Whether or not you’re actually shooting HD, odds are you’re spending a lot of time thinking about it – scrutinizing HD images, scanning the specs of different HD cameras, or actually hoisting one onto your shoulder to get the feel of the thing. And if you are shooting HD, you’ve got even more to worry about.

When Film & Video set out this year to collect tips and tricks on HD production, we figured the responses would represent a wide array of production types – everything from car commercials and rock concerts to short films, stock footage and vanguard art projects. We also found a few common denominators that didn’t vary much across the board. Lighting is a challenge and timecode can be a hassle. Love ’em or hate ’em, the DITs – that stands for digital imaging technician, of course – are here to stay. And don’t even think about shooting HD without a top-notch monitor to check focus, color and shading issues.

In the next several pages, a variety of HD pros lay out their recommendations on working in the format, sharing lessons learned, best practices and other tips gleaned from hard experience on set and on location. Use them to save time and money – and preserve your mental health. – Bryant Frazer, Executive Editor

Leo Ticheli
Owner, Leo Ticheli Productions, Atlanta
Recent HD Projects: Film for Porsche Driving Experience school, spot for Copper Grill

HD cameras are quite different from SD cameras. Focusing is much more critical because the increased resolution actually decreases the depth of field. This is not contrary to the laws of physics – the softer focus of SD cameras produces a deeper acceptable depth of field. For the same reason, film depth-of-field calculators show different results for zoom and prime lenses at the same focal length because the primes are sharper. Use the HD Zoom button on the LCD to fill the screen to show a 4×3 aspect ratio when focusing.

Limiting depth of field is critical for achieving a filmic look, so try to keep the iris wide open. You can use the built-in ND filters, the gain switch, and even the shutter angle to regulate the exposure. There is really little noise difference between -3 and 0 db, so that’s what I use to fine-tune the iris after getting as close as possible with the ND filters. Don’t go too far with the shutter angle, or motion blur won’t match.

You should not assume that you can just grab an HD camera out of the case and shoot as you would with most SD cameras; the settings are quite complex and interdependent. Owners should allocate a good deal of time with an experienced camera engineer and DSC charts, another must-have, to establish a group of settings. Renters should always work out the settings with a camera engineer and test, test, test before shooting.

Best accessory for an HD camera? The Panasonic BT-LH900 monitor is a must-have. It takes a HD-SDI signal, the image is spectacular, and it has a built-in waveform monitor. I mount mine on the camera with a heavy-duty [Filmtools] Israeli Arm, the first mounting system I’ve found that actually works well.

John Pipes
Owner, Home Run Films, Chino Hills, CA
Recent HD Projects: Stock footage shoot for Artbeats in South America and the Middle East

Preparation is the key to location success. Start by carefully thinking through exactly what you will need to include in your camera package. Do you need a heavy matte box with rods or will a lightweight clamp-on matte box work? Take lithium batteries rather than bricks; use an LCD monitor rather than a CRT. If you take too much, you could face costly overweight and extra baggage fees at every stop. Take too little, and you may risk missing a critical shot.

On a recent stock-footage shoot, I learned first-hand how important it is to set up and test each piece of gear prior to departure. Check every battery, every cable. In particular, the monitoring of HD images can be challenging on the road. Typical analog component cables are more prone to failure because they have three BNC connectors. I found it preferable to use HD-SDI outputs from the camera, but this probably means you also need an HD-SDI adapter for the camera and need to choose a monitor with HD-SDI capabilities.

If using a high-definition LCD monitor, equip it with a stand-alone battery connection to run it separately from the camera’s power. Most battery manufacturers offer clip-on plates with a four-pin power cable. Combine this with some Velcro and you can attach the battery right to the LCD for handheld monitoring. Make sure to include a shade device for the monitor as well.

A color viewfinder is another incredibly helpful tool when external monitoring is not a viable option. Although not good enough for critical color evaluation, color viewfinders certainly provide an acceptable degree of monitoring for color temperature determination and amazingly seem to offer a sharper image than their black and white counterparts.

