Ron Garcia ASC
01-05-2008, 10:39 AM
Using the HVX 200 p2 camera in the Television Series “ Numb3rs” for CBS/Paramount
Ron Garcia, ASC
From the production point of view:
Most directors always want a few crane shots in their episode. More times than not, the long evolved crane shot is trimmed down to a few seconds. This is because the network wants a 42.3 minute show. Most productions shoot a 55 or 60 page scripts which means shooting 10 to15 minutes over the 42.3, adding an extra work day. This allows the networks and Writer/producers room to change things around in post instead of actually writing a 44 or 45 minute show. Consequently The “ crane shot” is cut down to fractions of seconds.
This gives me a slight grudge in TV when, the production would ok a crane. Lets look at costs, say a titan , for one or two days costing on the average of thirteen hundred dollars Per day, including the driver and delivery or a lenny arm and a hot head , that’s around seventeen hundred per day including the tech. The money spent on the crane shot in television always gets cut out or shorten, wasting money which could be put toward equipment or man power needed to ease the shooting days work.
During season two of Numb3rs ( We were on Season four until the strike ended it ), I attended NAB and saw a 3D demo shot with the HVX200P2 ( I call it, the P2 ). I was very impressed with the quality of the images, and costing under six thousand dollars! Recognizing the fact that I might be able to use this camera for crane shots and hard to get shots due to limited spaces, I talked the production into buying the P2 camera for these special shots.
I convinced them, we could use the P2 with the 20’ Jimmy Jib for our crane shots. I also knew that I would be able to shoot inside cars more easily. Production was hesitant until I shot our first moving interior dialog car scene using the P2. I used a classic soft #1 tiffin filter on the lens and added a little grain( noise ) in final color timing and it cut right in with the film look. After that success, I made the directors and producers happy knowing the “crane shots”, using the P2, were inexpensive and would be able to enhance the episode with an extra camera. I then started to use two P2’s to shoot cross angle car shots using the standard hostess trays. I also used the P2 for back seat mounts over the shoulder driver shots during car chases. The P2 was perfect to quickly mount on the hood of the car, looking back at the driver and or passenger. The camera has such a low profile the driver could look over the camera and see traffic if they were not being towed by an insert car.
In Season two,we were shooting a car scene with our co leads Alimi and Dillan . Alimi has a very dark complexion and Dillan a very light complexion. I put the P2 on Alimi and a sony DVX1000 ( we had from season one) on Dillan. I was careful to choose a route that had more shade in the passing background for Alimi’s shot. The mistake I made was not thinking about the light weight of the video cameras on our film camera car mounts. The route I chose was very bumpy ( downtown LA ) and shook the cameras to much and had to change streets. Murphy's law put Alimi’s background in hot sunlight on a white buildings!
Riding in the follow van watching this happen I was concerned that the P2 could not handle the the extreme contrast ratio between Alimi’s black face and the hot white buildings in the background. Of course we were running behind and the director wanted to move on. I looked at the replay and to my great surprise I could see detail in the overexposed background and detail in Alimi’s face. After that I never had any doubts using the P2 in any situation. The Sony was ok but the P2 was a newer camera, so from then on I used two P2's.
The P2 camera became my main stay for traveling interior car shots, crane shots and high wide angle shots from the corner of a room with a fixed celling, where you could not set a film camera You can use the P2 for another angle along with or replacing the “standard” eyemo for actions shots. Having the P2 as an additional camera in your arsenal is, knowing you can do slo-mo shots (up to 60 fps) or under crank ( 6 by 6 or 12 by12 ) with no film gain noise and without increasing or decreasing the f stop and not having to re light a scene when ever the director wanted a speed change shot at a moments notice.
From the ethics Point of view:
40 years as a cinematographer, I found in television, that you can integrate video with film if you pay attention to the dynamic range ( contrast ratios) of the video camera in relationship to the film camera.
The most important thing a DP has to remember is the light balance of your image,
I remember years ago Bill Fraker ASC told me “cinematography was all a matter of balancing light”. It does not matter if you are shooting film or video, knowing the tonal range of your capture medium is key to expressive imagery.
