First shoot in U.S. with HVX200 now underway
 

According to the Panablog (www.defperception.com), Michael Caporale of Cincinatti, OH has been hand-picked by Panasonic to do the first shoot in the U.S. with the HVX200. Of course, it's for a music video! Looks like some of this work will be shown at DV Expo West. Interesting reading at:

http://toshpit.blogs.com/the_toshpit..._sighting.html

Check the first official frame, uncompressed tiff

http://toshpit.blogs.com/images/Car_headlights.tif

I'll be the first...

WOW, IT LOOKS JUST LIKE FILM!!!

(heh heh heh, sorry, I had to. :)
It looks nice. Me wantee!

The car looks great. Just like film. The people don't. Too edgy on the tires. That matte looks like an apprentice using photoshop for the very first time. Is that really a video composition?

i hope this video isn't all green screen fx stuff. I would much rather have a couple of standard shots to see what this image looks like without having to judge the fx work and green screen stuff at the same time. Sorry to say it, but I'm disappointed that this is the first stuff we see from it.

It's one frame. I'd hold off on judgement until we've seen some more.

on the contrary
 

if it is G/S work then they've proven to us that the panny can do 4:2:2 colour sampling. thats a big step for a handheld camera

That is fully greenscreened! Arg! Who cares how the camera performs in a composite that's only a test of it's colour space. They need to use it for real on location so we can how it actually holds up to real life, that's where it'll get the majority of it's use. How good it is for greenscreening is just an added bonus. Use real tried tested and true filmmaking techniques. How much of that picture is actually the hvx? Like 40%? They need to make a short film or something not some over stylized MTV video where you can't tell the real from the fake.

"Panasonic gave me no requirements and no limits, they just said, here’s the camera. They gave me all the flexibility to explore. I thought that testing this camera on a green screen shoot would be a good indicator of its quality. And it was. Best matte work I’ve seen. HDV GOP compression couldn’t have handled that."

That isn't a good indicator of it's whole quality that's an indicator of how good it is for matte work.

I agree, and I have no doubt they will. Look, this isn't "the first and last" frame grab... it's just the first... lots more samples are sure to follow from various sources through the next several weeks.

Actually green screen work would be one of the most usefull areas for this camera so I think this is a great first image. A lot of the people that really want this camera are those who have been begging for a 4:2:2 camera for many years for compositing. A "regular" shot may have shown us how nice the overall image is but it wouldn't answer the question that would be killing many people on how well it worked for keying.

If a camera works this well in a compositing situation it will clearly do much better in a non compositing situation. Just look at the car and picture that level of quality over the entire frame.

Very disappointed with this first picture. We have been waiting for an official image approved by a corporation as big as Panasonic, and this is what we get. Doesn't make sense. The shot contains aliasing, codec artifacts and I have pulled a better key blind folded with less than half the keying technology we have today to do a key.

Lets see some 1080p stuff shot.

Give the camera to Barry Green and company that shot the JVC material, and lets get this camera tested the real way and in 1080P......


Pappas

From your mouth to Jan's ears, Michael, I'm rarin' to go (and I'm off those damn crutches, nothin' holding me back this time)!

The Gimp walks! Hooray!

And yeah, that's Charles Papert and company... of which Barry was certainly a part... but that JVC shoot belonged to Chas. Get your facts straight, Pappas!

Absolutely -- that was Charles' gig, he just invited me along to play but it was Papert all the way! And it looked fantastic too!

Yes Chris, the Gimp has emerged from the basement, blinking his eyes against the harsh Cali sun...

The wounded hoof is doing pretty well, walking pretty normally and tentatively back to work...

I hope it happens Charles.... The jvc material was done really really good, and it showed how the camera performed in a professional shoot.

Sorry Charles, I didn't know who was the main man on that shoot. Regardless, it was top notch work that was achieved. Glad you and company still took the time to do so. If you get to shoot with the HVX200 as well the H1, let me know. I would love to be an observer or extra hand on the shoot if your in the LA area.

michael

Charles,
how do you see using the hvx when it comes out..would you shoot for money with it? if so what type of work do you feel it would work well for...I use the dvx and the reel-stream.com beta unit all the time for 30sec lowbudget work. it works, I love more camera/resolution but I can get buy with the dvx and a 35mm lens system...

-Obin
dv3productions.com

Obin:

I think the HVX will be an excellent choice for green screen work which I have been doing a fair amount of lately via Instant Films (we are getting into online/mobile content of a commercial nature). Obviously the 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 possibilities are a big benefit here, but also the extended depth of field issues of 1/3" are not a concern when shooting elements for compositing. Of course all remains to be seen once the camera itself appears, but I think it's an exciting step forward and certainly I'm intrigued at the possibilities and looking forward to shooting with the Mini35 onboard as well.

The reel-stream product always interested me, but I surmised that by the time it became a mature product there would be a commercially-released alternative that would take it a step further without the growing pains aspect. There are so many pressures involved in production that I like to be able to work with gear that can be easily and quickly replaced if something goes down (one of the luxuries of working in LA, certainly), so it's tough for me to rely on the more exotic bits of gear.

good stuff!