HD’s unique exposure characteristics can also present location concerns. Every set of CCDs is just a little bit different, and even the same camera model can vary from unit to unit. I’ve found it important to test each camera upon rental pickup and learn its approximate ASA rating. Once on location I use a light meter in conjunction with the camera’s zebra generator to help determine exposure. I set the zebras at 90 percent on the top end because I’ve found it’s better to underexpose HD in the field by a half stop or so rather that overexpose. Also, when shooting on location I always bring a color chart and shoot 30 seconds to a minute of the chart once or twice a day or at the head of each tape load. This allows for more accurate color-correction in post. I also carry a back-focus chart and check back-focus at the start of every day.

Finally, camera support can either make or break the shot. Don’t take too lightweight a tripod. Carbon fiber sticks and a mid-level spreader work well on rough terrain or uneven surfaces. Optional support devices like lightweight camera saddles can also be very helpful.

One last recommendation learned from experience – go ahead and check the camera as baggage in the large Thermodyne case with the lens detached in the same case. This may seem counter-intuitive to experienced shooters who, like me, always carried their camera on the plane. However, some airlines may reject the HD camera as a carry-on because of its size, and you don’t want to risk having to check the camera in a soft case. Also, some countries don’t allow a large electronic device like an HD camera in the plane cabin for security reasons.

Bill Rodman
Independent documentary filmmaker and digital cinematographer, Baton Rouge, LA
Recent HD projects: Documentaries on NASA’s Scientific Ballooning Program and post-traumatic stress disorder

Just the other day, a lighting-director friend of mine – a very seasoned film person – was talking about how much depth of field there is to contend with when shooting HD. "Everything seemed in focus," he said, sort of cringing. In that regard, today’s high-sensitivity HD cameras do work against certain creative aspirations, but there are ways of managing it. The bad news for traditional video folks is that it involves a somewhat different approach. Whether you like it or not, as a shooter of HD – desiring to capture subtle, textured images, comparable to what many call "film-like" images – you’re entering a new realm of image-making; meaning an understanding of the basics of cinematography and exposure are essential.

In my first year of film school, my instructor hammered home the essentials of elementary cinematography, which included the basic use of a light meter and how foot candles, speed/sensitivity of the medium and shutter angle translate into exposure or f-stop, forward and back, and ultimately depth of field.

The long and the short of it is this: If you want your depth of field to diminish, think about what you can do to open your iris. Try setting your gain to -3dB, dialing in more ND (even indoors) and as long as quick movement is not an issue, increasing shutter speed will also allow you to open your iris.

Similarly, composing on the long end of the lens will cause depth to lessen. I absolutely love messing around with depth of field shooting my VariCam and Fujinon HA18X7.6BERM- M48 HD lens.

When you’ve managed to achieve your cinematic visual ends in high-definition – which, in part, means mastering the manipulation of depth of field – you’ve narrowed the divide between high definition and film and entered the realm of digital cinematography; the ultimate challenge in 21st century storytelling.

Anthony Bongiovi
Director
TBJ Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA
Recent HD Projects: Bon Jovi: This Left Feels Right, The Goo Goo Dolls: Live in Buffalo, July 4th, 2004

Lighting and timecode are my two biggest issues. I rely on my lighting director a lot. HD, being as sensitive as it is, tends to run into more difficulties than SD. You really have to have a great camera shader – we’re doing 13-camera shoots with two shaders, so you really have to be on the ball. I found that going a little darker gives me a better film look, a richer look. And it’s such a fine line between "a little darker" and "too dark." Your cameras have to be set up for what you’re expecting to shoot, and you need tweaked-out HD monitors and a good engineer on site. One bad monitor can totally throw you off, and if you’re not watching everything carefully you’ll get surprised once you get into post.

We might do one show in one town in the wilds of Tennessee, and I’ve got to put a camera crew together for a one-day shoot without a back-up or a second take. If you’re lucky, you get a sound check. So I usually take [Digital Imaging Technician] Dave Canning, who worked on Collateral, with me. We roll up in the truck in the morning – it’s usually set up for sports instead of music, so we make changes with cameras and lenses – and we’re gone by the end of the day, so you get what you get and you pray for the best.