Film and video cameras have limits in reproducing an accurate representation of what the eye sees. Knowing these limitations between the two, helped me accept the P2’s range to merge with the films dynamic range in my TV series. Bottom line is that you can merge video with film if you know the the “capture “ characteristics of both cameras. Before I used the P2 in production I shot a few tests. One was using the gain on the camera to see if I could see noise after telecine transfers. To my joy there was no noticeable noise when I used 3db gain and depending on the scene I used up to 6db gain.
In 1980, I was involved with Coppola’s “One from the Heart” . I had an opportunity to witness and explore the , first NEC HD camera and HD monitor brought over from Japan for Francis to evaluate. It was mesmerizing , looking at the HD monitor and not seeing any scan lines.
I stared at it for a long while, thinking its so clear!, believing I could put my finger through it! Two 10 minute shorts were shot with it, lit by two different DP’s. One was Philip Lathrope ASC. He was a hard light DP from the black and white days and it turned out beautifully.
During that Zoetrope Studio job, I also shot a screen test of a few actors that Francis had an interest in using for the film “The Outsiders”. He was so pro video he wanted me to use a then new ENG. camera. I forgot the model but I remember it was a sony and had three chips?. Using the house set on “One from the Heart and the lighting designed by Victorio Storaro AIC, ASC, I discovered that the warm lighting ( 2800k ) and a tiffin D1 diffusion filter, gave the video a nice soft “film” look.
When I shot the night exterior with cool light, even with the D1 filter, it was too sharp and looked like standard video of that time. I thought at the time, the ccd’s and lens could not handle the warmer lightwaves and fused the scan lines more than the cooler tones. To me , I liked that particular artifact in that Sony ENG. camera and so did Francis. So for the last twenty seven years, I have kept my interest in all aspects of video, watching with great interest, the progress of quality in video / digital cameras.
As for the post production part, in the TV world, there is a lot to consider. Below is the notes and suggestions of the post production department of Numb3rs, using the HVX200P2.
NUMB3RS 07-08 season. The Post Group, Recommended Shooting mode for Panasonic HVX 200 P2 camera:
ON SET
In order to take full advantage of the HVX 200's variable frame rate capabilities, and not have to worry about switching modes on the set, we are recommending ALWAYS shooting in the following mode:
720PN mode at 24 fps (This is really 23.98 fps so see the note about separate sound below)
The 720PN mode allows for a "24P film look" while also providing the longest record times on the P2 storage cards.
If separate sound audio is to be recorded for syncing in post, it must be recorded at 29.97 NDFTC 48.000kHz. Also be sure to switch the smart-slates to 29.97.
*Audio recorded in this mode will not sync with film transfers (from true 24fps film pulled down to 23.98fps in telecine).
*This camera does not record in a true 24fps mode so sync will always drift when referenced against telecined film and audio.
(The above audio recommendation is included just in case it ever has to be done. In previous seasons TPG has been told that anything shot with either the Sony or Panasonic video cameras would be treated as MOS footage for inserts or VFX only.)
Copy recorded P2 Cards to the P2 store as usual. Deliver it to The Post Group with power supply and camera reports.
Shooting issues:
Treat this video camera just like a film camera. Make camera reports. Shoot slates (whether there is sync sound recording or not). Do not stop the camera between slate and "Action". This separates the slate video clips from the actual shot clips. In post, sorting out separated clips becomes complicated and time consuming. Recording slates as part of the actual shot helps ensure that all needed takes noted on camera reports get transferred to D5 video tape.
IN POST
At TPG, a data manager will mount the P2 Store on a Final Cut Pro system and copy the media to local storage for layoff to a D5. FCP/Kona output card will be set up to output 720p 59.94 w/3:2 pull down. It will play that out to the Teranex or UFC to remove the 3:2 and uprez to 1080p 23.98fps, which will be recorded onto a D5. That D5 will be down converted to DVCam for editorial.
