NZ Video News Feb 2011

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Ed: I guess you’re happy you’re not going the way of the TVNZ promo department and BBC News taking on the Canon 5D? Steve: I’ve got my own 5D, but I don’t use it for work purposes. Ed: Oh, why would that be? Steve: Why would that be … it’s just … well – where do I start? Ed: All right, we’ll leave that to speculation. Our readers can do their own research as to why TVNZ News has not gone 5D but rather with the Sony 500 … Steve: It has its place. P16 Shooting in Levin P25 Gear Sale not to be missed P26 Jason Wingrove on the F3 P35 Classifieds DISPLAY & CLASSIFIED ADVERT BOOKINGS BY WED 2 MARCH ADVERT COPY BY FRI 4 MARCH NZVN on the web. Go to <https://sites.google.com/site/nzvideonews> for more news. FEBRUARY 2011 Vol 166 The New Way for News We are at TVNZ and we are looking at the appearance of solid state media in news gathering with the Sony PMW-500. I got the invite because of a Sony story from IBC where I intimated that the 500 had too many buttons for a News cameraman. Raymond Moore challenged me on that minor slight to his craft colleagues so I fronted up at TVNZ. To begin their defence, we have Steve Lawton, senior camera operator for News and Current Affairs in Auckland. Ed: Steve, this is the first time that you and your team have handled a solid state high def recorder? Steve: In Auckland, we have had a wee bit to do with the smaller machines such as the EX3s and the EX1s, but in a very limited way. Some of the guys have had XDs but most have gone directly from SX to the solid state. Ed: And they’re pretty happy with the change? Steve: Yes they are. Obviously it’s a lot to get used to, especially if you haven’t used file based recording before. Ed: Because it’s a big leap not only in workflow I guess, but also in the camera technology? Steve: Yes it is. Jumping from the SX with standard def tape to this HD card technology is definitely a huge leap. Mainly, we’ve noticed the resolution – what you can get in a picture compared to the SX – is pretty good. It’s something that a lot of guys are coming to terms with; you get a lot more detail in the shadows and obviously in your highlights. What you’re actually capable of shooting now is far more than what you were able to achieve with some of our older equipment so, yes, this is definitely a leap forward. Ed: And there are plenty of buttons there to play with? Steve: Yes, more than enough! Yes, Steve’s happy with his new 500.

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Transcript of NZ Video News Feb 2011

Page 1: NZ Video News Feb 2011

Ed: I guess you’re happy you’re not going the way of the TVNZ promo department and BBC News taking on the Canon 5D?

Steve: I’ve got my own 5D, but I don’t use it for work purposes.

Ed: Oh, why would that be?

Steve: Why would that be … it’s just … well – where do I start?

Ed: All right, we’ll leave that to speculation. Our readers can do their own research as to why TVNZ News has not gone 5D but rather with the Sony 500 …

Steve: It has its place.

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NZVN on the web. Go to <https://sites.google.com/site/nzvideonews> for more news.

FEBRUARY 2011 Vol 166

The New Way for News We are at TVNZ and we are looking at the appearance of solid state media in news gathering with the Sony PMW-500. I got the invite because of a Sony story from IBC where I intimated that the 500 had too many buttons for a News cameraman. Raymond Moore challenged me on that minor slight to his craft colleagues so I fronted up at TVNZ. To begin their defence, we have Steve Lawton, senior camera operator for News and Current Affairs in Auckland.

Ed: Steve, this is the first time that you and your team have handled a solid state high def recorder?

Steve: In Auckland, we have had a wee bit to do with the smaller machines such as the EX3s and the EX1s, but in a very limited way. Some of the guys have had XDs but most have gone directly from SX to the solid state.

Ed: And they’re pretty happy with the change?

Steve: Yes they are. Obviously it’s a lot to get used to, especially if you haven’t used file based recording before.

Ed: Because it’s a big leap not only in workflow I guess, but also in the camera technology?

Steve: Yes it is. Jumping from the SX with standard def tape to this HD card technology is definitely a huge leap.

Mainly, we’ve noticed the resolution – what you can get in a picture compared to the SX – is pretty good. It’s something that a lot of guys are coming to terms with; you get a lot more detail in the shadows and obviously in your highlights. What you’re actually capable of shooting now is far more than what you were able to achieve with some of our older equipment so, yes, this is definitely a leap forward.

Ed: And there are plenty of buttons there to play with?

Steve: Yes, more than enough!

Yes, Steve’s happy with his new 500.

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Ed: Yeeeees … so tell me, the features of the 500 that you’re really, really chuffed about? It certainly looks lighter than an SX? Steve: It’s a smidgy bit lighter, not too much. Obviously it depends on how much equipment you attach as to how light or heavy the camera becomes. The first thing is actually not having tape; it’s working off the card, and being able to “shoot and cut” is just a huge timesaver. It’s unbelievable … like when you’re working in the field, you don’t have time. Time is of the essence, every second counts. The time that it would take to rewind from the end of an SX tape to the beginning is quite a wee while on the camera itself. With this new media, we can pop the card out, slide it straight into the laptop and basically start transferring to the hard drive and start cutting almost immediately, which is extremely beneficial for us. One of the other little features on the camera that I tend to like ( but I’m still getting used to ) is just having a little LCD screen where we can get an idea … you know I don’t work off it, but I have an idea of what our colour temperatures are and what sort of light we’re mixing. I don’t use it for exposures obviously, I still use my viewfinder for that sort of thing, but with the SX, if you were doing current affairs work, you would have to cart round a monitor that was heavier than your camera whereas now, you’ve actually got that “all-in-one” place. Ed: And you can really make sure that the focus is right? Steve: Yes, that’s something that you do have to watch a lot on these. It’s not like the SXs were a little more user friendly, whereas these are pretty bang on. Ed: Oh, is that right … I believed that, in some of the news footage we’ve seen in the past, the lack of clear focus has been attributable to the viewfinder of the SX? Steve: That could be, I don’t know. Ed: Okay, we’ll move on … don’t you miss that “whirr” and “clunk” as the tape engages? Steve: No, not a bit. Ed: But then you know it is recording? Steve: True, true, but there’s also a red light and timecode that lets you know you’re recording as well. Ed: Aaaah, Sony has thought of everything. But is there anything they haven’t thought of … is there anything about the 500 that you think “Oh, if only they’d …”? Steve: No actually, to be honest, remembering that I’ve only had very limited use of the machine itself, I’ve only been up and running with it now for about 2½

