Panavision Solid State Digital Recorder
The new Panavision SSR-1 4:4:4 Solid State Recorder weighs in at less than three kilograms, which is half the weight of the Sony SRW-1 HDCAM-SR tape-based recorder. The SSR-1 uses either the SMPTE-292M or 372M HDSDI formats, which are easily transferred in real time to HDCAM-SR tape or, to an uncompressed data array. Usually mounted to either the top or the rear of the Panavision Genesis, or the Sony F23, the SSR-1 can also be used in “Tethered” mode, mounted on the SRPC-1 Video Processor unit, remote from the camera head.
The rear-mount, lightweight and compact construction make the SSR-1 ideal for hand-held or Steadicam shooting. Additional features include instant roll-up (eliminating pre-roll), instant playback (no cueing or shuttling), and low power draw (giving 40% more operating time than the SRW-1). As it has no moving parts, the unit is virtually silent in operation.
Record times are over 20 minutes for uncompressed 4:4:4 RGB, or more than 40 minutes for 4:2:2 YCrCb, at frame rates from 1fps to 30fps.
For more details on the Solid State Recorder go to:
www.panavision.com.au/News/Solid_State_Recorder.htm
Sony F23 Camera with Primo Digital Zooms
Panavision Australia has taken delivery of two Sony F23 CineAlta cameras, to compliment our extensive range of high-definition equipment. The F23 differs in its inherent “Look” from other Digital Cinematography cameras by utilising three 2/3" CCD sensors, rather than a single 35mm-sized CMOS sensor. The F23 also features advanced latitude and colour-space acquisition capabilities, and is fully compatible with the new Panavision SSR-1 Solid State Recorder.
Panavision Primo Digital Zooms, previously only available with the Panavision Digital lens mount, are now available with 2/3" B4 mount. Compatible with the Sony F23, F900, and F900R, and the Panasonic VariCam cameras. The B4 mounted Primos enable cinematographers who prefer to use Sony or Panasonic cameras to combine 2/3" CCD technology with the finest HD lenses available worldwide.
Currently the following Panavision Primo Digital lenses are available with B4 mount: 6-27mm T1.8, 8-72mm T1.9, 9.5-105mm T1.6, and 25-112mm T1.9.
Panavision High Definition Packages
Panavision Australia is now offering clients a choice of HD production camera kits, alongside our usual itemised equipment rentals.
Cinematographers and producers now have a “Turn-key” equipment solution to suit all digital cinematography productions.
Responding to the emerging needs of Australian productions, rental clients will have a choice of tailored Genesis and Primo Digital Zoom camera and lens packages. Designed with various production styles in mind, the kits will offer a range of differing optics and accessories, from premium packages, to efficient, streamlined kits.
The Sony F23 CineAlta camera will also feature in distinct equipment packages. The F23 packages will utilise B4 mounted Primo Digital Zooms, Angenieux Optimo Zooms, Zeiss Digiprimes and zoom lenses from Fujinon and Canon. Various production accessories will be specified with each kit.
Check with local Panavision Australia offices for further information on both the Genesis and F23 kits.
Flexible Genesis in Local Action
The versatility, reliability, and unique picture quality of the Panavision Genesis system for long-form productions was proven again during 2007, completing three local feature films.
Genesis was the camera of choice for three Australian directors of photography: Ben Nott on Daybreakers, Leilani Hannah on Playing for Charlie, and Hugh Miller on Two Fists, One Heart.
Shot in Queensland, Daybreakers was Ben Nott’s first experience with the Genesis. “The old adage ‘the right tool for the right job’ is alive and well in the motion-picture industry”, said Ben. “The Panavision Genesis was definitely the right tool for directors Peter and Michael Spierig’s latest feature Daybreakers. I wanted to explore digital acquisition for this piece because I believed this high-end digital medium with its typically slick, sharp and noise/grain free images would enhance the narrative, by supporting the futuristic era in which the film is set.
“Daybreakers was photographed on a 40-day main unit schedule at Warner Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast. The vast majority of the film was photographed on stage, in sets designed by George Liddle. The Panavision Genesis faithfully rendered the hues, tones and textures George and his team bought to the art direction and costuming. The Genesis is a photographic weapon when teamed with the Panavision Primo glass, and to think the journey has just begun …”
Chris Brown, Daybreakers producer, said “The Genesis gave us exactly the look we wanted. It gave us enormous flexibility in terms of rehearsal and shooting time due to the low cost of the stock, and it enabled us to get the best out of the picture. It was also great never to lose momentum due to those words ‘Mag change.’”
On Playing for Charlie, Leilani Hannah’s initial concerns over how the camera would deal with highlights were quickly eased. “We watched tests, and then later rushes, straight off the deck on a 2K Barco projector.” said Leilani. “I truly think that if any D.O.P. just walked in and saw our rushes they would assume we were shooting on film. There was so much detail, but not in a video overly ‘Sharp’ way, it still had a soft, film-like quality.”
