Using Panasonic's P2 recording system and a Sony hard disk audio recorder to capture the calls of the wild

Globe-trotting DP Jim Kinsey has been shooting wildlife photography (both video and stills) since 1998, compiling a large stock footage library of wildlife, plants, and landscapes used by clients like National Geographic, Discovery Channel, History Channel and the PBS Nova series.
He currently uses a Panasonic HVX200 P2 camcorder, Apple MacBook Pro laptop, two 100 GB G-Technology G-RAID hard drives and a Sony PCM-D1 digital field recorder, which he recently took on a 21-day African safari. The idea was to capture high-quality images and animal sound effects for a stock footage library he sells. (He recently made a deal with Art Beats to market his footage.) Kinsey also has a new website (http://www.10HD.com) that offers 10-second HD clips for immediate download.

In his travels, Kinsey has seen it all – including the time a hyena chewed his Sony audio recorder and, despite a few teeth marks, it still worked fine.

Q: Has your workflow changed since you started using solid-state recording?
A: Completely. When recording on solid-state media, you have to be careful to back up everything you shoot onto a hard drive. One misplaced file and you lose the shot forever. For me, shooting in the wild, I only get one chance to capture the shot and the moment’s gone. You lose a client quickly that way. I mostly shoot 720p and 1080/30p these days.

Q: In marketing your stock footage, is it better to make clips available in 720p or 1080i?
A: A lot of people like 1080/30p, because it offers more of a film look, but I like the 720p 24 fps format because it’s gorgeous. I just shot some stunning 720p footage (with two 8 GB P2 cards) flying over the Pavlof volcano in Cold Bay, AK. We flew within a few hundred feet of the top and it was just incredible. The heat was intense, but the P2 equipment held up great. National Geographic is interested in using some of that.

Q: What lenses do you use?
A: I use the wide-angle Leica Dicomar HD lens (with optical image stabilizer) that comes with the HVX200. I have a Century Optics 1.6x extender that gives the camera more capability. I’m also looking to get a Redrock Micro rail system that allows you to use 35mm prime lenses and gives you beautiful depth of field. However, the 1.6x extender in front of the HVX200’s fixed lens works fine.

Q: The knock on solid state is that it’s not good for shooters like you who shoot for long periods. Is two 8 GB cards enough capacity for you?
A: Yes, I get about 50 minutes on the two cards, (@ 24PN) and I have another 4 GB card, which give me another 10 minutes, if I need it. I pick my shots carefully so I don’t waste time or card space capturing images I won’t use. Many times I use the camera’s interval record mode, which allows me to capture many different frame rates for time-lapse work. This allows me to save space and get the types of images I know I’ll need. I have these G-RAID 100 GB hard drives that I carry with me. At the end of each day I offload the data on the P2 cards to the hard drives and know that the footage is secure.

My biggest concern in the wild is battery power. I’ve got a solar-powered triple-battery pack charger made by Brunton that gives me 12 volts of power, but I always worry about running low when I’ll need power the most.

Q: You use the Sony PCM-D1 to record audio elements separate from the camera’s onboard mic. Why is that?
A: Well, I use a ME-66 Sennheiser shotgun mic with the camera because I want the true sounds of nature to come through my productions. It’s almost as important to nature photography as the video is. But I also rely on the PCM-D1 because at night when you’re sitting at the camp and suddenly hear an elephant screaming and trees are breaking, do I want to run up my P2 cards, or do I simply hold up this small recorder and get 48 kHz 16-bit audio?

I can then take these stereo audio clips [.wav files] on the built in 4 GB hard drive or memory stick and load them into Final Cut Pro and cut them into my project. For example, I can use this audio with different footage of an elephant charging that I shot during the day that might not have the best audio. I put the two together and the viewer gets the best “real-life” experience possible. You can intercut an audio or video element when you need to tell the story. It’s all about story-telling and taking your production to the next level.

Q: What’s missing from the HVX200 that would help your HD productions?
A: Well, I’d love to see a 20-power optical lens on the P2 camera, like what’s available on the Canon HDV cameras. If they could find a way to do that, then you put a doubler on it and you’d be looking at this 40x optical image that would hold its own against the higher-end Fujinon lenses.

For more information on Kinsey’s company, visit http://wildfirestockfootage.com.