weeks – there’s nothing that’s really standing out to me so far. Obviously, you have to disengage yourself from what used to be an analogue tape scenario – and now with menus and so forth that, to someone like me, are a little bit foreign, it’s taking a bit to get used to. I’d say if you asked me that question again in a month, I could probably answer it, but not at the moment. It’s just a bit too early. Ed: And you’re not nervous about solid state and handing over that card? There’s no physical tape, it’s just a file? Steve: To start with, it was a little nerve wracking but after a week or two it’s fine, I’m used to it, it’s no problem at all. In fact, I prefer working off the cards. I can look at the thumbnails so I can see what I’ve recorded which is something you can’t do with tape unless you’re rewinding and fast forwarding. Say a journalist wants to check something or just look at a shot, or they want to check their appearance, then it’s as simple as being able to hit “Back” and play it. But no, cards to me aren’t an issue. It makes you think about everything a lot more, so it makes you think about what you’re doing with your media; it makes you think about how you’re using it; and it makes you double and triple check just to keep on top of

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more on page 6

NZVN goes Web Don’t panic! We have no plans to stop sending you this paper version ( even though the costs are considerable,) we are just adding another channel. On the website - https://sites.google.com/site/nzvideonews - yes, the address is a mouthful, but add it to your “favourites” and then it’s easy to get to—and it’s secure—you will find back issues from December 2010 that you can read in a very user friendly way courtesy of issuu. Also, it gives us the chance of getting “late breaking” information to you such as shows, demos and sales that missed the paper deadline. You can find out about these by constantly checking the site or, from the site, you can email us your email contact details for us to notify you. Be assured that this will only be done for real special events.

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Step 1—Raymond sets a light.

everything. So, if anything, you’re actually far more careful than what you were with tape. Ed: So you’re never doing backup in the field, although in some cases, you are actually downloading it to a laptop aren’t you? Steve: In some cases, yes, but for myself no, not as it stands. I am not too familiar with the backup side of things, bar what we would use on the laptops. Ed: So, for most of your work in fact, you’re just bringing the card back to TVNZ here and someone else ingests that and gives you back the card? Steve: That’s correct yes. The card will come straight back to TVNZ, the reporters will write up the labels, they’ll get it into the MX system. Then it’s spat back out and we take it with us immediately. So if there are to be any hiccups, it’s going to be at MX’s end, not mine. Ed: Do you delete any files in the field when you really make a stuff-up and you don’t want anyone to see it? Steve: No, I haven’t as of yet, because I don’t make stuff-ups! ( Laughter erupts ) Ed: Oooooh, brave words. I’m sure somebody will keep you to that statement. Now to continue the story, courtesy of his AA batteries and organisational excellence, because my recorder’s batteries failed, we have Raymond Moore, Senior Cameraman, One News and Current Affairs. Ed: Steve sounds as though he knows what’s what? Raymond: Oh yes, Steve’s a great guy. He’s done the training; he’s come from South Seas and through our whole system – as News Operations Assistant, through to Current Affairs and internationally. Steve was based with our correspondent in the Aussie office but he’s come back to Kiwiland now.

Ed: And he’s a perfect one to start with the 500? Raymond: Absolutely, yes. Ed: So what’s the plan, will these be rolled out throughout TVNZ for News, or what? Raymond: Down the track I would imagine yes. We had a lot of SXs in Auckland and only some of the trial XDs. Years ago, the upgrade to standard def XDs started in Christchurch, then Wellington. It’s a cyclic thing, it’s now Auckland’s turn to be upgraded to the Sony 500 and Current Affairs have taken over our SD XD’s. Ed: So Auckland’s the first one with high definition? Raymond: Yes, we’re the first station to be totally HD in the news (Field Recording) area. Current Affairs have our XD’s so they benefit from this roll out too. Ed: With a modern camera such as this 500, there are a lot of the settings that the camera looks after that you can now trust – is that true? Raymond: Absolutely. I’ve been using the Sony camera product now for quite a while and they’re at a point where, as long as I get my presets right, my settings right on the audio side of things, most of the time I can operate in the auto audio setting, so I don’t get that pumping sound like they used to get in a lot of the very early Sony cameras. They were dreadful. You could hear the background noise coming up and what-have-you. With my radio mics, I had to make sure that I had the settings absolutely right, so I didn’t overload the limiter stage of the transmitter. However, even with the 500, in the noisiest situation, I will go to manual, because there’s still a little bit of stuff going on, but 90% of my work, with my settings right in the camera, I can let the camera do the work for me and it’s just one less thing to worry about. Ed: Is that just on the audio, or can you do that with some of the picture features as well? Raymond: Not on the picture features – picture features are always under manual control, because you can get a white car come through the background and then it closes down, and you get clouds coming out, so you’re adjusting iris the whole time during interviews and such like. But on the audio side, I can rely 90% if I get my settings right in the presets, to use auto. Ed: So, apart from HD, obviously the 500 has got some other very special features that you were interested in, that make it a News camera – what are those? Raymond: The main reason why the company went to the 500 over the 350 that was being looked at, at the time, was that the 350 is FAT only. The 500 produces a proxy file when you’re shooting in the UDF format – exactly the same as the 700 XDCAM. The proxy files can be wirelessly transmitted to our reporters’ notebooks while we are actually shooting. So at a press conference, the reporter can see exactly what I’m shooting, they can clip up and then they can send that clip to our website people, who can then post ASAP to <www.tvnz.co.nz>. That is the main reason that TVNZ went for the 500 over the 350. The fact that we can get our files up to the Web much faster than anything else, is why we got the 500, not because it has a better quality B&W viewfinder or other nice cameraman requirement features. Ed: And that’s it, that’s workflow? Raymond: It’s workflow. The card based workflow works great. We have brand new MacBook Pro’s and we’re editing in Final Cut. Files still have to be imported, so that is a bit of time for that ingestion to take place …

