Zerb Magazine Issue 73

G u i l d o f Te l e v i s i o n C a m e ra m e n

Issue 73

Spring 2011

In this issue:

Frozen moments filming ‘lapsed time’ in the Arctic

A Passage

to India OK GO FOR A TAKE…

An audience with

the Pope

3D in the

Amazon rainforest

“ With Canon’s 3D solution, it’s easier to set up and to get the best quality pictures.

Only Canon gives me simple adjustability through the drive unit display, and let’s me create a matched pair from any two of the same lens models.”

John Perry, 3D Engineer, CanCommunicate

www.canon-europe.com/tv-products

Contents Page Title

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6

32

80

18 6 A passage to India

50 Join the GTC

Hundreds of cameramen were involved in the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

GTC Chairman Graeme McAlpine outlines the scale of the operation

You haven’t joined the GTC yet? You don’t know what you’re missing!

10 Two good things rolled into one Chris O’Neil on combining two passions: filming and travel

Benedict Reeves’ amusing take on his time at the Delhi Games

54 Delhi ‘Aquotics’

12 OK GO for a take… again… and again

Andy Robertson enjoyed working with G-Force, the specialist aquatics team

GTC Award-winning Steadicam operator Mic Waugh explains what went into capturing the remarkable OK GO This Too Shall Pass ‘Machine’ in one shot

55 GTC sponsors

18 It never rains but it pours Adam Docker on shooting 3D in the ‘machine unfriendly’ Amazon rainforest Warwick Sloss filming time-lapse sequence of reindeer moss in Norway using Kontrol Freax Aurora Extreme motion control rig © JEFF WILSON

51 A dilly-dally in Delhi

56 A colourful history The GTC wishes its sponsors Rosco a very Happy 100th Birthday

59 Squashed bugs

22 Bowling along in India James French on the highs and lows of a challenging but rewarding trip

Camera supervisor James Day was plagued by bugs in Delhi!

60 The Golden Eye of Georgia

26 Frozen moments Motion control experts Kontrol Freax developed the Aurora Extreme to film ‘lapsed time’ for the new NHU series Frozen Planet

30 Special cameras for special shots Lawrence Hall on the special camera coverage of the diving in Delhi

32 An audience with the Pope Chris Goor was camera supervisor on the large-scale OB at Cofton Park when the Pope ‘played’ Birmingham

GTC Vice Chairman John Hensall was pleased to sit on the jury of a new international festival celebrating the art and craft of the cameraman

64 A Delhi diary Involved in the pre-rig, Phil Nixon was one of the advance party of UK cameramen to arrive in Delhi for the Commonwealth Games

66 Holographic TV: a multiview glimpse into the future

36 ACS SMARTheads meet the Pope

Research engineer Andrew Birt gives an insight into the futuristic R&D work going on at the University of Surrey

James French enjoyed trying out the latest version SMARThead from GTC sponsors Aerial Camera Systems

70 Hearing without headphones

40 Focussing on the moon and the stars

After a long career as a sound recordist, Andy Cottom trained as a psychotherapist and now specialises in helping those suffering from PTSD

French lens manufacturers Angénieux were 75 years old in 2010. Zerb celebrates the anniversary with a look back at the company’s history

74 The Rory Peck Trust

44 Camera review: Sony PMW500 GTC member Chris Greenwood road tests the first full HD spec tapeless camera from Sony

48 3D on the North Sea Aberdeen-based cameraman Elliot Hornell on shooting fly-on-the-wall 3D on a North Sea oil rig

© THE GUILD OF TELEVISION CAMERAMEN Guest Editor: Julian Hiorns

GTC Welfare Officer Brian Rose on the work of this important industry charity

76 Shooting 3D: how can you tell if you’re getting it right?

Robin Palmer of Cel-Soft describes their 3D image analysis software

80 If anyone can…

Christina Fox reviews the new Canon XF305 and XF105

Spring 2010

ISSUE 71

ISSN 0261 1686

Managing Editor: Alison Chapman Tel: 07976 938784 Email: zerb.production.07@gtc.org.uk

CONTACT ZERB Advertising Manager: James French 07855 743845 advertising@gtc.org.uk GTC Administration and Membership Enquiries: Sheila Lewis 01822 614405 1 Churchill Road, Whitchurch, Tavistock, Devon PL19 9BU administration.07@gtc.org.uk Design: Toast Design 01295 266644 www.toastdesign.co.uk Print: Nuffield Press Ltd 01235 554422 www.nuffield.co.uk Zerb Subscriptions: Alison Chapman 07976 938784 subscriptions.07@gtc.org.uk

Views expressed in Zerb are not necessarily those of the Guild of Television Cameramen. Zerb is always glad of feedback from readers and members of the GTC. If you have any comments or questions about Zerb, please contact Alison Chapman at: zerb.production.07@gtc.org.uk Zerb is published twice a year. The magazine is free to GTC members and is also available on subscription: UK £5.50 per issue; overseas £8.50 (or equivalent in own currency) per issue. Both inland and overseas subscription rates include post and packing. Contact Alison Chapman for information on subscriptions to Zerb at: subscriptions.07@gtc.org.uk or on 07976 938784.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording of any form or by any information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the Managing Editor.

The GTC logo is a registered trademark. Zerb copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Spring 2011 ZERB 3

Editorial

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Editorial

by Julian Hiorns

Strange thing, this editing lark. I was at my desk taking care of business (for the 99.97% of you who don’t know it, Brick House Video is a purveyor of vision mixers, standards converters, wireless tallies and camera remote power systems) when my eye was caught by a seemingly innocuous GTC email from Alichap, the Siren of Oxon, asking for help with the Zerb spring issue. It sounded all right, so I signed up for an edit or two.

Jason of Argonaut fame knew his stuff when he lashed himself to the mast, but I failed to profit from his example.

Exactly how I ended up as guest editor, I can’t say, but now I sit here alone in my cell with my laptop for company and the mocking laughter of Alichap echoing down the corridor as she disappears off to lunch. But I digress…

Understandably, this issue is dominated by the Delhi Commonwealth Games, and several articles testify to the highs and lows of this beguiling and infuriating city.

As is so often the case with Zerb contributions, what comes through is the love of the craft, often maintained in the face of oppressive working conditions. During my five years at the West London premises of a certain well-known broadcaster, I met many people for whom the salary was secondary to the work.

Sadly, their numbers are much depleted now, but the ethos lives on in organisations such as the GTC. The recent Forum exchanges about the

“

given airtime these days; bad shooting, worse composition and (though this may not be within the purview of the GTC) a truly infantile level of presentation.

Pause for breath. Elsewhere in this issue is Andrew Birt’s fascinating exposition on holographic TV. The author is obviously gripped by his subject, and, I suspect, could have written ten times as much if allowed.

(My apologies, by the way, to all of our contributors who have groaned under the burden of my novitiate-level editing. Reasons of space made for a heavy blue pencil). Again, it’s this quality of engagement with the craft that is so striking. As I know from my own experience, an affinity for the work is a great motivator, although a decent reward for one’s efforts is always welcome! Mentioning Andrew’s article reminds me that the issue features a secondary theme of 3D, with contributions from Adam Docker, recently back from exploring the Amazon rainforest, while Elliot Hornell

What comes through is the love of the craft, often maintained in the face of oppressive working conditions

quality of programming make the point. Whatever the outcome of these discussions, it’s heartening to know that a sufficient number of people care enough to want to do something about it (and are even prepared to stump up their own hard-earned cash).

As Forum posts will testify, there are some appalling productions being

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”

has been enjoying a sojourn at that well-known North Sea retreat, the Tern Alpha. Robin Palmer at Celsoft describes his company’s 3D legitimiser and its use in quality control.

John Henshall has contributed an article on the Golden Eye Festival in Tbilisi, and this was an eye-opener, not least for the depressing revelation

that the UK contributed precisely zero entries to this rich and varied convocation. Let’s hope we make a better showing next year!

Those of you who caught the “This Too Shall Pass” video on YouTube will want to read Mic Waugh’s account of its making, a real nail-biter. The

“

love your work to the point of obsession to show that kind of dedication.

Which brings me back, thank goodness, to my theme (yes, there is one). Despite the ever-increasing speed of life, the superficial nature of communication, the surreal nature of

As I know from my own experience, an affinity for the work is a great motivator, although a decent reward for one’s efforts is always welcome!

shoot was noteworthy for many things, not least the comprehensive list of skills employed and a level of faith in the outcome bordering on the fundamentalist. It can’t be too often on set you hear the words ‘Take 85’ (this assertion will surely provoke a flurry of contradictions on the Forum).

Andy Cottom writes on a largely unrecognised aspect of the life of a camera operator; the after-effects of experiencing the misery of human catastrophe at close range. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has acquired an entirely warranted legitimacy in recent years, with the condition now recognised as an occupational hazard in military work. Crewing documentaries and other real-life projects can also expose the human organism to moral conflicts and emotional stresses far beyond the normal range, and the effects can be damaging and long-lasting. As someone with minor experience of this condition (now mercifully a thing of my past), I welcome any discussion on PTSD. I also feel impelled to mention Steve Scammell at Kontrol Freax (surely that should be Kontrol Phreax?) and the development of a portable motion control system. From my own experience of bringing products to market, I know well the level of commitment required to deliver such a sophisticated piece of engineering on a very tight schedule. You have got to

”

modern existence (and the worrying number of city-centre coffee shops these days), there stil exist small pockets of excellence in various disciplines and occupations. One such is the honourable trade of camera operator, whose exponents (I like to think) are in it for something other than the money, and whose love of the craft is a matter of pride. Long may this continue.

Fact File Julian Hiorns is the Managing Director of Brick House Video, a manufacturer of production and postproduction equipment, including the Callisto range of vision mixers. Established in 2001, the company operates from a converted cowshed near Winchester UK, and is probably the only broadcast manufacturer that shares its location (a 400-acre arable farm) with a lavender-growing business and a brewery. In a previous incarnation, Julian did five years without the option at Television Centre as a teleciné engineer, and was subsequently involved in the development and delivery of the BVE MiniShutter camera controller. julian@brickhousevideo.com www.brickhousevideo.com

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Commonwealth Games

A Passage to

India

Photos by Graeme McAlpine and James French

An introduction to our Delhi Commonwealth Games special feature, by GTC Chairman Graeme McAlpine who worked as a camera supervisor on the lawn bowls Last summer I was delighted to be elected GTC Chairman for the next two years. The GTC Council is working to ensure that the Guild can grow and change along with our industry and profession. Part of the GTC’s current ‘business plan’ is to encourage international membership. I am always pleased to have the opportunity to

6 Spring 2011 ZERB

promote our thriving, successful organisation to other working cameramen abroad. What better opportunity to do so than the recent XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi?

The coverage of these Games was a massive operation and gave many cameramen from the UK and elsewhere an opportunity to visit India

www.gtc.org.uk

Commonwealth Games

www.gtc.org.uk

A wonderful opportunity to meet and work with cameramen from India and other countries and meet their local counterparts.

To capture a flavour of the stories and experiences of working on this major event, we have collected together a selection of personal accounts of Delhi 2010, which you will find throughout this edition of Zerb.

Pre-departure concerns Those making the trip to Delhi could be forgiven for a sense of apprehension. News of the build-up to the Games focused on controversy and problems. There were allegations of corruption, abuse of labour agreements and reports of facilities being far from ready. Two weeks before the start of the Games, pictures emerged of the athletes’ village showing it to be ‘filthy and unfit for human habitation’. Several teams delayed their arrival and some threatened to pull out altogether.

On top of this, a bridge under construction near the main venue

collapsed injuring many labourers, and the next day there was more bad news when the ceiling of the weightlifting venue fell in.

The large contingent of UK cameramen contracted for the coverage was mainly due to the major involvement of British company SIS LIVE who had been awarded the contract to deliver television production facilities and services by Doordarshan, a subsidiary of Prasar Bharati, the Broadcasting Corporation of India, which had been appointed Host Broadcaster for the Games. SIS LIVE incorporates the former outside broadcast division of the BBC and has more than 70 years’ experience of covering major OB events.

With very long working days expected of crews, on top of which travel to venues could add a couple of hours to the day, access to reliably clean and appetising food became a major issue

Complex organisation The scale of the Games was huge. It was the largest multi-sport event ever undertaken in India, involving some 6500 athletes and officials from

SIS LIVE was to employ over 1000 technicians, production crew and support staff at 12 venues, as well as for coverage of the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies

Security men, sandbags and guns everywhere you looked!

Ensuring a regular supply of appetising and hygienic crew meals proved a challenge for managers 71 nations competing across 17 different sports. SIS LIVE was to employ over 1000 technicians, production crew and support staff at 12 different venues, as well as for coverage of the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies. Of these, some 450 staff came direct from the UK, while the rest were from another 36 countries from all corners of the world, including Australia, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia and Denmark.

The coverage involved 40 production areas, multiple OB set-ups, over 350 camera channels, 100 HD long lenses, as well as a range of specialist production and camera equipment, the operation and placement of which is described in some of our accounts.

Before we even arrived, months of work had already taken place, with the planning kicking off as soon as the contract was awarded in October 2009. Working with SIS LIVE, health and safety consultants 1st Option Safety Services had already

meticulously recced all the venues and prepared risk assessments for every aspect of the operation.

Safety standards One of the challenges was trying to ensure safety standards in line with those expected in the UK in a country where similar standards, although legislated for, are often not achieved due to poor compliance and enforcement. As it was, crew members still encountered work practices and equipment that left quite a bit to be desired on the safety front (see the scary looking ladder in James French’s account on page 23).

Among the issues that had to be addressed was the safe and optimum positioning of cameras and mountings, including a whole raft of specialised cameras, such as Plungecam and other application-specific cameras utilised in the aquatics area as described by Lawrence Hall.

Spring 2011 ZERB 7

Commonwealth Games

Crew health

Stringent security

Another area of concern for crew members preparing to leave for Delhi – again much hyped by press reports – was personal health. The weather leading up to the Games had set up a particular set of conditions conducive to the spread of various diseases. An exceptionally hot May– June period was followed by the heaviest monsoon rains in 15 years, leaving large quantities of stagnant water all around Delhi, including the venue construction sites. Mosquitoborne illnesses were rife and staff had to be constantly vigilant in applying insect repellent. Even so, with dengue fever prevalent in the area, inevitably some staff fell victim to the fever including tennis camera supervisor James Day, fortunately now fully recovered. Riggers who might be laying cables in situations involving exposure to water had to be particularly careful as there was a risk not only of rat-borne Weils disease, but also hepatitis A, tetanus and typhoid.

As several of our contributors comment, the security around the Games was extraordinarily tight with stringent, and at times infuriating, cordons to be negotiated every time any crew member wanted either to enter or leave any of the venues.

Unfortunately, the high profile nature of any major sporting event is always a tempting target for both terrorists and criminals, and in this case the stakes were raised 13 days before the Games when two Taiwanese tourists were shot by suspected militants near India’s main mosque in Old Delhi.

Two hours later, a car also exploded in the vicinity. There were soldiers everywhere with guns and yet more guns. It was this heightened security and Indian bureaucracy that helped keep many stadiums empty.

‘Delhi belly’ With very long working days expected of crews, on top of which travel to venues could add a couple of hours

Those making the trip to Delhi could be forgiven for a sense of apprehension.

News of the build-up to the Games focused on controversy and problems

8 Spring 2011 ZERB

www.gtc.org.uk

India is visually stimulating, vibrant and rich in colour. If you ever have the chance to visit, do to the day, access to reliably clean and appetising food became a major issue. Catering was not allowed to be prepared within the broadcast compounds, which meant that everything had to be brought in from outside, obviously not an ideal arrangement with searing daytime heat and strict security cordons to deal with every time anything was brought on site. Eventually, the food situation was sorted out at most sites, with reasonable meals being delivered on a regular basis – but not before many had suffered from ‘Delhi belly’.

When I had the call to join the SIS LIVE team covering the Games, I thought, ‘what a fabulous opportunity to visit India’. It was a country that had always fascinated me from afar.

I was to be part of the team televising the lawn bowls event, played in the shadow of the main 60,000-seater Jawaharial Nehru Stadium. Before we left we were told that the only way to enjoy our assignment to Delhi would be to expect an adventure. “Have extra patience, don’t expect things to be perfect and manage the challenges of the experience.”

At the lawn bowls site, after early serious challenges bringing the four (locally sourced) Jimmy Jibs up to a usable and safe specification, the heat and sun became our main problems. Another was the food and hygiene. At our venue we had the highest percentage of crew attrition, eventually with one of the camera crew being (literally) carried off to hospital by the technical manager.

Having survived unscathed myself, I would certainly recommend the use of either probiotic or prebiotic food supplements to stay healthy.

Local crew To help with crewing issues, many local cameramen came to join us; most were regular OB cameramen, with experience of working on the IPL cricket coverage. Working beside them was a fantastic opportunity to swap stories and experiences.

Despite working in challenging conditions and with such a short preparation period, the coverage of The XIX Commonwealth Games was a complete success. Watched by millions around the globe, it was the first Games to be covered in high definition.

The host coverage was precise, exciting, colourful and moving. The opening and closing ceremonies were ‘spectaculars’ to be remembered.

This was a tribute to the creative and technical work of all the cameramen involved.

I will take away from this voyage of discovery, a love of the people and the country. The locals we met were charming and helpful. India is visually stimulating, vibrant and rich in colour.

If you ever have the chance to visit, do. It is a wonderful experience, one not to be missed..

Will Glasgow in 2014 be the same?

Let’s wait and see…

Fact File Graeme McAlpine is a freelance cameraman and is Chairman of the GTC. www.mcalpine.tv

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Commonwealth Games

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Two good things rolled into one

The lawn bowls venue in the shadow of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

Chris O’Neil worked with Graeme McAlpine on the lawn bowls in Delhi It is such a privilege being just 24 years of age and working as a freelance cameraman for SIS LIVE. So, in January 2010, when I got the email asking me to go to India I was over the moon. I love travelling and I love filming, so two good things rolled into one.

On our arrival in Delhi we were very warmly welcomed and looked after at the airport. This made a real difference after reading all the bad press about the Games before our departure. The accommodation was nice as well and everywhere we went the locals were really lovely.

At the bowls site we covered two greens with a camera lane on each. Both lanes had six Grass Valley

LDK 8000 cameras; two jibs for ‘overthe-ball’ shots, two with J72 lenses in the middle for player close-ups and two with J22s to cover the bowls coming down. Green two, being the main show green, also had two Sony EX3s for gutter shots. In addition, there were two handheld cameras and one beauty shot.

Our 16 days there had a challenging start with issues over food, long hours working in the sun and safety concerns over the locally sourced jibs.

With four jibs at our venue, it was quite a struggle for the jib guys to get them all up to scratch in time, but they worked miracles (and long hours) and did a wonderful job in getting them all up to a decent standard.

Chris O’Neil on camera at the lawn bowls venue

10 Spring 2011 ZERB

Their effort was repaid as the jibs gave some great shots during the coverage.

India would not have been India without the creatures and bugs – including one adventurous chipmunk who decided to fall asleep in a viewfinder – or my brush with a bug with the world’s most painful bite sitting perilously close to my open sandals. We had our fair share of

We also worked with local crew who were very helpful and friendly, plus there were directors, producers and other staff who had flown in from Australia. They did a wonderful job, managing to add a bit of spark and fun to the game of lawn bowls.

The team worked well together, being both friendly and reliable.

There are some great memories to take

There are some great memories to take away – and some not so great – but in the end it was a wonderful experience, a fantastic opportunity, and has led to a lot of new friendships illnesses as well, with 50% of the crew going down at some point. And as for the prevailing smell, let’s just say it was... distinctive!

The engineers did a wonderful job in making reflective covers for the cameras. With a working heat of 50 degrees and camera temperatures getting up into the 70s they had their work cut out. One of them commented that he had never seen a warning message on a camera stating it was too hot for operation before!

away – and some not so great – but In the end it was a wonderful experience, a fantastic opportunity, and has led to a lot of new friendships. I would certainly do it again... let’s see what Glasgow holds in four years’ time.

Fact File Contact Chris O’Neil on: 07843 860150

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OK GO Edwin Roses

OK GO FOR A TAKE… AGAIN… AND AGAIN

www.gtc.org.uk

PEHR hovey

For the final shot in the video, OK Go band members were splattered by paint guns Dozens of volunteers worked to build the machine in a warehouse outside Los Angeles for nearly three months before shooting began

If you haven’t yet seen the OK Go ‘This Too Shall Pass’ video, then give yourself a treat and look it up on You Tube before reading this article.

Not only is it impossible not to smile at the inventiveness behind the project, but watching the video will also allow you to appreciate fully the demands of this challenging one-shot production. It’s described here

by Steadicam operator, Mic Waugh, winner of the 2010 GTC Award for Excellence (Entertainment) for his work on this ambitious shoot.

12 Spring 2011 ZERB

OK GO

www.gtc.org.uk

Edwin Roses

The tyre ramp was equipped with light switches to trigger lights and fans as the tyre rolled by

I’ve always viewed operating a Steadicam system as part dance and part camerawork. It’s a blend of visualising where your feet need to be in relation to your hips and the position of the camera

For the best part of the last decade I’ve subscribed to a practice influenced by a quote I once read: “Be adventurous. In life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.” This philosophy has been the cornerstone of my life both personally and professionally.

