Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus (LIU Brooklyn) recently put into service three JVC GY-HM750U ProHD compact shoulder-mount cameras acquired in May.
Although the new cameras were designated primarily for studio use starting with the fall semester that began Sept. 7, Larry Banks, chair of the Media Arts Department at LIU's Richard L. Conolly College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, used one of the cameras for "DV Intensive," his one-week production course, in late May.
The class started from scratch on a Monday morning and screened a finished project on Friday night. Students worked together as a team, handling all aspects of the production. The project, "The Mr. Mango's Experience," is a short narrative about the relationship between the owner of a bodega and the young adults who live above his store.
With such a tight deadline, the students relied on JVC's native file-based workflow to save time, while gaining experience using the camcorder. According to Banks, the GY-HM750U delivers a clean picture, performs well in low-light situations and is relatively simple to operate. In fact, the student director of photography for the "DV Intensive" class learned how to operate the camera in one day.
The GY-HM750U records footage on low-cost, nonproprietary SDHC memory cards, and Banks said the native file recording saved valuable time in the edit suite. With no transfer time required for the footage, students were able to begin editing using Final Cut Pro immediately.
LIU Brooklyn already owned a GY-HD250U and two GY-HM100U ProHD camcorders. The new JVC cameras, which will replace 20-year-old cameras in the studio, are part of a major renovation. Banks said the updated studio also includes AJA digital recorders, a Grass Valley Kalypso switcher, and new graphics and audio equipment. Most renovations were complete by the time classes began in September, and Banks expects LIU Brooklyn students to produce a variety of programs for Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT TV).