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Step 2—puts mic on talent.

timeline. The Sony Browser allows you to clip in and out of every clip – you can mark “in” and “out” points and reduce the amount that you need to ingest. That’s time consuming if you do that for every clip. I’ve found, so far, it’s much quicker to ingest the whole lot, and then you’ve got it in your laptop and you can make those choices on the timeline. Ed: Because you’re pretty good at taking those shots in the first place I image? Raymond: It’s much easier to actually get it all in, then the reporter looks at what they want, and they can either do that in their own Notebook ( all the proxies would have been downloaded to their Notebook ), or our Mac’s and they can give us timecodes of the material that they want for the track. Ed: So in that field situation, when you’ve downloaded the clips you want to the laptop, is the media in the camera no longer necessary? Raymond: At that point, it’s been finished with, but it has to be archived, so we have to hold that media so that when I come back to TVNZ it can be archived for future use. If I need to use that card in the field, then I have to download it to my laptop, that’s our backup. We’ve got these Macs that have got 500 gigs in them minus the other bits and pieces for programme requirements, so that is our storage device at the moment. Then, when I get back to work, I can select the file on the laptop, put that back on a card, and then it gets re-ingested … because at the moment our media server is not file based, we’re “real time” ingestion. Our workflow, when we’re editing in the field, would be to get the material into the laptop. We use proxies to do that, but what comes into the laptop are the high res files, the proxies are only part of the Sony Browser programme to identify what shots we need. Once we hit “Register for Final Cut Pro” and click “Execute” the high resolution files are converted into MOV files then imported into the MacBook Pro’s hard drive and linked to the open project so Final Cut can recognise them. The material that I’ve shot on the camera has to be archived, so I have to ensure that if I need to … we are issued with four SXS cards, 32 Gigabyte cards at this point in time, and if I’m in the field and I use all those cards up, and I’ve still got more work to do, I have to download those to the laptop for archival purposes, so when we come back to TVNZ, our library people have got access to all the material that I’ve shot. The reporter – they get the low res proxies on their laptop just for a reference, so they can work their story out, what content they want for the interview etc, then we sit down together and work on the high resolution MOV files in the MacBook Pro. Ed: And then when you come back to TVNZ, obviously you’ve got the high res files on the MacBook Pro, and

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Ed: So the MacBook Pro has got a slot for the card? Raymond: Yes, the SxS card slots into the computer; we then import the files through the Sony XDCAM browser. That could take about 12-13 minutes for a full card and then we can start editing. Because Final Cut is not native to Sony, Final Cut is an MOV file based platform, we have to use the Sony as the interface to convert the high resolution Sony XDCAM file into an MOV. Ed: Bloody codecs! Raymond: Codecs all the time. To transfer a full card, there’ll be 12-13 minutes of downtime, but you can be doing something else; and then we’re editing in the laptop. Then we’ve got the Matrox box so we can play directly from the timeline into the SNG ( Satellite News Gathering uplink ) truck or into another broadcast feed-

point back to TVNZ, or we can make our file and send that via the Internet via our QuickLink encoding product. Overseas we have BGAN units …

Ed: Sorry, what sort of units?

Raymond: It’s called a BGAN unit, it’s part of the Inmarsat system – Broadband Global Area Network – so anywhere in the world, with these units we can get our files back.

Ed: Now I know there are two ways of doing this, getting those clips from the camera into your timeline or into your laptop to edit – one is you just drag everything in and have a cup of coffee while you do it, or you can go in and you can select from your proxies which bits you want, even which part of which clip that you want, and just bring those in. What are the benefits of these methods Raymond?

Raymond: For news I have found it’s much faster and simpler to bring all of the clips through the Sony Browser programme, get them into Final Cut and then make a selection of what you do or don’t want, on the

HOT TIP This month’s hot tip from Raymond is about colour balance. Raymond has a setting in his camera for 6,300K. This gives a slightly warmer look, especially when you’re outside, instead of 5,600K. It’s especially good for flesh tones, so people don’t look so white. We also use “Warm Up Cards” –

http://www.warmcards.com/WC_VIDEO.html to alter our colour balance. These are white balance cards that have degrees of blue tint added to fool the camera into calculating a warmer colour balance than normal.

