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Learning
Curve
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| Jake
Widman |
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| Many moviegoers
first learned that feature-length films
are being shot on digital video from
the publicity surrounding last summer’s
release of Star Wars: Episode II: Attack
of the Clones. George Lucas’ choice
of the Sony HDW-F900 HDCAM® camera,
which shoots digital 24 frame progressive
high definition in place of film, for
his big-screen blockbuster, launched
a revolution in filmmaking. Today, approximately
100 independent or major studio films
have been shot in digital video. |
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Digital video is also making significant
inroads on the small screen. According
to an analysis of the fall 2002 television
season, twenty-six shows on the six
major broadcast networks are being
filmed with Sony’s CineAlta 24P digital
cameras, such as the HDW- F900. The
growing popularity of high-definition
video in Hollywood has captured the
attention of many film schools, which
are creating the next generation of
professionals who
will be working behind the camera.
To keep up with the times, film schools
are becoming increasingly oriented
toward digital video. The Savannah
College of Art and Design, for instance,
recently purchased a Sony HDW-F900
camera for students’ use. Meanwhile,
at the North Carolina School of the
Arts, faculty and students have field-tested
the HDW-F900 camera and HDW-F500 videotape
recorder.
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DIGITAL ADVANTAGES
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At SCAD, the HDW-F900 camera nicely
complements the video/film department’s
extensive sound stage, green screen
studio, and audio production studio,
as well as its Avid Media Composer
and Symphony, Media 100, and editing
workstations.
The HDW-F900 camera was designed
for digital electronic cinematography
and HDTV/SDTV production.
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| The camera
is capable of record and playback of
1080 line, 24/25/30 frame progressive
or 50/60 interface images, offering
a creative and cost-effective alternative
to 35mm film. The HDW-F900, along with
the HDW- F500 videotape recorder and
the multi-format BVM-F24U video monitor,
are key components of Sony’s CineAlta
24P high- definition production system. |
Shooting on digital video offers the
same advantages to a pioneering film
school like SCAD as it does to independent
and Hollywood directors: savings in
terms of cost and time. With equipment
and developing expenses, 35mm film can
costs more money per frame than digital
video, says Dick Perin, sales support
engineer for Sony’s
Corporate and Professional Sales division.
In terms of time, digital video can
be played back as soon as it’s shot,
enabling filmmakers
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immediately check everything from continuity
to lighting. |
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Jamie Prescott, a SCAD graduate student
who has participated on several projects
shot with the HDW-F900, says working
with the camera enabled him to “explore
the digital image to its fullest extent.
The camera itself is incredible.”
One of the student films Prescott
worked on was a 30-minute suspense
narrative for a senior’s final project.
During the film’s editing, “the director
took the high-definition image, dropped
it off to mini-DV, and edited it on
a Macintosh computer,” says Prescott.
“The image looked amazing, even at
the mini-DV level.”
The editors were able to generate
an edit decision list on the Macintosh
system, then transfer it to the Avid
Symphony workstation for editing the
original HD video. (The film can be
viewed online at www.possessiverejection.com.)
Prescott also appreciates the hands-on
assistance the SCAD video/film department
received from Sony. “The Sony training
was instrumental in our understanding
the camera and its abilities,” says
Prescott.
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THE DEMANDS OF A NEW ERA
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Sony’s customer-oriented attentiveness
also impressed the School of Filmmaking
at the North Carolina School of the
Arts (NCSA), located in Winston-Salem,
NC, where Dick Perin recently conducted
a weeklong workshop so the faculty
and students could try out the HDW-
F900 camera for themselves.
Like the SCAD video/film department,
the NCSA School ofFilmmaking focuses
on
training students for a career in
film and television. To meet the demands
of the new era in filmmaking, the
NCSA curriculum has gone extensively
digital. First- and secondyear students
use an assortment of Sony Handycam®
equipment and perform their editing
on Final Cut Pro and Avid MC Express
workstations. Third-year students,
for example, work with video and film
but still use the digital video editing
systems. As filmmaker-in-residence
Arledge Armenaki puts it, “We are
teaching both mediums.”
Armenaki wants to add a high-definition
video camera to the film school’s
digital toolbox. Says Armenaki, “High-definition
is another extremely useful format
that will be used alongside film for
many years.”
The NCSA film school is proceeding
with measured steps toward high-definition
video. “I can’t make a recommendation
to buy a $150,000 piece of equipment
I haven’t used,” says Armenaki. “We
need to audition these cameras.”
The HDW-F900’s audition came when
Perin brought a camera and HDW-F500
videotape recorder with him for a
weeklong workshop. The facility and
students used the CineAlta production
system to shoot Smitty, a short-length
film set in a country-western bar.
“We got to test the cameras on stage,”
says Armenaki, “and the HD tape was
beautiful.”
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The entire cinematography faculty was
involved in the production of Smitty,
which was written by Robert Collins,
a cinematographer. Richard Clabaugh
was the director, Armenaki the director
of photography, and David E. Elkins
served as camera operator. In addition,
production design faculty member Burton
Rencher and Betsy Pollock, of the producing
faculty, contributed their talents.
The remainder of |
| the camera,
grip, lighting, and additional crew
was composed of students from the film
school. For the faculty and students,
Smitty was truly a collaborative effort
and a tremendous opportunity to learn
about digital video. |
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The weeklong workshop coincided with
a nasty ice storm, so the crew could
also test the HDW-F900’s capabilities
on bright outdoor landscape. The camera
performed well in both environments,
says Armenaki.
“I think the CineAlta 24P camera
is an amazing piece of equipment,”
Armenaki raves. “I fell in love with
the quality of the images.” And the
students—members of the “now generation,”
in Armenaki’s words—also loved the
camera. “They feel HD video is the
medium of the future,” says Armenaki.
“They get to see results immediately.”
Armenaki also has high praise for
the assistance provided by Perin.
“Dick really went out of his way.
He and his wife did anything and everything
with the crew to be part of the production.
He was technically savvy, extremely
friendly, and always had a great attitude.”
It sounds like he’d be welcome back
any time. “We’re on the learning curve
with HD,” says Armenaki. “We want
to figure out a way to do more of
these kinds of workshops.”
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