Colossalvision Shoots R.E.M. Music Video and High-Profile Assignments with Panasonic AJ-HDC27V HD Cinema Camera

Leading HD Production Company Captures Michael Moore-directed Music Video for Rock Band R.E.M., TV Commercials, Industrial Videos with AJ-HDC27V

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 2001) -- Touting its “incredibly wonderful images” and high sensitivity, Colossalvision director and HD pioneer David Niles has recently shot several high-profile assignments with two recently acquired Panasonic AJ-HDC27V variable frame rate progressive HD Cinema™ cameras. The AJ-HDC27V allows digital cinematographers to capture 24-frame high-definition progressive scanned images with film-like sensitivity over a wide variety of frame rates. Niles’ assignments with the AJ-HDC27V have included music videos for the r ock band R.E.M. (directed by award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore of “Roger and Me”, “TV Nation” and “The Awful Truth” fame), all-female classical music group BOND (directed by Niles), television commercials featuring Meredith Viera (“The View”) for Internet site Club Mom, and an industrial video for telecommunications supplier Marconi featuring Deborah Norville (“Inside Edition”).

Niles, who initiated commercial HD work as long ago as 1985 and has had first-hand experience with every significant HD camcorder model, said, “Sometimes a product really exceptional comes along that captures the imagination--think of certain lenses that filmmakers have used for decades, or audio products that are the darlings of recording engineers. That’s what has happened with the AJ-HDC27V; I consider it a genuine milestone.” Unique in the world of HD camcorders, the AJ-HDC27V offers variable frame rates, including 24 frame per second capture for acquisition of exquisite film-like images. And with its unique variable-frame selectivity, cinematographers can choose from a wide range of other frame rates – including 4 to 33-fps (in one frame increments) 36-fps, 40-fps and 60-fps providing the capability to “overcrank” or ”undercrank” the camera to achieve fast or slow-motion effects. This is the first time this traditional film technique has been applied to a high-definition digital camera system. Niles continued, “The camera is proving particularly appealing to Colossalvision’s clients who are more accustomed to high-end 35mm production than to HD. Its specs don’t prepare you for the incredibly wonderful images it produces, which to our clients look better than 1080i. This is the first time I’ve taken material out of an HD camera and not felt I have to color correct--that’s rare. Its richness, contrast ratio and punch are amazing. For any production that needs to look film-like, the AJ-HDC27V is now my camera of choice. “

The camera’s sensitivity (approximating an ASA speed rating of 1,000 at 24fps) is phenomenal, essentially 2 times as fast and light sensitive as existing HD cameras. It’s virtually noiseless. And the variable frame rate is quite valuable. For instance, most of the R.E.M. video was shot in 24p, but the Steadicam sequences were shot 30p--still film-like, but with better motion interpretation.” He added, “Conceptually, the Panasonic camera makes a lot of sense. Filmmakers are finally embracing HDTV because of the look of 24p, but the format has inherent posting problems. Because the AJ-HDC27V writes to 60p, you get live 2:3 pull down and eliminate the timecode and audio hassles typical of 24p. Downconverts are instant, and posting is a dream.”

In post, Niles uses Panasonic’s AJ-HD150 DVCPRO HD as a source deck in Colossalvision’s D-5 HD editing system. “It’s a perfect world,” he said. "If the material is headed for television, we down convert to NTSC; if it’s going back to film, the AJ-HDC27V has already flagged the frames to remove to create a clean 24 frame sequence.”

Manhattan-native David Niles is recognized as one of a handful of authorities and pioneers in HDTV production, and HDTV business and entertainment applications. His was the world's first commercial HDTV studio, 1125 Productions. 1125 Productions shot and posted "The Littlest Victims," the landmark HDTV production piece aired by CBS in the late 1980's. Niles is a partner, director and designer at Colossalvision, a full-service HDTV production and post-production facility in New York City. A truly flexible digital camera, the AJ-HDC27V’s progressive images can be directly converted to film avoiding unnecessary frame rate conversions. By utilizing Panasonic's AJ-HD3700 D-5 HD Mastering VTR, images can be format converted to 1080p/24 -- a Universal Master from which 25fps PAL programming can be easily derived. The AJ-HDC27V can also create “motion-blur” and “warp-speed” special effects in real-time by shooting at very low frame rates without shutter. The camera’s shutter speeds automatically track frame rate changes, ensuring consistency throughout the shoot.

The AJ-HDC27V HD Cinema camera records for 46 minutes in standard 720/60p format on DVCPRO large-size cassettes. Capable of shooting in a wide range of light-level conditions, the AJ-HDC27V’s programmable gain preamplifier can be set to optimize signal levels--operators can choose from -6 dB to +36 dB in 12 steps. Its advanced color correction scheme utilizes a 12-pole color matrix that allows very specific colors to be set without affecting the overall picture color imagery. The camera offers a selection of 12 separate camera set-ups, which can be saved internally or on a removable memory card. Other production-oriented features include Interval Recording, a time-lapse function that allows for a recording duration of 10 frames to 59 seconds with a pause duration (interval) from 2 seconds to 24 hours. Power consumption is a low 32 watts (39 watts fully operational with lens, VF, VTR active, and SDI output active). Two SMPTE 292M HD-SDI outputs permit direct monitoring onto a 720p/60 format monitor, or 10-bit resolution full bandwidth D-5 HD recordings for Studio Mastering quality applications. Other models in Panasonic’s HD Cinema lineup include the AJ-HDC20A 1080 interlace camera and the AJ-HDC27A progressive scan camera. For more information on Panasonic’s HD Cinema lineup, visit www.panasonic.com/hdcinema.

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast, professional video and presentation products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North America subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), one of the world's leading producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company’s web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.