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you’ve got the original files on the cards, which ones get ingested into the library? Raymond: Only the cards. So I take the cards to our MX department, and they ingest them into the system. I let the library know that that’s happening, so they can check them and they can take off any footage that they need, and then my file in the laptop, that just gets recycled. Ed: So where does the material come from that goes to air … from the cards that have gone into the library, or from the edited MOV timeline? Raymond: Okay, in the field, the high res come into the MacBook Pro, get converted to MOVs; we edit the

story and that story is the one that goes to air. So it’s either sent directly out of the MacBook Pro via a Matrox box that converts that digital format on the laptop into an SDI signal or a composite audio and video signal. I feed that into either a microwave link, satellite link, or a fibre link to get that back to TVNZ.

So that’s directly off the laptop. I may be editing in HD, but the Matrox down converts to SD to go through our system; or I could be out of town or overseas where I’m sending a file back, so that will be a compressed form that goes to air, but I will come back with my high resolution files on my card and pass those through Media Exchange to our library.

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Ed: Okay … and then at what point do you clean out the stuff on your laptop? Raymond: Once the track has gone to air I just clean out my laptop. If I’ve actually had to save a whole card to the Mac as a storage device, then I have to ensure that that’s obviously kept till I get back and it can get

transferred from the laptop back to a card so it can get ingested into the system. So we’re saving the whole card, the whole file format. We’re currently shooting in the FAT format because Mr Sony has got some upgrades to do in March, then we can actually shoot in UDF to get the high resolution files

and the low res proxy files. With the FAT format, I take the whole file structure, the BPAV folder with all its subfolders, and copy that to the hard drive. I then reformat that card so it is able to record fresh camera content. When I get back to TVNZ I grab another card, bang it in the laptop, and copy that whole BPAV Folder back onto the card and pass it over to MX for them to ingest.

Ed: And you assure us that this is a better workflow than handing over a tape at the end of the day when you arrive back at the station?

Raymond: We’re into digital now, and that’s just part and parcel of the digital format.

Ed: And now Raymond’s 15 seconds of philosophy.

Raymond: One News is not just at six o’clock. Six o’clock

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Step 3—lines up the shot.

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has always been our main bulletin on the television, but One News is now digital with TV7, streams on the Web, and on iPod applications, so that the generation that are out there with iPods as their main source of info can actually hook into us much quicker than waiting for the six o’clock bulletin to come along.

Ed: That’s a bit scary isn’t it Raymond – does it make you feel old?

Raymond: I’ve got grey hair mate, I like to have something that’s solid and turn the pages over, but my son’s generation are not doing that.

They’re scrolling through pages on their iPods and that’s the generation we’re trying to reach by getting our material up on the Web as quick as we can.

Ed: And Sony with their 500 are helping you do that?

Raymond: It’s the way mate, it’s the way.

Ed: Aren’t they wonderful? Raymond: I am very fortunate that they developed this, otherwise I’d have a 350 to deal with!

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Step 4—takes beautiful pictures and clean sound.

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Shooting in Levin My travels took me to Levin ( look it up ) where I met with Rex Bowater. Rex has got himself a “man cave” here and it’s got all sorts of things in it, including what looks like a large electronic organ and lots and lots of audio equipment. Ed: Rex, we all want to know, what goes on in Levin that is in the world of television for you? Rex: Not much in the world of television … I mean there’s plenty of things going on that could be filmed, but they’re not. For instance, I’ve done several promotional films for the Horowhenua Council here at different stages and they’re due for an update which I’m trying to get them to do, because now I can offer them Blu-ray and high definition. Mainly I’m pretty occupied now shooting funerals of all things – I never thought I’d ever be shooting funerals! Years ago, I did 25 television films in the ‘80s for Seven Seas Television and films in the Philippines, films for World Vision … Ed: So this is it – you’ve actually been going quite a few years so you must have started in film and then moved into television? Rex: No, I wasn’t doing film – I started as an amateur in film, but professionally only in video back in the ‘80s. Everything was reel-to-reel, one inch back then – I had a VPR 20 – Avalon had three of them and I had one. So, for instance, Country Calendar was shot on my recorder and This Is Your Life and so they used to come up here and hire my one, and when we were doing editing we sort of played that off against the editing cost for our programmes that we were doing. Ed: What was your company name at that stage … Rex Bowater Inc? Rex: Videx Productions was what it was called originally. Ed: Some of the old timers, such as Garry French, might actually remember you? Rex: I know Garry French well. Everyone knows Garry French, especially in Auckland don’t they … he’s quite a character. Ed: Any incriminating stories gratefully appreciated. Rex: Well, one I can tell you is when Seven Seas Television was doing a film here in Levin. They got Garry to bring his equipment down here and then, much to his horror it was somebody else filming it. Whether he was told that or not, I don’t know. Ed: Oh I’m sure Garry took that very gentlemanly? Rex: I think he looked a bit horrified and I was a bit horrified too, because at that stage I’d never used a full-size television camera before – it had all been small stuff. Anyway, I got through the fear and trembling and then bought two different cameras from Garry, JVCs they were in those days. At that stage he had about 13 JVCs.

Ed: He’s still got a couple – the Plumbicons – he’s getting then bronzed I’ve heard. Rex: Anyway, I went up to Auckland and bought one camera at first, which he used to use for doing the races, then another and I started to get a lot more work in that area. I’ve been doing it fulltime now for 11 or 12 years.

Back in ’87 I think it was, I built a production van – three cameras live. I knew Keith Catchpole who was in charge of the OB vans in Avalon, so I went there and I got all the information. I bought this new van and put the same gear that the drama van had in from Avalon. It was all Ikegami monitors and so on. I was told at TV One in Avalon that I’d never be able to do that and it’s that sort of comment that really gets me going! I drove off down the road thinking “I will do it” and it worked really well, except that eventually I didn’t have enough work to really warrant it, because it cost a lot of money. The monitors were about $6,500 each and were all made in Japan. I had a nice mixing desk too.