For HD editing, you can use Final Cut Pro or the DS Nitris, which I prefer – but it is expensive. A lot of people transfer their HD tapes to SD for their offline, but when I do that I’ve had an issue with timecode. As you downconvert your image, just coming out of your deck you’re losing two frames because of a delay in processing the signal, so timecodes become a problem. We sorted that out with the Evertz [HD9150QPS-AUD] Afterburner, which makes up the two-frame difference. So I do my offline edit on an Avid Media Symphony, using the Evertz Afterburner to keep timecode during the translation.

Steve Cohen
President, Manhattan Place Entertainment
Recent HD projects: Interviews with NASCAR racers for Fox Sports, player interviews for Super Bowl XXXIX

I like the VariCam, but one problem I’ve had is that if you’re working with daylight-balanced light, especially HMIs, it tends to go very green. And so whether we’re doing ENG or a full-blown set-up, we always carry around some minus-green gel. Usually a quarter minus-green will do the trick if you white-balance through it. It’s much more prevalent in the [Panasonic] SDX900, but it affects the VariCam, too. So if you’re shooting HMIs, have some minus-green gel on hand to get the really perfect color balance.

We do a lot of sports photography. We work with the most major athletes in all of sports, and they come parading in. We handled every member of the Philadelphia Eagles before the Super Bowl, spending five to 20 minutes with each player. We had to continuously roll and make shots for tease elements. If we were shooting film it would not be cost-effective, but I’m convinced [the VariCam] is better than Super 16 and really close to 35, and you can shoot to your heart’s content and save the backend costs of the film-to-tape transfer, film processing and all that. It opens up new possibilities for our clients, and it’s changed the playing field because they’re really getting a true film look.

Christopher Bierlein
Director of Photography
Recent HD Projects: Scenics for Fox Sports, a climactic shot from Fever Pitch, directed by the Farrelly Brothers

I was shooting scenic shots of St. Louis and the stadium for Fox Sports during the World Series. I was using the VariCam and had it tweaked to the look Fox likes for this sort of thing: crushed blacks, hyped-up chroma, etc. The stuff I was shooting was less about individuals and more about scenes, so I wasn’t worried about skin tones and such. I was also shooting a lot of time lapses and slo-mo, using the FRC to convert the footage before handing over to the editor. On day four of the series, I was preparing to shoot the game from unusual vantage points – just abstract stuff for Producer/VP Special Projects Gary Lang – when my phone rang and I was urgently called back to the production trucks.

There, I was introduced to one of the Farrelly Brothers and told about their situation. They were nearly finished shooting a film called Fever Pitch starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, and it revolved around the Red Sox’ predictable inability to win a World Series. Since the premise of their script seemed like it was about to change, the Brothers had brought Fallon and Barrymore to the game, in character, and needed someone to cover them in HD for possible use in the film. I spent the game covering the two stars as they reacted to the game and ultimately ran out onto the field to embrace and kiss as the Sox celebrated victory behind them.

Before shooting, and when I understood the potential use for the footage, I was certain to switch the camera from Video Rec mode to Film Rec to give the producers the widest latitude available. I also zeroed out the master ped (which I had way down) and the black stretch levels and turned off the detail setting. I explained to production that the video they would view straight out of the camera would be rather low-contrast, but that this would provide maximum flexibility in post to match their 35mm film quality as best as possible.

Pierre Lamoureux and Franà§ois Lamoureux
Enliven Entertainment/FOGO
Recent HD Projects: Concert DVDs for The Who, Branford Marsalis and Stray Cats

Your decision in regard to frame rate should be based on your understanding of the desired end result and exploitation plans. There are issues, consequences and complications in not choosing the right frame rate. If your production will never be transferred to celluloid, you should avoid shooting 1080/24p and instead choose 1080/23.976p to allow clean transfers to NTSC video (29.97). With the coming of PAL HD broadcasts, by shooting in pure 24p you may be handcuffing yourself should you ever want to show your production in PAL HD. Pull-up and pull-down issues are never much fun to deal with. Even if PAL HD is not in your immediate plans, there are PAL DVDs and standard broadcast reasons to shoot in 23.976p rather than 24p.

