To Burn the Midnight Oil

It’s been a while since my last post on my site, so I figure that I’ll start here as this blog is the most inconsequential page of Dave’s Place and work my way forward through the site. I have a lot of new stuff to add, especially the Application Connector. The post will consist of two parts, the camera, & the movie.

First, The Camera
About a month ago I picked up the JVC GZ-HD7. I had been looking at the SONY line-up of higher end cameras. However, I noticed that Sony has started using AVCHD™ Format. I have a DCR-SR42 & I love using it. Generally, in a tight zoom with low light it does much better than my JVC GZ-MG505U. But the 42 is probably the last Sony Handycam to use a standard format. I detest ‘proprietary formats’, in all their varied forms, but as it is general common knowledge, Sony is the worst repeat offender in this approach to safeguarding their market share. I guess that’s why the $1300 sticker price on the HDR-CX7 has dropped to $1000 or less overnight since the HD7 hit the streets. High-end Sony’s tend to be more forgiving & easier to use overall, but if you know what you’re doing and know your way around technical problems, the JVC’s tend to be better disposed toward creative cinematography. As for aesthetics, well, we all know I hate ‘silvered plastic cameras’.

The HD7 is a virtual beast compared to any of JVC’s previous high-end consumer cameras, both the 505 & the 555. The HD7 is almost twice as long, a third wider, & considerably heaver. The layout & flow of control over the functions has been vastly improved over the last two hard drive video camcorders. ‘Exposure Control’ and a ‘Focus Ring’ are the two most important additions for me. If you are just starting out in this hobby, I would not suggest you start with the HD7, it is ‘a beast’. I suggest to friends when they ask, a mid-line or even one of the inexpensive, MiniDV or DVD based solutions. They are stable, no longer prone to failures, & generally very easy to use. But I remind them that they will still need an editing platform (capable PC & software). And “Don’t plan on popping the finished work in the VCR or DVD players right out of the camera!”
When they show me a line-up & ask me which one I like, I just say “Any of them, just as long as it’s not silver!!”.



And now, The Movie.
In the past two years that I sporadically had time to work on this project, it had gone from a 12 minute silent project, to a full 2 hour, & back down to an hour with music. I went through four cameras, each a little better in definition that the last. The new HD7 was not used, however. A lot of mid-winter rooftop shots, cold batteries, a few minor run-ins with local authorities, and a lot of screwed up footage due to overly curious walk-by spectators. Thank goodness I did not have to use the audio during the shoot of any scene. I’ve battled the wind & rain. I’ve had people almost knock over tripods. And I had people purposely stand and look into the camera lens while shooting, NF can attest to this. I have a lot of patience for the subject of the shoot, but I found that I did not have as much tolerance for the general public around me.

I tried a lot of methods to get spectators to cooperate with my efforts. As the work was shot entirely in Korea, asking them to oblige was not always an option. I tried a bowl of candy. I tried handing out quick Polaroid made on the spot. I tried taping off the area. I tried to get into fairly inaccessible locations. Once, for the river shots, I climbed up a bridge abutment and walked out on a service catwalk to a ledge on a cement support column that was over 60 feet in the air & only about 30 inches wide. An hour later there were 6 other people with me, all snapping off pictures of the scene, and basically blowing out my exposure/white balance.

The point here is that the amateur cinematographer has an often overlooked element to laying-out a shoots logistics. ‘Interference from Bystanders’ is an imminent result when shooting in highly populated areas. This element should be considered before all other technical elements, to allow the artist to concentrate efforts while rolling on things like light, subject, composition, & focus. The single most effective thing I found to combat this was having an assistant who was not afraid to gently touch a spectator by the shoulders, when the production line was crossed. Remember, people that are watching you do a shoot are just curious & a bit clumsy. And after all, hopefully, will become your audience. So, since Google has the highest definition, here's the link:
LIFE UNBALANCED - A tribute to RON FRICKE & KOYAANISQATSI
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