Back when TV 3 started in Wellington, they got me down so they could look over this van, because they

Page Page 16

Rex in his man cave.

more on page 20

Page 17: NZ Video News Feb 2011

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Page 18: NZ Video News Feb 2011
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wanted to use it for small sports programmes, like tennis and things like that, because I could set up and get going within like a half an hour, whereas their big OB vans, well different story – it took all day. So that’s what I did, because I’d seen people unpacking their gear and fiddling about and I thought “Oh, there’s got to be a better way than this.” So I just did it all with umbilical cords and so on. Ed: And you’ve been providing stringer material for News?

Rex: Yes … I’m trying to think how long ago that was, probably 7 or 8 years ago that I started doing that, because I had a friend here in Levin who was doing TV3 so that’s how I got into it for TVNZ.

Ed: Okay, what do you shoot on now that you provide to the News? Rex: A Sony Z1P at DVCAM quality and then I go up to Palmerston North to get them transmitted from Outposts, which is two guys originally from Massey University’s television production area. Ed: Okay, but now, as you say, the most common job’s a funeral …? Rex: Yes, but I’m also doing corporate jobs as well. Ed: Oh we all do the “bread and butter” along with the … Rex: In a small town you’ve got to grab everything, because I’m the only one that’s full time in this and I have been since I was about 60 I suppose … I’m now 71. Ed: I’ve done a couple of funerals myself … one of them was for a person who died here and the family was in America. What are the reasons you find that people want a funeral videoed? Rex: It seems mainly when there’s people from the family who are not present. Sometimes I get up to 20 copies of a DVD that I give them. I also do a lot of slideshows from stills which are just done as a video with transitions between, and music on them, and those are family photos which are shown at the funeral. So I do a lot of those too, and I supply sound systems and all sorts of other gear. Ed: So that’s it, being in a smaller town in New Zealand, the range of services that you have been able to supply is actually quite large – you’re looking after the multimedia side of an event such as a funeral?

Rex: Yes and I also do a lot of productions like stage productions, because I had done them when I had three camera set-ups in places like the Town Hall, Michael Fowler Centre, Globe Theatre in Palmerston, some big ones in Auckland, and some down in Christchurch, and one in LA actually – a big production. But I’m a one-man-band now, so I just shoot a lot of local productions, which are things like performing arts groups. I just did Sweeney Todd with three cameras.

Ed: You operated them all?

Rex: One other person – you do that when you’re in a small town!

Ed: Oh I tell you, you do that in Auckland too; I’ve done shoots with two cameras and just me.

Rex: I had one camera beside the other one, one on wide shot and one on tight shots and then another one doing the close-up stuff up the front you see. You’re quite busy!

Ed: Oh the luxury of having a crew of two! So your current camera of choice is the Z1P?

Rex: The Z1P is doing most of my work, but I’ve got the EX1 high definition Sony camera too and the quality of that’s just lovely. I’m hoping to buy the 350 but I just need $30,000 to do it!

Ed: That’s a lot of funerals.

Rex: That’s no problem – it’s only the price of a car! So I’ve tried that camera; I’ve had that on my shoulder

Page Page 20

The “back of the van” control room.

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Page 22: NZ Video News Feb 2011

and thought this is the right way, lovely handling for what I do, because years ago I used to have shoulder cameras and then I got rid of all those and I thought I won’t go down that path anymore, I’ll just do small stuff, but there are some things that you still need a shoulder camera for.

Ed: So what have you used the EX1 for so far?

Rex: Just doing private visual stuff to get going. When you get into the 1920 stuff and you’re shooting that sort of quality, it’s just so wonderful. Ed: But News hasn’t been asking for it? Rex: No, but I have mentioned it to Rick Ellis. Ed: Oh, you speak to Rick? Rex: Oh he knows me, so I was asking him if I should supply high definition material the last time I spoke to him ( might be back a little while now, probably changed ) … but he said “No, we can’t handle that yet Rex, you’re ahead of where we are at.” I said “Oh, okay, back to the DVCAM.” Ed: Well they can now, so you’d better get that EX1 out … Rex: Aha, that’s good to hear – but, you know, once you start looking at full high definition, you don’t want to look at anything less. It spoils you properly, which I enjoy. Ed: That’s true. Now you mentioned Blu-ray before, so you’re actually making high definition Blu-ray movies? On what editing platform? I see there’s an Apple on that screen there?

Rex: Yes – Final Cut Pro on a G5.

I started off with Adobe when I had a PC and then, when I started doing high definition, I ended up getting the Mac. First of all, I’d never used a computer until I was 60, so it was a bit of a steep learning curve, but anyway I managed and I’m learning new things all the time.

Anyway, I changed to the Mac and thought “how am I going to understand this?” Now I’d never, ever go back. This one’s been going four years; it’s never crashed once yet – that sort of reliability, it’s just amazing.

Ed: And the software will handle anything you can throw at it that you’ve got?

Rex: Yes.

Ed: I see there’s a few tapes stacked there on your desk? Rex: Most of those have been just ones I’ve used for funerals really. I shoot the DVCAM stuff or DV on the Z1P. Ed: So how do you find the EX when transferring those files – do you find the solid state workflow a bit of a challenge?

Page Page 22

It’s tight, but it’s all there.

They don’t make cameras like these two anymore.

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Rex’s closet.

