Director of Photography Michael Brennan.
Arri media provided the CineAlta f900 and Canon EC HD lenses.Bill Lovell at Arri Media +44(0)208 5732255 blovell@arrimedia.com
Edited at Pepper Post on a Avid DS/HD by Shane Wardentel+44 (0) 2078361188 shane@pepperpost.co.uk
Avid Europe provided the Avid DS/HD tel+44(0)1753655999Bernard Bergeron bernard_bergeron@avid.com
Mathew Stonehouse directed.tel +44(0)2089775914 mathew@stonehouse.co.uk
Aerial Camera Systems provided the aerial facility.Mathew Allwork tel +44(0)1483426767 info@aerialcamerasystems.com
Extracts of the HD short Suave Bastard also shot on HD by Michael Brennan, courtesy of In Video Veritas. Stuart Fenegan tel +44(0)1702202698 sdf@invideoveritas.co.uk
The film transfer was at Hokus Bogus by Søren Klochtel+45(0)40607898 http://www.hokusbogus.dk
The purpose of reelHD is to have a wide range of hd pictures on one reel. The reel has been transferred to 35mm film by Hokus Bogus in Copenhagen. It was conceived and independently produced and financed by DP Michael Brennan. It is not a recommendation for HDcam or the f900 camera, merely a test of how the camera responds to a very wide range of subjects.
It is an ideal general reference to DPs producers and directors who are interested in seeing f900 pictures transferred to film. It does not present heavily stylized images that pose questions regarding the DPs choice of filtration or grading. However there are moco moves, morphs, aerial, tracking, craning, low light, fast pans, packshots and drama excerpts. It is a useful reference source for those who need to view ungraded High Definition transferred to film or down converted to digibeta, without sleight of hand.
"I was intrigued with HDcam-to-film transfers being shown by Sony and Panavision, so I set out to shoot a wider range of subjects, sometimes under less than ideal lighting and location conditions and often with minimal resources" Also included in the reel are commercials and extracts from a theatrical short all shot with the same camera, supplied by Arri Media.
I wanted to see for myself how HD measured up when using a non "Panavised" camera, off the shelf Canon HD lenses and a typical tape to film path.
Using the same lenses and general camera setup is important when gathering a resource of shots for reference and educational purposes. So the camera setup was not what I would call "highly retuned" for each scene.
There were no contrast or softening filters used. There was no post production grading apart from the time lapse cloudscape (which was graded for a night look). The only on-lens filters were Neutral Density Graduated filters. I included a full range of exposures to show what happens at the transfer stage.
So the results are probably typical of the f900 camera, operated in a professional environment and setup for a "clean" look.
The effects that were achieved in post on the Avid HD/DS at Pepper Post London, are all quite visible. Morphes, split screens and speed variations are purposely obvious.
There is no hidden trickery or high budget effects that alter the basic HD look.
There were no extraordinary adjustments in the tape to film process other than matching the timing of the print to the HD master. The timing of the first print on Vision Premier, was very close to what I had seen on the HD monitor.
The reel is designed primarily to be an independent technical reference for how particular subjects shot on HD translate to a big screen, rather than any kind of stylised promo for those credited.
Since it was shot in early 2001 second generation zoom lenses and primes are available that further increase resolution and reduce depth of field. In November 2002 there will be software and hardware upgrades to the f900
Michael Brennan
The following is from the director of reelHD Mathew Stonehouse.
After having worked on several High Definition productions with Director of Photography Mike Brennan, it seemed logical to produce a High Definition reel for Mike to show what can be done with High Definition. This was our very first attempt at HD to film.
We chose the shots included in reelHD very carefully to best represent the extremes of lighting conditions and locations that the camera can work in. The fact that you can just turn the camera on and capture a shot in thirty seconds flat is very important if you have to catch the light, as in the shot of the thatched roof cottage in the reel - where the sun was out for just one minute.
It is also very useful to be able to film at 30 frames a second, then play back at 25 effectively slowing down the action. We used that to great effect on the Schneider film that was shown at the Oscars ceremony this year. All the camera moves had a fluidity and sense of grace.
I love being able to see on the monitor the shot I want, the way I want it. We took six hours setting up and lighting the Schneider pack shot, during which time I could refer to the HD monitor, which delivered a fantastic image. This allowed us an extra latitude of creativity as we were able to dress the frame and adjust the lighting, knowing that we were seeing the shot exactly as it was going to look in post. I was also able to see High
Definition playback as soon as we had recorded the camera moves. A real confidence boost. In respect of close-ups the HD monitor can reveal the smallest speck of dust that otherwise could go unnoticed, even to the naked eye.
High Definitions' depth of colour, it's crispness and it's well balanced tonality can be achieved without always having to resort to vast numbers of crew running around with truck loads of equipment. If I did need to shoot something in a hurry, we just picked up the
camera and walked. That option is always available to a director on HD.
In the edit, the shots were identical in every way to the shots as viewed on location, there was no synching up of sound to picture and we could just suck the footage straight into the machine and I could start editing without delay. The speed with which I could manipulate shots was a real bonus.
Every producer and director in the world should have easy access to see an HD to 35mm film print.
The future of film making is digital. I for one can understand why George Lucas "doesn't ever want to shoot on film again".
Mathew Stonehouse
Director
.
Tel: +44 (0) 797 313 4840
If you have a projection facility or a viewing room and wish to have a print please email.
or if you'd like a copy of the reel on hdcam, digibeta or vhs please email. mike@hd24.com
