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Other features include a nice 3.5? color LCD that was placed a little further back on the left side of the camera, so it?s easier for others to see what?s going on if the camera is on the shooter?s shoulder. There are four audio XLR inputs, along with four channels of sound. I/O ports include HD-SDI, SMPTE Timecode, Genlock, FireWire (iLink), USB 2.0, composite and analog component, so you can hook up the camera to your monitor.
For HELLEVATOR, we used two lights, 600 and 650 watt, to light the green screen (it was around 12 feet wide), and then we used a homemade glass Chinese lantern ball and a small fill to light our star, Greg Nappo. This helped simulate the lighting of a small, metal-walled elevator with diffused overhead lighting. Again, because of the camera?s larger sensors, we didn?t have to use quite as much light versus a smaller chip camera. For the ending of the movie, which takes place in a lobby at night, we used two Chinese lantern balls. This type of lighting was adequate for the space we had created in gaffer Patrick Speicher?s studio. We also had the actors stand at least 8 to 10 feet from the green screen to avoid ?green color spill,? which makes it harder to key out the screen.
Editing
There are several ways to get the footage and data off the P2 cards and into your computer for editing. One is to hook the camera up to your system and set the unit up to transfer all the data from the cards to your system via the computer/NLE of your choice (and onto a media drive). Another is to use a portable FireWire system, which can also be used in the field, and use the camera to transfer the data.
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| On the set of HELLEVATOR |
Another way is to use a P2 card reader from Panasonic and plug it directly into an ExpressCard slot (Mac) or the PC equivalent, and transfer data off each card into a separate folder. Then, simply set up you NLE to read the data in the folders on your drive as if they were the P2 cards, and import everything in to edit. Apple and Panasonic seem to have made it easy to work with DVCPRO HD, but there are many other NLEs that can edit. However, for Vegas and Premiere Pro (Windows), you?ll need to use DVFilm?s Raylight to edit P2/DVCPRO HD footage. It?s also available for Macs which essentially makes Final Cut Pro a P2 card reader.
| Scene from Hellevator |
The HPX500 is an outstanding camera, and is a great ?step-up? from handheld DV and HD/HDV camcorders. It can be used in a wide variety of shooting situations. The P2 workflow is easy to use, and the less compression and 4:2:2 sampling of DVCPRO HD, along with multiple frame rates and SD/HD resolution options, makes this a great camera. The price without a lens is $14,000 USD, and with a Canon KJ16ex7.7B IRSD PS12 16X w/2X CAC lens and other accessories, the camera can go for around $27,000 to $32,000. There is also an optional Fujinon lens. For more, visit www.panasonic.com.
Special thanks to Aaron Wells of Silver Beach Productions
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