Rex: Well yes I did, and then I got a training DVD on the EX1. This is a guy who has been shooting this sort of stuff for years. He said never shoot on auto unless you’re in a real hurry, and so he goes into showing you how to set it up, because he says it does a lot more than you think it will do and he’s got them, so I’ve just been brushing up on all of that, which really does make a huge difference. Auto, he says, is only the minimal capability of what the camera really can do.

Ed: When you get that 350 and sell the car, that’s also solid state isn’t it?

Rex: Yes, it’s really the same sort of thing, only a much more sophisticated camera and it’s very, very nice to use. I think my wife … you know how wives think – “You’ve already got a camera.”

Ed: Well she’s already got a washing machine hasn’t she, so that’s the end of that story. Most of the gear that you’ve got here, have you bought it from one supplier?

Rex: Yes, DVT, because I find Stuart Barnaby’s a very nice guy to deal with and if I buy this other 350 … it’s sitting in the case there waiting for me actually. I was up there the other day.

Ed: He’s got your name on it has he?

Rex: Yes … I’m not quite sure what my wife will think, but …

Ed: We just won’t tell her.

Rex: If you’re talking to any other couples you know, “If you marry a cameraman, you’ve got to be prepared for this. You can’t change him.”

Ed: Exactly how it should be.

Page

NZVN

Page 24

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GEARAGE SALE 2011

Sunday 13 March

Get your gear out of the back room and your

shopping list ready because 13 March is Gearage

Sale day! From 9am until 1pm you can make a

buck or grab a bargain at 19 Pollen Street,

Ponsonby (Spoon studio).

Following last year’s great success for sellers and

buyers alike, you’d be crazy to miss out. Over 200

TV/film professionals and up & comers alike filled

the Spoon Studios on Pollen Street nabbing some

great bargains.

Tables are available for individuals for $25 per table,

with any profit from table fees going to Wireless

Users New Zealand (WUNZ) to help fund their work

on YOUR BEHALF to get spectrum allocated for

radio mics and other wireless devices we use.

The Gearage Sale is a great opportunity to get rid of

stuff that you’ve been holding onto but just not

using – your “trash” could well be somebody else’s

treasure (and cash in hand for you). This is a great

way for industry veterans to give newcomers a step

up to help their careers.

It’s also a great opportunity to catch up with mates in

the industry you might not have seen for a while,

and get a bit of networking in too – we had a couple

of hundred people through last year and this year is

going to be even bigger and better. It was surprising

who came along.

The event is inside, so you’ll be able to buy and sell

no matter what the weather. We’ll have a fish bowl

for your keys you to drop your business card into to

be in the draw to win a one-day edit suite hire at

Spoon!

So come along, bring your family, see your friends

and have a coffee and a sausage while you

rummage around for the bargain of the year!

To register for your table please email:

[email protected] We’ll see you there!

What: Gearage Sale

When: 13 March 2011, 9am – 1pm

Where: 19 Pollen Street, Ponsonby

(Spoon studio) Auckland.

Page Page 25

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Sony F3 launch in Auckland

It was a big turnout for a little camera and the audience appeared to be predominantly committed camera guys. That just about sums up my prediction of the F3 market segment but I also think that Jason Wingrove, the key presenter at the event, should be the one you listen to. Jason was the director of a shoot in Australia with a pre-production example of this camera and he put it to some extreme tests in the short time available.

Ed: Jason, you’ve used the F3 for a few days, you made a short programme, it’s been heavily watched on the Net and one of the comments you made here was about using the LCD viewfinder. Now a common grizzle from serious “film look” people who have read the specs is “Oh it doesn’t have a proper viewfinder.” However …?

Jason: Well I guess my DP used the electronic viewfinder at the back a little more than I did. I essentially just used the LCD all the time, in bright sun … I was really happy with that. Maybe it’s the fact that, from my personal projects, I’ve got a bit more of a DSLR background. I’m really used to looking at an LCD on the rear, because you can’t use the viewfinders obviously. So I felt really quite comfortable stepping into that. I know Sony don’t want to compare DSLRs to this camera, because it’s not designed to be a competitor to DSLR, it’s designed to be better than them.

Ed: Well that’s it, I would have thought that a person who was used to film style cameras would be expecting a larger viewfinder, but for the DSLR user, the EX1, the EX3 user, this just fits in perfectly?

Jason: Yes, obviously for film … actually you know, even when I’m shooting with, say, the RED camera, I don’t really use the RED electronic viewfinder, I would happily work off the RED LCD panel. I guess partly it’s the directing background – I don’t want to shut myself away from actors seeing my face. I’m quite happy wanting to be a bit more connected with the set and a bit more connected with the subject, rather than hiding behind a viewfinder. I do find this really nice in film cameras for connecting you with the footage, because it really is your best guess at focus. I think people need to start thinking outside the viewfinder as LCDs get better. You know, I’m starting to undo my love of viewfinders and starting to think about monitors as being the way to go … and this one, as I said, it’s not a huge LCD …

Ed: But it’s got an electronic assist and that was obviously a great help to you?

Jason: Yes, the focus peaking function is fantastic. I know it’s not necessarily news to previous EX camera owners, but it was fantastic to use … it is like “shooting

fish in a barrel.” You don’t have to be able to see something as critically sharp to be able to know it’s critically sharp. Does that make sense? It literally puts a red halo around the sharpest subject in the frame and that was just really terrific. You didn’t have to get your head right into a viewfinder to know something was sharp; the camera was telling you that it was. And you could get quite critical with it so, again, maybe it’s the DSLR mindset, but I felt perfectly at home with the LCD.

Ed: It seemed to me that you went through a whole list of things that this camera does really well, and these were things that to an EX1 or EX3 user, sort of “ho-hum, well yes I know that works well”, but for a DSLR user, you’re saying it’s quite a change?