I have been trying to find a way into some outlets for high quality and high production value short ipod/cellphone/internet content, have you any luck with that type of stuff?
we submitted to Jamster in Germany, sent them some funny stupid animation stuff, they "LOVED IT" and then our contact left the CO. and we could never make good in-roads again...LOL

Obin what do you mean? You cant get by without the dvx and a 35mm lens system, or it wont work with it?

btw. Great add for the NAA on the reelstream site. the kid is a great actor


Cheers,
Ben Gurvich

The dvx + 35 adapter is enough for now..I wish I had more resolution and color space.

thanks for the feedback on the NAA spot, we worked hard on that one

We've done a series of pilots for AOL, haven't hit gold with any of them yet. Have a peek if you like...pilots. My favorite is "Re-enactment".

pretty funny..:) nice work, digital I would guess?

did they pay you to produce the work? or is it spec?

In their new full-page ad in DV magazine, December issue, Page 5, Panasonic gives their position on your question. If you haven't seen the ad, looking from above it shows an HVX laying on a table next to a media industry trade magazine classified ad page. The obviously freelance owner of the HVX has circled in yellow the freelance jobs he/she wants to apply for. There are 18 different ads the HVX owner has circled. Of the readable ads circled on the page, here's a list of all of the uses of the HVX suggested by Panasonic in the ad:

1) DP for indie film in 24p.
2) Movie of the week shooting in ___p at 24fps.
3) HD Sports Special for Major Cable Channel - shooting 720p at 60 fps.
4) Extreme Sports Videographer - second camera needed for Varicam shoot.
5) Cinematographer for Wildlife Production - 60 minute HD documentary - shooting 720p/24 on DVCProHD.
6) Short Film/HD shoot - HDCAM second camera. Shooting 1080p at 24.
7) News Photogs for Cable News Channel, experience in shooting DVCPRO50
8) HD "B" Roll for Stock House - shooting 1080p/24 or 720p at 24.
9) SD Reality Adventure - shoot from 60i to 24p to deliver different looks.
10) HD Music Videos - Shooting 720p24. Must be familiar with variable frame rates.
11) News Stringer - Looking for shooters...
12) Videographer - shooting 480 _____ or DV.
13) HD Television Special. Cameraman/Editor wanted ___ 1080i at 30 fps on DVCPROHD using P2 cards.
14) New Reality Show - Shooting 720____24/30fps, Experience in HD and variable frame rates required.
15) HD Commercial Production Co. - Looking for cameraman with HD experience. Shooting 24/30fps.
16) Filmmaker to join Faculty...

( the other two circled ads are unreadable)

Analysis of the uses suggested for the HVX by Panasonic in the ad:

Strictly cine-style applications: #'s 1, 2, 6, 16 (4 total)

Both cine-style and ENG-style applications: #'s 5, 8, 10, 13, 14 (5 total)

Strictly ENG-style applications: #'s 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14 (7 total)

Projects to be shown as "films": #'s 1, 6, 16 (3 total)


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Summary

The HVX is positioned as an all-around, versatile camera that may be a freelancers dream camera, especially when the cost of P2 comes down. It straddles the cine-style and ENG-style production worlds. It emphasizes the media convergence need for shooters to be versatile enough to shoot either style of production, and to have the accessories to outfit the HVX for either style of shooting. Very shortly the HVX will be delivered and tested. If the HVX performs as advertised, seasoned professional users, both cine-style and ENG-style, will devise many, many more ways to integrate the HVX in production uses that aren't even on the list above...

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We are starting production on a feature I am shooting on the VariCam...I will have lots of footage to look at and compare with the hvx..lets see if the resolution is that of the variCam...

What I would call "lightly paid"...we shot pretty quickly with minimal crew on DVX's. 4 of the 5 were shot on the same day (two crews) and "Birthday" was picked up the following day.

We've been using Varicams and F900's for some time now. We'll also be interested in testing out our HVX to see how the footage compares. Among the many uses of the HVX listed in their magazine ad, Panasonic suggests the HVX as a second camera for Varicam and HDCAM productions. I'm sure Panasonic is not suggesting the HVX as a replacement for, or equal to the Varicam or F900, but rather as a b-roll second camera. They're not suggesting direct, shot for shot intercutting of HVX footage with the 2/3" cameras, but rather using the HVX for medium, CU and ECU shots, look back sequences, and specialty montages. In fact, Jan Crittenden Livingstone has stated that on other tech chat boards.

For ENG-style Varicam productions, the HVX may be great as a "B" camera, especially for those difficult, mobile shots. Beyond that, for certain genres of Varicam cine-style productions, it is feasible that HVX's can be used. If shallow DOF is not an issue for a production, and hard to get, mobile, or hand-held shots are the core of the production, the HVX could be a real useful tool. Rental or purchase of smaller jibs, dollies, and stabilization units could hold down production costs.

Most of my company's production is ENG-style of various genres. We do cine-style production when a program needs those production values. Of that list of suggested uses from the Panasonic ad, we will be using the HVX in all of the ENG-style uses they list, and many of the cine-style uses. We'll accessorize the HVX for ENG-style and cine-style production and test it out thoroughly. Like you, we'll be keenly interested in seeing how the HVX performs, and how it compares with the footage from the other cameras we use, including the Varicam.

It’s unrealistic to expect a fixed lens 1/3” CCD camera to be the exact equal of an interchangeable lens 2/3” CCD camera. It is reasonable to expect a well-engineered 1/3” CCD camera to be able to produce pro-level footage in the hands of a pro-level shooter, whether it be ENG-style or cine-style. Remember, the HVX also shoots many resolutions that the Varicam does not: 1080/60i, 1080/24p, and 1080/30p. Those additional resolutions open up some interesting ENG-style (1080i) and cine-style (1080p) uses for the HVX.