find yourself in such a scenario.
All of this was for a documentary, Sacred Secrets, I was shooting, the focus of which was on the archeological and historically significance of these locations throughout southern Europe. From the time of the Egyptians in the later centuries before Christ right up to present day, these lands have changed hands dozens of times. Boarders have moved, people have migrated, and many battles fought through this region. Even more momentous is how religion played a very big part in the development and evolution there. Great walls were built to protect the people. Immense churches and temples constructed for worship and guidance. Massive mansions build for emperors, kings and rulers. More importantly, is how this history has affected and shaped our modern society, and the benefits we presently enjoy.

As well, whenever possible, I was gathering material for Tiny Travels, a series pilot Chris Oben, Stanka Banosova and I are producing. I functioned as the director and cinematographer, and in most cases the field producer as well. I took my Panasonic HPX300, purchased through Kris at Vidcom only days before my departure. Appropriate to its lightweight functionality and true 1080p capturing, it was the logical choice. I was very pleased with the versatility and performance of the unit. It's a great progression from the HPX500, HVX200 and HPX170 series, as the menus and features have evolved considerably yet still have a familiarity. Having said this, there were a few features and functions I found to be disappointing and difficult.
Due to the nature of the project and the need to travel light with minimal gear, I had to make specific choices on what was essential to bring. I used a small, Vocas 2 stage clip-on matte box along with a Schnieder 4 x 4 linear polarizer/81ef. I also had a standard Tiffen pola and a 812, 80A, Black Pro Mist 1/2 & 1/4 with a series of soft grad ND filters to round out my kit. Paul and the gang at MVCC were instrumental in providing lightweight mounting support and onboard audio solutions.
I chose to use a Pro-X Intellicom 130A Lithium Ion (Anton Bauer gold mount) battery over my Dionic 90s for several reasons. First, the weight is the same but the running time on the Pro-X 130A is considerably longer. Due to the low-power consumption demands of the HPX300, I was able to get up to four days on a single battery before needing to charge. Another great feature of the 130A is the built-in display light, which came in really handy in those remote locations after the sun went down. This LCD display provided very accurate readings of remaining power along with the LED indicator on the side. This display doubled as a charging indicator, showing the remaining charge time as well.
I brought along my three-stage Sachtler 15SB, again a lightweight choice. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, I found the protective tube in a serious state of destruction on the carrousel at the airport. A roll of gaffer tape along with some strategically placed surgical tape, and I was back in business.

Santorini, Greece. Photo credit: John Banovich csc

Other than the lightweight and ergonomically-balanced design of the camera, I really enjoyed the reorganizing of the menus into a more logical arrangement. The DRS (Dynamic Range Stretch) option was a very valuable feature when dealing with extreme exposure ranges within a composition. The availability of the AVC-intra 100 codec was a welcome addition, offering superior imaging quality. Getting access to and navigating through the thumbnail menus got a whole lot easier and more powerful. The playback controls are similar to other cinema/broadcast cameras and reminded of my 27F and HDX900. A huge plus is the amazing sharpness of the hi-res display and as a result, Panasonic was able to offer an accurate waveform monitor and vector-scope features.
Some of my disappointments included the EVF, which had amazing resolution but only offered a tally switch control externally. I was forced to manipulate the EVF image through the menus, which made it especially difficult for quick adjusts on the fly. Another frustration I encountered was accessing certain features that are only available in specific modes, which gets very confusing unless you are able to memorize them. For example, variable frame rates are still only available in 720p; interval recording is only available in 1080/60i; the DRS is not available in 1080/30p or 1080/24p; and 1/6, 1/15 and 1/30 shutter do not allow the use of DRS in 1080i mode.
The toe-plate adapter was another unexpected surprise. Although it has the appearance of a standard three-screw configuration, once removed I was shocked to find the two rear holes are two or three millimetres off from most other Panasonic cameras. A standard quick release plate (SHAM-700) works fine, but accessories such as the Chrosziel 401-89 toe-plate adapters no longer mounted. I have two of these toe-plate adapters that I have used on the 27F, HDX900, HPX3000 and even the HPX500. Upon a little investigation, I was informed that a new toe-plate adapter would have to be purchased just for the HPX300.

All in all, an amazingly powerful camera, especially for the price and another great adventure I got to experience in life.

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