Jason: Definitely. There’s a lot of people dragging DSLRs kicking and screaming onto shoots that they should not be present at.

Ed: Oh, really? I never would have thought. I know you used the term at one stage “because you can” and you had a lot of lovely little clips at the start which showed people doing crazy things with DSLRs “because they can”?

Jason: Yes, there’s a lot of people making these DSLRs work for them. The amount of outboard gear that you have to not just rig and lug around, but that you have to pay for, to make a DSLR do the job that this camera does out of the box – outboard sound, monitoring, monitoring your audio …

Ed: That was actually one of my questions I was coming to, that with all the money that you would spend on getting a DSLR rigged up to the video spec, you could buy one of these?

Jason: Absolutely. I’ve spent $300-400 alone on audio recorders and then $300-400 on shotgun mics, external monitors, bracketry rigs – with the 5D plus all the money I’ve spent on DSLR rigs, I probably could happily just buy an F3!

Page Page 26

David Colthorpe, Jason Wingrove, Nick Buchner from Sony Australia.

Page 27: NZ Video News Feb 2011

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Page 28: NZ Video News Feb 2011

Ed: Well that’s very honest of you to come out with that opinion.

Jason: Don’t get me wrong, I love my Canon 5D to death – it is wonderful, it’s one of the best things I’ve ever bought, but I’m extremely hesitant bringing it onto a grownup set where clients are present. I don’t want to spend the entire time making excuses for what it can’t do, or the delays or issues with it not being a piece of pro kit.

Ed: So you’re using a DSLR for your home use because … well, why would you use a DSLR?

Jason: Well I’m using it for personal projects and for fun stuff, and stuff which I guess, is not time critical, it’s not client kind of critical stuff … it’s a really great camera to inspire me to get out the door in the morning and just go and shoot something fun, and to reinvigorate me as to how much fun filmmaking can be when you’re not doing it under time or money pressure.

Ed: Is it also not very intimidating to the people you’re taking pictures of, especially kids?

Jason: That is the other thing – obviously it’s just very stealthy and very covert and you can literally just walk up and do a portrait of someone while they think you’re waiting to take a still of them – you know, you can be doing a nice little portrait as they look into the lens.

I’ve done shots at the departure lounge at the airport where people think you’re doing stills and I’ve been shooting 1080p video. You can literally walk into the middle of Times Square or into a major intersection in the middle of Tokyo and not get asked to move on, literally because of how the camera looks.

Ed: But then you’ve got to deal with the material when you get back to post?

Jason: A b s o l u t e l y . There’s horses for courses … the F3 is probably going to attract a little bit more attention in the middle of Times Square, but then obviously it depends …

Ed: It depends how much you have hanging off it?

Jason: A n d a l s o i t depends what the final use is.

Ed: I was quite impressed after seeing the official edit and then seeing what you called “outtakes” to see how much of it you’d actually handheld?

Jason: Yes, obviously one of the great things with the F3 is that the camera shoots quite slow motion, so I just couldn’t help myself and shot a lot of the stuff at 60p. What that does is, apart from the mass of the camera (not that it’s very heavy), but it

takes away a lot of that vibration that with a 5D, there’s no physical way to just hold a DSLR by itself with no rig and get rid of all the vibration.

Slow motion obviously takes that edge off that movement and softens it and makes it feel a bit more natural, but also the camera itself just has that little bit more length to it – not necessarily weight, but it just has a little bit more physical form factor, that helps soften that natural vibration of your hand. So you don’t necessarily need to put a huge shoulder rig around this thing to be able to physically handhold it with just the lens on. The 5D you do need to start resting it against poles and pillars and your stomach and, you know, the floor and all that sort of stuff.

Ed: So you think they’ll do well with this?

Jason: Look I think they’ll do really well with it. I think particularly for rental companies, they’ll want to

Page Page 28

Miss Hellfinger is confused about the “business” end of the Sony F3. “No, really, he made me do it!” See what I have to put up with dear readers!

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find a lot of ways to keep renting – they’ve got a massive inventory of a lot of expensive glass and people are starting to buy their own lenses and set up DSLR gear, and so it’s a great way for rental companies to bring a camera onboard that is cheap to rent and gives them another avenue of renting a lot of more expensive glass. I think obviously later on when the electronic lenses and the zooms come out, that is going to open it up again to another avenue of people who don’t have access to expensive PL mount glass. The other thing is 3D – this camera is designed from the ground up to be mated with another F3 and be really lightweight and really small. Current 3D rigs are massive cumbersome things and anything that makes 3D more achievable … so, yes, I think there are a lot of applications for this camera.

If you want to know more about Jason and his work, go to www.jasonwingrove.com

Well, to find out some of the possible applications in New Zealand, we’re moving onto one of the authorised specialist Sony dealers – not just a Sony dealer, but “authorised specialist”, and that’s Stuart Barnaby from DVT.

Ed: Stuart, this is obviously going to be a good fit with quite a number of your customers?

Stuart: Oh absolutely, we’re really excited about this camera as a platform to enable people to produce 35mm productions at a reasonable budget, and with a camera that has no engineering compromises in it. From the front end to the back end it’s awesome.

Ed: But there’s going to be plenty of people that honestly, this camera doesn’t suit?

Stuart: I think the key thing is for people to have a close look at the type of production that they’re filming. Once they do that, and establish the quality, the audience that they’ve got, the delivery medium that they’re going to go out to, how they want to work with the cameras in the field, with the cameramen, the resources that they’ve got, how they want to post-produce it … it will become reasonably self-evident as to the type of camera that’s appropriate for that job.

