BIG MOVING PICTURES COMBINES PANASONIC HIGH DEFINITION CAMERAS TO SHOOT THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AIR RACES AT RENO

RENO, NV – Production company Big Moving Pictures, Inc. (BMP) used a fleet of Panasonic high definition cameras – including five AJ-HDX900 multi-format DVCPRO HD, three AG-HVX200 P2 HD and six AG-HSC1U AVCHD camcorders – to capture the high-speed aerial competition at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada.

Organized by the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of authentic air racing, the races brought together around 220,000 of aviation and sports enthusiasts for five days of high-performance air racing by six classes of aircraft, including Unlimited, T-6, Sports, Biplane, Formula One and Jets. Held since 1964 near Reno, the event also features an air show that includes top aerobatic performers.

BMP partnered with RARA to produce a sportscast of the races that will include complete coverage of the race events, interviews with pilots and celebrities and feature segments covering aviation racing culture, history and technology. According to BMP CEO David Knight, who also served as the project’s executive producer, Panasonic’s professional HD cameras were the perfect fit for this production.

“Panasonic has a wide range of products that had all the features we needed,” said Knight. “From durable, HD handhelds that could be put on aircraft wings to high-quality 1080i/720p cameras; we were able to use every acquisition tool we needed from one company.”

Director of Photography John-Paul Beeghly -- whose 18 years of experience ranges from IMAX films and major studio features with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and cinematographer Darius Wolski, to commercial campaigns and documentaries -- directed and produced the sportscast.

“In order to build a story around the races, we had a team dedicated to basic race coverage and another team that captured material for feature segments, including interviews with pilots and background technology pieces,” said Beeghly. “We wanted the first part of the sportscast to include interviews and profiles of pilots and the last portion of the show to cover the race more closely, with a live reporter and a studio host.”

Beeghly continued, “For general racing coverage, we set up four to five HDX900s on tripods with studio lens at various points of the race field. Back at the show grounds, two to three crews used the HVX200s to capture b-roll and to interview pilots, celebrities, team owners and audience members for the lifestyle feature segments. We really wanted to capture high definition point-of-view aerial shots to integrate into the show, so we mounted HSC1Us on the wings and in the cockpits of several aircrafts during the race.”

“The HDX900, HVX200 and HSC1U cameras were in demanding shooting situations, which encompassed lots of bright light, metal reflection and extreme contrast,” Beeghly said. “The cameras matched very well with each other. It was amazing that we were able to use a package of three different cameras to create one seamless story.”

According to Beeghly, the production faced many challenges because the course was spread over miles of open desert space. “In addition to the challenge of shooting aircraft moving at speeds often exceeding 500 miles per hour from a variety of different angles and areas, we had the physical challenge of quickly moving camera equipment across miles of terrain to different points of the race, with only 10 to 20 minutes to spare between each shoot.”

“The fact that the HDX900 had the ability to shoot 1080i in addition to 720p was a main factor for us. In the past, we only used the VariCam, which is an excellent 720p camera. However, with its excellent color rendition, 1080i/720p flexibility and a relatively light body weight, the HDX900 was a natural choice.”

Back at the show grounds, the HVX200s proved to be a flexible workhorse camera. “One of the great things we loved about the HVX200s, besides its performance, is its small size,” said Beeghly. “As the crew shot the lifestyle features and interviews, they were able to keep a low profile. People are used to seeing this size of camera around, so there was less commotion and we were able to capture real lifestyle without changing the environment too much.”

Sumesh Thakur, BMP’s executive producer of content and head of the sportcast’s post-production, described their P2 workflow. “One of the HVX200 camcorders was hooked up with the Focus FS-100 Firestore, which we connected directly to our laptops via IEEE 1394 to download recorded content. For the other HVX200s equipped with P2 cards, we would either transfer footage from the cards to the 500 GB LaCie hard drives for later use or bring them directly into Final Cut Pro for viewing on our MacBook Pro laptops. The ability to transfer on the spot, instead of having 80 to 90 tapes to scan through at the end of each day, cut the whole process down. It was great to not have to worry about digitizing.”

For high-flying HD footage, the production team didn’t hesitate to put the HSC1U AVCHD camcorders right in the middle of the high-altitude action, taking advantage of the cameras’ long-recording times.

“We put wide angle adapters on the HSC1U cameras by retro-fitting the adapter to get as close to the lens as possible, and it worked out very well,” said Thakur. “It was nice to be able to record beautiful high definition point-of-view aerial shots on the spot with a camera small enough to put in a cockpit.”

In summary, Beeghly said, “Despite the wind, desert dust and sun, we had no environment issues during production. The cameras were durable and handled the environmental conditions very well.
In my mind, Panasonic was the first video company to think about all the film features that help filmmakers and incorporate it into their video cameras. They make great cameras that really work for filmmakers.”

The final race telecast was edited in Final Cut Pro and is set to air on the national cable sports network VERSUS in summer 2008; it will also be made available on DVD and Blu-ray Disks.

About the AJ-HDX900

An indispensable, cost-effective tool for global content creators, the AJ-HDX900 DVCPRO HD supports 1080 59.94i/50i/29.97p/25p/23.98p/23.98pA and 720 59.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/23.98p recording. The HDX900 features a native 16:9, 2/3” HD, 1-million pixel 3-CCD system that assures stunning images and produces a high sensitivity of F10 (at 2000 lux) and outstanding low-light shooting down to 0.032 lux (at+62 dB gain). It is equipped with 14-bit A/D DSP circuits that provide optimum picture quality, color reproduction and luminance gradation. The HDX900 offers superior 4:2:2 color sampling and independent frame compression. The well-balanced camcorder offers impressive built-in, image-enhancing features including three Cine-like gamma modes to replicate the look and feel of film, and is compatible with a wide range 2/3” quality lenses and accessories.

About the AG-HVX200

The ultra-versatile AG-HVX200 records in 1080i and 720p in production-proven 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD quality, with the ability to capture images in 21 record modes. The camera records video on a P2 card as IT-friendly MXF files in 1080/60i, 30p and 24p; in 720/60p, 30p and 24p; in 50Mbps DVCPRO50 and in 25Mbps DVCPRO or DV. The HVX200 can capture fast or slow action in 720p at various frame rates--the first time this function is available in a hand-held camera. The shooting frame rate in 720p native mode can be set for any of 11 steps between 12fps and 60fps including 24fps and 30fps.

About the AG–HSC1U

Weighing 1.1 pounds, the AG-HSC1U AVCHD camcorder delivers stunning 1080i recordings with the accuracy and natural 3-CCD color reproduction that professionals require for capturing events in HD. By utilizing the newly-developed, H.264-based Advanced Video Codec High Definition (AVCHD) video format, the HSC1U delivers two times the recording efficiency of older MPEG-2 codec technologies like HDV. The HSC1U is highly reliable and flexible because it is solid state with no moving parts like tape or disc-based systems. The noiseless AG-HSC1U camcorder records up to 88 minutes (41 minutes in the highest quality mode) of video on a high-speed 4GB SDHC memory card.

About Panasonic Broadcast

Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.