As a result, I’ve found that my greatest adventures always seem to start with the same sequence: a phone call, a proposition and one word – ‘yes’.

So, when Los Angeles-based director of photography Yon Thomas, an extremely talented professional and friend, contacted me with an interesting question, there was only one possible answer. “Would you feel

I constructed a wooden replica to match the height and width of my rig, telling them, “If you can fit through an area carrying the replica, I can make it work” comfortable wearing your Steadicam rig and being lowered about 20 feet, from one building floor to another, whilst shooting?” I paused, smiled, then answered – ‘yes’.

It was not until I arrived on set three weeks later that I truly understood the complexity of this project or the significance of my role as Steadicam operator on the video. Dermott Downs, director of photography, and producer Shirley Moyers welcomed me with, “This one’s all you, man.”

Welcome to ‘The Machine’ OK Go singer Damian Kulash served as creative director for the shoot, as he does for all the band’s very innovative videos (again, cheer yourself up by checking out some of the other OK Go videos on You Tube). This would be the band’s most elaborate undertaking to date, by far, and would feature a two-storey ‘Rube Goldberg machine’ (for those that don’t know the term, Goldberg was an American cartoonist best known for a series of

cartoons depicting complex machines performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways, much along the lines of Heath Robinson).

This particular machine starts innocuously enough with a single toy car hitting a line of dominoes, triggering an increasingly over-the-top chain of events involving everything from bagatelles, pinball machines and a Lego car, to huge inflatables, opening umbrellas, cascading chairs, smashed televisions, water chutes and paint-firing cannon. Each stage

Spring 2011 ZERB 13

www.gtc.org.uk

Tim Nordwind, bass guitarist for OK Go, uses a State Farm logoed toy truck to start the chain reaction to propel The Machine

friends, family and even fans had been volunteering their time to help create The Machine. They had put in 14-hour days and worked in shifts to get it built and functioning. It was up to me to make sure I was able to capture their work and translate all the beauty and science to the screen.

Our tour began outside, where the first few sequences would take place, and then zigzagged through both levels of the warehouse. Our group included director James Frost, DoP Dermott Downs and the department heads from grip and electric. We were all utterly speechless as Damian walked us through The Machine. At the end, he said just: “Questions?”.

I love that.

Setting up While The Machine was going through the final round of testing and refinement, it was time to make sure

we could actually shoot it. After all, the designs were built to follow the rules of physics not production.

There was a potpourri of obstacles to negotiate, including 45 to 60 degree ramps, support beams for the warehouse and a makeshift elevator comprised of a pulley system and harness to lower me from one floor to another while keeping my feet ‘grounded’ at all times. This is because the Steadicam system is designed to use the operator’s body weight to maintain a centre of gravity for the overall rig (camera, system and operator). An elevator pulley system that would carry my weight plus the steadicam rig (approximately 210lbs, or just shy of 100 kilos) was built.

One of the most difficult elements for me was getting my body in the right position when moving from one part of the shot to the next. Camera position is rarely a challenge, but when it’s attached to a 175-pound

Edwin Roses

Edwin Roses

of the process unfolds with the band members in the back of the shot observing the ensuing mayhem and mouthing the track. Oh, and the whole amazingly complex sequence was to be captured by a single Steadicam shot... no pressure, right?

Damian was the ultimate tour guide as we made our way through the set for the first time. The warehouse was alive with frantic energy as people worked furiously to finish the massive machine. Walls were decorated with blueprints, diagrams and whiteboards filled with complex mathematical equations calculating velocity and trajectory for dozens of different items. Every corner of the place was full of contraptions, screws, repurposed toys and ‘fun junk’.

Damian explained that for the past three months the band, together with engineers from Synn Labs (a team of creative engineers with day jobs at NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory),

Steadicam operator Mic Waugh pauses for a moment in between takes

14 Spring 2011 ZERB

The custom built ‘elevator’ to lower Mic while shooting consisted of a platform lowered by hand using a rope and pulley system

man wearing a padded vest, springloaded metal arm and a safety harness (necessary for the descent from the second floor), it can quickly become impossible. “Forget about framing, composition and safety,” I thought to myself, “I don’t yet know if I’ll even be able to physically shoot this thing!”

In order to help the design team modify the ramps and pathways around The Machine, I constructed a wooden replica to match the height and width of my rig, telling them, “If you can fit through an area carrying the replica, I can make it work”.

In total, we had two days to rehearse; one day with the camera department and one with the band.

I used Damian’s point-and-shoot camera to film the rehearsals so we could find out how the band members could scurry around the warehouse floor to get from station to station out of shot. Meanwhile, I started working on my ‘dance moves’.

I’ve always viewed operating a Steadicam system as part dance and part camerawork. It’s a blend of visualising where your feet need to be in relation to your hips and the position of the camera. Maintaining balance while moving through an environment and keeping a level horizon can be difficult, but the effect of allowing the camera, and therefore the audience, to ‘float’ through a scene in a dynamic way is well worth the effort.

Gearing up The video was shot with the band’s Sony EX3 fitted with the stock lens and a Preston FIZ unit for focus, iris and zoom control. A Cine Tape system was used to gauge focus, as the idea of an assistant pulling focus over my shoulder was unworkable. The camera department operated remotely from a monitor, with the first assistant

Edwin Roses

Edwin Roses

OK GO

The video was shot using the Sony EX3 (owned by the band) powered by an onboard Anton Bauer Dionic 90

OK GO

www.gtc.org.uk

Edwin Roses

Edwin Roses

The band member puppets were originally designed to dance, but later modified to stick puppets

Sara ross-samko

Each section of The Machine presented its own unique challenges, ranging from camera height, focus, speed and environmental obstacles, such as dropping pianos and swinging buckets

The doors used for the song’s title were found in a demolished building near the warehouse

Ultimate rollercoaster ride When I arrived on set to shoot, the pressure I felt to help bring this project to life was intense. Before we began, I heard about the ‘hat’ being passed around. For a dollar, engineers and crew members could pick a ‘take’ number – the number of attempts it would take for the machine to work all the way through. As I geared up to shoot, I overheard whispers that the highest pick was in the mid forties and the collection was well over $100! I thought, “Forty takes? I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

And so we began. As afternoon gave way to evening, the slate numbers began to climb. Take after take, the machine was in constant

need of adaptation and refinement and, with each adjustment, I needed to adjust my dance. Amazingly enough, even the temperature and humidity played a part. The machine was alive and, depending on whether we were shooting at 2am or 2pm, it would behave differently.

For a dollar, engineers and crew members could pick a ‘take’ number – the number of attempts it would take before The Machine worked all the way through Originally, the video was budgeted for two days of shooting; however, after two back-to-back 16-hour days, the machine had yet to work all the way through. The time had come for a make or break decision. Scrap the original idea of a single shot or sign on for another day and see it through to the end. As one, the entire team elected for option two and, thankfully, the video’s sponsor State Farm agreed.

I am so glad they did.

OK Go band members were important triggers during sections of The Machine, including when Damian flies through the air and knocks down several boxes Edwin Roses

cameraman on focus and the second assistant cameraman on iris. The DoP operated the zoom via a MicroForce unit. The camera was powered by a Sony-to-Anton Bauer adapter plate with an onboard Anton Bauer Dionic 90, which supplied power to all the camera-mounted support gear (it also doubled as additional weight to get the sled up to the minimum weight for flight, around 20lbs).

My camera stabilizing system or ‘Steadicam’ is the Glidecam X45 system wired for 12 volts and powered by an Anton Bauer Hytron 140 battery (in this case just providing the counterweight for the sled).

The monitor is a Nebtek NEB70HDS powered by an Anton Bauer Dionic 90 (also adding required weight).

Taking on The Machine I worked without a spotter watching my back or an AC hovering over my shoulder to pull focus. It was me versus the machine, a dance partner whose construction and integrity consisted of materials ranging from

Spring 2011 ZERB 15

OK GO

www.gtc.org.uk

paper clips, ball bearings and flags to pianos, oil drums and sledge hammers. All of these components were meticulously placed, fashioned and organised with incredible attention paid to detail and the laws of physics. Bump the table – fail! Kick a trigger – fail! Stumble on a ramp – fail! Get caught up in a swinging teapot hung by fishing line – fail!

As take 85 flashed up on the slate covering band member Tim Nordwind’s paint-splattered face, I’ll admit I had my doubts. But thanks to the incredible attitude of the band members and all involved, I never actually lost faith. I couldn’t bear the thought of all this creativity, positive energy and teamwork not realising its goal. I couldn’t accept that this extraordinary, ingenious rollercoaster-of-a-ride wouldn’t be shared and would die, forgotten in a leaky old LA warehouse. It sure as hell wasn’t gonna be because of me, a camera guy...

Finally, a deep breath, one more encouraging smile from Tim and the strength to utter the words, “camera speeds and is… set”. Take 85...

We had our video.

Edwin Roses

The sprawling, two-storey machine required overhead lighting to prevent shadows

Fact File Mic Waugh is a Steadicam operator/cameraman who splits his time between Phoenix and Los Angeles. He has never been known to turn down an opportunity to work with a great crew. A few of his recent adventures include shooting the behind-the-scenes making of Sting’s 2009 winter album, If on a Winter’s Night, and a 21-day trip to Nepal documenting a hike to Everest Base Camp (Dhani Tackles the Globe). His Steadicam work can also be seen in Blood into Wine, a documentary following musician Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer) as he works to establish himself as a credible winemaker, and also the feature film Queens of Country.

Contact Mic Waugh, Steadicam operator/owner, Level Image at: mic@levelimage.com Mic’s website is at: www.levelimage.com OK Go ‘This Too Shall Pass’ was recently voted Best Rock Video in the UK Music Video Awards.

See the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w and watch behind-the-scenes footage at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fTe05UMY0M OK Go’s website is at: http://www.okgo.net

Contact The Guild of Television Cameramen President Dick Hibberd president.07@gtc.org.uk

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Paul Kay paul.kay.07@gtc.org.uk Ray Meier ray.meier.07@gtc.org.uk John Rossetti John.rossetti.07@gtc.org.uk

‘GTC IN FOCUS’ EDITOR Roger Richards infocus@gtc.org.uk 01248 713535 ‘ZERB’ MANAGING EDITOR AND Web Content Editor Alison Chapman zerb.production.07@gtc.org.uk ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP MANAGER James French advertising@gtc.org.uk sponsors@gtc.org.uk 01905 796910 07855 743845 ADMINISTRATION OFFICER Sheila Lewis administration.07@gtc.org.uk 01822 614405

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3D in the rainforest

www.gtc.org.uk The largest tarantula in the world, the bird eating spider

It never rains but it pours -

3D in the

Amazon

rainforest Photographs by Adam Docker and Pedro Guimaraes

For optimum 3D effect and in order to avoid expensive post-production work, shooting 3D requires very precise alignment, rock-solid stability and as few changing environmental parameters as possible (see pages 76–79). So, on the face of it, a largely hand-held shoot in the ‘most unpredictable and nonmachine friendly environment in the whole world’ would not seem to be ideal.

But that is exactly what Adam Docker’s company Red Earth Studio was asked to undertake for Sky.

When Sky asked my company Red Earth Studio to produce a short 5 to 12 minute 3D film of the Amazon for their Rainforest Rescue campaign, I could see we were in for a challenge.

and sustainability, made this a creative, worthwhile cause that I felt privileged to be involved with.

The general consensus is that 3D is limited to controlled, set-up

At times it became almost farcical fighting against the elements of nature with equipment that required so much TLC The fact that Sky was aiming to showcase this in an interactive pod around the UK in an attempt to raise £2 million to help save one billion trees in the Brazilian rainforest, whilst also promoting awareness of environmental issues

18 Spring 2011 ZERB

environments due to the size of the equipment and the complex workflow.

But Sky, keen to push these limits, wanted a hand-held feel for this film and therefore approached us as a production company specialising in observational documentaries. We were

undoubtedly excited as this would be our first foray into 3D filming and, as commissions go, this had to be one of the most demanding. Having spent the previous few months noticing the buzz and excitement around 3D in the TV industry, it was great to be able finally to get our hands dirty and find out what all the fuss was about. And the best part? We had just one week to organise it!

Challenging environment Originally it was planned to film in the region of Acre, which is where the Sky Rainforest Rescue sponsorship programme operates.

However, situated to the far west of the Amazon, near Peru, the logistics and costs of this location made it

impossible, so we relocated the shoot to the district around Manaus. Here there was plenty of forest and a rich variety of animals plus indigenous tribes to be found, while still being close enough to civilization should anything go wrong. We had just five days to film everything so couldn’t afford any serious delays. Nevertheless, the location would throw up plenty of challenges for both people and equipment, being both a yellow fever and malaria area, intensely humid, and prone to torrential rain every day for six months of the year, which would include the time we were there – a testing environment indeed for the array of electronics we would be relying on.

3D in the rainforest

www.gtc.org.uk The crew waiting for the downpour to stop

Cinematographer Sean Coles and stereographer Bruce Austin

The location would throw up plenty of challenges for both people and equipment, being a yellow fever and malaria area, intensely humid and prone to torrential rain every day for six months of the year Right gear for the job On a previous shoot in Los Angeles, we had met Bruce Austin (3D stereographer) and Sean Coles (cinematographer) from BAP and 3Rive Productions, respectively. They had built a clever little prototype Si2k beam-splitter 3D rig that was small and light and worked with Schneider 8mm wide angle Cinegon lenses. The

feed from both cameras was perfectly synced and they were able to output into one single QuickTime file onto a Cinedeck unit mounted on the back of the rig. We had evaluated all the options prior to the shoot, from REDs to EX3s, but all were too big, heavy and/or clunky. The Si2K ticked all the boxes; it was slimline, very easy to handle and operate, and made ENG style filming in 3D a reality.

Bruce and Sean decided to throw in a second Si2k side-by-side camera with XA4x7.5DA-1 (7.5 to 30) Fujinon C-mount lenses for the close-up shots.

This recorded onto a One Beyond hard drive unit, just in case the Cinedeck failed in the notorious Amazon humidity.

Presenter and guide The flamboyant Richard Rasmussen is one of Brazil’s top wildlife TV presenters whom we had worked with on previous projects. He spends most of his time travelling around the wildlands of Brazil and was an ideal candidate for this production. His English was a little rusty, but it was good enough and his engaging style of presentation more than made up

for any slightly odd grammar. The plan was to show Richard walking through the forest, pointing out all kinds of creatures – monkeys, snakes, tarantulas, lizards, parrots, insects – as he encountered them, while at the same time informing us about the trees and climate of the rainforest.

In other sequences, he would dance to the strains of panpipes with local tribespeople, feed pink river dolphins and climb high above the forest canopy on a huge tower. Richard’s walkabout was to offer visitors to the pod a rich and varied experience of this part of the Amazonian rainforest.

The first day of shooting was full of nerves and excitement as the near 100% humidity hung in the air around us like a wet blanket. Richard,

Spring 2011 ZERB 19

3D in the rainforest

www.gtc.org.uk

The side by side Si2k

Low angle shot of Richard capturing a bird-eating tarantula Sean Coles gets up close and personal with a red faced uakari monkey

who had already marvelled at what a huge challenge it was taking so much electronic gear into the kind of humid atmosphere we were about to encounter, summed it up: “Everyone has goosebumps. It’s impossible not to feel it!”

We made our way to the port of Manaus and loaded a ton of gear and crew into a thin rickety boat which then took us two hours down the Rio Solimoes into a small inlet where a

As we travelled along the river the scenery was stunning and I felt very frustrated at not being able to just switch the camera on and shoot; I am used to having a camera at the ready all the time. Even though the rig is light and agile there were a lot issues to deal with. Essentially, you have two cameras, which means you have twice as many things to think about, so as the director on this shoot I had to learn to be patient!

Weather breaks

Freeman White, asst. camera, carrying the camera through the dense forest

We would film as much as we could in between the bouts of rain, which was intermittent (but torrential) throughout the day. As predicted , the electronics were the weak link.

The extreme humidity caused the One Beyond hard drive computer to fail, leaving us with only the Cinedeck and no back-up. At times it became almost farcical fighting against the elements of nature with equipment that required so much TLC. I am sure

I felt very frustrated at not being able to just switch the camera on and shoot; I am used to having a camera at the ready all the time big houseboat was perched on the riverbank. This would be our base for the day. With the camera up and running, we tested it with the first shot; a mother sitting on the ledge of the houseboat washing her children in the Amazon River. It was a fantastic and picturesque start.

20 Spring 2011 ZERB

the gear would have been much more at home in a big, warm studio instead of being stuck out in the middle of a hot, sticky, wet forest. Essentially we were filming onto a computer (the hard drives) and these are notoriously vulnerable to humidity.

The ob-doc style of filming and limitations of filming in a jungle with a small crew and excess baggage restrictions, meant that we had decided against bringing any lighting; we also liked the idea of keeping it as natural as possible. However, this did mean that, once the dark clouds rolled in, filming in the dark forest became very difficult. Thankfully, the Si2K read the pictures amazingly well and there was little break-up when it was eventually pushed in post.

the reflection on it, so in situations like shooting water, glass or clouds, when the sun is at a certain position, you can get a ‘polarisation’ effect.

One eye of the camera sees through the water, whereas the other eye sees the reflection. When these shots are combined in stereoscopic vision, it is disturbing. As the water was quite murky, we found that by simply angling the camera to a certain degree against the sun, we could reduce the effect.

3D live The Cinedeck is an incredible piece of kit. As well as serving as our recording unit, it allowed us to replay footage back and to check the images coming from both lenses. We were also able to view both live pictures, as well as rushes, in anaglyph mode. This is not a perfect image, but it did allow us to check whether the I/O (interocular), or 3D effect, was too much or too little.

Bruce, the stereographer, was very rigorous in looking after this. Because there were lots of trees and branches appearing in the foreground, we kept the I/O – or the distance between the two cameras – to a minimum (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch), so that it wasn’t too disturbing on the eye.

Polarising effect Filming Richard feeding pink river dolphins in the Amazon River proved a real challenge. The set-up on the beam-splitter rig means that you have one camera filming through the front glass and the second filming

Richard rescues a cuddly sloth Once back in London, the offline edit was done at Red Earth Studio; the online, conforming and grade at Prime Focus; and the audio at Halo Post. There were many complex issues in the post process and we learnt a lot by having to troubleshoot our way through – but I will save that for another day.

Given the climate, the time schedule, the logistics of filming hand-held and in an observational style, in the depths of the rainforest, in the middle of the rainy season, with complex prototype equipment,

3D in the rainforest

www.gtc.org.uk

Filming in the Rio Negro with pink river dolphins Adam Docker, director, checking rushes on the Cinedeck

we were very, very satisfied with the amount of excellent 3D footage we managed to achieve.

When I first arrived at Manaus airport, I had spotted James Cameron, director of Avatar. I later read in a local paper that he was here meeting and lending support to some local Indian tribes and recceing for his next film. At the time I found this an amazing coincidence and felt chuffed to have filmed 3D in the Amazon before the great man himself! Which begs the question: Were we the first crew to film 3D in the Amazon?

Possibly.

Kit List Silicon Imaging Si2k beam-splitter and sideby-side 3D cameras Schneider 8mm wide angle Cinegon lenses Cinedeck unit Fujinon XA4x7.5DA-1 (7.5 to 30) C-mount lenses One Beyond hard drive

Fact File GTC member Adam Docker is a Director of Photography with 15 years experience of filming in nearly every corner of the globe, shooting everything from docos, sport, corporates, commercials to music videos. He is a director of London-based Red Earth Studio, a TV production company specialising in documentaries and factual. Red Earth is equipped with HD cameras and 3 HD edit suites. www.redearthstudio.com

Sky was aiming to showcase the 3D film in an interactive pod around the UK in an attempt to raise ÂŁ2 million to help save one billion trees in the Brazilian rainforest

See more about the Sky Rainforest Rescue initiative at: http://rainforestrescue.sky.com View behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot at: http://adamdocker.blogspot.com/2010/06/amazon-3d-behind-scenes.html

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11:49:07 Spring 20114/1/11 ZERB 21

Commonwealth Games All photos by James French

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Bowling along in

India

An impression of the Delhi Commonwealth Games by James French When I agreed to join the SIS LIVE Commonwealth Games (CWG) team, I guessed it might not be the most straightforward job. I knew India from a trip in the 80s and was well aware of its health issues and frustrations, but at the same time had fond memories.

Too late to say no As my departure neared, gloom and doom stories were pouring out of Delhi. If I didn’t go down with cholera or dengue fever, I would be crushed by a collapsing bridge. But it was too late to opt out, so I stocked up on

Immodium, rehydration sachets and insect repellent and went along for my jabs.

The flight was with Kingfisher, a new airline for me and part of the company making the beer served ubiquitously in curry houses. The plane was new and comfortable, the food and service excellent. Maybe this trip wasn’t going to be so bad after all!

Traffic mayhem Arriving at Delhi airport though, we were to be confronted with a sea of police, army and volunteers in CWG

uniforms, and the immigration process seemed as haphazard as ever; this was the India I remembered.

Delhi roads hadn’t changed either.

Despite more modern cars and a tarmac suface, road use was as chaotic as ever. Only traffic lights seem to be obeyed; lane markings are irrelevant, roundabouts approached at great speed with all horns blaring, while cars, tuk-tuks, trucks and buses pass each other with only inches to spare.

Remarkably, I only saw one accident.

I swear they are the best drivers in the world!

