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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JVC GY-HM700U STANDS UP TO EXTREME SHOOTING
CONDITIONS DURING SPEED CHANNEL’S CHOP CUT REBUILD
WAYNE,
NJ (April 20, 2011) – WAS Productions, a full service production
company in Orange, Calif., recently wrapped production on its seventh season of
Chop Cut Rebuild, an automotive “how
to” documentary series produced for SPEED Channel. It was the first season the series
was produced using the JVC ProHD GY-HM700U camcorder as its main camera.
In
February, WAS Productions began shooting its eighth season of the series using
two GY-HM700Us. The second camera will serve as the “B” camera on shoots and
create a completely tapeless workflow for the series. Earlier seasons of Cut Chop Rebuild had been produced using
JVC GY-HD200 ProHD camcorders.
According
to Dan Woods, founder of WAS Productions, who also serves as host and executive
producer of Chop Cut Rebuild, shooting conditions are less than ideal
for the series. For example, in the custom car garages where much of the
footage is recorded, the air conditioners have to be shut off because they are
too loud for audio recording. As a result, temperatures exceeding 100 degrees
are common.
“Throughout
our shoot days, cameras are around sparks flying, hammers swinging, and flames
flying from welding torches. We even hang our camera out of car windows to shoot
footage while driving on freeways and city streets,” Woods said. “Our cameras
can get into some extreme conditions on set, but the GY-HM700U has performed
wonderfully for us in every situation.”
To capture audio
for the series, WAS
Productions uses two wireless lavs along with a boom mic, which are fed into a
mixer and then recorded with the video on the GY-HM700U. Woods said the
camera’s audio recording quality is so good that a separate DAT recorder is not
needed. He also noted the ability to shoot in 720p and 1080i allows them to
deliver projects to SPEED and other clients in a number of formats and styles.
“Interchangeable bayonet lenses and the range of lenses available is a great
benefit,” he added.
Because Chop Cut Rebuild is not a scripted series, Woods said
the crew tends to overshoot during production. Often, they return from a day of
shooting with close to six hours of footage from each camera. In past seasons,
a junior editor would spend hours transferring tape-based footage into the company’s
Apple Final Cut Pro NLE system. With the GY-HM700U’s native file recording to
non-proprietary SDHC cards, however, the workflow is much more efficient.
“The
ability to download instead of digitize footage has helped tremendously,” Woods
said. “Our post-production time has dropped significantly. Now that junior editor position can go
toward being creative – and the more time you have for being creative, the
better your product will be.”
In the field,
Woods said the GY-HM700U’s professional look is as almost as important as its
performance. “Clients never question our capabilities or professionalism when
they see the GY-HM700U,” he explained. “When we have our cameras on our
shoulders, we don’t look like we’re shooting a wedding video. For a boutique
company, that’s pretty important.”
Later this
year, the company will use its GY-HM700Us to produce the next installment of
its American Seduction series of one-hour
primetime profiles of automobiles that have impacted American culture. The special,
which will focus on the Volkswagen Beetle, and the new season of Chop Cut Rebuild should begin airing this fall.
ABOUT JVC
PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Products
Company, a division of JVC Americas Corp., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Victor Company of Japan Ltd. JVC is a leading manufacturer and distributor of
broadcast and professional video and audio equipment. For further product
information, visit JVC’s Web
site at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800)582-5825.
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