"I hope this is of some use and intrest in those who want to try the HVX200 in their production".
Ron Garcia, ASC
Ron Garcia, ASC
From the production point of view:
Most directors always want a few crane shots in their episode. More times than not, the long evolved crane shot is trimmed down to a few seconds. This is because the network wants a 42.3 minute show. Most productions shoot a 55 or 60 page scripts which means shooting 10 to15 minutes over the 42.3, adding an extra work day. This allows the networks and Writer/producers room to change things around in post instead of actually writing a 44 or 45 minute show. Consequently The “ crane shot” is cut down to fractions of seconds.
This gives me a slight grudge in TV when, the production would ok a crane. Lets look at costs, say a titan , for one or two days costing on the average of thirteen hundred dollars Per day, including the driver and delivery or a lenny arm and a hot head , that’s around seventeen hundred per day including the tech. The money spent on the crane shot in television always gets cut out or shorten, wasting money which could be put toward equipment or man power needed to ease the shooting days work.
During season two of Numb3rs ( We were on Season four until the strike ended it ), I attended NAB and saw a 3D demo shot with the HVX200P2 ( I call it, the P2 ). I was very impressed with the quality of the images, and costing under six thousand dollars! Recognizing the fact that I might be able to use this camera for crane shots and hard to get shots due to limited spaces, I talked the production into buying the P2 camera for these special shots.
I convinced them, we could use the P2 with the 20’ Jimmy Jib for our crane shots. I also knew that I would be able to shoot inside cars more easily. Production was hesitant until I shot our first moving interior dialog car scene using the P2. I used a classic soft #1 tiffin filter on the lens and added a little grain( noise ) in final color timing and it cut right in with the film look. After that success, I made the directors and producers happy knowing the “crane shots”, using the P2, were inexpensive and would be able to enhance the episode with an extra camera. I then started to use two P2’s to shoot cross angle car shots using the standard hostess trays. I also used the P2 for back seat mounts over the shoulder driver shots during car chases. The P2 was perfect to quickly mount on the hood of the car, looking back at the driver and or passenger. The camera has such a low profile the driver could look over the camera and see traffic if they were not being towed by an insert car.
In Season two,we were shooting a car scene with our co leads Alimi and Dillan . Alimi has a very dark complexion and Dillan a very light complexion. I put the P2 on Alimi and a sony DVX1000 ( we had from season one) on Dillan. I was careful to choose a route that had more shade in the passing background for Alimi’s shot. The mistake I made was not thinking about the light weight of the video cameras on our film camera car mounts. The route I chose was very bumpy ( downtown LA ) and shook the cameras to much and had to change streets. Murphy's law put Alimi’s background in hot sunlight on a white buildings!
Riding in the follow van watching this happen I was concerned that the P2 could not handle the the extreme contrast ratio between Alimi’s black face and the hot white buildings in the background. Of course we were running behind and the director wanted to move on. I looked at the replay and to my great surprise I could see detail in the overexposed background and detail in Alimi’s face. After that I never had any doubts using the P2 in any situation. The Sony was ok but the P2 was a newer camera, so from then on I used two P2's.
The P2 camera became my main stay for traveling interior car shots, crane shots and high wide angle shots from the corner of a room with a fixed celling, where you could not set a film camera You can use the P2 for another angle along with or replacing the “standard” eyemo for actions shots. Having the P2 as an additional camera in your arsenal is, knowing you can do slo-mo shots (up to 60 fps) or under crank ( 6 by 6 or 12 by12 ) with no film gain noise and without increasing or decreasing the f stop and not having to re light a scene when ever the director wanted a speed change shot at a moments notice.
From the ethics Point of view:
40 years as a cinematographer, I found in television, that you can integrate video with film if you pay attention to the dynamic range ( contrast ratios) of the video camera in relationship to the film camera.
The most important thing a DP has to remember is the light balance of your image,
I remember years ago Bill Fraker ASC told me “cinematography was all a matter of balancing light”. It does not matter if you are shooting film or video, knowing the tonal range of your capture medium is key to expressive imagery.