This fits a certain audience where there has been a gap. You’ve always been able to solve this problem with lots and lots of money but the F3 brings the price point of high quality 35mm film production into the hands of everyone else and we’re excited by that.

Ed: And you see it mixing well with the EX1, EX3 people?

Stuart: Actually I think that’s the very point … the extensive line-up that Sony now have in this range from the EX1 and EX3 through to the 350 and now 500 – and then this is the cherry on the top. In terms of a large format image sensor camera it’s just about choice. So, again, when people are looking at the type

of production that they’re doing, they’ll easily be able to find one of those cameras that’s going to fit their needs.

Ed: Would one “need” be when doing a production where, for some of the special effects footage, they might want to have that shallow depth of field, the F3 workflow fits in beautifully with any of the standard EX camera range?

Stuart: Oh absolutely fantastic. In the past, it’s always been difficult to get different looks for different shots and scenes when you only have one type of camera available to you … now you don’t have to. You can basically get a group of cameras together that have the same post-production capabilities, but up-front are quite different.

Ed: Now I guess there is going to be a challenge for you though as a dealer who likes to keep stuff in stock, there’s a lot of new accessories that go with this that don’t go with normal video cameras?

Stuart: Very true – and we’re having a close look at the range of accessories that we will need to support this camera as a platform moving forward and making sure that we have access to a wide range of the different resources required – everything from matte boxes and follow focus systems up the front end, to the different range of recorders out the back end, and everything else around that as well.

Finally, for the acid test of any presentation, a word from the man who owns, or has owned, nearly every brand of broadcast camera ever made and who’s not afraid to call a spade a big shovel when appropriate, Garry French.

Ed: Garry, you were very quiet tonight. You didn’t ask a single question. Was the handbrake holding you back?

Garry: I must be softening but don’t tell anyone. I did think though that if you put on a flash camera demo, why would you record it on SxS cards 4:2:0, when you could record true 4:4:4 via maybe a third

Page Page 30

Garry with his “handbrake”—wife Georgina.

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party device? You get the best quality that you can see out of the camera. Because after all, we’re here to see how good the chips perform, not the end result that’s been compressed more than what you have to. Ed: It looked all right though, didn’t it? Garry: Yeah I s’pose, but then that backup camera shot filming the other guys operating the F3 looked just as good didn’t it? Ed: Aaaah, so you’re not going to buy one? Garry: Oh I’m definitely going to buy one of them – Brand P or Brand S I’m not too sure. What do you think’s the best … you’re the expert, you’ve seen all these demo’s? Although you didn’t clock in for the Panasonic demo I notice. Ed: No, I must have had something else to do then. Garry: Oh well, I’ll be looking at other products, because I need some HD switchers and other devices I’ve got to buy pretty soon. Ed: But what would you use it for … I mean really that shallow depth of field is very specialised isn’t it? You can’t chase horses around with that? Garry: No, and you can’t be very fast on a shoot, so the people who go with that camera have got to realise you can’t move as fast as a video camera. Like we talked earlier, we’re out with a tape measure and measuring and lighting and ND filters on the front of the camera (although that did have two built-in ND filters) – it’s a different ball game altogether. So the film guys would be much happier driving a camera like that, than say – well you could say “video cowboys” …

Ed: It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve for a video person to really get the best out of that camera?

Garry: Yeah I think it’s great. Everyone should learn you know, I think it’s good for the industry. It will be interesting which sells the most – Panasonic or Sony.

Ed: They’re quite different price points thought aren’t they?

Garry: Yes, but picture-wise it’s pretty hard to tell. You’d need to see a couple of fast moving images to do a true evaluation I reckon.

Ed: Well perhaps you’ve got to try each option for yourself. But to me, the big issue, if you’re making a comparison between what is traditional video workflow, and this short depth of field workflow, this takes a lot more time. So basically, it’s going to be a more expensive production?

Garry: Yep, definitely right, and lighting becomes more important, but noise and sensitivity of the camera also becomes important, which no-one seems to appreciate. But they all say these new sensors are so much quieter, so maybe I’m talking a load of crap.

Ed: Maybe you’ve got to try them both?

Garry: I reckon you have to … yeah it’d be great if you could, because in theory the Sony should be better ‘cos it’s got a bigger sensor. Perhaps even the cheaper Sony with AVC could be better for some applications, because that’s a bloody good codec. So I dunno – horses for courses you know. It’s tricky.

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NZVN

Page 32

Page 33: NZ Video News Feb 2011
Page 34: NZ Video News Feb 2011

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Page 35: NZ Video News Feb 2011

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Page 35

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SONY DSR-570WSP 2/3” 3CCD PAL DVCAM ENG Camera (Standard Def) 16:9/4:3 Switchable. Dual-carriage tape mechanism. Excellent as-new condition. Extremely low hours. Head Drum 546hrs. Tape Transport 277hrs. Total operation 1001hrs. LENS: FUJINON A18 x 7.6 BERM-M48 18x 2/3” Broadcast ENG/EFP lens with 2x Zoom doubler. Features DigiPower, Quick Zoom, Innerfocus and FIND technology. 82mm Filter Size – Currently fitted with Fujinon UV Filter. Includes Sony Camera Case, Manual, Base Plate, Camera Mic, 3 x Sony V-Lock, Batteries and Charger. Can email full specs. Both the camera and lens are in flawless condition. $16,500 Reluctant sale. Phone 021 889 462

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Page 36: NZ Video News Feb 2011

Choice.

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Tim (09) 3608766 318 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, Auckland [email protected]

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