AUGUST 1995

KY-27B "LIGHTS UP" OJ'S BRONCO CHASE

By Gary Brainard, KCOP Channel 13, Los Angeles

In my 21 years as a news cameraman in Los Angeles, I've shot almost every
type of footage conceivable, from major sporting events to visits from
world leaders to bloody street fight between warring gangs.  But on June
18, 1994 I embarked on an assignment that proved to be among the most
significant in my professional career.

O.J. Simpson had been arrested as a chief suspect in the murders of Nichole
Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.  Five days later, on June 18, he and his
friend Al Caulings fled in the now infamous white Ford Bronco.  My
assignment was to capture a few images at Brentwood (O.J.'s mansion) then
go up in a helicopter and follow the police chase of Simpson and Caulings.
Earlier that day Scott Spector of JVC had brought over a new camera for me
to try, the JVC-27B, so I took it along with the camera I was regularly
using at the time as I set off on my assignment.

When we caught up with the chase, Simpson's Bronco was in route on the
highway to his mansion.  Shortly thereafter, the sun began to set.  Minutes
later it was so dark I virtually couldn't see through my camera.  I called
my producers and told them of my difficulties.  I also told them about the
new camera I had received that morning and that I wanted to give it a try,
remembering that Scott had told me the camera was superior in low-light
conditions.

Since I was shooting live, I switched to the KY-27 and put the camera into
the LoLux fully automatic mode.  In an instant, it was as if someone had
turned on the lights. I had the brightest camera and the clearest picture
of all the other cameramen.  The camera could literally see better than I
could.  Eventually, other stations asked permission to use our picture and
it was carried nationwide on CNN and CBS.

Because of the unique circumstances surrounding this assignment, I tested a
new camera under extremely strenuous conditions--something a cameraman
rarely does.

I've been using low-light cameras since the early 1980's, but none compare
to the quality of the KY-27.  More than anything else, the low-light
feature ensures safety on the job.  Many times when you're shooting on the
street and there is a disturbance, a cameraman is more of a threat than the
police because the camera provides documented evidence.  With a low-light
camera, you don't need to turn on lights and, therefore, can go unnoticed.

In many cases, the camera can actually see better than your eyes.  The KY-
27 combines automatic level control and full time auto white, allowing
smooth, continuous shooting, regardless of lighting changes.
Traditionally, automatic features in a professional camera have been viewed
as "for beginners only."  But, I've found they bring a whole new 
dimension to covering news --  freeing the cameraman to explore all 
possibilities to produce the most exciting footage.

I want to work with a camera that is going to make my job a lot easier in a
wide variety of shooting situations. For instance, to shoot rain at night
you normally have to point at the ground and shoot the reflection of the
rain hitting a puddle.  The JVC camera is so sensitive that I can point the
camera down the street and shoot, and I get a picture of the light
reflecting off the rain.  I've also used the camera for shooting mud slides
at night, something that is typically very difficult because of the dark
color of the mud.  The KY-27 was able to pull sensitive details out of the
nighttime image and actually show mud sliding down into the canyon.

When covering news you never know what is going to happen, and you have
only one chance to get the shot you need.  For me, the KY-27 provided the
ability to capture a media image that will remain among the most memorable
of this decade.

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