Sunday, January 24, 2010

Lil' Buster in Park City, UT for Slamdance Film Festival

Sunday January 24, 2010
Finally the sun came out! It has been snowing, cold and white-out conditions here since Friday am. The Slamdance Film Festival (see www.slamdance.com) is in full swing and the weather can't dampen the spirits here.

Yesterday, I moderated a Fireside Chat session at Slamdance
where we invited filmmakers who all have films in this year's festival to speak. Each of these filmmakers shot their films on Panasonic cameras. Mainly the HVX200 P2 camera. They talked about their experience with the camera and the workflow. Then they showed clips of the films. Way cool!

I then asked them what they liked about shooting with Panasonic and their comments ranged from: "I like the look I get with Panasonic HD cameras", "The camera is so light weight it allowed me to get shots in positions not otherwise possible", and "The workflow from camera to edit is so fast".

I also asked them if there was anything that they didn't like, and there really wasn't. How bout that?

Thanks to the filmmakers for sharing their stories and talent with us.
You can check them out on the links below:
Nico Sabenorio "Bout That Bout" see: www.boutthatbout.com
John Carluccio "Cease & Desist" see: johncarluccio.blogspot.com
Chuck Gomez "Poinciana Sunrise" see: slamdance.bside.com/2010/films/poincianasunrise_chuckgomezdirector_slamdance2010

After the session we all gathered out in the hallway, where TV Specialists, the Panasonic dealer in Salt Lake City, had set up a table and had a number of the Panasonic cameras on display for the filmmakers to play with. See: www.tvspecialists.com

Most were familiar with the P2 cameras but the AVCCAM cameras (particularly Lil' Buster, the HMC40 camera) that record on standard SDHC cards, blew them away. I am pretty confident we will see films next year shot with Lil' Buster.
It was a great day.

Tomorrow, I am giving another Fireside Chat at Slamdance, this one is "Codecs to Cameras" and I will discuss the benefits of the various codecs, the limitations of MPEG 2, and show the Panasonic P2 and AVCCAM cameras.

I will try to get some more pix tomorrow and post them.

The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM products.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Lil' Buster at Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival

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Sept. 28- Oct. 2, 2009
Every 2 years amid the fall splendor of The Grand Tetons, the world's best wildlife cinematographers gather for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. This is an amazing event. Incredibly talented people and amazing scenery. For more information, check out: www.jhfestival.org/

These cinematographers are the type that think nothing of living in the wild for over a year, shooting with the world's best cameras to create award winning nature films. These film makers use Panasonic high-end Varicams every day. But, I have to tell you Lil' Buster (The HMC40) made quite a debut.

First and foremost, for this crowd, it comes down to image quality. Secondly, it is all about the robustness and weight of the camera. We are talking some pretty tough locations. And third, they are looking for cool features. In all these areas, Lil' Buster answered all questions.

Image Quality.
Recording on SDHC cards, the media costs are almost non-existent and the picture quality blew everyone's mind. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "I can't believe a camera this inexpensive, can make pictures this good." Now, I am not saying they will stop using Varicams, but I did hear this comment almost daily. "Wow, this would be a perfect second unit camera."

Robustness
and Weight. Ok, so we haven't yet had it out in the wild for a year at a time, but everyone was knocked out by how light weight it is. "I could hand carry it. Wouldn't need a bulky case."
And as you can see from this pix, it is small enough that you can even mount it on a fence.




Cool Features.
Pre-record and time lapse really speaks to this crowd. To be able to get the dolphin jumping every time, or clouds sweeping isn't just cool, it's critical. I have posted examples of time-lapse with this camera here before, but I couldn't resist shooting the mountains.





As I say, Lil' Buster was a hit. However, the newest members of the AVCCAM family created the most buzz at this event. But, that is for another post.

More to come,
The Road Warrior



FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM products.