As we drove along in the comfortable air-conditioned hotel taxi, I wondered what had happened to the shanty towns before realising that they were hidden by hundreds of huge, brightly coloured CWG posters. If you peered round the posters all the dirt and squalor was still there.

Arriving at the Marriott Hotel, the first of three eventual hotels for me, I had the first of innumerable encounters with security. The car was inspected inside and out, my bags X-rayed and hand-searched, and it was a full body search for me. The hotel and staff were delightful though.

My room was among the very best I

have ever stayed in, but my view from the twelfth floor revealed this to be an oasis in a desert of poverty.

Getting down to work The next day started with my receiving a per diems debit card. This seemed a good idea - but perhaps India wasn’t the best country to test it out! The promised activation time of one day extended to six and the whole process involved many frustrating ATM trips.

Then it was on to meet the prep team for the badminton and squash. I had been asked to be camera guarantee for the badminton (Malaysian crew) but to be prepared to help out with the squash (Danish crew). Both sports were to take place

I wondered what had happened to the shanty towns before realising that they were hidden by hundreds of huge, brightly coloured CWG posters 22 Spring 2011 ZERB

Commonwealth Games

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The Malaysian crew get to grips with the Broadcast Solutions cameras in the Siri Fort complex built for the Asian Games. Unfortunately, this venue was 26km from our hotel; a long way on Delhi roads!

Our transfer minibus was typical; battered, noisy and no air-con, but the long journey did mean I got to chat with George Oliver (rigger), Joe Sidoli (broadcast venue manager,BVM), Rob Hewitt (sound guarantee) and Phil and Ollie Bunker from Camera Corps, who were providing five remote heads and effects cameras. They regaled me with both funny and horrifying stories of the build-up so far, but confirmed that things were mostly on schedule.

More security The entry gate to our site, as everywhere, was guarded by soldiers wielding machine guns. It was also protected with sandbags, watchtowers

and razor wire – more like Colditz than a sports venue! The bus and bags searched, we drove to our, thankfully, air-conditioned portakabins.

Being the only camera person, I was responsible for the positioning of all 28 cameras for both sports. All bar the special cameras were supplied

by Singapore’s Broadcast Solutions, along with two engineers, who were also responsible for all the other video gear at the venue. They had a massive task on their hands but worked methodically and with humour.

I was particularly impressed with Din, their chief engineer. There were also four Indian cameramen/students who helped with moving the kit; it was quite a stagger from our base to the sport halls! While the assistants’ English was pretty good and infinitely better than my grasp of any of the

Getting up there entailed scaling an alarming home-made bamboo ladder with missing rungs... It reminded me just how much we take health and safety for granted in the UK Indian dialects, it was still a source of frustration and humour. At one point I asked them to remove a surplus camera from the squash court. They soon returned with big smiles but a main camera that we had rigged earlier!

Lunchtime blues When lunchtime arrived, it became clear there was... no lunch. The food had been rejected as unappetising and potentially risky, so it was water and bananas for us. This would have to change. One day we had Indian Subway rolls, and Domino pizzas on another, but this wouldn’t do when the long days (up to 16 hours) meant consuming all our meals on site. The Rickety bamboo ladder – not quite up to UK H&S standards

Rehearsal day at the badminton. SIS LIVE provided specially modified Gigawave RF units for use on the Sony XDCAMs solution most BVMs adopted was to use hotels as suppliers. To be fair, the food provided had been happily eaten by the Indian staff and there was no evidence that it was causing the increasingly common gastric problems.

The camera rigging was mostly fine, so I just had to see that the directors were happy with the camera positions and that the cameras had return viewfinders, talkback and cues. The exception was the beauty camera for the squash. The badminton beauty

their tools by jamming bare wires into the mains, while George rejected many mains cables that were split or taped together.

At the end of day two, our replacement minibus (the original had had a bump) was refused entry to Gate 3, so we had to walk the quarter mile to the gate in the heat and humidity, still intense even after sunset. At the gate, we could see the minibus beyond the barrier but, being pedestrians, we were completely forbidden to use the

An army marches on its stomach – or in this case pizzas! had been kindly rigged a couple of days earlier by Camera Corps, using a supplied cradle. No cradle was available for the squash though and the camera couldn’t be rigged as specified. I talked to George, who had run in the fibres and had laid a speculative fibre to the gantry. Up I went to see if we could do some ad-hoc mounting. Getting up there entailed firstly climbing the audience seating, then scaling an alarming home-made bamboo ladder with missing rungs. Once up there I luckily found a gantry spot wide enough for a lightweight Vinten tripod.

This and other experiences reminded me just how much we take health and safety for granted in the UK. While there I witnessed chippies plugging in

exit. The alternative was a further half-mile walk to Gate 2 so we argued - fruitlessly. Minutes later, another vehicle pulled up so I asked the driver for a lift. All six of us squeezed onto the tailgate for the 20-foot journey through the barrier leaving the guards muttering about our cleverness.

Time off Miraculously, apart from having to source two tripods from the ever-patient Jon Fay (Hyper camera supervisor), the rig was completed on time and I handed over to the camera supervisors. Meanwhile, I had been scheduled to join the rotation for the badminton but Jon had other ideas.

He wanted fellow ex-Pebble Mill

Spring 2011 ZERB 23

Commonwealth Games

cameraman, John Moorcroft (who had set up the table tennis) and me to act as sickness relief for all the city venues. As my hotel was so isolated, I relocated to the handier Suryaa, the base for the cycling crews, also an excellent hotel. It was good to see some familiar faces and to be able to compare stories over an evening pint.

Next day was my first chance for some sightseeing. I went along to the Metro, having arranged to meet John Moorcroft at the amazing Askardham Temple. The Metro would have been a challenge for any city; for Delhi it must have been Herculean. It’s a huge network of tracks, mostly supported overground on concrete supports rising high above the Delhi slums. It was meant to be ready for the Games but, typically, the last section opened some days after the opening ceremony. The station was still a building site and I had to edge round piles of tiles to the ticket office. Here I bought an all-day smart card (a bit like a London Oyster card) for just 190 Rupees (£3).

The clean air-conditioned train arrived within minutes and I entered the comfortably empty front carriage.

After three stations, we made the first of many unexpected (and unexplained) stops and then at one station, three

armed guards got on and insisted that I and the two other passengers move to the carriage behind. This was due to a new policy of female-only carriages (women passengers also have their own pink platform sections). It turned out that our train was only empty because nobody realised the line was running yet and the next line was to reveal why the segregated coachs were completely unworkable. Our train was so full I was physically pushed on board, a bit like like the pushers on the Japanese bullet trains. Despite this, one official still persisted in trying to empty a front carriage for females, despite there not actually being any women on it!

Meanwhile at the bowls After a fascinating morning at Askardham, we returned to work, this time near the JPN stadium. We’d been assigned to the bowls, which had the reputation of being the unhappiest ship in the fleet. Here we found a dispirited crew battling 17-hour shifts in searing heat and high humidity.

Many were ill, the food was awful, and the supplied Jimmy Jibs unsafe.

As one of the Jib operators was off with severe diarrhoea, they were undermanned so John and I helped

Graham Hall feels the benefits of the monitors’ cooling fans

24 Spring 2011 ZERB

www.gtc.org.uk

devise a rotation system but it was clear a radical solution was required.

It was decided to double-crew the venue, local cameramen were hired and peace broke out.

We elected he took the front seat for the ride back to the hotel!

As there was a shortage of Jib operators at the bowls, I was roped in.

It wasn’t easy; the intense glare made

There were four matches lasting between 90 and 180 minutes on each rink every day. Each session would be quite different depending on the time of day As it was decided that I was to be on the bowls for the rest of the Games, the Suryaa Hotel was no longer convenient, so I moved yet again, this time to the superb Hyatt, where I was now with colleagues from both the bowls and the tennis.

Delhi belly strikes With the rosters working better, there was a bit more time to explore the city. However, unfortunately, Delhi Belly intervened for me. It didn’t lay me low but stopped me enjoying my food and beer and, after starving myself for three days without any improvement, I called the doctor.

He drove miles to see me and was extremely thorough and polite, prescribing antibiotics that quickly did the trick.

One particularly memorable trip was to the Red Fort. Our driver waited three hours while we toured the magnificent edifice and then explored the bazaar at Chandni Chowk. We were all keen photographers, but particularly one of us. He wandered off on his own – to his subsequent regret.

He had managed to step in some water in a dark alley. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a three-foot deep hole, black and smelly, into which he fell up to his waist. Ignoring the amused onlookers, he climbed out and tried to wash himself down with his small bottle of water before joining us.

it hard to view the Marshall monitors, which also kept shutting down in the heat, a problem eventually fixed by strapping on domestic fans.

There was one jib at each end of the rink to provide a bird’s eye view of the distance from the woods to the puck.

Where the distances were similar, a ‘target’ of concentric circles would be overlaid on the shot, so woe betide you if the puck wasn’t centred! Usually this was straightforward – once you’d got your head round the fact that there was no panning adjustment other than craning up or down. Plus, the shot was at 90 degrees to the way you were facing meaning you had to crane up and down to make the shot go left and right but swing the arm left and right to make the shot go up and down!

There were four matches lasting between 90 and 180 minutes on each rink every day. Each session would be quite different depending on the time of day. The first would be pleasant but usually accompanied by hundreds of kites circling overhead. The second was the worst. The heat and light were at their most intense, with strong winds making it difficult to stabilise the puck camera and sending our parasols tumbling. Our Indian assistants (when awake) had the unenviable task of holding onto the parasols. The third session was the best – the wind would have abated and the sunsets were

Commonwealth Games

www.gtc.org.uk

beautiful – while the final session was conducted under intense floodlights (cue the insect repellent). It was a bit cooler (high 20s/low 30s) and easier to see the monitors but the insects were everywhere. Some nights brought small yellow moths, while others saw locusts, huge grasshoppers and various species of flying beetle. One particulary impressive four-inch beetle seemed harmless enough (despite its

dream. After sunset, with the guards whistling closing time, John Moorcroft and I decided to go and eat. John’s guidebook suggested restaurants at the Lodi Garden, so we jumped in a tuk-tuk.

It was very pleasant and the menu seemed reasonable by British prices, although upmarket for India. We sat in a nice covered area open to the air, albeit accompanied by the sound of

Overall this was a fantastic experience with some great new friends made.

I’m sure I will look back on the 2010 Games as one of the most stimulating jobs of my career size) until somebody googled it to be a giant water bug. When faced with danger, these tricky little monsters play dead before landing a nasty venomous bite. After that they were treated with more respect!

Final memories I was lucky enough to visit the Qutub Minar stone pillar and the spectacular Humayan’s Tomb which must be seen near sunset – a photographer’s

were 1000 Rupees (£15) each! After some argument, these were eventually removed from the bill and we left considerably poorer and chastened.

Worse still, John fell over a cable, grazed his leg, and was pickpocketed on the Metro. Luckily they only took the work mobile, but our experience of Delhi had sadly been a bit tarnished.

I had missed my family enormously and was glad to go home, but overall this was a fantastic experience with some great new friends made. I’m sure I will look back on the 2010 Games as one of the most stimulating jobs of my career.

Fact file James French is a freelance broadcast TV lighting cameraman with over 30 years’ experience in all production genres. His work includes studios, OBs, PSC, ENG, peds, hot-heads and hand-held.

He is also the GTC’s Sponsorship and Advertising Manager.

07855 743845 jkfrench@mac.com

insects frying on the electrocutors!

The food turned out to be delicious; so we both had a three-course meal and pushed the boat out with three bottles of Kingfisher. After the main course, a beautiful waitress asked if we would like some grappa. I had no idea what this was but John said yes immediately and a very pleasant (strong) drink it turned out to be! When the bill came it was a complete shock – it was over 7000 Rupees (£100), a ludicrous sum for India. Apparently the grappas

As dusk fell, the massive floodlights sprang into life, attracting the biggest array of insects I have ever seen

Spring 2011 ZERB 25

Kontrol Freax

www.gtc.org.uk

Moco track- Gavin Thurston and Chadden Hunter working in Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Frozen moments filming ‘lapsed time’ in the Arctic

26 Spring 2011 ZERB

All photos by Jeff Wilson

Kontrol Freax

www.gtc.org.uk

Warwick Sloss and Jason Roberts working in Svalbard, Norway

Cameraman Warwick Sloss checking his light meter

Motion control (moco) is a visual effects technique that has often suffered from a reputation for being unreliable, expensive and complicated, but this perception is being overturned by advances in technology that are bringing moco increasingly within the reach of TV productions.

This trend was recently illustrated in a collaboration between the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol and London based visual effects specialists, Kontrol Freax Ltd. In 2008, BBC producers Vanessa Berlowitz and Mark Linfield asked Kontrol Freax for their help in achieving visual effects on their new series Frozen Planet. A sequel to the award-winning Planet Earth, Frozen Planet is due to transmit in late 2011. Berlowitz and Linfield had been impressed by the potential demonstrated by the company’s portable motion control equipment

recognised the magnitude of what they were undertaking out the outset, but the project was to result in the development of moco equipment attaining new levels of simplicity and reliability.

The Frozen Planet project would involve two years of filming in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Cameramen Warwick Sloss explains: “We would be filming the dramatic changes in the

From a standing start, the system can be set up and ready for use in under ten minutes, while an intuitive user interface makes the touch screen operation ‘plug and play’ whilst filming seasonal changes to forests for Planet Earth. They set out their creative vision for the new series over coffee on location with Kontrol Freax’s founder, Steve Scammell.

Vanessa and Mark’s aim was to use time-lapse studies to achieve compelling and original images of climate change and polar wildlife.

To achieve this they required a motion control system capable of working reliably and simply in extreme and remote polar conditions.

Built for the job It quickly became clear that such equipment did not exist anywhere in the world and Scammell was intrigued by the challenge. Discussions began that were to culminate in Kontrol Freax being commissioned to design and develop the KFX Aurora Extreme. In truth, neither party fully

seasons. The rig was taken back to the same location through all four seasons and the same move was used to record the changes from spring to summer through autumn and winter. The effect is similar to a time lapse but we prefer to call it a lapsed time.”

During the two years the rig was used to capture: waterfalls freezing and then turning from ice back to water; the first shoots of spring in the Arctic; ice flowers forming (probably a first); while in the Antarctic timelapse sequences of the penguin colonies filling up were recorded.

Extreme conditions As the various shoots would take place hundreds of miles away from civilisation, the new moco system’s reliability needed to be bulletproof, with portability and speed of set-up absolutely critical for the cameramen

operating in the most brutal of environments. Warwick explains: “In the winter you can only have your hands out for about 15 seconds. If you have to take a glove off to plug in a cable, you then need to put it back in a glove for 10 to 15 minutes to warm up again. So building any gear on location can be time-consuming!”

High winds would also make it difficult to set up shots. Often it was impossible to spend more than a few minutes outside so it was important that the moco rig was as simple as possible to build.

Since the equipment was to be operated by BBC cameramen rather than specialist technicians, it was very important that it was straightforward to use. A Kontrol Freax member of staff went on the very first shoot to Svalbard in Norway for a week. After that he was able to leave the BBC cameraman and director to it.

Design criteria So, the KFX Aurora Extreme, which was named following its inaugural shoot filming the Northern Lights in the Arctic, would need to work in temperatures down to –20, in winds of up to 60mph and be able to be operated by cameramen wearing heavy gloves.

A simple modular design that was both immensely strong and

very light was required. The head needed to weigh in at less than 24kg, yet be capable of sustaining a payload of 80kg. In order to minimise transportation costs, all equipment had to break down easily into modules that could be taken on commercial airlines as excess baggage in standard Pelicases, ready for onward transportation through the polar regions with the camera crew carrying it in special backpacks and on skidoos.

Ease of use for the end-user was all-important. From a standing start, the system can be set up and ready for use in under ten minutes, while an intuitive user interface makes the touch screen operation ‘plug and play’.

Enormous effort went into making this user interface simple, with no need to scroll through complex menu structures. The design objective was that only an hour of training would be needed in order to master it and this proved to be the case.

Another requirement was that the system be both feature-rich and flexible. All functions – pan, tilt, focus, iris and zoom axes of operation – are all fully adjustable in situ, while the single-sided construction with single external cable, all powered by standard 24V batteries, make operation both simple and functional.

The system operates with all common and HD cameras, has slip

Spring 2011 ZERB 27

Kontrol Freax

www.gtc.org.uk

Aaton 35mm and moco rig used to film purple saxifrage in Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic

rings for pan and tilt, and comes with a dolly and track that will operate smoothly at speeds of up to 2 metres per second. Catering for different skill levels and operator preferences, the KFX Aurora Extreme can be operated either by hand wheels, a pan bar or joystick.

the hazards of filming in the Arctic is polar bears. At several locations the poles had been chewed or removed by inquisitive bears, which meant a good deal of digging through the snow to find the studs. Sometimes the snow was so high that the original view was obscured and the snow had to be dug out in front of the camera.

Catering for different skill levels and operator preferences, the KFX Aurora Extreme can be operated either by hand wheels, a pan bar or joystick Repeating the shot One of the biggest challenges for the crews was to be able to return to the same location and position the rig in exactly the same place over the course of four seasons. This was accomplished in several ways. Mostly, the general location was mapped using GPS which allowed the crew to find out where they had positioned the rig, even under several feet of snow.

Generally, the position of the legs was marked in the ground with small studs hammered into the permafrost, and then long poles were used so that they were visible in deep snow. One of

The camera also had to be positioned at exactly the same place on the head each time so a system was needed that would keep the registration on each visit. The aim was to take as many variables out of the set-up as possible so that the cameraman would be able to press one button to send the head to a zero position and then upload the move required for that location.

Shot on film All the motion control shots for the forthcoming series were shot using a 35mm Aaton film camera. This was

The loneliness of the time-lapse photographer!

Filming summer pass of sea ice melt in Svalbard

chosen not so much because of the look of film, but more for the ability to shoot at many different frame rates which most HD cameras didn’t allow when the series started shooting.

The ability to plug into the camera and control the shutter directly from the head gives more creative control to the cameraman, enabling the full range of motion control techniques including shooting the same shot at different frame rates, long exposures and using the Aurora rig as an intervalometer.

Another particular challenge that presents itself on all outdoor motion control shoots is changing light throughout the day as different passes are filmed. This problem is exacerbated in the far north due to the extremes in the angle of the sun – or lack of it – at some times in the year. Passes shot at different times of the year, even though at the same time of day, have very different shadows, so it was found that filming with a thin layer of cloud gave the best results.

Powerful motors and precision gearboxes delivering zero backlash were selected. Resolution of 1.6 million counts per revolution, unlimited move storage and IP65 design and materials are other features that indicate the lengths to which precision and robustness were built into the system.

The technical challenges of designing and delivering such a system from scratch in an accelerated timescale were daunting, and at times it seemed as if the 8-month deadline could not be met. However, thanks to rapid prototyping techniques and rigorous day-by-day project management, the first system was delivered on schedule to the Svalbard, Norway location at the beginning of 2009. For Technical Director, Steve Scammell, this achievement stretched the art of the possible in the pursuit of getting the job done. It was a testament to the commitment and drive of all the parties involved.

Ongoing improvements Against the clock Kontrol Freax recognised that for the best outcome they needed to combine their own motion control experience with expertise in industrial design and software development and so partnered with a leading European industrial design consultancy and a specialist software house with expertise in delivering precision missile delivery systems for the South African Navy.

Successfully delivering the first system was only the beginning though.

Various software enhancements were requested during filming and these were delivered via satellite phone.

Some unforeseen problems caused by the vagaries of climate and wildlife in the Polar Regions had to be overcome and at times these challenged the Kontrol Freax and BBC teams to the limit. In one particularly heart-stopping moment, a system took a dramatic fall into a crevasse in the Antarctic to emerge undamaged

One of the biggest challenges for the crews was to be able to return to the same location and position the rig in exactly the same place over the course of four seasons 28 Spring 2011 ZERB

Kontrol Freax

www.gtc.org.uk Filming summer pass of mountain reveal , Svalbard

The KFX Aurora Extreme would need to work in temperatures down to –20, in winds of up to 60mph and be able to be operated by cameramen wearing heavy gloves

(bearing witness to how sturdy it is) but covered in penguin guano. The system survived to complete the shoot without causing delay to the tight filming schedule, but an especially unlucky Kontrol Freax technician had the delightful task of dismantling and cleaning the system to remove the pungent, acidic bird matter on a brief maintenance stop in London!

The inevitable ups and downs of such a mammoth undertaking have all been worthwhile as the production proceeds through editing ahead of

mtf

of the moco system have led to the creation of a remote head that benefits from the latest design and technology.

The Aurora software control system has also led to the development of a highly flexible suite of real-time 3D visualisation services known as Aurora Vision. This on-set service enables highly accurate camera positional data to be presented directly into Maya scene format by encoding standard studio and location equipment, creating the opportunity to significantly reduce post-production costs. It also enables directors and actors to see in real time the merging of virtual and physical sets as a powerful aid to the creative process.

Check out www.kontrolfreax.com/ aurora+vision for more details.

With equipment based in London, New York, Los Angeles, Jakarta and in the near future in Cape Town, Kontrol Freax is using Aurora to provide visual effects solutions in productions around the world. The KFX Aurora family of

transmission in the autumn of 2011.

Following the rigorous field testing provided by two years of polar wildlife filming, the KFX Aurora Extreme has been further improved in a new production version that has recently joined the portfolio of products and services commercially available from Kontrol Freax.

