Director of photography Rich Lerner has wrapped director James Seale’s dramatic thriller, “Juncture,” which he shot with a pair of Panasonic AG-HVX200 solid-state HD camcorders.
The 30-day shoot took Lerner from the feature’s base in Colorado to San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia with locations including a roller coaster, the Golden Gate Bridge, a dingy tenement, a high-rise corporate boardroom and a moodily-lit bar.
Lerner had previously shot Seale’s feature “Throttle” with his Panasonic SDX900 camera. Rather than shooting “Juncture” with the SDX900 or alternately renting a VariCam to achieve HD quality, Lerner used the HVX200.
The HVX200 combines multiple HD and SD formats, multiple recording modes and variable frames rates with the benefits of P2 solid-state memory recording in a rugged, compact design. The DVCPRO HD P2 camcorder offers contribution-quality HD with independent intra-frame encoding, 4:2:2 color sampling and less compression, making HD content easier and faster to edit and better able to stand up to image compositing.
For “Juncture,” Lerner used his HVX200 as the primary camera, acquiring a second HVX200 as his B camera. He tapped his SDX900 as the C camera. His A camera package consisted of a Chrosziel 4 x 4 matte box and filters, O’Connor and Cartoni fluid heads, a video transmitter for the director’s viewfinder, a Glidecam sled for Steadicam-style photography, a Micro Dolly Flo Pod microjib, Sticky Pod car mount which he used instead of a Hollywood-style camera car, and a Camera Turret Company electronic remote head for panning and tilting on the microjib. Lerner has also developed his own device, dubbed the Pro Camera Balance Beam, which enables him to use the HVX200 on his shoulder with a counterweight.
Lerner owns five 4GB P2 cards and a Panasonic P2 Store. He shot DVCPRO HD 720p/24pn for “Juncture,” which allowed him to record 10 minutes on a single 4GB P2 card.
For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/hvx200.
