Is currently gracing the front page of the Guardian website. Direct link is here Video: Sichuan pandas bearing up | Environment | guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2009/may/07/panda-china-wolong)

Sadly only in low def for now, I hope they put it on Youtube HD soon.

Shot and edited yesterday, it was filmed in 30p mainly on a 5dmkII with a few additional shots from a Sony EX-3 with a MTF services adapter and Nikon long lenses.

Dan

Forgot to add the interview section of this film is the first 'real' job that I used a 1khz tone generator into my Sound devices mixer, then into a Beachtek DXA-6. By feeding 1khz into the left channel I was able to completely fix the agc level. I am pleased to report that there was no tone bleed at all using this combination (unlike the DXA-2s).

Sadly I had to voice it over but I'll try and post a short clip of the original sound if I have time.

I am now eagerly awaiting the DXA-5D.

Dan

I created an account just so I could comment on this. Very nice! I really love your work with the 5DM2, Dan. I've watched your footage more than a few times on Vimeo. Beautiful stuff.

I assume you used your Nikon glass for this Panda shoot? Can you tell me - which ones?

Thanks.

Thanks Spiro,

I'll be posting the Panda vid on vimeo at some point, not sure when I can yet.

For this video I mainly used the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AFS and 300mm f4 AFS lenses, as well as a 17-35mm f2.8 for the wide shots.

Dan

Beautiful work. I'm impressed to see the 5DMkII as an A-cam. More proof that with expertise, this camera can be used professionally.

Dan:

What mic did you use with the Panda shoot, and how did you set your levels on the mixer.

Chris,

The mic was a Sony wireless lav. Levels on the mixer were set as normal, peaking at around 0dBu for the mic on the right channel and a continuous 0dBu tone from the 1khz generator on the left.

The signal was then fed into the DXA-6 set to line input on both channels. The pots were set at roughly 2pm.

Dan

Dan:

Exquisite as usual, I love it. Nice story, nice shots of the pandas and the stand up interview worked very nicely because you had overcast soft light.

Nice work.

Dan

Thanks Dan,

Here's a quick clip with the tone generator. 5dmkII with 1khz tone real world demo on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/4532374)

I removed the left channel of tone for the first few seconds so you can hear the effect.

Dan

Dan, on the Sound devices mixer, are you able to pan head phones so you are not hearing tone during recording ?

Not on the MixPre that I have. After initial setup I monitored using the headphone jack on the radio mic receiver. Alternatively I use in ear headphones and just drop one side out. This is OK if you are not too close to the subject and its not really quiet.

I'm hoping the DXA-5D gives the same quality with better usability. I may still use it with the mixer though as I'm getting used to being able to see my levels nice and clear on a proper mixer.

Dan

Thanks Dan. I have one of those one k tone plugs somewhere, and will give it all a try on my Eng44

What image (not camera) do you like better? 5dmkII or Ex-3?

Dan that test was really big news and really helpful, and it came just in time as we are trying to figure out how to cut costs for our film budget...and that beachtek is cheaper than dual system recording.
Thank you.

Nandan
Land of the Lost (http://www.lotlmovie.com)