The project has had a number of unforeseen consequences with the Aurora Extreme spawning a number of spin-off products and services.

The strength, flexibility and simplicity

products is bringing the kind of rich motion control techniques that have traditionally been the preserve of big budget feature films within the reach of TV and commercials budgets.

Fact File Kontrol Freax can offer a variety of solutions for your motion control needs including: Aurora Extreme, Aurora Mo-Sys, Milo and Talos.

Contact them at: Kontrol Freax Ltd Unit 6, Westpoint Trading Estate London W3 0RA Tel: +44 (0)208 992 8222 or see their showreel at: www.kontrolfreax.com A preview of the Frozen Planet series can be seen at: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ b00mfl7n

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Spring 2011 ZERB 29

Commonwealth Games

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Special cameras for special shots Plungecam, bolted to the 10m diving board, gives spectacular shots of the whole dive ending under water

Lawrence Hall was part of the Aquatics Special Cameras team in Delhi Others will write at length about the unique challenges of an undertaking of the magnitude of being Host Broadcaster on an event as huge as the Commonwealth Games... in India.

For my part, let’s just say it was... an adventure!

I was part of the SIS LIVE Special Cameras team for the aquatics,

which was made up of Dave Yates, Andy ‘Ginge’ Peakin, Scott Stephens, Mickey Moore, Steve Lintern, Rab McNab, along with Holly Bantleman and Adam Brown, who were drafted in for some much needed assistance.

Together, we were involved in rigging, operating and maintaining around a dozen specialised cameras, located

Dave, Rab and Scott work on Halibut, the underwater tracking system

in a variety of awkward-to-reach places, for the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming.

Among the special cameras deployed were Halibut (a unique underwater camera tracking system), some non-tracking remote-controlled underwater cameras, two overhead camera tracks suspended in the roof, a remote poolside track, remotely operated cameras giving POV shots from the back of the diving boards, a submersible Polecam, a fullycontrollable beauty shot and, of course, Plungecam.

A major challenge was that the technical power supply was sorted out only days before the event started.

Nothing like working in a venue that’s still being finished around you!

While we were waiting for the power, there was plenty of work to be done in getting the gear physically rigged before testing could take place.

Halibut, the two roof tracks and Plungecam involved team members using both diving and roped access

during the rig and for day-to-day maintenance.

Because it is bolted to the 10-metre diving board, it took time and effort to get Plungecam into place and working properly. However, the replay it affords of dives from the high board are spectacular. Plungecam consists of a vertical track and carriage that holds two HD miniature cameras, one locked-off and the other on a remote head. On release, the motorised carriage accelerates at the speed of gravity and perfectly tracks the divers

Halibut, the two roof tracks and Plungecam involved team members using both diving and roped access during the rig and for dayto-day maintenance 30 Spring 2011 ZERB

Commonwealth Games

www.gtc.org.uk Plungecam operating position, close to the poolside

Tom Daley and Max Brick practise before scooping gold

We were involved in rigging, operating and maintaining around a dozen specialised cameras, located in a variety of awkward-toreach places, for the swimming, diving and synchronised swimming

positions the cameras were rigged in, we often couldn’t access them with the athletes present, so this frequently entailed working late, all the time with the prospect of the 5.30am bus back to work in the morning foremost in our minds!

But considering the circumstances in which we found ourselves working – the long hours, distance to and from the hotels, security cordons, terrible food, language barrier, Delhi Belly – for me, the team spirit fostered in spite of these challenges really made the trip worthwhile. We even managed some beers and plenty of laughs along the way!

as they pirouette down and beneath the surface of the pool below.

The underwater and overhead cameras also strongly enhanced the coverage offering angles – both live and for replays – that really helped ‘tell the story’ by capturing views that even as a spectator at the venue you

would never otherwise see.

Like others elsewhere, we worked in some difficult conditions. Inevitably, technical issues arose with some of the kit during the course of the events and this led to hard work replacing and repairing kit between competition and training sessions. Given the

WHAT DOES YOUR BUSINESS NEED MORE?

Fact File Lawrence Hall is a SIS LIVE cameraman.

See more about SIS LIVE Special Cameras at: www.sislive.tv/outsidebroadcasts-special-cameras.php View footage of the spectacular shots possible with Halibut, Plungecam and other SIS LIVE Special Cameras at: www.sislive.tv/productsspecial-cameras.php

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Spring 2011 ZERB 31

Papal visit to Birmingham

www.gtc.org.uk

e c n ie d u a An with GETTY IMAGES

the Pope Chris Goor operating in front of the stage

of shot, the Vatican After all our efforts to keep cameras out they liked on stage! cameramen were allowed to go wherever

In the first of two articles about the Birmingham stage of the Pope’s recent visit to Great Britain, Camera Supervisor Chris Goor describes the build-up to the huge and historic Cofton Park ‘gig’ This August I was asked to supervise the camera coverage of the Pope’s visit to Birmingham. The Pontiff would arrive in mid-September and travel around the country, meeting the people and attracting thousands to a series of events. The highlight of this trip would be an enormous outdoor occasion in Cofton Park on Sunday 19 September, where the Pope would perform Mass and then beatify the priest John Henry Newman. The BBC was to broadcast this unique event, and I would be responsible for the quality of the camera coverage. There had not been a Papal visit to Great Britain in nearly 30 years, and it was clear from the outset that this was to be an event of huge significance.

32 Spring 2011 ZERB

Serious kit list Peter Taylor, Engineering Manager for BBC Religion, provided me with a list of camera equipment which had already been pencilled. This included for starters: • 1 Strada Crane • 3 Jimmy Jibs • 2 ACS SMARTheads • 1 (upside down) Towercam FX • 1 Steadicam • 1 Furio Dolly • 2 Hoists (1 very large) • 1 Heli-teli It was at this point I realised just how large this ‘gig’ would be, with some 25 camera positions

planned. I’d supervised quite a few complicated shows before – events such as Glastonbury and Reading Festivals – but nothing on this scale or with so many cameras. The recce was arranged and I started booking camera operators. With this many ‘toys’ we were going to need a slew of specialists.

Field of dreams In the middle of August, I found myself standing in an empty Cofton Park with the director, Ian Russell, trying to imagine the stage and layout of the area. We also tried to envisage camera positions and lines of sight.

The only information we had to work with was a small map and a few

blobs of paint on the grass; quite a strange experience. The space would be completely transformed by the time we returned.

With the recce complete, I started planning the camera equipment. I chose mainly Canon lenses for the image stabilisation on the XJ86II and XJ100s and the zoom take-up on the HJ22s. We needed to try and achieve some finesse on a show in which many cameras would be working at the tight end of the lens.

Over the coming weeks, Ian, Peter and I shared many phone calls and emails. Would the Pope actually ride in the Popemobile through the crowds in Cofton Park? Would he bless the statue of John Henry Newman?

Papal visit to Birmingham

www.gtc.org.uk

Why was the statue not in public view? It became clear that most of these questions would only be answered once we were on site, and this forced us to adopt a flexible attitude towards the whole show.

Chain gang Peter Taylor arrived on the Monday, six days before the Beatification, to see the Grass Valley-equipped Visions OB trucks into position and the rig started. We arrived on the Thursday to begin the camera rig and even then

finish their work before we could start, knowing other crews were in turn waiting for us. For example, there was quite a bit of pressure on us from the Church to get the reverse Towercam FX into the roof so that they could finish building the stage – but we couldn’t reach this until the access hoist was available.

By the end of the first day the camera guys had rigged all the big lenses, checked all the cables, moved all the heavy mountings into position and finally rigged the Towercam FX. I was really grateful for the fantastic

The considered and well-judged camerawork my crew provided saw the Beatification turn from coverage into art started to arrive (hoists, Jimmy Jibs and the Strada crane). Everything was running to plan – the rig was well under way, the crew were all arriving and it seemed we would be ready for the afternoon tech check.

Little did we know our progress was about to be dealt a major blow. The Strada base was rolled into position at

and the likelihood of finding a jib and operator who could get to Birmingham at short notice was slight.

Despite our setback over the Strada and all the extra work created, I was nevertheless pleased that all the other cameras were in position and working well. We would be ready for the ‘rehearsals’ the following day. And,

Middle and right images: ©2010

The event felt like a cross between a rock

gig and a church service

I’d supervised quite a few complicated shows before – events like Glastonbury and Reading Festivals – but nothing on this scale or with so many cameras much of the staging had yet to be built. It became apparent there were many logistical issues that needed my attention, so much so that I barely touched a camera during the first day.

As often happens on this type of show, we found ourselves stuck in a chain; waiting for other tech crews to

GETTY IMAGES simonknott.co.uk, WITH THANKS TO

guys who worked with me on the rig (so thanks Geoff, Leighton, Ed and Graham).

Bad news On the second rig day all the larger, more expensive pieces of equipment

the back of the field and in the process – disaster – its platform gave way.

The platform was not strong enough to hold the weight and a simple communication problem between two other companies had presented us with a serious predicament. Peter Taylor suddenly had to get another crane on site (through all the security checks) while the Strada crane had to be lifted off the platform and removed.

Meanwhile, I had to figure out with Ian Russell how we would replace this vital camera. We decided the best option would be another Jimmy Jib, but it was late on a Friday night

after a few well-placed phone calls, we also had our extra Jimmy Jib and operator; crisis averted.

The Saturday at Cofton Park was probably one of the most frustrating rehearsal days I’ve ever encountered in my career. We had no control over the day’s schedule and spent nearly ten hours watching things that were either irrelevant or impossible to work out. These days really test the stamina of OB camera operators and, again, I’m grateful to the crew for being so patient. Unfortunately it meant that, heading into TX day, we were largely unrehearsed.

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Spring 2011 ZERB 33

Papal visit to Birmingham With just two days to go, there was still

much to be done…

CHRIS GOOR

CHRIS GOOR

over Cofton Park A Visions Grass Valley camera looks out rcam FX Towe ead overh ’ Wells Alan from on the rig day

www.gtc.org.uk

As often happens on this type of show, we found ourselves stuck in a chain; waiting for other tech crews to finish their work before we could start, whilst aware that other crews were in turn waiting for us Morning has broken The alarm went off at 0430 on the Sunday morning and we all stumbled onto a coach which would take us to site. It’s at times like these you realise that working in the television industry is not all glamour!

We’d only ever seen the park empty; now in the morning rain it was half

Camera Team Chris Goor Geoff Adams Dave Brice Phil Carr Cath Connor Jim Cullen Gareth Davies Ian Dicker James French Leighton Grist Paul Holman John Moorcroft Tim Normington Llywelyn Owen Chris Payne Julian Penrose Nigel Saunders Graham Singer Ed Shaylor Jeff Thomas Russ Ware Alan Wells Simon Wood

34 Spring 2011 ZERB

full of damp people who had been arriving since the early hours. I say ‘half full’ as the church could never give us an exact number of pilgrims.

We were expecting anywhere between 40,000 and 80,000, although the press were suggesting that logistics and weather had put people off and only 20,000 would turn up. I never did find out how many people actually came, but our large hoist had to work lower down and tighter than had been anticipated, in order to fill the frame with pilgrims.

We managed to rehearse a little before the Beatification using the ‘warm-up’ and then prepared for a largely unrehearsed three and a half hours on air. The restrictive security ratcheted up a couple of notches, which signalled that the Pope was nearby. Then our heli-teli came into range and the Pope’s entourage began to appear.

Tripod takes centre stage As the Pope arrived in Cofton Park, so did the Vatican’s camera crew and photographers. We’d put a lot of time and design effort into making our cameras as discreet as possible to protect sight lines for the public.

The Vatican’s media people, however, were allowed to roam anywhere on the stage and seem completely unconcerned about the effect on

This leaflet was produced primarily for the crews and shows the Catholic Church has a sense of humour!

We’d put a lot of time and design effort into making our cameras as discreet as possible to protect sight lines for the public. The Vatican’s media people however are allowed to roam anywhere on the stage viewers. One operator walked onto the stage two minutes before the Pope and plonked a tripod in the centre of the stage. I really couldn’t believe it.

We had to try and shoot around him.

In the end, six weeks of planning, problem-solving and hard work boiled down to three and half hours of unrehearsed scripted live television, and for me the show was a brilliant success. It was great to watch my return vision feed as the event unfolded and lots of spontaneous beautiful shots began to appear.

The considered and well-judged camerawork my crew provided saw the Beatification turn from coverage into art.

I can only thank the great team we had in Cofton Park for their patience and thoughtful camerawork. We only have to wait another 25 years to do it all again.

Fact File Chris Goor is an OB and studio camera supervisor/ operator. He joined BBC Outside Broadcasts in 1997 and has been freelance since 2008.

Email: chris.goor@obcrews.com

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Skquattro development – right on track

“

We used the Skquattro on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.

It allowed us to get an 86:1 lens on the track near to the artists, meaning that we could get iconic shots which were simply not possible with a small lens – a great innovation.

Chris Goor, Camera Supervisor

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Telephone 020 8891 8910 Email hire@thecamerastore.co.uk www.thecamerastore.co.uk

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Spring 2011 ZERB 35

SMARThead

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s d a e h T R A M S ACS meet JAMES FRENCH

the Pope ra positions

rproof covers at the two SMARThead came

Gareth Davies applies custom-made wate

James French operated one of the two Aerial Camera Systems SMARTheads in use for the Papal visit to Cofton Park and gives his first impressions of these latest version heads When Chris Goor invited me to join the crew at Cofton Park, I was looking forward to it for several reasons. It is always nice to work on something a bit unusual; I was intrigued to see how the scale and facilities of a large rock concert could be combined with a religious ceremony; and it was an opportunity and a pleasure (as always) to work again with GTC sponsors, ACS.

Cue SMARTheads The BBC Religion production team and the event organisers wanted as little camera hardware and as few operators visible on stage (or should that be ‘in the church’?) as possible.

Remote heads seemed the obvious way to go, and in the end four were

36 Spring 2011 ZERB

used to good effect. Alan Wells was there with his remote control Furio tracking dolly camera right of the stage and his ‘upside down’ Towercam FX descending from the ceiling, both pieces of kit fairly large but cunningly concealed by the set designer. For the frontal shots of the lectern and the high wide from camera left, something smaller and less conspicuous was required. This was the cue for the ACS SMARTheads.

The first version SMARThead was designed exclusively for Sky football.

However, new and more demanding uses have emerged for non-sport applications requiring compact size and control versatility; this has driven the development of the latest version.

BBC Events, for example, has already

used multiple systems at venues such as Westminster Abbey and St Pauls for royal and state services.

I have been involved in remote head work most of my career, and cut my teeth operating an Egripment crane/ OpTex Pan Bar Input System (PBIS) combination on the live lunchtime show Pebble Mill. Since then, I have used all manner of alternatives from Bradley Engineering’s Cam Balls right through to Hot-Heads on Technocranes. Any head choice is a compromise between cost and facilities, but there are a few that stand out.

Despite its failings with slight judder when shooting on the end of the lens, I was always very impressed with the OpTex PBIS head. Not only

was it capable of smooth moves, but it was also compact and relatively cheap.

Ever since, I have looked for a similar size head that would perform like a full-size one but not cost the earth. I was hoping the SMARThead would be the answer.

As I was unfamiliar with the SMARThead, Sam Heaphy, Technical Director at ACS, was keen for me to pay a visit to their headquarters in Godalming, Surrey. It was there that I met Gareth Davies, who would be the technician and second operator for the event. Sam gave an overview of the product and then let me have a play until I was familiar with all the controls.

SMARThead

The Sony HKC-T1500 camera makes for a very compact unit

Never mind the optics The design parameters had been to deliver a head that is quick to rig, able to be mounted virtually anywhere and as configurable as possible. The head is supplied with the chosen camera/ lens combination already mounted and back-focussed. This is usually the Ikegami HDL-51, although other cameras can be accommodated, including the new Sony HDC-P1, the HDC-X300 and the HKC-T1500 splittable camera (this last being our choice for the shoot). The head can currently accommodate Canon and Fujinon digital lenses of the ENG type, while a version accepting a Fujinon HA42 or Canon HJ40 is in the works.

The head is driven using direct drive motors which reduce noise and slop in the system to an absolute minimum and allow extremely fine control. For reasons of both size and cost, the SMARThead doesn’t offer infinite rotation. Due to its frequency, HD SDI has to be transported by an optical fibre rotary joint rather than by metal slip rings. The problem is that optical transmission would greatly increase the pan base size and would cost at least twice the unit price of the entire head, so the video signal is transmitted by cable. This, of course, means that the head cannot keep panning in one direction indefinitely because the cables twist up, but it does seem to go for 2–3 revolutions before stopping.

The software keeps track of all of this for you, so you don’t need to worry about wrenching the cable out of the back of the camera.

A variety of mounting bases and stands is available with heights from

0.5 to 4 metres, as well as a heavy duty base plate, enabling the camera to be operated very close to the floor.

Several SMARTheads can be controlled by one person using a panel with an HD router. When using the Ikegami HDL-51 or Sony HDC-P1 cameras, each camera only needs a single SMPTE fibre cable to provide power, video and control. Audio and return video are also possible. Other cameras require separate power and control cables. The control unit at the camera end is housed in a specially modified Peli case, and can be situated up to 15 metres from the camera.

The camera settings are controlled using a standard remote control panel (RCP). The VT areas in large OB trucks can often accommodate five or six remote camera operators and the multi-camera capability from a single SMARThead control desk can make large numbers of remotes easy to achieve in a cost-effective manner.

Hands on In my experience, no two joystick panels are alike in operation – their controls, sensitivity and layout all differ. None has ever suited me completely and it continues to amaze me that manufacturers cannot standardise the control positions or make them more configurable.

However, I was encouraged to see that a lot of thought had gone into the SMARThead panel.

In operation, the left hand sits comfortably on a slightly raised area with the thumb resting on the microforce zoom demand and the middle and index fingers resting on the focus

control. I have fairly big hands (no jokes, please!) but this is the first panel where I can comfortably operate zoom and focus simultaneously.

The right hand controls a small and seemingly ordinary joystick, but as soon as you operate it you realise it is far from ordinary. Fans of the Gyron and Wescam gyro-stabilised heads will immediately feel at home, as this is a micro-force joystick. These take some practice, as they only require tiny amounts of pressure to activate, but once experienced there is no going back. The biggest advantage for me is that there is no dead band when changing direction, either up/down or left/right. That is, unless you actually like that – in which case the software can mimic it for you.

In the centre of the panel is a touchscreen OLED (organic lightemitting diode) display, which gives access to all the controls you could wish for, along with a programmable ‘shot-box’ enabling a large number of positions to be stored, with a choice of access speeds.

The rig goes in So, it was with some excitement that I met Gareth in Cofton Park four days before the big event, to install our two cameras. The striking brilliant white stage was still under construction, so a lot of care and patience was required.

After discussions with the designer and Ian Russell, the director, it was decided that the frontal camera would be better mounted at maximum height from a base resting on the ground,

An alternative slung mount, showing the Ikegami HDL-51 camera rather than a lower stage mount.

This gave two benefits: the visual impact would be kept to a minimum and it would reduce vibration from people moving around during the service. Sam has designed special lens supports which minimise vibration and movement during fast camera moves, but it remained to be seen how stable the shot would be if the wind got up.

We waited for a small square hole to be cut in the stage and investigated the mounting situation for the camera on the left of the stage. This was to be on scaffold tubes, lashed tightly to the stage roof framework.

It was then that I realised the beauty and common sense of ACS providing complete camera and head units. We just lifted them out of their flight cases and put them in place JAMES FRENCH

JAMES FRENCH

In my experience, no two joystick panels are alike in operation – their controls, sensitivity and layout all differ

AERIAL CAMERA SYSTEMS

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Velcro on the Fujinon lens hoods helps to secure the waterproof covers tightly

Spring 2011 ZERB 37

SMARThead Gareth takes the short cut up from below

ed

stage, where the camera bodies were locat

JAMES FRENCH

JAMES FRENCH

Thead Gareth Davies at the controls of one SMAR er scann ns Visio the of area ol in the vision contr

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Meanwhile, we rigged the SMARThead control units and ‘back ends’ of the Sony ‘T’ cameras under the stage where they would be dry and out of harm’s way. This involved clambering over a very large number of scaffold bracing poles! Back at the Visions truck we rigged the control panels in the back of the vision area.

The engineers had quite a bit of work to do to accommodate us, as the truck came with a full complement of Grass Valley cameras. There isn’t a suitable GV camera for the SMARThead, which is why we were using the Sony splittable cameras and this meant that two GV camera control units had to be removed and two Sony ones were mounted in their place. Nevertheless, we were made to feel very welcome and were soon provided with camera and mixer out monitors and talkback.

Straight out of the box Back at the stage, the modifications to the woodwork had been done, so we were ready to rig the cameras. It was then that I realised the beauty and commonsense of ACS providing complete camera and head units. We just lifted them out of their flight cases and put them in place. A quick tweak to level them and they were ready to go – no messing about with back-focus, camera balance, centre of gravity or lens interface cables on location. We bagged the cameras using specially designed small neat covers and returned to the operating positions for testing. Everything just worked - straight away.

Over the next few days it became apparent that these heads were indeed all I had hoped for... and more. They proved to be completely dependable and a joy to operate. Notes of the few minor niggles I found were taken and will be incorporated in the next

38 Spring 2011 ZERB

SMARThead

www.gtc.org.uk The front of stage camera shame it didn’t all come in white!