The ultimate solution that we have found is to shoot in 1080/25p or 1080/50i, which allows us a clean transfer to 1080/59.94 and 1080/29.97, yet remains PAL-native. The 25p rate is close enough to 24p to have that "look," yet allows more flexibility in cross-conversions than 24p. The major issue with shooting 25p is that you will have monitoring issues in post-production unless you have multi-standard monitoring. In certain major broadcast cities this may not be an issue, but for many studios PAL is a premium service. You will also have issues in sending out approval copies, as your offline and online will both be done in PAL. You could always send out non-region DVD-Rs in PAL and have your client view it on a computer.

Another major issue, which is too often overlooked, is the effect this has on audio recording and post. If you are shooting 23.976, make sure your audio is recorded at the same frame rate. We as an industry have a nasty habit of referring to 23.976 as "24," much like many refer to NTSC as 30 fps when it’s really 29.97 fps. Always use the right terms and, most importantly, make sure others interpret and use them properly on your set. It is so much easier to prevent sync and drift issues than to try and fix them.

Dane Lawing
Director of Photography
Recent HD Projects: "Lost Cause," directed by Jim Taylor, "MTV-Nabisco/Fall" :15 spot, Nicktoons "Cyber IDs" station IDs

A large portion of the work I’ve gotten over the last couple of years has been matte work or green-screen work. I would definitely shoot green-screens on 35mm [Kodak Vision2 100T] 5212 or 5217 if I had the option. But I would shoot HD over the equivalent 16mm stocks. For example, we did a Nickelodeon where we shot one day in Super 16 [Vision2 100T] 7212 stock, and two days with the [Sony] HDW-F900, and the post house had a much easier time with HD. It’s a native digital format, and the grain structure that makes an image more organic was harder for them to deal with – even though we were shooting one of the finest-grain stocks. And of course I would shoot 16 before I would shoot SD or MiniDV. That said, I’ve done plenty of DigiBeta blue-screen work, and the secret to success with any format is knowing the limitations and advantages of the tools.

I prefer the Viper for exteriors because the increased dynamic range and exposure latitude lets me work closer to the way I work with a film camera. Overexposure, to me, is the great gremlin of HD in a daytime exterior situation. I spend a lot of time putting out silks and flags and trying to control the shoulder of my image when I shoot HD as an exterior. When I shoot film I worry about the toe, and when I shoot HD I worry about my shoulder – I worry less about the shadows and pay attention to my highlights.

I do wish the Viper had a color viewfinder. That kills me. So I put an Astro monitor just above the black-and-white viewfinder. And directors like to be able to peek over at the camera and keep an eye on that monitor.

When I shot "Lost Cause" [a short directed by Alexander Payne’s screenwriting collaborator, Jim Taylor ], I chose to go tethered [from the Viper to an off-board power supply]. It made the camera feel like an Arri 535 – a beautiful, ergonomic small camera. The only thing available in 12-volt on-board batteries for the Viper was this beast of a thing that was developed for Collateral. It held four Anton Bauer brick batteries hanging off the back of the camera. I hated that device, and I hope they come up with a better 12-volt on-board solution.

Victor Newman
Creative Director/Co-Founder, Freestyle Collective
Recent HD Projects: Times Square video signage for Kodak; cinematic trailer for the launch of Cartoon Network’s Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

When VOOM approached us to collaborate on the launch of Kung Fu HD Network, our principle goal was to capture the excitement, drama and energy of Asian action cinema. We decided to incorporate live-action scenes with 2D and 3D HD animation. For the network ID sequences, we hired, choreographed and filmed martial artists to capture their challenging acrobatics in HD. To bring a genuine martial-arts action movie feel to the project, we shot certain fight scenes at high speed to achieve the desired slow-motion effect.

We chose the Panasonic VariCam. Most people using the VariCam shoot to tape using the on-board DVCPRO HD recorder. This is a great format, but the camera also has the ability to output full-bandwidth 720p footage. So we recorded to the Panasonic 3700B D5 deck, a solution that produced fantastic results in a way that was relatively simple and easy to manage – just bring the D5 tapes to an offline session. Footage was edited and mattes were cut from the select green-screen footage to be used as silhouettes in the final composites.