Andrew Cuomo Campaign

I recently directed a project for Andrew Cuomo's run for Governor of New York. The video was written by Jonathan Cranin, former Worldwide Creative Director for McCann and produced by Concentric Entertainment (Craig Anderson), DPs myself, Ben Jacks and Chris Bierlein. I worked with a small crew and shot the spot on both the 5d M2 and the Varicam 3700. I will limit my comments on this blog mostly to production matters.

So the shots with people, I shot on the 5d (myself as DP/Sound and few PAs, producer, staff) and Cuomo on the Varicam (full crew gaffer/sound, staff etc...) Surprisingly, I think the 5d not only holds up against the $60,000 + camera, but in image quality/depth of field, it arguably surpasses it. But when it came down to it, it's the "not ready for prime time" shortcomings in audio and output capabilities that caused us to go with the other camera.

Another main reason we shot with the Varicam for the shots of Cuomo was the monitoring aspect. We wanted to be able to have two monitors: one for the clients and one for myself as well as a viewing option for the DP, and that is just not possible on the 5d. There are solutions with an HDMI splitter but they are not reliable.  Another important reason to choose the Varicam was the need for a quick turnaround for audio since we were also recording Cuomo's longer policy address as well. Again a big short coming for the 5d.

But for the outdoor, man on the street shots, the 5d was amazing. And my Tascam Dr-100, combined with Sennheiser wireless mics and my think tank multimedia bag worked like a gem for the MOS shots.

So what's the lesson here? It's important in this HDSLR revolution to know the limits of these cameras. It's not the be all and end all. It's just a tool like anything else and it should be used as such when it is appropriate. I ran into a fellow doc filmmaker in B&H recently and she was asking me whether to buy an HDSLR or an EX3. Listening to her thoughts, I ended up agreeing with her to go for the EX3. It's a much more common camera, and btw, a lot of networks have not approved the 5d for use on TV shows.

On another note, I was truly moved to be a part of this moment. As a documentary filmmaker, I am usually in the business of capturing a moment from a distance or retelling the history of a moment. But in this instance, I was actually helping create it. And that was thrilling. And seeing this particular politician at this juncture in his his career was both fascinating and a privilege.

Another note,  thanks so much to an amazing crew particularly Scott Olnhausen, Tiffany Faigus (extraordinary production manage and producer) and literally the god of locations - Ernie Karpeles. Literally the best location scout I have ever had the privilege to work with.

Sony enters HDSLR Game - but is it enough?

Anyone who has been reading this blog will know that I'm a huge supporter of HDSLR technology and have been shooting on the 5d for over a year now and invested more money than I would like on equipment. In return though, I have made back my investment almost immediately and the camera has allowed me to be involved with some amazing projects I otherwise would not have the opportunity to direct. (I can't reveal at the moment but stay tuned... will blog about the latest developments).

Now having said that, many of my friends and colleagues in the tv and film business have wanted to delve into the technology. But given the ridiculous 5d rig I've built and how completely jerry rigged the whole thing is, I haven't really recommended it. I mean there have been times where I forget to push record on my Tascam or plug it into the camera in run and gun situations and have no sound. A lot of the time I'm shooting I am alone and it's a lot to have to think about.

That's why there new hybrid cameras like Panasonic's AG-AF100 and now Sony's entry with an interchangeable lens HD camcorder are welcome news. This new sony entry takes the technology it's developed for its tiny EXMOR 4/3rds chip from their NEX-3 and NEX-5 and put it in a standard camcorder body.  From what I can see from the video below though, there are no XLR inputs, and also I couldn't find an adapter that would allow one to use Canon, Nikon or PL mount lenses on it.  In addition, like the Panasonic AF100 the camera records in the inferior AVCHD codec.  Not broadcast quality.

Yes it's been over a year and a half and HDSLR revolution has changed my career, but at the same time the love affair is starting to fade.  Are these cameras the answer?  From the specs, I would say no.  The chips are still not full frame, and price point for entry is much higher by about 2 to 3 times. But the silver lining in all this is that Big Companies like Sony are starting to jump on the HDSLR bandwagon and are listening and responding to those of us who have a love hate relationship with these cameras.

House Finale shot on 5d Mark II

The 2010 finale on the hit series "HOUSE" marks a ground-breaking game changer in the tide towards HDSLR.  The entire show was shot on a few Canon 5ds.  The director and DP wanted to take advantage of the 5d's extreme shallow depth of field that was appropriate for storyline.  They shot with 85mm/1.2 the 50mm/1.0 and 1.2 and two zooms the 24-70mm and the 70-200mm. 

The show's star Hugh Laurie embraced the new technology but joked, "What's next shooting on Iphones?"  In an in-depth interview with Philip Bloom,  Greg Yaitanes (dir) felt that the 5d did things that 35mm film (which the show is normally shot on) could not.

You can read Bloom's interview below.

http://philipbloom.co.uk/2010/04/19/in-depth-interview-with-executive-producer-and-director-of-house-season-finale-shot-on-canon-5dmkii/

Also you can watch the first two minutes here

"Red" Alert: Panasonic Introduces Hybrid Camera AG-AF100

Panasonic announced it's newest entry into the HDSLR market the AG-AF100 at NAB 2010.  the first professional micro 4/3-inch video camcorder optimized for high-definition video recording. Scheduled to ship by December 2010, the AG-AF100 will set a new benchmark for digital cinematography. It uses the same sensor as in the GH1 with interchangeable lenses.  And with an adapter can take PL mount and cine lenses, still Canon or Nikon Lenses.  The camcorder records 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) and 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) in AVCHD’s highest-quality PH mode (maximum 24Mbps). Ready for global production standards, the camcorder is 60Hz and 50Hz switchable.

Features that are going to be welcome additions to those of us who are shooting on the 5d or the 7d are built in ND filtering, HD-SDI, HDMI, time code recording, built-in stereo mike and two XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power, 48kHz/16-bit two channel digital audio recording.  

The bad news though, it records in AVCCAM which is not a great format considered not quite pro.  Also 4/3 chip is not as good as the full frame on a 5d, and the price is going to be around $6000 and won't be available until Dec 2010.  Still good job, Panasonic, come on Canon what are you waiting for?