Wayne, NJ (January 24, 2001) When The History Channel® presents the World Premier of The Personal Experience, Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam on June 9, 2001, viewers will get an up close view of the quality achievable with JVC's remarkable GY-DV500 PROFESSIONAL DV camcorder. The Personal Experience, Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam is a two hour program airing Saturday, June 9 (8 PM Eastern and Pacific times, 6 PM Central, 7 PM Mountain) and again on Sunday, June 10 at 12 AM during Vietnam Remembered Week on The History Channel.

Produced by StoryTeller Films' Richard Jellerson and Jamie Thompson and written by Jellerson, the documentary features candid and compelling interviews with pilots and crew members shot using JVC's DV500.

Interspersed with the DV500-shot footage is previously unseen 30-year-old Super8 mm footage filmed by the crews themselves. The documentary not only looks at the role of the helicopter in the Vietnam War but also focuses on the firsthand personal experience of those who were there. This is something filmmaker Richard Jellerson knows well having served two tours as an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam in 1969. "I wanted to capture on film what it really felt like for those of us who were over there as teenagers, involved in the daily maelstrom of war," said Jellerson.

Through their individual accounts, gripping testimony and historic film footage (50% of which is personal footage) "The Personal Experience" explores how they went from being ordinary teenagers to commanding airborne fighting machines. Many of these young men were not only new to the military they had never been near an aircraft before.

The daily realities: "You'll go through this horrendous experience and you're going to do it the next day and the next day and the next day."; what it felt like to kill someone: "I didn't like the fact that killing became like drinking water."; and their expectations and losses, coming home, and the interviewees' lives today.

All of the interviews were shot using the JVC GY-DV500 camera. Cinematographer and Co-Director Jamie Thompson, who has worked as a Director of Photography on several recent features, music videos, commercials and documentary films, purchased the JVC camera specifically for this project. "I'm a film cameraman. I did a lot of research into digital cameras, including looking at Digi-Beta--but we wanted to cut on Final Cut Pro, so we decided on a DV format," said Thompson.

Cinematographer & Co-Director Jamie Thompson

"We compared the JVC DV500 to a $12,000 Sony camera side-by-side, using the same lens. When set-up properly, the JVC came out on top," noted Thompson, whose accomplished editing skills and cinematography add a symbiosis and seamlessness to the art of story telling through film.

The GY-DV500 represents a tremendous opportunity for independent film production Companies. JVC has filled a market where there was previously too much of a gap: There really wasn't a camera good enough for broadcast and independent production applications available between prosumer units and models costing $10,000- $15,000 or more. JVC has enabled these producers to purchase a camera rather than having to continually rent a broadcast capable camera.

StoryTeller Films is dedicated to the production of high quality educational films of historical, environmental and scientific interest. The Personal Experience, Helicopter Warfare in Vietnam was shot with the cooperation of the Army, the National Guard and the offices of Chief of Public Affairs Los Angeles, Kathleen Ross. Contact Teresa Conboy for StoryTeller Films at tcpr@earthlink.net or (323) 660-7748.

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About The History Channel

Now reaching more than 71 million Nielsen subscribers, The History Channel reveals the power and passion of history -- an inviting place where people experience history personally and connect their own lives to the great lives and events of the past. The History Channel is the only place "Where the Past Comes Alive." The History Channel received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's "Save Our History" campaign dedicated to historic preservation. The History Channel web site is located at http://www.HistoryChannel.com.

About JVC

JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY is based in Wayne, New Jersey and distributes a complete line of broadcast and professional equipment including cameras, recorders, monitors, projectors and editing products. For more information about JVC products or service, please call JVC at 1-800-JVC-5825 or visit the corporate Web site at www.jvc.com/pro.