JAMES FRENCH

version of the software. Very subtle moves were easy to achieve, and I was able to tweak the controls to my heart’s content to the point where operating became second nature.

Having a large number of programmable presets is wonderful, though you do have to be careful to push the correct button on the touchscreen. For most shot changes, I selected maximum speed and it was very impressive indeed. The software is also clever enough to halt at the electronic pan and tilt end-stops that can be set for each camera.

A clever touch is that the system automatically detects the lens type, displaying the information on the touchscreen. It also renders a flattened-out image of the lens barrel, complete with distances in metres and feet in the correct colours. Another nice feature is the zoom multiplier,

The design parameters were to deliver a head that is quick to rig, able to be mounted virtually anywhere and as configurable as possible

which reduces the sensitivity of the joystick as you zoom in. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, but in reality I found it indispensable.

I think ACS are onto a winner with this product. Production teams like the SMARThead because it is small, relatively low-cost, quick and easy to rig and produces great pictures.

Cameramen will love it because it is a joy to use and completely configurable to meet their requirements.

Fact File Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) provides specialised camera systems and experienced personnel to sporting events, feature films, commercials and TV dramas.

01483 426767 www.aerialcamerasystems.com

HD & SD OB SOLUTIONS OB UNITS AND FLYAWAY TV PRODUCTION FACILITIES AVAILABLE GLOBALLY ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, ANYWHERE HD OR SD, MUSIC, SPORTS, OR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT. WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU. CALL JO OR BRIAN TO DISCUSS YOUR REQUIREMENTS ON 0845 094 08 08 OR EMAIL SALES@VISIONS-OB.COM

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26/01/2011 Spring 2011 ZERB14:37 39

Félicitations Angénieux!

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Focussing

on the moon and the stars

The first zoom lens with mechanical compensation system, launched in 1956

The French zoom lens manufacturer Angénieux is part of France’s national heritage. For most of the 20th century this global leader and Oscar-winning company has designed and manufactured zoom lenses for cinema and television, as well as for surveillance and security applications. The GTC is delighted that in 2010, Thales Angénieux’s 75th anniversary year (Angénieux was acquired by Thales in 1993), it returned as a GTC sponsor company. Howard Kayofski tells the remarkable story of how Angénieux – thanks to its brilliant founder Pierre Angénieux – has played its part in the industry over seven and a half decades.

The new logo launched this year to represent Angénieux’s dynamic in 2011

compensation system in 1956.

Throughout his career, Angénieux would continue to be responsible for major innovations allowing faster and more powerful camera lenses.

Flying high The company dates back to 1935, when Pierre Angénieux, an engineering graduate who had studied at France’s prestigious École Nationale des Arts et Métiers and the Ecole Supérieure d’Optique, founded Etablissements Angénieux in Paris to develop and produce optics for photography and cinema applications. At this time Angénieux met and worked with some of the greats of French cinema such as Abel Gance and Renoir.

Four years later, due to the War, the company moved back to Pierre Angénieux’s original optical workshop in his home town of Saint-Héand, near Saint-Etienne in central France.

The genius of Pierre Angénieux A relentless inventor, in 1950 Angénieux invented the Retrofocus

40 Spring 2011 ZERB

system, opening the door to the widespread development of single-lens reflex cameras with interchangeable lenses.

In 1953, he succeeded in increasing the maximum aperture of a lens to 1:0.95, doubling the amount of light entering the lens. Coloured images of the Parisian metro could be filmed for the first time, and around this time Bell and Howell chose Angénieux to equip their cameras.

Pierre Angénieux possessed a particularly strong grasp of the trigonometry of optics which he drew on in lens design. Using this understanding of the trajectory of rays, he was able to simplify the lens design process to a point where it was possible to launch the first industrially produced zoom lens with a mechanical

The Angénieux success story reached epic proportions in the 1960s, when the company’s products helped write new chapters in the history of both space exploration and the motion picture industry.

In the early 60s, the first Angénieux 35–140 zoom lens was used to shoot a number of films, including the 1963 classic Crooks in Clover (Tontons Flingueurs), directed by Georges Lautner with cinematography

by Maurice Fellous. The next year, 1964, Pierre Angénieux won his first Hollywood Oscar for the design of the 10x zoom lens.

On 31 July of the same year, an Angénieux lens (25 mm f/0.95) captured the first images of the moon at point blank range and five years later, in 1969, another Angénieux lens was there on the Apollo 11 mission to record the biggest television

Pierre Angénieux with an early Retrofocus camera moment of all time – man’s first step on the moon.

In 1989, Pierre Angénieux won further recognition from the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his lifelong contribution to cinematography, presented to him by French actress Isabelle Huppert. He died in 1998 at the age of 90.

Félicitations Angénieux!

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Angénieux lenses go to the moon In the 1960s Angénieux was heavily involved in the space programme. On 31 July 1964, the 25mm f/0.95 Angénieux lens captured the very first close-up pictures of the surface of the moon from space probe Ranger VII. The first was taken from 2500km and the closest at just 500m. This cooperation between NASA and Angénieux continued on both the Gemini and Apollo programmes.

On 21 July 1969, the extraordinary success of the Apollo XI mission and the first steps of man on the moon were filmed with an Angénieux lens (see Zerb issue 68 for the full story of the televising of man’s first steps on the moon).

In the 1970s, Angénieux went on to participate in the Skylab and Apollo Soyuz flights and then later equipped the Shuttles with extreme wide angle zoom lenses.

Left: Poster celebrating the use of Angénieux lenses on the space programme; Bottom (l): lens used on the Apollo space mission; Bottom (r) first close-up pictures of the moon’s surface

The changing company brand over the years 1947 logo

1958 logo

1965 logo

1982 logo

2011 logo

Angénieux Time Line 1935: Etablissements Angénieux founded 1950: Invention of the Retrofocus system 1956: Invention and manufacture of the first zoom lens with mechanical compensation 1964: First Hollywood Oscar for the design of the 10x zoom lens 1964: An Angénieux lens onboard the Ranger 7 space probe captures the first close-up images of the moon 1969: The Apollo 11 mission uses an Angénieux lens to film man’s first steps on the moon 1976: Development of the world’s most powerful zoom lens (42 x 18) 1978: Introduction of the infrared zoom lens for laser guidance systems 1989: Pierre Angénieux receives Gordon E Sawyer Award for lifelong contribution to cinematography 1993: Thales acquires Etablissements Angénieux 1996: First Lucie compact light-intensification goggles launched 1998: Development of the helmet-mounted Aconit vision system for helicopter pilots. Modernisation of the Saint-Héand facility 2000-2006: Launch of the Optimo Series for 35mm Film 2005: Thales Angénieux receives an Emmy award for its HDTV developments 2008: Optimo DP range of lenses for digital cinema production introduced 2009: Thales Angénieux engineers receive Scientific and Engineering Award from Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the design of the Optimo 28–76 and 15–40 lenses.

Minie-D night-vision goggles selected for the French Army’s soldier system modernisation programme 2010: 75th anniversary of Thales Angénieux. Introduction of the 3D-ready Optimo DP package. Launch of the 14x4.5 AIF HD wide angle lens at NAB 2010, of the Minie-Dir night vision goggle in December.

Technical forefront Today, the company carries on the entrepreneurial approach of Angénieux and continues to expand its range of television camera lenses with the new 14 x 4.5 wide-angle unveiled at NAB 2010. The company’s product list now includes a comprehensive range of HD ENG, EFP and zoom lenses for all types of television applications (news, studio production, outside broadcast, documentary, etc).

Angénieux is also enthusiastically involved in the field of 3D TV, with the company contributing to the design of the first stereoscopic TV camera 10 years ago and now a partner in the 3Dlive project. 3Dlive is a French research programme working to set new standards for live 3D television image capture and broadcasting and is a major player in the development of 3D television technology.

Over the years, Angénieux has retained its worldwide leadership in zoom lenses for cinema cameras, with a large share of the world market. Some of the most demanding professionals in the world of cinema and advertising continue to endorse Angénieux products, and the company has received Hollywood awards on no fewer than three occasions – in 1964, 1989 and, most recently, 2009 for the design of the lightweight Optimo

Spring 2011 ZERB 41

Félicitations Kontrol FreaxAngénieux! on the ice

Digital and 3D lenses Thales Angénieux is embracing whole-heartedly the emergence of digital technology. The availability of increasing numbers of highperformance digital cameras in no way diminishes the importance of superior quality optical components.

comparable optical quality. For fine tuning, tracking is made easily adjustable with all the adjustment screws on lenses very accessible.

The Optimo 3D Ready Package has already attracted the interest of customers in Europe, Asia and the United States. In the UK, Axis Films – who are heavily into 3D – have purchased several Optimo Packages.

Head of Engineering at On Sight (parent company to Axis), Richard

ABACAPRESS

15–40mm and 28–76mm lenses for hand-held shooting and Steadicam systems.

Part of the new showroom opened on 13 December 2010

Woody Allen on location for Midnight in Paris, due out in 2011 THOMAS BREMOND

Angénieux employees discovering the new Angénieux logo on top of the building on 13 December 2010

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In 1989, Pierre Angénieux won recognition from the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his lifelong contribution to cinematography In 2008, Thales Angénieux launched a range of lenses for digital cameras.

The Optimo DP 16–42 and Optimo DP 30–80 were designed primarily for digital cinema applications being lightweight, compact, of superior optical quality and offering value for money. They are widely used on current digital cameras such as the ARRI Alexa and RED One. They are also compatible with the new large format digital cameras.

In 2010, Thales Angénieux took its digital production offering to the next level by launching its Optimo DP twin-lens package, designed to facilitate stereographers’ work. The twin optics – either two Optimo DP 16–42 or two Optimo DP 30–80 lenses – are carefully factory-selected. Both lenses come from the same production run, and the specific characteristics of both pieces are checked and matched to ensure accurately matched focus scale and zoom ranges, as well as

42 Spring 2011 ZERB

Mills says: “Angénieux’s Optimo DP 16-42 lenses provide the perfect complement to matched sets of prime lenses for stereo 3D production. The reliability and stability of these lenses coupled with the ability to match lenses provides the cinematographer with flexibility and speed on set.”

Angénieux zoom lens in use fil ming Largo Winch Guests at the 75th Anniversary watching a 3D movie about Thales Angénieux

Films to its credit Numerous films continue to be shot using Angénieux lenses, including the latest Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, shot in France in the summer of 2010, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Largo Winch by Jérome Salle, Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn, Jacques Perrin’s Oceans, Nicolas Vanier’s Loup and Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood.

Now the top-end cinema lenses, including the Optimo 15–40, Optimo 28–76 and Optimo 24-290, are even used for DSLR stills cameras as well.

75th Anniversary To celebrate the 75th Anniversary, Thales Angénieux opened a new exhibition displaying flagship products from the last 75 years, including the first zoom lenses to the very latest innovations like the Minie-D and Minie-Dir night vision goggles and Optimo DP twin-lens 3D package.

To increase acessibility to product users, Thales Angénieux has also inaugurated two new facilities. A new test platform has been set up for testing night-vision equipment in realistic conditions and the Pierre Angenieux studio is now available for users and Angénieux design teams to try out zoom lenses.

Félicitations Kontrol FreaxAngénieux! on the ice

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To complete the celebrations and recognise the company’s growth, a new logo and branding for the company were launched in December.

Thales Angénieux embarked on a complete overhaul of its visual identity in 2010 with the support of SaintEtienne’s international design centre Cité du Design. Saint-Etienne-based agency QooQ emerged as the winner of a competitive tender process.

Its first task was to create a new logo.“The geometric font chosen for the new logo has a rigorous, technical feel, to match the leading-edge technologies mastered by Thales Angénieux. The acute accent is retained, as a mark of respect for the past, but with a modern twist,” explains Jean-François Martin, artistic director, Studio QooQ.

Optimo 24–290 zoom lens

Life inside Thales

Optimo DP for 3D shooting by Axis kezia ad (132mm x 190mm):kezia ad (132mm x 190mm)

In 1993 Thales acquired Angénieux and it is now part of the Land Defence Division’s Optronics business line.

Building on its expertise in developing very wide-aperture zoom lenses, Thales Angénieux has steadily developed both its civil and defence businesses. In defence markets, Thales Angénieux is now the European leader in nightvision products and technology, its 17/1/11 16:48 Page 1

night-vision goggles having been adopted for the protection of deployed forces. More than 50,000 Lucie nightvision goggles are currently in service with European forces.

Thales Angénieux employs 270 people (an increase of 100 since 2006) generating revenues of 40 million euros in 2009 (and this is up in 2010) so the company’s 75th year sees them going from strength to strength under the leadership of the current President, Philippe Parain. The GTC is pleased to wish this remarkable French company ‘Félicitations’ as it heads towards its centenary.

Fact File See more about Angénieux at www.angenieux.com For any further information on Angénieux lenses, please contact Davy Terzian, Area Sales Manager on: davy.terzian@ fr.thalesgroup.com See more about 3Dlive French research program at: www.3dlive-project.com

kezia 50 & 200 COLOUR TUNABLE LED HARD SOURCE

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• Consistent colour • Controllable via DMX or onboard • Interchangeable optics

www.gekkotechnology.com Spring 2011 ZERB 43

Sony PMW500

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The PMW500 a great camera but not as we know it

GTC member and regular cameraman on Traffic Cops, Chris Greenwood, recently road-tested the first fully HD tapeless camera from Sony, the PMW500. While he loved the camera, he quickly found out there is so much more to reviewing a camera these days than just checking out the image quality and battery consumption!

44 Spring 2011 ZERB

Sony PMW500

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Tripod: Check. Sony PMW500: Check.

Fujinon HD lens: Check. Matte box: Check. Memory cards… Laptop… Hard drive (x2!)… Updated FAM driver… wait a minute! Yes, this is a camera review, but not a typical one. There’ll be all the usual talk of pixels, gamma, knobs and buttons, but we’ll also enter an alien world where they speak of ‘files’, ‘media’ and ‘proxies’.

Tapeless HD The PMW500 is a shoulder-mounted, 2/3” chip HD camera recording on to solid state media. It’s the first tapeless full HD spec Sony camera (50Mb/s, 1920x1080 resolution and 4:2:2 colour space). It seems to have taken Sony a long time to bring this specification to the market, but from what I hear from colleagues, this combination of features may just encourage them to commit to an HD purchase.

The PMW500 is Sony’s newest addition to its XDCAM HD range, which includes the PDW700 and F800. Since it came on the scene, the PDW700 has won many fans (including me) for its picture quality. Billed by many as a tapeless version of the PDW700, readers will be pleased that the PMW500 uses the same optics, sensor and compression algorithm as the 700. In some respects the spec of the 500 exceeds the 700 even though it sits below it in the Sony range.

Road test

Night Ext Confident that I now knew where everything was located, it was time for a test run outside. The camera sat nicely on my shoulder, feeling light but evenly balanced. Stripping out the weight associated with tapes/ discs, video heads, motors and blue lasers is a clear plus point, and there’s a definite improvement in comfort.

Granted, this was the camera in its most basic form; an HD wide angle, matte box, toplight and radio mics will

Even at 12dB, I struggled to register much noise in the B/W viewfinder; it was as clean as a whistle features of file-based acquisition you’ll never want to be without again.

Battery on and it was time to dive into the menus, revealing the 500’s first surprise: the menu layout. A few years ago, Sony standardised camera menus across the broadcast range.

This was a belated but welcome acknowledgement that programmes, producers and, especially, freelancers mix formats on a daily basis. The hierarchy of Operation, Maintenance, File and the strangely named Paint quickly became familiar to users of the DSR450, DVW970, PDW700/F800 and HDW750. I had expected the PMW500 to follow suit, but instead found the menu layout, style and hierarchy of the budget-priced EX3 camera, which is a perfectly workable system if lacking the elegance of the more familiar layout.

load it, but the PDW700 was a bit of a beast in full handheld mode, so every little helps.

Out under streetlights is the ultimate test for an HD camera.

Forget manufacturers’ claims of f11 here and f12 there under 2000lux, night with ambient light tells you all about a camera’s sensitivity. HD cameras have always felt slower compared to DigiBeta and DSRs. In this case, the image was underexposed on the default factory settings – as I would expect – and it was a little contrasty (1/50th shutter didn’t seem to help either). I shoot a lot of handheld actuality outside at night and therefore accept Gain as an occupational hazard. So, I selected 9dB, then 12dB, and the effect was stunning. Even at 12dB I struggled to register much noise in the B/W

NIGEL COOPER, www.dvuser.co.uk

The camera arrived from the everhelpful Dan Robb and David Young at Sony and it was time to put the demo unit to the test. The layout is

familiar, with all the usual buttons and switches at the front. At the rear there’s the usual flip-out LCD, and this is where you set timecode and can glance at the audio levels. The audio pots and switches are in a familiar layout, and users of the PDW700 will instantly recognise the grey rubber keys used to ‘navigate through clips’ (that’s cueing up your rushes in plain English). Conveniently, this gives you instant and direct access to the beginning of each shot; it’s one of the

PMW500 seen here with Canon lens. The switches and buttons at the front of the camera are familiar from other models

The PMW500 has two SxS card slots; the maximum card size is 64GB

Spring 2011 ZERB 45

Sony PMW500

Day Ext Out in daytime, the camera was put through its paces on the hills overlooking Sheffield. I tried long shots of the city, closer still on the doubler, pink sunset hues with the smoking columns of the Drax power station some 40 miles north, wide vistas of the Peak District. There was even a mad motorised parascending guy overhead to focus on! I shot every permutation possible: interlace, progressive, 1080, 720, time-lapse of clouds, undercrank, overcrank... The camera does everything it says on the tin, faultlessly.

All in one package The key to this camera is that it has all the features you might want in one package. It does everything you need and does it well, as you would expect when you part with £20k (inc VAT).

It is a joy to use and the pictures are great; even the viewfinder image gives you real confidence (best leave the peaking out though!).

While 1080/25p may be the setting of choice for most readers, do take a look at 720/50p. I shot some tight pans of goldfish in a tank on all settings, but the colour, detail and sharpness in the movement at 720/50p were breathtaking. These were my favourite images of the whole PMW500 test. Viewed on a calibrated 21” LCD in the edit suite, this setting is well worth a look if you’re not locked into 1080 lines by your broadcaster or client.

Files Everything was shot at 50 Mb/s in UMD file mode – which is the only one we really need. UMD gives full 4:2:2 colour and, once you’ve seen your rushes, you really won’t want to shoot anything else. The deal clincher may well be that the PMW500 is the lowest price access you will get to 4:2:2 images on a 2/3” shouldermount camera.

There are other modes on the camera. The PMW500 will record in FAT file format at 35Mb/s which gives a longer recording time and compatibility with Sony semi-pro cameras such as the EX3, but at a 4:2:0 sample rate.

NIGEL COOPER, www.dvuser.co.uk

The audio inputs at the back of the camera are in a familiar layout

I shot some tight pans of goldfish in a tank on all settings, but the colour, detail and sharpness in the movement at 720/50p were breathtaking. These were my favourite images of the whole test 46 Spring 2011 ZERB

The camera felt light but evenly balanced on the shoulder NIGEL COOPER, www.dvuser.co.uk

viewfinder; it was as clean as a whistle. The picture was lifted to much nearer desirable levels and the noise suppression fantastic. Without looking at a monitor, this seemed best in class.

Faces in close-up needed a little lift, so I brought in the PAG tungsten toplight and could even afford to diff it down well. Cars and buses span past with no nasty streaks or unpleasantness. I liked the contrasty look in the blacks once I’d lifted the subjects; there was just enough distinction between tones.

The tripod and monitor were required for further exploration of the night-time look but, once deployed, it was possible to play with gamma, knee and shoulder to achieve a pleasing lower-contrast night look for urban street scenes. This compared favourably to DigiBeta even before considering the impact of HD resolution and the reassuring flicker of progressive scan. A good evening’s work!

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The camera sat nicely on my shoulder, feeling light but evenly balanced. Stripping out the weight associated with tapes/ discs, video heads, motors and blue lasers is a clear plus point, and there’s a definite improvement in comfort The EX3 is a quirky little thing in itself. A bit like a Ferrari that’s been given wooden wheels, the EX3 features fantastic chips which produce great pictures if you can light and use a tripod, but it has buttons all over the place and can’t be used seriously as a handheld camera without cumbersome expensive add-ons. It’s almost a great camera and pricewise it can’t be faulted. For comparison, some EX3 footage was shot side by side with the PMW500. The 4:2:0/35Mbs EX3 footage actually stands up quite well against the 500 (in UMD mode) and, while it’s easy to spot the difference, you could cut in EX3 footage as a handy B roll every now and again. My view is that users will love the 4:2:2 so much that I can’t envisage anyone dropping down to the 35Mb/s setting even on non-broadcast work. Why compromise for the sake of the cost of a memory card?

With so much choice around at prices comparable to that originally paid for a DVW790, DigiBeta owners have had a difficult choice when going HD. On the other hand, programme makers and camera operators working in DVCAM have had the opposite problem, waiting for a credible and affordable replacement to arrive.

The PMW500 may make your wait worthwhile, with direct entry into tapeless 4:2:2 HD.

Lest we forget…

Old habits die hard. Tapes are great.

You record on them, label them, hand them to a producer and get in the car.

