September / 2000

THE VIDEO FILE
There has been a lot going on this summer in the world of digital video production and product development, including some “firsts” — with more to come. To try to catch up a bit, here is a digest of news and pictures that have crossed the CSC News desk since our June issue.

Earth: Final Conflict — First TV
Series Shot in Sony CineAlta 24P
Alliance Atlantis’ Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict is shooting its fourth-season episodes with Sony’s new HDW-F900 24P digital high definition camcorder, a key component of Sony’s new CineAlta product line. The Toronto-based show thus becomes the world’s first episodic television production to use digital 24-frame progressive HD as an alternative to the conventional 35mm film used in previous seasons.

EARTH TO HD: Camera operator Drew Potter (left), with 1st AC Sandy Cooper and 2nd AC Chris Kalbfleisch in the background, lines up a shot of alien leader Da'an (Leni Parker) on the Toronto set of Earth: Final Conflict. The camera is the Sony HDW-F900 24P digital high definition camcorder, a key component of Sony's new CineAlta product line.

The camera in use is one of the first production models of the HDW-F900. Jim Toten, director of engineering and technology for Tribune Entertainment (the U.S. syndicator of the series), Alliance Atlantis’ post-production supervisor Steve D’Onofrio, series cinematographers David Moxness and Thomas Durnan (CSC Associate), as well as key Sony technical staff supervised testing of the new camera.

“We are thrilled to be the first episodic television production in the world to shoot using Sony’s cutting-edge 24P CineAlta technology,” said Peter Sussman, president of Alliance Atlantis Entertainment. “The new HDW-F900 camcorder provides us with the ability to maximize our creativity through special effects, while saving time and production costs that would otherwise be dedicated to film processing — without sacrificing the splendid picture quality associated with 24-frame 35mm film.”

“The introduction of Sony’s CineAlta digital 24P production system is a milestone in the motion picture and television production industry,” said Pat Whittingham, executive vice president of Sony of Canada Ltd. “As businesses today strive to reduce cost while expanding revenue, the CineAlta 24P offers an economical, yet extremely compelling solution totechnically innovative studios.”

First Direct-to-Internet Movie Shot
With Panasonic DVCPRO50 Progressive
Quantum Project, the first motion picture specifically produced for distribution over the Internet, was shot in Hollywood with Panasonic’s DVCPRO50 progressive AJ-PD900WA 2/3-inch camcorder. The movie, starring John Cleese, Stephen Dorff and Fay Masterson, premiered on SightSound.com on May 5, 2000.

Quantum Project, a SightSound.com and Metafilmics production, was described by the producers as “a man’s journey from his head to his heart.” Combining live-action and extensive CGI and 3-D effects, the project marked the directing debut of Eugenio Zanetti, a longtime production designer who won an Oscar for art direction for Restoration. The director of photography was Robert Primes asc, whose special-effects photography was seen in the film Total Recall and whose work on the television series Felicity garnered him the 1999 Emmy for best
cinematography.

SightSound.com, based in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, is a five-year-old Internet company that distributes movies and music online. Metafilmics, of Los Angeles, develops and produces film, television and new media projects that portray characters as both human and spiritual. Metafilmics’ motion picture debut, 1998’s Academy Award-winning What Dreams May Come, went on to gross over $100 million and receive numerous international awards.

HD SPECTACULAR: Terry Horbatiuk(left), senior managerof broadcast and industrial video at Panasonic Canada, and Sudy Shen, president and CEO of Acura Technology Group, were joint hosts at a June 27 "HDTV Spectacular"in Toronto, featuring the Panasonic D5 HD VCR,the new DVCPRO 100MB/'s HD machine and camcorder and the UFC1800 Universal Format converter including 1080p24 support

Art Hair, SightSound.com’s chairman and chief technology officer, said the selection of the Panasonic AJ-PD900WA camcorder was entirely driven by technology requirements. “The material had to be digital to be appropriately compressed for Internet distribution. Additionally, given the abbreviated production schedule, it would have been impractical to shoot in film and transfer to digital tape.”

Warren Allgyer, president of Panasonic Broadcast, said, “DVCPRO50 Progressive’s use in the documentary world is growing rapidly, and it has tremendous potential in cost-effective feature-film productions like the innovative Quantum Project. DVCPRO50 Progressive records artifact-free images at a significantly lower cost than shooting 35mm film, offering content originators a new means of acquiring and finishing in high resolution.”

DOP Primes said, “I’m a film guy, but I thought the images we got from the AJ-PD900WA were beautiful. The camera was responsive in low light and recorded the dramatic, expressionistic lighting of Quantum Project impressively. We had to adjust the contrast range of our lighting to that of the camera, which was a bit more limited than the dynamic range of film, but once done, all went quite well. Also, I love working with progressive scan.”

French Feature is First Shot in Sony
24P HD — with Angenieux Zoom Lenses
Vidocq, a $25-million French feature starring Gérard Depardieu, is in post-production after being shot in Paris on two Sony 24P HD cameras using Angenieux zoom lenses. The production is reported to be the first worldwide feature shot in 24P high-definition video. The two cameras shot about 95 per cent of the time with the Angenieux 11.5 x 5.3 HD zooms.

In Toronto, CineAsst presented a July 12 demonstration of Angenieux broadcast video lenses and Thompson Broadcast products. And CineAsst now has the new Angenieux 24P HD “cine” lens and the Zeiss adapter that allows the use of existing 35mm Prime lenses on 2/3” HD cameras. The lens and adapter was being tested in Los Angeles by Rodney Charters csc for an upcoming HD shoot.

Sony of Canada Introduces
New DVCAM Product Line
Sony of Canada Ltd.’s Communication Systems Network Group has introduced four new products in its DVCAM family. The new DVCAM DSR-250 Camcorder, DSR-1800 Editing Recorder, DSR-1600 Editing Player, and DVCAM DSR-1500 Editing/Player Recorder were unveiled during a dealer and media event at Sony of Canada’s Toronto headquarters on Aug. 10.

The DSR-250 Camcorder is the successor to Sony’s popular DSR-200A. Equipped with dramatically improved picture quality and operability with abundant functions, the DSR-250 can accommodate both standard and mini cassettes. It features DVCAM and DV recording/playback capability for reliable/long recording, and an LCD monitor for advanced generation shooting style with a maximum of 11 hours recording time possible (with BPL Lithium Ion battery). Compatible with a broad range of professional industry accessories, the DSR-250 meets the functionality requirements of wedding and event videographers, small to mid-sized production houses, video journalists, and broadcast stations.

-End-

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