Film and video cameras have limits in reproducing an accurate representation of what the eye sees. Knowing these limitations between the two, helped me accept the P2’s range to merge with the films dynamic range in my TV series. Bottom line is that you can merge video with film if you know the the “capture “ characteristics of both cameras. Before I used the P2 in production I shot a few tests. One was using the gain on the camera to see if I could see noise after telecine transfers. To my joy there was no noticeable noise when I used 3db gain and depending on the scene I used up to 6db gain.
In 1980, I was involved with Coppola’s “One from the Heart” . I had an opportunity to witness and explore the , first NEC HD camera and HD monitor brought over from Japan for Francis to evaluate. It was mesmerizing , looking at the HD monitor and not seeing any scan lines.
I stared at it for a long while, thinking its so clear!, believing I could put my finger through it! Two 10 minute shorts were shot with it, lit by two different DP’s. One was Philip Lathrope ASC. He was a hard light DP from the black and white days and it turned out beautifully.
During that Zoetrope Studio job, I also shot a screen test of a few actors that Francis had an interest in using for the film “The Outsiders”. He was so pro video he wanted me to use a then new ENG. camera. I forgot the model but I remember it was a sony and had three chips?. Using the house set on “One from the Heart and the lighting designed by Victorio Storaro AIC, ASC, I discovered that the warm lighting ( 2800k ) and a tiffin D1 diffusion filter, gave the video a nice soft “film” look.
When I shot the night exterior with cool light, even with the D1 filter, it was too sharp and looked like standard video of that time. I thought at the time, the ccd’s and lens could not handle the warmer lightwaves and fused the scan lines more than the cooler tones. To me , I liked that particular artifact in that Sony ENG. camera and so did Francis. So for the last twenty seven years, I have kept my interest in all aspects of video, watching with great interest, the progress of quality in video / digital cameras.
As for the post production part, in the TV world, there is a lot to consider. Below is the notes and suggestions of the post production department of Numb3rs, using the HVX200P2.
NUMB3RS 07-08 season. The Post Group, Recommended Shooting mode for Panasonic HVX 200 P2 camera:
ON SET
In order to take full advantage of the HVX 200's variable frame rate capabilities, and not have to worry about switching modes on the set, we are recommending ALWAYS shooting in the following mode:
720PN mode at 24 fps (This is really 23.98 fps so see the note about separate sound below)
The 720PN mode allows for a "24P film look" while also providing the longest record times on the P2 storage cards.
If separate sound audio is to be recorded for syncing in post, it must be recorded at 29.97 NDFTC 48.000kHz. Also be sure to switch the smart-slates to 29.97.
*Audio recorded in this mode will not sync with film transfers (from true 24fps film pulled down to 23.98fps in telecine).
*This camera does not record in a true 24fps mode so sync will always drift when referenced against telecined film and audio.
(The above audio recommendation is included just in case it ever has to be done. In previous seasons TPG has been told that anything shot with either the Sony or Panasonic video cameras would be treated as MOS footage for inserts or VFX only.)
Copy recorded P2 Cards to the P2 store as usual. Deliver it to The Post Group with power supply and camera reports.
Shooting issues:
Treat this video camera just like a film camera. Make camera reports. Shoot slates (whether there is sync sound recording or not). Do not stop the camera between slate and "Action". This separates the slate video clips from the actual shot clips. In post, sorting out separated clips becomes complicated and time consuming. Recording slates as part of the actual shot helps ensure that all needed takes noted on camera reports get transferred to D5 video tape.
IN POST
At TPG, a data manager will mount the P2 Store on a Final Cut Pro system and copy the media to local storage for layoff to a D5. FCP/Kona output card will be set up to output 720p 59.94 w/3:2 pull down. It will play that out to the Teranex or UFC to remove the 3:2 and uprez to 1080p 23.98fps, which will be recorded onto a D5. That D5 will be down converted to DVCam for editorial.
"I hope this is of some use and intrest in those who want to try the HVX200 in their production".
Ron Garcia, ASC