Memory cards aren’t like that. They will change the way we work – but stick with me because I’m starting to find that not all change is bad…

First, there are the cards. Sony has chosen SxS cards as opposed to P2 cards. The PMW500 has two card slots, and you can currently buy cards up to 64GB in size with 32GB cards being the most common. Shooting at 50Mb/s gives you about 2 minutes recording per gigabyte (GB), so a 32GB card carries 64 minutes and so on. Shooting at 35Mb/s gives longer. When one card is full, the recording automatically switches seamlessly to the second card. You can replace a full card at any time, even while the camera is recording. The cards are small enough to fit in your trouser pocket. As you can’t label the cards, it’s best to make a note elsewhere of the interview and location. I’ve seen some smart fellas making notes on their iPhone, but the back of a fag packet will suffice (you’re less likely to lose the fag packet!).

Coming up GTC Workshops: Get the most out of XDCAM If this review has whetted your appetite, look out for details of our forthcoming XDCAM roadshow for GTC members.

In a series of workshops in London, Glasgow, Bristol and Manchester, Neil Thompson of Sony will demonstrate how to get the very best out of the PMW500, PMW350 and EX3.

Sony PMW500

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I took the PMW500 along to some interviews for Traffic Cops. This was one in a series of interview days, and on previous days I had used a PDW700 so I would be able to get feedback from the editors about how the images compared (verdict: they cut together just fine). I could also compare the workflows on location. On the PDW700 days, all I needed was a pen to label the tapes; the arrangement is much more gadget-intensive when going tapeless.

This was to be a full day and each interview could take an hour or two.

We were used to shooting 3–4 hours of tape a day so we would use all our SxS cards before wrap. This meant dumping the files from full SxS cards onto a hard drive. Before wiping and re-using the card, a copy had to be made as an insurance against any corrupted files or hard drive failures.

As our back-up hard drive was a G-Safe, we effectively made three copies of the rushes before re-using the card. We had four cards, so two were always in the camera, one was downloading to the hard drive and one was ready to replace a full card.

So, I had the camera beside me and the monitor at my feet to keep tabs on proceedings; behind me on a table I had a US-10 card reader (available to buy for around £325) connected into my laptop computer via USB and then in turn to the hard drives via FireWire800. The downside is that you have to take your eye off the interviewee and your hand off the tripod while loading cards and creating folders. As long as you manage not to fumble around in the dark and distract the interviewee

though, the upside is that the conversation can go on without a pause for tape changes every 30 or 40 minutes. Battery changes too are kept to a minimum. The biggest bugbear of the otherwise excellent PDW700 is its vast appetite for batteries. The 500 has vastly improved battery consumption; slightly more than a DSR but noticeably lower than a DigiBeta.

Crucially, immediate download of rushes like this means a quicker end to the day; the last cards downloaded as we wrapped the kit. You can download directly from the camera, but the US-10 purchase really is a no-brainer.

Transfer times are limited by the speed of the USB on the US-10 (a FireWire port would have been nice) but also vary with the spec of the laptop. On a modern MacBook Pro with plenty of RAM, the 32GB SxS card downloaded in 15 minutes. On an older MacBook with less RAM and slower processor, it was more like 20 minutes. A FireWire800 connection to your hard drive is significantly quicker than FireWire400, which in turn is quicker than USB (all of which matters if you want to get back to the hotel before the restaurant closes!).

Software Of course, none of this works without software which should come with the camera or can be downloaded free from the Sony website (available for both PC and Mac – thank you, Sony).

Even if you are a 700/F800 user you need to make sure that you have all the latest versions of the XDCAM software and browsers, including the FAM driver for your Mac/PC, the PMW500 SxS UDF driver, SxS Pro Device driver and the XDCAM Browser

CHRIS GREENWOOD

The proxy workflow is effectively a step back into the tried and tested world of offline and online editing and has the potential to save both time and money

Choosing gear for a shoot is as much about computers and hard drives as camera accessories these days!

Old habits die hard. Tapes are great. You record on them, label them, hand them to a producer and get in the car. Memory cards aren’t like that NIGEL COOPER, www.dvuser.co.uk

On the job

Flip-out screen with grey rubber buttons for navigating through clips below viewing software. XDCAM Browser is where you can see your rushes via proxy files (low resolution copies of your rushes) and is a new all-in-one browser that replaces XDCAM Transfer (for PDW700 users) and EX Clip Browser (for EX3 users). I didn’t get on well with the new browser at first so I reverted to the familiar XDCAM Transfer, which did the job with no fuss. Once the SxS card is read and the proxy files created, the whole transfer procedure is a drag and drop process.

XDCAM and Panasonic P2 users should be well used to the proxy file workflow by now. It’s a great way to work. The low resolution Quicktime files can be dumped onto a memory stick and posted back to an editor.

They can be uploaded to the edit suite at night via the hotel broadband or rough-cut together on location on a laptop. I can drag and drop copies to keep on my laptop in seconds and use these as reference files for lighting set-ups and screen direction next time we shoot on the project. A great feature of the PDW700 was that the proxies could be written directly onto a USB stick during recording, so no transferring was required at night. At the moment, PMW500 proxy files are only recorded onto the SxS card so must be extracted separately on the laptop, a pain in remote locations.

There is a USB port on the camera, so hopefully Mr Sony can switch on this feature in a firmware upgrade.

The proxy workflow is effectively a step back into the tried and tested world of offline and online editing and has the potential to save both time and money. A case of ‘Back to the Future’?

Hang on! Wasn’t this supposed to be a camera review?

Don’t let all the computer speak put you off. The PMW500 means some things have to be done differently but hasn’t it ever been so? I didn’t think I would like the changes but I think I might secretly be becoming a bit of a fan. This is a proper camera – straight out of the box, onto your shoulder, 4:2:2 HD, 50Mb/s, no worries. It is definitely worthy of your consideration.

There is so much more to say about the PMW500 than time or space will allow. The camera is now starting to appear in the stockrooms of suppliers and hire houses. If you get the opportunity to use one, grab it and find out for yourself.

Fact file Freelance lighting cameraman Chris Greenwood is based in South Yorkshire. Chris and fellow lighting cameraman Mark Parkin co-ordinate their shooting activities through CanCam Ltd providing cameras and crew for documentary work as well as producing corporate projects.

Mobile: 07939 130887 Email: chris@cancamtv.com Web: www.cancamtv.com See more about the PMW500 at: http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/ product/xdcamcamcorders/ pmw-500/overview

Spring 2011 ZERB 47

3D on a North Sea oil rig Bruce Milne (Viscom)

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3D

on the North Sea

Shooting on the Tern Alpha Drill floor

Most cameramen find their first job in any new format such as stereo 3D challenging enough, but camera operator/editor and GTC member, Elliot Hornell, upped the ante on a recent shoot for Aberdeen-based production company Viscom. Not only was he to shoot on location in December last year – the coldest month since national records began, during which Scotland bore the brunt of the very worst weather – but the shoot was to be offshore on an oil rig in the middle of the North Sea. Add in the fact that a last minute schedule change saw the planning stage of the project shrink from six months to six weeks, and as an introduction to stereo shooting, it’s probably as tough as it gets. Having at first planned to shoot in a ‘conventional’ two-camera 3D configuration (either side-by-side or in beam-splitter mode), in the end the style of the shoot leant itself to shooting on the integrated Panasonic AG-3DA1.

48 Spring 2011 ZERB

first it was hoped we could shoot with two Sony EX3s in one or other of these configurations since it is a camera we already own and are familiar with.”

All in one However, as well as bringing on board a specialist stereographer for the shoot, Viscom decided to hire in a Panasonic AG-3DA1 from HD camera rental specialists, VMI, initially intending this for use as the B-camera.

Elliot says the integrated unit had a lot going for it on paper – reduced hire

Bristow S92 on the Tern Alpha Helideck Bruce Milne (Viscom)

The project in question, which has now wrapped its initial shoot, is a 10-minute 3D film depicting life on the Tern Alpha platform commissioned by oil operator TAQA Bratani for the Aberdeen Maritime Museum. Shot flyon-the wall style, an important part of the brief was to give the impression of a highly manoeuvrable camera to the eventual viewer at the museum.

“My initial recommendation was to shoot stereoscopic 3D on either a parallel, side-by-side rig or on a beam splitter mirrored rig with the cameras at 90° to each other,” says Elliot. “At

3D on a North Sea oil rig

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Helicopter approaching Tern Alpha helideck – preparing for the downwash

Pros and cons

Bruce Milne (Viscom)

rates (one camera, not two), reduced kit weight and bulk with all the knock-on effects for transportation costs and manoeuvrability, and so on.

As it happened, it turned out to be better on location than the EX3 rig and ended up being used as the main camera.

“What happened offshore was that, precisely because of the manoeuvrability, not to mention the

As a unit it does have its limitations.

While the fixed inter-ocular distance (IOD) simplifies things, this same simplification can also be a limitation.

Not being able to vary the IOD to provide an increased perception of depth can deliver a comparatively flat image in some situations.

“The minimum convergence point of around 3m combined with minimum

Viscom also decided to hire in a Panasonic AG-3DA1 from VMI, initially intending it for use as a B-camera … the integrated unit had a lot going for it on paper – reduced hire rates (one camera, not two), reduced kit weight and bulk with all the knock-on effects for transportation costs and manoeuvrability minimising of potential rig errors, we ended up using the Panasonic camera for 80% of the shoot,” Elliot explains.

“You can be sure that the lenses are parallel, you know the left-eye and right-eye images are always going to be in sync, and all this means that you can just trust it. When you’re working in a busy environment and need to get things on the first take, this is invaluable.”

The recording medium of the camera is solid-state SDHC cards using the 24Mbps AVCHD codec (4:2:0). “This was a perfectly useable format which we were happy to use as backup, however we wanted to record images at the very highest level possible, so VMI also supplied a Convergent Design high definition portable 3D recorder the nano3D. This unit pair connected to the dual HD-SDI outputs of the camera and was powered from a single

object distance (MOD) of 2.2m is not ideal and will present a few challenges whilst shooting, as you can’t get close to the subject,” says Elliot. “This relatively long MOD and minimum convergence point, combined with the need to check and manually adjust convergence, does restrict the use of the camera to controlled environments and pre-planned shots.”

Kit List

Adapting to 3D

1 x Panasonic AG-3DA1 2 x Sony EX3 2 x Dedolight 150W +light discs Bruce Milne (Viscom)

Tern Alpha Control Room – just enough room for the jib

2 x Litepanels 1x1 + filter set 1 x Litepanels Miniplus kit 2 x ARRI redheads Libec T103 legs, head and LB30 jib arm Sachtler legs 1 x Transvideo 3D Monitor 1 x Convergent Design nano3D 2 x Seagate External 1TB hard drives IDX and Anton Bauer batteries

ARRI DIGITAL HDCAM RED P2 DVCPro P2 VARICAM XDCAM HD XDCAM EX AVCHD DSLR 3D

Anton Bauer battery. After some initial testing we set the nano3D to record MXF files of both the left and right channels simultaneously at 100Mbps using the Sony XDCAM 4:2:2 codec.

The improvement in quality using the nano3D over the native AVCHD codec is noticeable and I am glad that we decided to use it.”

While the North Sea is not exactly known for being controlled, the planning that Elliot and the team put into the shoot managed to mitigate any shortcomings of the camera.

It’s interesting to note that Elliot sees the differences in working in stereo 3D as being comparatively minor. “There’s a new language to learn for a start, and as an operator you now have to concentrate on the convergence point as well as focus and exposure, but that will soon become second nature.

You need more light and fewer areas of shadow and it’s also important to remember to change your shooting technique as fast cuts don’t work well.

You need to let the viewer linger far more over scenes than you would in 2D work – something that will come out even more in the edit I suspect.”

Talking of which, Elliot is currently

w w w . v m i . t v

HD Camera Hire Drama

Feature

Documentary

+44 (0)20 8922 1222

Spring 2011 ZERB 49

3D on a North Sea oil rig

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Panasonic AG-3DA1 Ian Jackson (VMI)

While the fixed inter-ocular distance (IOD) simplifies things, this same simplification can also be a limitation. Not being able to vary the IOD to provide an increased perception of depth can deliver a comparatively flat image in some situations reviewing rushes and investigating Avid-based post workflows. “Again, as with the cameras, there doesn’t seem to be a one size fits all solution at the moment,” he says, “but we hope to have an initial cut completed by the spring, plus we’ll be out to the platform again to shoot some material we missed due to time constraints and bad weather last time around.”

And while springtime in the North Sea 100km north east of the Shetland Islands and 200km west of the Norwegian coast is hardly the Caribbean, compared to the weather from last December it could be positively balmy!

Fact File

Elliot Hornell is the senior Camera Operator and Editor at Viscom, a video and multimedia company based in Aberdeen.

Visit their website: www.viscom-aberdeen.com

Contact VMI HD camera hire specialists on: +44 (0)20 8922 1222 or visit their website at: www.vmi.tv/about

Why join the GTC? GTC membership will give you: • career development opportunities: workshops and training days by accredited trainers • member level access to the GTC website www.gtc.org.uk • free online CV and showreel listing on www.gtc.org.uk • two issues of the highly regarded magazine Zerb • four issues a year of the informative members’ newsletter GTC In Focus • expert opinion and advice from the GTC Internet Forum • prestigious annual awards celebrating the best television camerawork • members’ personal insurance scheme and discounted carnets and PAT training • networking opportunities at events and through the Internet Forum

How to join Find out if you are eligible for membership and for more information: Visit: Email: Tel: 50 Spring 2011 ZERB

www.gtc.org.uk membership.07@gtc.org.uk 01822 614405

Commonwealth Games

PHOTOS by Benedict reeves

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A Dilly-Dally in Delhi Benedict Reeves worked in the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi “I think it’s fair to say we’ve got the best deal.” We all truly wanted to believe Tim Moses, our camera supervisor, as we overlooked the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on our initial tour of the site for the opening and closing ceremonies, and the athletics. Unfortunately, for us to agree would imply that the crews on the other events would be working in some pretty rancid surroundings.

Five days before the Commonwealth Games were due to start, I was unsure whether the stadium was complete or not, and the sight of men carrying welding equipment (i.e. welding torch, flipflops and sunglasses) suggested not. Nevertheless, astoundingly, everything fell into place in time and the opening ceremony was a huge success.

As I saw it, the Indian way of life contains many idiosyncrasies.

The most pronounced difference was the extreme security (I counted 15 rifle-wielding soldiers on the 200-yard route from my camera to the compound), who stuck adamantly to a hard and fast list of potentially catastrophic items that must be confiscated – including all water bottles, my small travel clock and a rigger’s kiwi fruit.

razor wire at eye height. If we English suffer from ‘Health and Safety gone mad’, then the Indians surely suffer from “Health and Safety gone”.

Yet it was the locals’ social attitude I couldn’t fathom. For example, during the rehearsals for the opening ceremony, I was surrounded by a gaggle of 14-year-old schoolchildren who were performing in the show.

They were clearly interested in the camera (which had a J86 lens on) and so I asked them if anyone would like a go. Nervously, a small boy stepped forward and timidly tried zooming in and out. Immediately all his classmates, wide-eyed and impressed,

Delhi has a manic road system, yet has incredible monuments, temples and tombs scattered among the mayhem of tuk-tuks and streetwalking cattle

Health and Safety gone Delhi itself is a strange place. It’s no holiday resort, and has a manic road system (less, “Mirror, signal, manoeuvre” and more “Go, beep beep, go!”), yet has incredible monuments, temples and tombs scattered among the mayhem of tuk-tuks and streetwalking cattle. We encountered zebra crossings that led to two-foot high kerbs, and risked evening walks avoiding manholes without covers and The bright yellow uniform did nothing to discourage the moths

It’s not even rush hour!

Spring 2011 ZERB 51

Commonwealth Games

Crowd control outside The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium! gathered round him. Then an older boy appeared and shouted at them to step back, before sternly telling me, “Never let them touch the camera.” Why? Similarly, when I asked in the stadium where I could buy Commonwealth Games merchandise, I was given directions to a stall that didn’t exist. When I asked again, I was told that it did exist but would open later. I went back later and it still wasn’t there, to be told that it had moved and would be open even later. This was all relayed with great politeness but was obviously a complete load of codswallop. There was no stall and nobody was prepared to say “I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

(Incidentally, later on, I did manage to find perhaps the only cotton T-shirt in the whole of Delhi with the Games mascot, Shera, on. Once my children have grown out of it I shall be sticking it on eBay for about £25,000.)

Close-up of Jupiter The beauty of the combination of a J86 lens with extender, a clear

(it moves, or rather Earth moves, remarkably quickly) and he thanked me uncontrollably for showing him such a sight. I was later told that people from his home region believe that seeing the planets brings good luck, and so seeing them in such detail would bring enormous fortune.

After the colour, dancing and music of the opening ceremony, the whole track and field had to be transformed for the athletics. This meant a major rehaul for the stadium and a couple of re-plugs for us, so we were allowed the day off.

The pretty Taj Mahal Along with most of the crew, it seemed, I headed for Agra and the Taj Mahal. It’s quite pretty. How else can you describe it? Well, perhaps, “lots of people taking photos of a really big impressive white marble building”, or “near Agra railway station, which has loads of monkeys running around and really, really, really bad toilets which is a problem when you have Delhi Belly like me”. By the way, should the

The beauty of the combination of a J86 lens with extender, a clear night sky and plenty of downtime in a drawn-out rehearsal, was that I could get a fantastic shot of the planet Jupiter and its four largest moons night sky and plenty of downtime in a drawn-out rehearsal, was that I could get a fantastic shot of the planet Jupiter and its four largest moons (which bizarrely are all smaller in diameter than the distance from India to England!). It was so clear that I could make out the bands on the surface, and I was excited to see this so crisply. But I wasn’t nearly so excited as one of the local camera assistants. He videoed my viewfinder for as long as I held Jupiter in shot

52 Spring 2011 ZERB

www.gtc.org.uk

At least there was no trouble with ticket touts

Should the man who was standing just outside Agra Fort be reading this, then I’d like to reiterate that I still don’t want a miniature snow-dome of the Taj Mahal on a key ring, but it was nice of you to offer so very many times inner field which was about as smooth as me when I’m chatting to women at wrap parties (i.e. not very). Portions of the track were being resurfaced, which made it look like the council had been round to dig up the pavement but, worst of all, the whole place was being sprayed with water which stank of, well, poo.

Those pesky moths Now, one of the only things I can’t stand is moths, with their big flappy wings and their insistent fluttering around your face... so I had a whale of a time as the stadium became overrun with these lepidopteran buggers. Then, at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, a heroic squadron of valiant dragonflies would inundate the whole pitch, flushing out the dithering flappy-flies, only in turn to be swiftly devoured by five-foot wing-spanned black kites.

No matter how many photos I took, I could not convey how odd it felt to be circled by a pack of about 100 birds of

man who was standing just outside Agra Fort be reading this, then I’d like to reiterate that I still don’t want a miniature snow-dome of the Taj Mahal on a key ring, but it was nice of you to offer so very many times.

When we returned to the stadium the following day there was a lot of talk of the athletics having to be postponed. It was in absolute turmoil.

Fork-lift trucks were driving around the international running track carrying rolls of turf to be laid on the Proper stunt kites

prey. Imagine walking down any High Street and shouting out, “I’ve been involved in an accident that wasn’t my fault. Can anybody help me find the right compensation settlement?” and watching the approaching pack of opportunist lawyers with their clipboards and false smiles. It’s sort of like that – but without the clipboards.

As it happened, the athletics didn’t need to be delayed, although that’s not to say everything was perfect.

There were many errors. Some seemed comical; like the javelin thrower who clearly passed the 75m mark yet was awarded a distance of 72m; and the man raking the long jump pit who would walk across the bit he had just smoothed; to the frighteningly serious – I was operating the Radio-cam on the women’s long jump final, when one of the Nigerian competitors collapsed and had a seizure. I immediately alerted the officials to tell them a doctor was required without delay, but I couldn’t find one person

Commonwealth Games

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One of the stewards came over to tell me that people on the right of me had complained that the people on my left had been on the telly more than them and they wanted to be on now who seemed to comprehend the urgency of the situation. Meanwhile the poor girl was having mouthto-mouth resuscitation from the Canadian coach and one of our own cameramen. After what felt like weeks, three stretcher-bearers eventually appeared and carried her off out of view. She recovered, but I dread to think what might have happened.

As with all the events, the crowds were slow to appear at the athletics.

I’m not sure if it was ticket problems, inaccessibility, security or general apathy, but the first few days were played out almost entirely to other athletes waiting for their events to start. By the final few days, the seats were pretty much all filled though and this made an enormous difference to the atmosphere, as well as to the Indians’ medal tally! The support for the home competitors was immense and I’ve never heard such as noise as when the Indian women’s 4 x 400m team won gold.

of Delhi. Some hid from moths in air-conditioned offices. But we all started to appreciate that we actually did have the best deal and that we were experiencing a tremendous opportunity.

The athletics finished and preparations for the closing ceremony began. My camera position changed again and I was now in the stands, offering shots of the crowd. The camera rostrum had either been built in the wrong place or not repositioned to the correct place, with the result that a lot of spectators wanted to sit alongside me as they had been sold seats there. They were all a bit cross as their view was severely obscured, but then delighted when I pointed out the great big glaring block of empty seats where my rostrum should have been.