For producer Franziska Wagenfeld, her introduction to the Genesis proved to be “…an extraordinary experience. The workflow schedule, both during the shoot and in post-production, proved to be simple and straightforward, and also very cost-efficient for us, compared to shooting traditional 35mm. I highly recommend the Genesis camera to any producer contemplating shooting on either 16mm or 35mm film, or on HD.”
Hugh Miller travelled to Perth to shoot Two Fists, One Heart with two Genesis cameras in tow and the daunting task of shooting the vast majority of the film hand-held.
“On the boxing movie Two Fists, One Heart we chose to shoot with the Genesis over 35mm, and traditional high def. as it was the only format that could give us long hand-held takes, off-speed shooting, and with a desired shallow depth-of-field. It was great not to be so bound by shooting ratio as much as if you were shooting on film, or pure data systems.”
Seasoned producer David Elfick commented further: “The Genesis is quite an extraordinary camera, combining the quality of Panavision 35mm lenses, with the speed and flexibility of digital filmmaking. In fact our DOP rated it at 800 ASA. The Genesis has overcome many of the problems of earlier HD cameras when used for shooting cinema-release feature films. It offers filmmakers a new and exciting way of creating their film.”
Panavision G-Series Anamorphic Lenses
A result of advanced computer-aided design, internal mechanical improvements, and modern optical glass, the new G-Series lenses are now in production at Panavision in Woodland Hills.
Optically superior to the Panavision E-Series Anamorphic lenses, the new G-series are high performance, compact, lightweight, Anamorphic lenses, but similar in structure to the C-Series lenses. Ideal for hand-held and Steadicam work, there are six primes in the series: 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 60mm, 75mm, and 100mm. All typically T2.6, and with close-focussing ability to less than 3ft.
Complimenting the G-Series prime lenses, are two lightweight Anamorphic zooms. The wide-angle AWZ2 (40-80mm T3.5), first introduced in 2006, is now joined by the new telephoto ATZ (70-200mm T3.5). These are the first modern zoom lenses with an anamorphic front element.
For more details on the new G-Series lenses go to:
www.panavision.com.au/News/New_Anamorphics.htm
Transfers Boot Up
A complete tape transfer and dubbing suite, Panaxfers, is now operating at Panavision Australia’s Sydney facility in Artarmon. The new suite enables transfer between all current major formats, allowing Panavision Australia rental customers, as well as independent clients, a choice of final delivery format when shooting high definition material.
Panaxfers offers HDCAM and HDCAM-SR transfers, SSR-1 downloads, insurance back-ups, duplications, uncompressed transfers to hard-drive, off-line editing, pre-delivery tape tech-checks, rushes transfers to DVD/VHS/HDV/Mini-DV, Panasonic VariCam frame rate conversions and HD workflow advice.
The suite is administered by Mal Humphreys, who can be contacted directly through Panavision Australia, or directly on 0425 264288. Mal is well known to former Broadcam clients, where he supervised the Black Ice Media transfer department.
Genesis Receives SOC Award
The Society of Camera Operators (SOC) has given Panavision Inc. a Technical Achievement Award, their highest technology award, for the design and development of the Genesis Digital Camera System.
“An award from the Society of Camera operators for our Genesis system is a most meaningful honour to us at Panavision,” said Bob Beitcher, Panavision president and CEO. “Camera operators understand best of all, how important ergonomics, good flexible design, and reliability are to a positive and productive on-set experience, so to be recognised by the SOC is a very gratifying moment for us. We are grateful to the SOC for their celebration of our outstanding digital camera system.”
Nominations for these awards are submitted by the entire membership of the Society.
To date, the Genesis camera has shot more features, television projects, and commercials than all other single-chip digital cinema cameras combined.
For more details go to: www.panavision.com.au/News/SOC_Award.htm
Telescopic Crane Range Expands
The MovieBird® 17 telescopic camera crane is the newest addition to Panavision Australia’s crane fleet. Joining the telescopic SuperTechno50, SuperTechno30 and SuperTechno15 cranes. The MovieBird® 17 features a 17.7ft (5.4m) telescopic boom arm and integrated dolly. It is packaged with the three-axis Mini Scorpio remote head.
The MovieBird, engineered by the European team behind the original SuperTechno, employs the latest technology in digital electronics, and lightweight, cost-effective materials. Due to its modular construction, the MovieBird 17 is available in a quick assembly/disassembly van package, representing a cost advantage for most productions.
Panavision telescopic cranes are available for productions throughout Australia. For further details on the MovieBird 17 or SuperTechno cranes, contact your local Panavision Australia Office.
Panavision India
Over twelve months have passed since Panavision and The Prasad Group, Panavision’s agent in India, announced a partnership.
Since 2007, numerous major local “Bollywood” and “Hollywood” projects have been able to utilise Panavision services on their productions within India, including the recent US-based production, The Darjeeling Limited.
The Panavision India facility in Mumbai includes access to Panavision’s global rental catalogue, a full service and maintenance department, and lens projection and testing facilities. The facility is the first of its kind in India, and offers world-class Panavision service to the local and international film communities.
For further information on Panavision services and support in India, contact Nigel Gorham at Panavision Melbourne on (03) 9646 3044.
