Q: You’ve said that you’re not convinced HD video production is cheaper than or as fast as film. Please explain this.
A: If you’re talking about a feature-quality theatrical production, the obvious difference is the stock costs. However, the high-end HD cameras are more expensive than most film cameras to rent, and in my experience, the on-set production time can be longer with video, depending on the particular camera. This is especially true if you’re using multiple cameras and you’re trying to get them all to match each other. So on a telefilm or small film of 30 days, if you burn 10 hours of overtime with a full crew due to camera fussing and tech issues, that can offset the film-stock costs.

If you’re looking at the dailies on a HD monitor on the set, you’re wasting production time. I don’t see that as a benefit. The mindset of “let’s all take a minute to look at what we just shot” can have very adverse affects on production time and budget. As a DP I’m expected to shoot several pages of a script per day, and many times that can’t be done sitting around looking at what you’ve got on video. There are two sides to every equation. Don’t be fooled.

Q: How did you come to use the AJ-HPX3000?
A: I had shot another production with a video camera and on that film (The Librarian) I was warned that HD wouldn’t look good under the conditions we were working under (bright equatorial sunlight). I came away impressed with the fact that, with a little care in how you set up the camera and in how you treat the light, I could get stunning images without using film. HD really can look good.

I’m a film buff and former video naysayer, but in this day and age, when we have to embrace the concept of digital imagers and get our heads out of the sand, I try to remain open-minded.

However, the problem with the video camera for me was that I had to be tethered to a recorder or control unit. I like to use my film camera and move around a lot, so it was very restricting for me. Then I’d move the whole contraption around and my settings were lost, which meant several minutes of setting it up again.

The HVX-3000 offers the freedom I need and the benefits of reliable solid-state production, which really appeals to me. For this Warner Home Video shoot, I had to shake the camera for certain scenes to get an effect the director wanted (whereby an alien creature inhabits a darkened supermarket). This was done easily with the HPX3000. Due to the fact that the Panasonic camera retained its set-up, it was rock solid, and unlike some other experiences I’ve had.

I’m also impressed with how good the HPX3000 is at capturing images in low light. The images are not noisy like you might expect from video in shadows.

Q: Being a veteran "film guy," what’s your opinion of storing images as data on a solid-state P2 card?
A: I don’t consider myself a technical guy. I like to let the pictures tell the story. Anything that gets in the way of that, I don’t like. However, recording to five (16 GB) P2 cards gave me about 80 minutes of record time, which was more than enough for close to a whole day’s worth of shooting. [The five cards provided the same run time as eight 1,000-foot rolls of film.]

I’m not one of those guys that like to roll tape forever. I think the whole aspect of making a structured film falls apart when you start thinking about rolling constantly. I’ve heard about people who do that, but there’s a structure of stopping between takes (that’s been developed over the past 125 years of filmmaking) that really works.

If you have someone on the set continually rolling tape, it’s frustrating to the actors, the crew, and the camera operators. There’s something to be said for stopping and taking stock of what you are about to do and what you just did, getting everyone on the set and focused and going.

Q: What about your use of the new AVC-I codec?
A: With the new AVC-I codec, I’m told the HD post process is quite easy now. From my point of view, I was looking for the highest quality I could get and the HPX3000 acquiring at 100 Mbps gave me that.

The best thing about using the HPX3000 for me was when I would turn around and say, "Let’s shoot," and we could just go. We didn’t have to spend a lot of time tweaking buttons. Once we set the two cameras in the morning to our presets, they matched perfectly and they stayed there all day, and surprisingly the back focus held much longer than other experiences I have had.