Unfortunately, this initial friendship turned into slight exasperation as they would stand about a foot in front of my J86 lens asking to be on TV over and over again. It got silly when one

Quite pretty: The Taj Mahal tell them about it was the equivalent of someone in Britain complaining about a bluebottle buzzing near the window. It’s India! What do you expect? Maybe I’ll also phone the Delhi police to tell them there’s a cow loose in the street!

Someone told me that India stands for ‘I’ll Never Do It Again’. I don’t think that’s fair. There were good points (e.g. curry for breakfast) and bad points (e.g. Delhi Belly), but ultimately it was a phenomenal experience and a massive eye-opener.

I’ve learnt that we have it good.

We really have it good. Cameramen are known for their whingeing, but we’ve actually got nothing to whinge

about. For me, Delhi stood for, ‘Didn’t Enjoy Large Horrible Insects’ or perhaps, ‘Don’t Expect Lovely, Heathy Intestines’, yet I had a great time.

“Definitely Experienced Lively, Happy India”

Fact File Benedict Reeves has been a television cameraman (studios, OBs and PSC) since 1997.

Tel: 07966 464849 Email: benedict.reeves@virgin.net Website: www.midcams.co.uk

At about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, a heroic squadron of valiant dragonflies would inundate the whole pitch, flushing out the dithering flappy-flies, only in turn to be swiftly devoured by five-foot wingspanned black kites Yet there was one group who never failed to make it to the stadium – the stray dogs. I was amused to find paw prints in the long jump pit (I didn’t dig any deeper, but I’m guessing there may have been some little surprises in there). With an armed soldier every 13 yards and security that wouldn’t even let lemon juice in as it’s a bit sharp, you have to wonder what sort of accreditation these dogs had!

Lucky us Luckily for us, our schedule was excellent (a few hours in the morning and a few more in the evening) which gave us the opportunity to avoid the midday sun in whatever manner we chose. Some preferred to return to the hotel and the poolside delights.

Some explored the sights and smells

of the stewards came over to tell me that people on the right of me had complained that the people on my left had been on the telly more than them and they wanted to be on now!

Rats!

With the de-rig completed, it was a late return to the 5-star hotel that had been our home for three weeks.

It was a beautiful place with the most friendly staff you could imagine (although replying to ‘Good Evening, sir. How are you?’ from all 20 of the staff at the entrance did start to get a bit tiresome after the first couple of days). As it was all kept spotlessly clean, I was quite startled to discover a rat scurrying around outside the door of my fifth floor room. It’s only now that I realise my call to reception to

Spring 2011 ZERB 53

Commonwealth Games

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Delhi ‘Aquotics’

by Andy Robertson, SIS LIVE cameraman Andy operating the X-mo camera with Greame Daisley in the background

This is dedicated to all my new-found friends from Australia who joined me in India at the Aquatics Centre – or as I’ve been taught to say – the ‘Aquotics Cintre’!

A large group of newcomers were gathering outside the hotel. From their strange accents I guessed this must be ‘G-Force’, the well tried-and-trusted specialist crew assembled by aquatics director Greg Clarke. Their reputation as a hardworking and talented group had preceded them.

I introduced myself and welcomed them to India. There were a few Hi’s and Hello’s in return but it was clear most of the men and women were hung over with jetlag after their long journey.

We filed onto the bus to take us to the venue and, apart from the almost constant blaring of the bus’s horn, the hour-long journey passed in stunned silence.

Delhi is an amazing city full of sights and smells that are impossible to ignore. The constant jumble of buses, cars, motorbikes and the

infamous tuk-tuks all toot whenever they overtake or undertake another vehicle; they toot when the traffic is going too slowly... and they toot when it is going too fast! In fact, the only time they don’t toot is when the horn is broken.

Arriving at the site – the Dr SP Murkerjee Swimming Stadium – we then had to go through the rigmarole of passing the security checks. The Delhi police, in their brown militarystyle uniforms, bristled with guns but were pleasant enough and quickly caught the Australians’ infectious good humour. We were still patted down and our bags searched, but at least we could smile and laugh with the guards about it.

The venue was in good shape, or so I thought, and the camera equipment had already been allocated to each position. It soon became apparent that

There is no ‘I’ in team and my hard work would be for nothing without a brilliant team behind me

The aquatics crew with director Greg Clarke centre of the front row (with the white cap)

54 Spring 2011 ZERB

all the cameraman knew exactly which camera they were to operate and they just got on with the job of putting together the parts.

Greg took me to one side and said he didn’t have operators for either of the railcams or the X-mo camera.

The constant jumble of buses, cars, motorbikes and the infamous tuk-tuks all toot whenever they overtake or undertake another vehicle; they toot when the traffic is going too slowly... and they toot when it is going too fast!

I replied that since SIS LIVE Special Cameras had two excellent operators for the railcams, I would be doing the X-mo for him. “Bloody good luck!” he said, as he slapped me on the back and walked away. Paul, one of the operators, explained that Greg is a stickler for very tight shots and pinpoint focusing. No pressure there then, especially as I had never covered swimming nor even come across the X-mo camera.

At first glance it appears the X-mo camera is still in the process of being developed. The picture above accurately depicts the set-up with lots of wires and bits bolted on wherever they can be. There is a small LCD viewfinder perched on top and the whole thing is connected through a CCU to a computer and LSM recorder via a standard camera fibre. Recordings can be triggered at the computer end of the cable

so, fortunately, the operation of the camera is very similar to an ordinary camera with a big lens.

The big difference is what comes out of the LSM. A normal HD camera’s output at 1080i is 25 frames per second (fps), a super slow camera is usually 75fps, but the X-mo can go from 300fps up to 1000fps, hence the need for good focus control!

However, there is no ‘I’ in team and my hard work would be for nothing without a brilliant team behind me.

The ‘G-Force’ crew have been working together for quite a few years now in various parts of the world, and I would be delighted to be a part of them again. I would hope that they would take you too under their wing should you ever get to meet or work with them. So, be sure to look out for the Aussie boys and girls at the next “Aquotics Cintre”!

Rosco at 100 years old

www.gtc.org.uk

History

A Colourful

We tend to think of broadcast manufacturers as recent arrivals in the commercial world. In fact, some GTC sponsor companies have been around for a long time; their theatre and Hollywood roots mean they predate television by several decades. One such business is Rosco, designer and supplier of (among other things) colour filters. Last year, Rosco celebrated an impressive 100 years in the industry and Zerb is pleased to celebrate the GTC’s association with Rosco with this inside view of the company from Stan Miller, Rosco’s Chairman for more than 50 years.

One hundred years ago, the company was founded by Sydney Rosenstein and it was from his name that the ‘Ros’ in Rosco came. Many years later, I recall hearing the lighting designer Abe Feder growl at Sydney, “You’re a damn stubborn Dutchman.” He was wrong about the Dutchman part, but otherwise right!

Rosco’s very first product was Colorine, a dipping lacquer for small bulbs. At that time (1910), all bulbs were clear, but producers wanted marquee lights to be coloured. To get this effect, they would dip the bulbs in a variety of coloured lacquers.

Rosco’s innovation offered Colorine in both transparent colours and opaline translucent colours. The style of the

Broadway came from Germany. When war broke out, electricians asked Rosenstein if he could make Colorine in sheets. This wasn’t yet possible, but by 1914 he had developed Rosco gelatine and was able to offer a limited range of colours.

By the time my late partner (Len Kraft) and I bought Rosco in 1958, the company offered a wide range of gel colours and a number of products for the projection booth. We were also the largest producer of film cement for splicing motion picture film. Why film cement and gel? Because most major motion picture houses still had stage shows so our dealers were ‘theatre supply’ companies. They sold carbons for the projectors, lamps for the

Every trade show I attend is packed with companies that surely have tales to tell of the ‘Rosco Years’ marketing materials (‘We colour the lights of Broadway’) shows that the direction of the company was set from early in its history. Although Brigham was already making gelatin in Vermont, most of the gel used on

56 Spring 2011 ZERB

spotlights, and film cement and gel.

It was about 1960 that the dealers began to specialise in supplying either live theatre or projection booths. The ‘stage lighting’ classification was limited at that time, so we made the

Rosco Film Cement for splicing film

Rosco at 100 years old

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Page from catalogue giving details of Rosco Colorine decision to move towards the stage side and phased out the projection booth products. This was a break with history as many of our dealer relationships went back to the forties and fifties when you could pretty much count on finding a big Century film projector inside the dealer’s front door. These long relationships are among Rosco’s greatest assets: the businesses and the people running them. Every trade show I attend is packed with companies that surely have tales to tell of the ‘Rosco Years’.

You might say that these businesses and Rosco have grown up together.

Filters Rosco is best known for its colour and correction filters, gobos, fog machines and scenic paints. This is not the place for a detailed history of how we came to lead the field in these product categories, but it is worth mentioning that we introduced our first range of

used different resin, different dyes, and a totally new technique of manufacturing. The result was a filter range that, to this day, maintains the standard for durability and consistency.

Fog machines Fog for theatrical use had a different history. The Rosco Fog Fluid formulation was developed originally for special effects people in film.

Traditionally, Hollywood fog was made by burning oily rags, and it was the attendant health and safety control concerns that gave birth to Rosco’s fog machine business. We then brought it over for use in theatres, concerts and clubs. As providers of consumables, it was the fluid supply that attracted us initially, and we only began to manufacture machines once we found that there were no quality delivery devices available. Many people remember our first attempt at

There’s an enduring philosophy in Rosco’s history: though the technology of business may change, the connections between people should endure plastic filters in 1955. That was the era when stage lights were getting smaller and hotter and gelatine was no longer the right medium. Our first try at plastic colour filters, Roscolene, wasn’t perfect, but it changed the composition and style of colour filter manufacturing forever.

In 1976, we introduced Roscolux.

I remember the date because Stan Schwartz (Executive Vice President) had prepared ads announcing ‘76 new colours in ’76’ – although in fact we had 81 colours before the introduction! These were different in every way from the earlier filters. We Roscolux Swatchbook

fog machines, the model 8211 in 1979.

Some of those early machines are still in use, and the film industry honoured us with our second Academy Award in 1984 for the development of a ‘safe, non-toxic fog fluid’.

Paints and coatings Rosco scenic paints and coatings got started in 1983, and it was thanks largely to the theatre supply dealers that the range was a success. Most dealers had the word ‘lighting’ in their names, as in ‘Grand Stage Lighting’, but they were, then and now, open to new ideas and new product categories.

They stocked the paint, learnt how to present it, and thus helped to develop this emerging market. (Some dealers, recognising it wasn’t just lighting any more, even changed their names to reflect this new development.)

There’s an enduring philosophy in Rosco’s history: though the technology of business may change, the connections between people should endure. In Rosco’s case, it’s the relationships we’ve established and built with dealers and production companies around the world that are crucial to our continued existence.

We believe also that new products are critical to the growth of our business and the business of our dealers. We have always worked at creating both products and categories, and building demand for these products.

That formula: enduring relationships with our dealers and a steady stream of new products has worked for the first 100 years. It has kept a group of employees stimulated, involved, energised and fulfilled. Years ago, we used a consultant who asked our

Can of Rosco Opaline lamp dip

managers, “What’s the objective of a business?” The answers included “… to maximise sales … to maximise earnings.” “No, no,” the Professor said “It’s survival, to keep the business going… that’s your objective.”

Michael Hall, founder of Roscolab Ltd in London (the embryo of Rosco Europe) and now consultant to the company, takes up the story. “By the early 70s, Rosco in the US was a healthy and prosperous business.

Unlike many American principals for whom the world ends at 9th Avenue,

Spring 2011 ZERB 57

Rosco at 100 years old Roscolene Color Medium

Stan Miller led the company to explore selling into Europe, and the common language made England an obvious jumping-off point. Richard Pilbrow, who was growing his lighting rental

www.gtc.org.uk

Prototype for 8211 Fog Machine

and technicians, expected to find Rosco products when working abroad, particularly in Europe. But New York was a long way away and air-freight expensive and still slow, so it became

Our product is like bread, it has to be available on demand – even a 24-hour courier service may be too late company, Theatre Projects, in London, started to stock Roscolene, and Rosco appointed Johnny Johnson, well known in film and television circles, as a consultant. We exhibited at Photokina in Germany, and started to appoint dealers and stockists.

The increasing ease of travel meant that our world was growing smaller. Key users, such as designers Gelatine Sheet pack

58 Spring 2011 ZERB

clear that Rosco needed an identity and company across the Atlantic, with a good stocking facility.

Late in 1975, Rosco set up a subsidiary company and warehouse on the Thames South Bank in London near the National Theatre and London Weekend Television. Roscolab sounded good, with an impressive address and the attractive tag ‘also in New

York and Hollywood’. Not many in the business will remember it; just a small building, a very small investment and an employee count of just one; S. Miller being the sole incumbent.

From these modest beginnings, Roscolab Ltd grew, like the larger Rosco model, getting to know the lighting designers, film cameramen, technical directors and scenic artists, and thus generating demand.

Now,100 years on, it’s time to take stock. What has been achieved?

Lighting and performing art technology changes, but designers still need colour. While the specifications have roots and provenance going back 50 years or more, most new colours are created for designers’ needs through proactive listening.

The products change and the need for dichroic colours, be it in the form of filters or in moving lights, continues to grow.

More sophisticated tools are available. For instance, you can create your own image for a Rosco add-on projector, use double gobo rotators, and employ lighting software. Our product is like bread, it has to be available on demand – even a 24-hour courier service may be too late – so the Rosco belief in the professional stocking partnership with dealers still stands. Virtually all countries, no matter how small, now have access to our products via a stocking dealer.

In the teeth of the current recession, we’ve worked as a team to keep Rosco on the road. With the help of our dealer partners we are pleased to have survived to celebrate our centenary.

Theatre Marquee bulb that could be dipped in colorine

Fact File Roscolab Ltd Kangley Bridge Road Sydenham London SE26 5AQ Tel: +44(0)20 8659 2300 Fax: +44(0)20 8659 3153 E: sales@rosco-europe.com www.rosco.com

www.gtc.org.uk Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games

Squashed Bugs Camera Supervisor James Day worked on the tennis in Delhi The technical term ‘squashed bugs’ had two meanings in Delhi, the obvious one referring to what is left after a large tennis shoe crunches some giant bug as it scampers for the last time across the court. The other refers to the appallingly inconvenient and misplaced burnt-in score readout bug in the top left of the TV pictures.

After a day with a mammoth version of this obscuring half the screen and making keeping the ball and the players away from it in the wide angle a nightmare, a desperate plea finally achieved success when it was discovered that there was in fact a ‘squashed’ version without the players’ names, just the national flags.

Unbelievable!

Bugs featured a lot in Delhi. The unceasing assault that we all suffered

The giant vine cockroach, aka four inches of unguided out-of-control Mad Max flying menace, would crash into us like an RPG

on camera after dark was actually terrifying. Beekeepers’ outfits would have helped. The giant vine cockroach, aka four inches of unguided out-ofcontrol Mad Max flying menace, would crash into us like an RPG. Male and female colleagues alike would let fly loud expletives, jumping about six feet

in the air. In comparison, the other 10 billion smaller flyers were merely inconvenient.

Indian security was in a class of its own. Bearing in mind the extreme heat and that we had all been repeatedly told to drink plenty of water: ‘No sir, you cannot take water onto the courtside cameras, somebody might throw it at the players’ ‘But but but....’

‘No sir, it is on the list of offensive banned items’ Two minutes later...

‘Do you have any water sir?’

‘No’ ‘Please enter’ Enters, gets to camera, takes water out of bag... Bonkers.

But the people of India are lovely, the ancient monuments and sights are fantastic, the driving is special... which is good as there are no apparent rules of the road or other distractions!

And the really good news? The Aussies didn’t win everything but the Indians did win something... and so did Scotland!

Fact File After 36 years of being employed by the BBC and SIS LIVE, James Day is now fully freelance and open to offers of a tasteful kind.

Music a speciality.

Mobile: 07889 465164

Spring 2011 ZERB 59

Golden Eye Festival

www.gtc.org.uk

The sixth century Jvari Monastery high on the cliffs

Traditional Georgian balconied house in old Tbilisi

The Golden Eye of Georgia - celebrating the art and craft of the cameraman Photographs Š2010 John Henshall 60 Spring 2011 ZERB

Golden Eye Festival

www.gtc.org.uk

John Henshall reports back from a trip to the Georgian capital Tbilisi where he was pleased to represent the Guild at the Second Golden Eye International Festival of Cameramen It is fair to say that without cameramen, television would still be called… well, radio.

Cameramen are the eyes of everyone who watches television, the craftsmen who create and capture the pictures which convey the emotions

Republic of Georgia to create a festival devoted to recognising the unique eye – the Golden Eye – of some of the best cameramen in the world in 2009.

In its second year, the Golden Eye International Festival of Cameramen

The Golden Eye International Festival of Cameramen is an inspired event which deserves to go from strength to strength which make television pictures the most compelling form of photography in the world.

And yet cameramen are not very good at telling the world what a great job they do. They are shy about boasting about their work. They have never said very much about their contribution, perhaps because historically the crew system in the major broadcast organisations ensured that no individual stood out. Apart from the GTC Awards, there has been very little recognition for the outstanding work of the television cameraman.

It is perhaps surprising therefore that it took the former Soviet GTC Tbilisi style - the Georgian Trade Center

invited the Guild of Television Cameramen to send a representative to the festival in Tbilisi, Georgia. Our chairman, Graeme McAlpine, being busy working on the Commonwealth Games in India, asked me if I would represent the Guild.

Not just a jolly!

Of course I was keen to go. Two or three days ligging in a country I had never been to, on the cusp of Europe and Asia, sounded very exciting. But it was not to be like that at all. I was needed for two weeks, to be spent in a darkened room viewing over 70 entries. No fast forwarding at these awards: every entry was to be viewed in its entirety. Intensive work.

But the jury members were to be looked after, with hotel, meals and transport all provided.

I was met at Tbilisi airport, in the middle of the night, by the Festival Director, Zurab Khutsishvili, and taken direct to the festival’s venue and small hotel, the modern Merab Berdzenishvili International Culture Center (www.art-muza.ge). We started the judging later that same day.

The jury at work

The festival’s venue, the modern

rnational Culture Center

‘Muza’ Merab Berdzenishvili Inte

The international jury was made up of six people: Otar Luitanishvili (Chairman), a film director and professor at Shota Rustaveli University of Theatre and Cinema in Georgia; Marja Sonneveld, a camera operator, documentary maker and former professor of Visual Arts at the Dutch Film and TV Academy (NFTVA) in

for the organising company, Indent, to finance their studies while at university. Another young Indent employee, Giorgi Karselashvili, worked as technical manager.

Indent is the major Georgian supplier of broadcast systems, representing companies such as Canon, Fujinon, Harris, JVC, Panasonic,

The awards presentation ceremony was a vibrant event... I could hardly believe the media interest, counting no less than ten camera units from various television stations Amsterdam, Netherlands; Arsen Arakelyan, a film director from Armenia; Elkhan Djaparov, a film director from Azerbaijan; Georgi ‘Kakha’ Kakhabrishvili, a television director and rector at the Television and Radio Institute in Georgia and myself, John Henshall, as co-vice chairman of the GTC. The daily viewing and judging was organised by four outstanding young Georgians: Levan Katsadze, the project manager of IFIT (International Foundation for Innovative Technologies); communications manager Elene Kokreidze and festival press secretary Guantsa Barabadze. All of them speak superb English and are brilliant organisers. They are all students of international law who also work

Sony, Telex and Vitec, all of which support the festival and gave wellattended open presentations in the days preceding the awards event itself.

Truly international Festival entries came from Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Brazil, Croatia, Estonia, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Ukraine and the USA. Sadly, there were no entries from the UK, perhaps because little has been known here about this festival. No matter how long the running time, each was viewed in its entirety. The entries ranged from short commercials and student films to long drama and documentary productions. Thankfully, the standard was generally extremely high, so the jury was never bored.

Spring 2011 ZERB 61

Golden Eye Festival

www.gtc.org.uk

Some of the many crews covering the event

t’, is interviewed for nds, winner for ‘Best Original Sho Peter Brugman of the Netherla si Tbili in age vint 2010 the of es grap television as he treads the first

Grand Prize winner Mkrtich Mal

khasyan

Cameramen are not very good at telling the world what a great job they do... they are shy about boasting about their work

Traditional Georgian dress worn by wedd

ing party

Voting was done in secret, the results being collated by our team of organisers. When it came to the shortlist of winners I was amazed to discover that the jury, brought together from so many nations, had been in complete accord. The only aspect the jury found difficult was understanding the chosen categories, such as ‘Best Angle’, ‘Best Portrait’ and ‘Best Sketch’, and we recommended revising the categories for 2011.

Winning camerawork

Mtskheta.

Wedding by candlelight in Sveti-Tskhoveli Cathedral, Note the man on his cellphone behind the bridesmaid!

62 Spring 2011 ZERB

The winner of the ‘Best Original Shot’ was Peter Brugman of the Netherlands, for his haunting photography on Winter Silence – much of it shot in available moonlight in the Swiss Alps.

The ‘Best Movie Cameraman Work’ award went to Georgian cameraman Giorgi Beridze for Three Houses, a story of the meeting of the wife and mistress of a Georgian general in the Red Army, after he had died in the arms of the mistress in her apartment.

Set in post-war Soviet Georgia, the production was photographed in beautiful rich monochrome.

At the presentation ceremony, I was asked to announce the ‘Best Television Cameraman Work’ award which went to Dutch cameraman Erik Van Empli for the documentary Carmen Meets Borat. This production is an absolute must-see.

