JVC Model: GY-HD100 ProHD Camcorder

User Name:

Bernd G.W. Out
Pilgrimm Pictures
Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Bernd Out is a young filmmaker experienced in the various disciplines of cinema production including screenwriting, camera work, directing and editing.

In June 2006, Mr. Out and cameraman Sebastiaan Blockmans used JVC's ProHD to shoot "Fellowship of the Andes," a film about a team of ambitious visually impaired teenagers who push their physical limits as they explore the Peruvian Andes during a demanding journey that leads them through the ancient Inca heartland.

Bernd G.W. Out's comments:

Choosing a format

For our film "Fellowship of the Andes" we wanted a filmlook, we wanted 16mm, but shooting on 16mm in the mountains gave us a lot of logistical problems such as carrying film stock up to 15,000 ft. I knew about some new developments in HD formats and I also heard there was a new affordable system around. The cameraman wanted a real camera, not a fully automatic handycam. So I checked up with JVC's GY-HD100E. Days before leaving to Peru, the cameraman and I got together to do some extensive testing on JVC's HD system. First of all, we wanted to compare the different settings and formats and shutter speeds to determine which format would best suit our production. We definitely wanted to film in 'p', meaning progressive. That's also why we didn't opt for the 1080i system. It has more lines but it's still interlaced video, meaning it has this typical video look which we try to avoid whenever we can. We tried putting the shutter on 25 but 50 was better for filming movement and gave better result shooting handheld. Since I knew we would have to do some handheld or shoulder shooting as well, we decided to go for 1/50. Sebastiaan shot the same shots several times with varying format settings and 720p25 came out best. The 24 fps option was too jerky. Most people call that the 'filmlook'. Sebastiaan and I have both worked with real film, and I think that combined with the right cameraman and filters (nd grad and circular polarizer) the 720p25 format came closest to 'film'

Filming in the Andes

On an expedition shoot, lightweight is key. We wanted a portable system suitable to carry by shoulder all day, while hiking in the mountains. Because the camera runs on 17Wh we could easily take care of our power problem. We just brought 8 IDX batteries and it was more than enough to shoot the 15 hours of film that we needed to produce our 60-minute documentary. The other argument was that it is lightweight compared to other shoulder models and it has a real lens with manual operation. In short, I knew right away that this was the camera I wanted for the shoot. I can't think of any other portable system that could provide us with a 'progressive' image. This also meant we could risk taking a lightweight DV2 Sachtler tripod head with us which we also had to carry up to 15,000 ft. It's performance is great with this camera but we didn't realize it could get so windy up in the mountains. We could have guessed that the tripod might start to vibrate and it did at times. It was hard to produce shots when zoomed in around twilight when temperatures dropped and winds started blowing. Though we had ice on the tent one morning, and we walked along dusty mountain trails, the camera never let us down. To protect it from sunlight and dust we used a CamRade dustcover that is made especially for the GY-HD100E.

Cinema

As a producer, I chose to shoot on ProHD because I wanted 'image quality'. As a director, I chose ProHD because I wanted 'cinema'. DVCAM or comparable systems do not provide that option. I also wanted to keep open the possibility of cropping the image, because I didn't want the standard 16:9 (or 1.77) video wide screen aspect ratio, but the more cinematic 1.85 Academy Ratio which is slightly wider. What we did is the following; we imported the 720p digital intermediate into Adobe After Effects and tweaked the color and contrast, but we also added a 1.85 wide screen mask to bring that specific 'filmlook' to the screen. This aspect ratio thing is one of my main concerns with standard DVCAM. It doesn't allow you this option. The resolution is too low, so you can't really adjust anything and still preserve image quality. With 720p (1280x720 rather than 720x576) you can(!) by creating a 'digital cinematic aspect ratio' in postproduction. This said, if my next film doesn't have the budget to film on 16mm, I will definitely shoot on JVC's ProHD!

Please visit the following website for full story. http://www.fellowshipoftheandes.com/