Here we go again into yet another year of digital bewilderment. Now it gets more challenging as last year we made the upgrade to High Definition and all that implies. The new JVC GY-HD111e is a brilliant camera but it took a good while to go through the learning curve of the difference in shooting techniques and requirement that the format demands…especially in terms of light and editing power. We’re back to shooting Scum of the Universe from scratch on it to get the quality up there with film…as well as a change of cast. What the new cameras mean is that we have a bewildering range of formats to shoot in. The native format is 720p 25p which gives a really filmy feel to it. It shoots brilliant normal 576 50i DV though..about the best I’ve ever seen from a camera in this category. It can also shoot 720p 24p for projects that have to go to film eventually..and a really wonderful format of HDV-SD 576p which is great for anything in standard definition that needs slow motion as the resolution is awesome for SD with 50 single frames a second. However all these formats have meant new investment in hardware and software to edit them…as well as new camera techniques to get the best results. We’re currently testing the camera out on a diary-form program over the next year of the wildlife in this neck of Leitrim, hopefully for broadcast eventually if we can get enough interesting things to shoot. I’m constantly hunting the Otters in the stream at the back and the Pine Marten who used to live in my old kitchen roof before we pulled it down. I had him eating out of my hand..literally. Anyway, the camera has proved a firm favourite with wildlife filmmakers already and I can see why. If you’re interested in this end of our experiences keep checking this blog as I’ll post my findings and learning curve. The line between Geek and Artist is being constantly challenged in this field. Maybe I’m just a Gartist.
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