Technical Additions to Baz’s Australia
Panavision’s Sydney facility was approached by the producers of Baz Luhrmann’s feature film Australia, who were utilising Panavision Australia’s standard definition video director’s viewfinder for pre-production work. The production team were interested in whether a better quality image could be achieved from the video viewfinder, utilising a higher resolution format.
Panavision Australia engineer Chris Robinson designed and engineered a new HDV camera-based director’s viewfinder, which was subsequently employed by Baz throughout the production.
Footage generated by the system was used as reference material by numerous production departments.
Also during pre-production, the Australia visual effects team developed a new concept for CGI motion-tracking. Utilising the shooting camera’s physical orientation, the system was designed to overcome shortfalls inherent to in-shot motion-tracking reference points.
Working on stylistic guidelines from D.O.P. Mandy Walker, VFX Supervisor Chris Godfrey addressed the desire to shoot with both a shallow depth of field, and with hand-held and Steadicam cameras, two methods of shooting that pose significant problems for utilising in-shot tracking markers.
Working in conjunction with Chris, Panavision’s R&D and engineering departments developed specifications for the new system, and manufactured the accessories required to integrate it with the Panavision GII and Millennium XL cameras. The new system utilises additional small video cameras mounted on the shooting camera, which can focus on tracking markers in or out of shot, and thus generating accurate motion information for CGI applications when synchronised with the main camera footage.
Following extensive testing at Panavision Australia’s Sydney facility, and subsequently on location, the new system ultimately proved very successful. The system was used throughout the filming of Australia, whenever greenscreen and other digital effects were required. In some cases, the new tracking system reduced the time needed in conventional visual effects post-production by up to 90% with at times a track that would have been impossible to achieve otherwise.
The Largest HD Facility in Australasia
Following recent equipment additions and upgrades, Panavision Australia is now the largest and most comprehensively-equipped high definition rental facility in the southern Asia-Pacific region.
With the digital revolution underway, Panavision Australia now offers an extensive inventory featuring the award-winning Genesis system, to the latest in small “Prosumer” HDV cameras.
Panavision can now supply productions with electronic formats to suit all requirements, from Mini-DV to HDCAM-SR.
Recent HD productions which utilised Panavision Australia’s equipment and services include: Underbelly, Saddle Club, Sea Patrol II, The Informant and Infinity Man.
Panavision Lighting Now PANALUX™
Panavision Lighting Asia Pacific became PANALUX™ on the 1st January, 2008.
With an extensive range of lamp heads, rigging, and electrical distribution equipment, PANALUX™ is capable of servicing multiple productions and events throughout Australia and New Zealand simultaneously.
Recent PANALUX™ regional credits include: Australia, Avatar, The Ruins, Nims Island, Daybreakers, Fools Gold, The Starter Wife, The Waterhorse, The Condemned, 30 Days of Night, Where the Wild Things Are, Superman Returns, and King Kong.
All lighting, rigging and transport options are available through PANALUX™. For further information contact Kim Bland on (02) 9355 2100 or visit www.panalux.asia
2-Perf Movements
Each motion picture camera has a film transport mechanism which describes the number of film perforations or sprocket holes that each frame utilises when pulled through the camera gate. Camera movements are available in two, three or four perforation configurations (four being the most common) with each film pull-down capability demonstrating unique advantages.
A “2-perf” film camera pulls down two perforations of film per frame, equating to an aperture area on 35mm film of 0.980 x 0.365 inches, giving a 2.33:1 aspect ratio. This image is easily cropped to the standard anamorphic ratio of 2.35:1.
Introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1963, filming in 2-perf has not been as popular as other formats over the last 45 years. However, the advent of higher-quality, fine-grain film stocks, as well as digital intermediate (DI) post-production methods, has made filming in 2-perf a realistic, high-quality, and cost-effective acquisition method.
The obvious benefit of a 2-perf camera system is the substantial saving in film stock and developing costs, in that it uses 50% of the film that a standard 4-perf camera uses. The film area exposed is also considerably larger than the equivalent 16:9 extraction from a Super16 16mm stock frame size.
Additionally, standard Spherical lenses are used to acquire the 2.35:1 wide-screen format, rather than Anamorphic lenses. Spherical lenses are generally optically superior to their heavy and “Slow” Anamorphic equivalents.
One potential disadvantage of shooting in either a 2- or 3-perf format, is that if the film is to be projected theatrically, it must be transferred to a 4-perf film format. There can be some image degradation if this is done optically, but the DI process offers a more controllable transfer.
Cinematographers filming in 2-perf should be aware that there is very little “Safe” area above and below the camera gate, as adjacent frames have minimum separation.
Panavision Australia currently offers Panavision Platinum, or G-II Panaflex cameras in the 2-perf format.
Gate Sizes:
1-perf Super16 negative (full gate) size:
19:9 = 0.440 x 0.248 Inches
2-perf Super 35mm negative sizes:
2.40:1 = 0.825 x 0.344 Inches
16:9 = 0.614 x 0.345 Inches
3- and 4-perf negative sizes:
2.40:1 = 0.945 x 0.394 Inches
16:9 = 0.945X.531 Inches
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