DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY HD MASTER CLASS – LONDON - 27 SEPTEMBER 2008
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY HD MASTER CLASS – LONDON - 27 SEPTEMBER 2008
I was lucky enough to obtain a place on a “Director of Photography HD Master Class” at VMI in London on Wednesday 27th September 2008. There were five of us altogether, and included a student, a news cameraman from the BBC and a feature film DoP. I’d like to think I was somewhere in the middle! VMI is a digital facilities company, supplying HD broadcast camera and grip equipment for drama, feature and documentary productions.
They provided the equipment and were hosting the course which was run by Paul Wheeler BSC FBKS GBCT, a much revered director of photography. He started his career on the staff of the BBC at Ealing in the late sixties and has a wealth of documentary and drama experience. He has received two BAFTA nominations for “Inspector Morse” and one for “The ABBA Story.” He was also awarded an EMMY for “Oklahoma!” and so, with those credentials, he has considerable knowledge to impart.
The course was primarily about a specific high end HD camera, the Sony HD 790P, which is HDCAM, but other formats were touched on, including DVCPRO HD and Panasonics P2 system.
The day began at 10.00am in the sixteen seat digital viewing theatre with an introduction to HD by VMI’s managing director, Barry Bassett who proceeded to dispel some of the myths and rumours about HD. Several clips were shown and it was possible to compare (using a split screen) similar scenes shot with DVCAM, DIGIBETA and HDCAM and film; both 35mm and 16mm. The differences were quite dramatic. The most noticeable thing if you are watching HD projected using a state-of-the-art HD projector is the almost total lack of grain. Detail, which would go unnoticed on a small TV screen was very obvious in a large, projected image.
Producers have to keep up with the rapid technological process and great emphasis was placed on the need to think through the whole process from camera to screen very carefully because there are so many different routes to the point of delivery. Choosing the best frame rate for the look of the production is vital. Unlike years ago when there was either film or Betacam, there are an increasing number of acquisition methods. During the edit process there are many pitfalls involving codecs, compression ratios etc and you have to be very careful how you proceed through each stage. Things can get very expensive if you haven’t done adequate planning.
After being closeted in the theatre for an hour we were anxious to get our hands on a camera so we adjourned to another room where the “goodies” were taken out of the boxes. Being a Sony, the HDW790P camera looked almost identical to a Digibeta with just one or two modifications, which made the camera easy for me (a Digibeta owner) to get to know.
Because Paul Wheeler comes from a film drama background there was a Panavision 4:1 drama lens on the front with all the bells and whistles you’d expect – matte box, filters, follow focus rig etc. It was soon obvious this was not a situation where you would run around the room with the camera on your shoulder, hose-piping away! The camera was connected to a Panasonic LH1700 17” HD monitor which was large enough to show up any softness and that was the first thing to notice – focussing, especially at wider apertures, is critical! If something is not sharp it is very noticeable. This is something you have to be very aware of, especially at large apertures when working indoors in low light. When working outdoors in bright sunlight, you have a fighting chance of getting away with it. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t use the camera for a documentary style shoot – you just have to strip all the extra brackets and support bars off and choose your lens carefully. Lens for use on HD are in the main, sourced from two different parts of the industry. There are those that come from the manufacturers who traditionally supply the video world and those that are more familiar with the film industry. Lenses for documentary use are made in such a way that the lens barrel can be rotated less than half a turn from minimum to maximum focus making it relatively easy for the operator to pull focus, whereas a film lens must be rotated as much as two and a half turns – hence the need for a focus puller.
After thoroughly exploring all the menu options, the majority of which Paul said we’d be advised to leave well alone, we took the camera out into the street to test it daylight conditions.
I was immediately impressed with the cameras ability to handle detail in a very grey, dull sky and a wide spectrum of colours in the street. Unlike DVCam and to some extent Digibeta, the camera easily coped with both extremes. Paul prefers to use a monitor to judge the picture and adopts the rule – “if it looks right, it is right.” He made a lot of emphasis on having a correctly set up monitor without which you could get yourself into serious trouble. He emphasised that it is important not to “fiddle” with the monitor and to check that it is set up correctly when moving location or after a break in the shooting.
To sum up what I took away from the day, I think you could liken the HDW790 and its brothers and sisters to a thorough bred horse – treat it with respect and it will reward you –don’t, and it will bite you! Try not to be intimidated by the technology; there’s a lot of “white magic” talked about in the HD world and for me, having been slightly nervous of HD and all the myths surrounding it I’ve come away with confidence that it can produce some visually stunning results as long as you follow the rules. Paul Wheeler has gained immense experience over the years and one quote from him which I shall always remember is “…if it looks right, it is right.”