While on holiday in Romania the director, Mercedes Stalenhoef, had a chance meeting with a feisty young woman who, watching a Spanish soap opera on satellite TV, had a dream of escaping from her humdrum life in the dismal village of Glod – which in Romanian appropriately means ‘mud’.

Intrigued by Carmen, Stalenhoef

decided to shoot a documentary about her village and her dream.

By an amazing coincidence, just as we are feeling sympathy for the hapless inhabitants of Glod, Sacha Baron Cohen and his Twentieth Century Fox crew turn up and lampoon the unwitting non-English speaking residents as idiots and sexual deviants for the movie Borat. When the villagers realise what has happened, a big-talking American lawyer arrives to talk them into a lawsuit against Twentieth Century Fox. This is a masterpiece of documentary photography, evolving seamlessly into a completely different story as the drama unfolds, never missing an important line or any of the action and beautifully portraying the counterpoint of humour and pathos. In fact I found it funnier than the Borat feature film itself.

The Grand Prize was won by Mkrtich Malkhasyan from Armenia for his outstanding photography on the drama/documentary Nora, directed by the BAFTA award-winning British director David Hinton, who worked on The South Bank Show for ten years. Nora tells the true story of a Zimbabwean-born dancer, Nora Chipaumire, born in Zimbabwe in 1965 and now living in the US, taking her on a journey back through her youth in a poetic mixture of dance and performance. It was exquisitely photographed on location in southern Africa with, Mkrtich Malkhasyan told me, a crew of no fewer than 25.

The awards presentation ceremony was a vibrant event held on the evening of Saturday 23 October 2010.

I could hardly believe the media interest, counting no less than ten

Golden Eye Festival

www.gtc.org.uk camera units from various television right hand arranged in the form of a stations. Because of the unique triangle as we passed a church. On Georgian script I can’t say which Sunday, many marriages were being companies I was interviewed by – blessed in candlelight in the historic apart from one radio reporter who churches – a wonderful sight. identified herself as being from the In old Tbilisi the apartments BBC Russian Service. and houses with protruding upper It will not be long before this small balconies have Escher-like crissformer Soviet country is ‘discovered’ crossing external staircases and by the package tourist trade. I have gas pipes. Hopefully they will be never received such a warm welcome preserved. anywhere as that from my Georgian The Golden Eye International hosts. It seems incredible that one Festival of Cameramen is an inspired of the world’s greatest tyrants, event which deserves to go from Joseph Stalin, was born here. Some strength to strength. Hopefully there of the world’s earliest wine was will be some UK winners at next year’s made in Georgia and they have not festival. Of course, that’s entirely up lost the taste for it, often producing to you. delicious homemade vintages for incredible dinners presided over by the traditional ‘Tamada’ or toastmaster.

We did earn one day off during the two weeks, when we were taken sightseeing around Tbilisi. Georgia is magical with some of the world’s earliest Christian churches, dating from the sixth century. It was one of the first countries to be converted to Christianity and most of the people are still devoutly Christian. One of the shots I wish I’d dared capture director), was that of 20 people sitting at the nt’), Zurab Khutsishvili (festival Zurab Gegenava (director of ‘Inde munication (com e reidz Kokh e Elen tor), coordina153x85 back of aLF_Cinema_Ad_132x90:2498 bus, all crossing themselves rgi Jajanidze (fest Geo 3692 Lee_Swatch Adival Cinema nologies) rnational Fund of Innovative Tech three times with three fingers of their manager), Levan Katsadze (Inte

“Get me a 0.6 ND for a 2k on the doors”

Escher-like criss-crossing staircases in old Tbilisi

Fact File Contact GTC co-vice chairman John Henshall on: john.henshall.07@gtc.org.uk Details and a full list of the Golden Eye Festival 2010 winners can be found at: www.goldeneye.ge

“Get me a Half CTO on a 4x4 for the 20k”

“Can I have a 4x4 Soft Silver bounce” “I need some 216 on a 3x2”

The Art of Light

Tel: +44 (0)1264 366245 Fax: +44 (0)1264 355058 www.leefilters.com

Spring 2011 ZERB 63

Commonwealth Games

www.gtc.org.uk

A Delhi Diary Phil Nixon was involved in pre-rig checks at many Delhi venues and then worked on the wrestling 19 September 2010 Having flown in the day before, Liz Hillman and I find ourselves stuck in eight lanes of Delhi traffic – on a road marked out for five – en route to the SIS HQ, tucked away up a back street. Eventually we arrive – just the 45 minutes late – to be drenched in a monsoon downpour and then issued

by Jon Fay with our ‘welcome packs’ consisting of black felt-tip pen, roll of white marker tape, 200 cotton buds,

over Delhi and also to establish that all the fibres and triax cables had been correctly positioned ready for the main reinforcements, who were due out on 29 September for the camera rig. So, armed with plans, tape and rubber gloves we were delighted to get back into a traffic jam... in yet more rain.

The rest of the diary entries are a complete blur... Suffice to say, for the next nine days, Liz and I sat in traffic for 30% of the working day and spent

It didn’t take long to find the triaxes; they were lying under two inches of water, including all the joints can of compressed air, mobile phone and pair of surgical gloves... Had the cream of SIS LIVE OB cameramen really been hand-selected for some kind of fetish gathering?

Pre-rig checks Ten of us had been flown out ahead of the Games to check camera equipment placements at venues all

the other 70% in various equipment storerooms moving boxes from one pile to another and recording what we found in them.

Our first venue was the lawn bowls which was located in its own cordoned-off area just next to the main JLN stadium. Being fairly early on in the proceedings, this was all a bit quiet with many prefabricated buildings and no sign of any cables or

The camera storeroom – a good place to be while it was raining!

64 Spring 2011 ZERB

people. It didn’t take long to find the triaxes though; they were lying under two inches of water, including all the joints. When, guess what? Some more buckets of rain arrived.

Plan B, straight to the dry equipment sheds to spend a day and a half making sense of it all. We could not believe the number of shiny new lenses we were slowly uncovering, plus tripods of all descriptions, panning heads of various weight loadings (many entirely unsuitable for the lightweight cameras on site), but a complete lack of any rainproofing or overnight covers. But, then again, this was the reason we were here: to check for missing items.

All over the place Over the next few days, Liz and I with our trusty local driver, Gopal, made trips to the weightlifting, wrestling, cycling, table tennis and clay shooting venues... scattered to the four corners of Delhi. One site in particular (full bore shooting) was so far away – in a neighbouring city – that an overnight stay was joked about, especially after our many hours spent in traffic jams.

It was on one of our many missions that I witnessed first-hand locals painting kerbstones with their fingers... no gloves or brushes, just painting with their bare hands to brighten up the city for the visitors to the Games.

Each day, Jon Fay would receive stocktaking emails from Liz, detailing the results of our daily equipment checks... while I generally faffed around, getting in her way wielding marker pen and tape. Well, that was until one evening we stopped for a

drink on our way back to our hotels.

For some reason, I put the marker pen and tape on the bar... and there they stayed. Now, in Delhi you don’t just pop out for a few minutes to collect mislaid items, it’s a 2.5-hour round trip to get anywhere and back. I can only say to the engineer at the wrestling venue, if he ever wants a drink then I will gladly buy him enough for a week, for out of his bag of goodies he presented me with a replacement roll of white tape.

Our original schedule had included checking the rugby sevens but when The triaxes were lying under two inches of dirty water

Commonwealth Games

www.gtc.org.uk

Second attempt at the wrestling picture after the scrum (supervisor NS Manjunath is in the back row 3rd from the right)

My commission once the show got under way was the wrestling, staffed by an all Indian camera crew manning 13 cameras plus a locked-off wide angle... they were a great bunch to work with another duo offered to do this we didn’t argue since in the 3 weeks we were on site, no days off had been scheduled! Yours truly did manage a one-day return trip to the Taj Mahal down what I will term death road... tuk-tuks, cars, lorries, motor bikes, bullocks, you name it, all approaching on the wrong side of the dual carriageway... oh, and at night too, with no lights on.

Wrestling So, enough of this fun, what about the show? My commission once the show got under way was the wrestling, staffed by an all-Indian camera crew manning 13 cameras plus a locked-off wide angle. The Indian crew were a great bunch and keen to show they were as good as any of us. A number of them normally follow the cricket circuit as freelancers, so were none too slow to offer up shots; the rest were from Doordarshan TV and I can honestly say they were all great to work with.

The Indian crew was ably led by NS Manjunath, (who is currently joining the GTC), a very pleasant and

knowledgeable chap to work with, who incidentally had a nifty line in standing on his head! I must also add that the Indian crew members were very quick at finding decent free food and more than equal to the UK chaps’ furtive culinary investigations. At no other time did I see the UK audio/ engineering or Special Cameras chaps in the press tent... the location of this was on a need-to-know basis.

Our cameras were thankfully in an air-conditioned venue. The Ikegami HDK-790EXIIIs were used in various modes – handheld, tripod, overhead on remote hotheads in the roof looking directly down on the two wrestling mats and using lens build-up frames with Canon 75:1s.

In addition to the Ikegamis we had 2 Grass Valley superslomo LDK 8300s for tight action replays on the mats. I say tight action, but some of the wrestling bouts lasted all of 10 seconds, so on occasions the next contestants were on the mats before the replays had even been run... none of this silly two hours in boiling heat while one tennis match resolves itself!

OK, who disconnected the viewfinder without switching off the power first’?

Up and running Any problems? Well, the engineering boys including the Special Cameras team brought in from the UK and other foreign parts made it all work and it was just the usual talkback configurations that had me running backwards and forwards to make sure the four mini toggle switches on the cameras were all configured correctly.

I did score an own goal with the Ikegami build-up frames that was entirely of my own making. They do say always switch off a camera channel before pulling it apart. Well, on this occasion I decided it would be a good idea to take the large

Ten minutes later the world and his wife decided it would be fun to join in on the competition mats and medal podiums, standing in groups and subgroups to have their photos taken. Even a press photographer from a national paper started snapping the turmoil. Very, very slowly I slunk away as ‘mock wrestling’ broke out all over the pristine mats with dirty-shoed amateur wrestlers snapping chaotically away on their digital cameras.

And the cotton buds?

You may well ask about my stock of 200 cotton buds... they remained entirely unused for fibre cleaning

I decided it would be a good idea to take the large top-mounted viewfinder off the frame with the camera still powered on... big mistake top-mounted viewfinder off the frame with the camera still switched on... big mistake. From that point on, no amount of button twiddling or rebooting would make the viewfinder lock up. Fortunately, Mr Ikegami was in Delhi and much head-scratching went on until the unit went back to the local dealership. It seems that a certain chip in the lens build-up frame internal electronics blows up if viewfinder changes occur while the power is on. Ikegami had a rep fly out a new build-up frame from Japan the following day so much expense caused by me. Next day the cycling venue did the very same thing though!

During the weeks I was at the Games it seemed only fitting to have a camera crew photograph taken, so over talkback the day before the wrestling competition finished, I asked our director just before lunch to pass a message to the camera crew to stay in the venue for a small private photo of our 13 strong group... BIG, BIG mistake.

operations, since all the venue fibre cables were sparklingly brand new, ready for use after the Games for HD broadcasts.

All in all, it was a brilliant time.

I’m very glad I did it, despite all the terrible predictions of king cobras, bodily upsets, rabies and dengue fever – the hazards were undoubtedly present but there where many, many upsides as well.

Fact File Phil Nixon was a BBC studio cameraman for 16 years, followed by another 16 years with BBC outside broadcasts.

For the past 10 years he has worked freelance on studio, OB, PSC and corporate shoots and also as a facilities provider.

Contact Phil Nixon on: philnixon@yahoo.com

Spring 2011 ZERB 65

PHOTOS by andrew birt

Research: multiview TV

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Eight Grass Valley/Thomson Vipers mounted in a parallel view configuration

HOLOGRAPHIC TV: a multiview glimpse into the future

While most of the products promoted in Zerb are targeting ‘The Entertainment Industry’, the following account by Andrew Birt describes a project that takes some of this hardware out of its usual working environment and into the world of scientific research and development.

Over the last couple of decades, advanced R&D has become commercially unviable for many manufacturers. Companies now prefer to work alongside research institutions that already have the facilities and appropriate skill sets. Developing today’s hot-button subjects such as 3D special-effects, data compression and multiview imaging requires many programming hours and vast computing power.

An extra benefit of using a consolidated multi-disciplined centre is crossover research. For example, a group investigating face-recognition for the security industry might create software that will also be useful in tracking an actor’s head movements against a green screen.

Such a facility can be found at the Centre for Vision, Speech, and Signal Processing (CVSSP), part of the University of Surrey at Guildford.

Working with companies such as Framestore and BBC R&D, this dedicated group aims to create new software and innovative methods of image acquisition and display.

Much work has already been done on multiview sequences, which have the potential for creating a virtual ‘player’s-eye-view’ at sporting

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events. Current work includes virtual holographic television, which will be described in more detail later.

Blue screen studio About 10 years ago, funds were granted to the Centre for a dedicated blue screen motion capture studio equipped with 14 Sony standard definition ‘box-type’ 3CCD cameras.

Although equipped with Fujinon TV lenses, the resultant pictures were what could only be described as high-grade industrial quality.

In 2004, further funds enabled a significant upgrade to high definition.

At that time, big ticket items such as cameras and vision-mixers were relatively easy to find, but the smaller glue-type bits, such as SPGs, embedders, distribution amplifiers and cable/connectors were more rare.

Grade 1 HD monitors were still CRT with their attendant bulk and size; monitoring at our CCU position used a Sony CineAlta BVM-F24 (bids in a sealed envelope please). This was, at the time, in addition to its very sharp picture and accurate colorimetry, the most flexible with regard to HDTV input standards.

The additional funding would allow us to equip the studio with eight

HD camera chains, timecode/audio embedders, and a network router. The resultant HDSDI signals would be fed to their respective DVS Centaurus capture cards mounted within a multiple server array. In many respects the new system would be identical in topology to the older SD system.

inputs were a must.

• Excellent optical and image performance permitting subsequent image processing without the need for unnecessary correction algorithms.

• Had to use progressive scan – interlace was a brilliant invention of its time but no use in the world of

The Viper had a unique selling point in its Filmstream feature... we could be sure that any images captured could effectively be treated like raw images from a stills camera Cameras Several manufacturers’ cameras were evaluated, but the very high standard of technical excellence required whittled the choice down to just two – Sony and Thomson.

The selection criteria (in no particular order) were as follows: • The camera should operate with as many of the various HDTV standards available as possible (1080/25psf was to be the station default).

• All cameras and their shutters had to be synchronous, so genlock

computer-based image processing.

• Transparency of camera design (how is the signal processed from the CCD to the HDSDI out?). Obviously, we didn’t expect company confidential data, but a nice set of block-diagrams with signal-flow lines would help. After-sales service and technical co-operation were also a big factor.

• Ease of use. Our researchers are software experts not video engineers or cameramen.

Research: multiview TV

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I encourage them all to read up on basic photography and lighting but you can only take a horse to water...! Video engineering topics such as black/white levels and colour balance can be taught to a general level; anything more complex would be undertaken by myself.

• Cost – as always.

The final choice was the Thomson LDK 7500, otherwise known as the Viper. The Viper had a unique selling point in its Filmstream feature. In this mode, all the camera processing electronics (including gamma, matrix, and colour correction) are bypassed, so the output is an amplified version of the signal straight from the CCD block.

With the Viper, we could be sure that any images captured could effectively be treated like raw images from a stills

confidence to expect images free from edge artefacts (‘jaggies’); something in which some other cameras had failed. The Viper’s mechanical shutter also proved to be good at reducing temporal artefacts.

Lenses We had a choice: prime lenses or zoom. This was easy; either 8 cameras with (say) 3 prime lenses each, or 8 zooms. The basic arithmetics said it all – we just couldn’t afford the primes. After some field-of-view calculations, Canon HJ11 4.7–52mm lenses were fitted, all equipped with demand servo systems for remote operation. At a later date, we may upgrade to primes, either through a generous gift or an even bigger rise in student fees!

Over the last couple of decades, advanced R&D has become commercially unviable for many manufacturers. Companies now prefer to work alongside research institutions that already have the facilities and appropriate skill sets camera. The Viper CCDs are encoded as 12-bit RGB, but HDSDI serial digital can only be 10 bits wide. To take advantage of this useful dynamic range, the signal is given a logarithmic function. Transferring the signal back to real life simply required the application of a reverse LUT (look-up table); an elementary task – hopefully – for our signal-processing gurus!

At first, I was concerned about the noise implications of the Filmstream curve, but Thomson claimed a degradation of 0.25dB or better; subsequent use has shown noise to be a minimal problem for us.

Thomson’s own Dynamic Pixel Management system plus the frametransfer CCD sensors gave us the

Operation

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The Wand of Truth – adjustment of the camera’s vertical phasing will move the illumination point either left or right quite the same. The frames were by necessity genlocked together but the phase of the shutters could be different. Trying to measure the difference was a nightmare; no amount of clapperboards, bouncing balls etc, would reliably show the error to all viewers. It’s like the old lip-sync bugbear – what looks in sync to one person doesn’t to someone else – it’s a combination of interpretation and optical illusion.

This frustration ultimately led to the building of ‘The Wand of Truth’, a homebrew device consisting of a stick of rolling LEDs synchronised to the local SPG (sync pulse generator).

Each individual LED is sequentially lit for just 4 msec, thereby representing a real-world object whose physical position changes at a predetermined point. Direct viewing of the camera’s output will now show the absolute phase of shutter occultation and it’s possible, by adjusting the camera’s vertical sync timing, to achieve a consistent shutter phase over all capture viewpoints.

This technique has also been very useful for basic checks and I can see newer types of camera, such as HD-DSLRs, being used in conjunction with our system. Another version using a more sophisticated display pattern is now under consideration.

with onboard SPG and timecode generators. Incoming camera feeds are monitored using a TV Logic 24” monitor and Leader LV7330 rasterizer.

Each of the eight channels is capable of simultaneous recording of up to three hours of 4:4:4 (no colour subsampling).

Near-holographic TV Recently, we hosted a capture session on behalf of the Diomedes project.

This is a collaborative project funded by the EU with a wide-ranging remit including Free-viewpoint TV (FTV) and Multiview Video Coding (MVC).

Both these terms cover a range of technologies that include virtual views of sporting events and pseudoholographic television.

FTV is regarded by many as the ultimate television experience; at its most basic it allows a switchable selection of viewpoints of a particular

Lloyd Cross multiplex hologram: Kiss II

The year 2010 saw the introduction of a new flyaway eight-channel mobile capture system based on DVS ProntoXWay disk recorders. Completely stand-alone and requiring only mains power, these units are equipped

event, but its most exciting goal, given a suitable display device, is a pseudoholographic display offering either a partial or 360 degree view. Note the weasel-word ‘pseudo’ – it was suggested back in the 1970s that full holographic TV was at least two Nobel prizes away. Well, that may or may not still be true – FTV still only captures and displays images as discreet narrow-angle views rather than full interferograms.

The best analogy is that of Lloyd Cross’s multiplex holograms – many views were photographed from around an object, optically compressed into fine vertical slits, then painstakingly step-printed onto a drum of photosensitive plastic. Suitably lit from

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Since 2005 the HDTV system has been giving us good service. The studio’s original tungsten lighting has now been replaced with Kino-Flo fluorescents, offering a much more uniform diffused light. Shadows generate false texture and geometric data; on the whole they have no use in our video captures.

For some projects, an increasing number of ‘views’ was required. This meant that the HD and SD systems would have to be run simultaneously, which caused quite a few headaches.

It was discovered, oddly, that two frames with the same timecode from two different types of camera (Sony and Viper) weren’t temporally

Recording

Frames extracted from the fencing sequence, each one identical in time but taken from eight different viewpoints

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Research: multiview TV set-up was left until last. Drawing out an accurate arc was achieved in a high-tech manner – a 3 metre piece of string, one end held by the subject, was stretched out to draw an arc.

Eight segments were then marked out, and that gave the camera locations.

There were to be three multiview sequences, each consisting of action captured against a blue screen background: Music scenario – three string musicians recorded against a blue background with eight cameras working at 1080/25p.

Lecture scenario – a group of seven people plus lecturer. A virtual whiteboard was to be keyed in later using a 2m x 2m green screen.

Achieving a good even light over the green screen caused a few headaches.

The waveform of the cameras’ green channels showed a sawtooth at line and frame rates, showing that the lighting was uneven. Placing partially

inside, the original object appeared as a 360 degree hologram, sometimes with limited movement. The most famous (now a valuable piece of art) featured a flirty girl blowing a kiss and winking at the viewer.

Viewing the pictures The intention is for images created within these capture sessions to be processed and displayed on a Holografika HoloVizio monitor.

Currently capable of displaying 64 discreet ‘views’ (the small angular apertures imparting spatial detail of the original scene) and only allowing horizontal parallax viewing, this monitor is still under constant development and improvement.

Of course, providing 64 views and 64 data streams is expensive; so the bulk of the subsequent research work is to create new algorithms that interpolate the missing information between each camera.

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has exactly the same field of view.

Tests were done beforehand to establish the resolution of the Canon lenses’ zoom and focus servo systems.

This involved lining up a grid pattern to show the extremes of the picture area. Focussing the image first to avoid any effects of breathing, the edges of the grid were measured on a waveform monitor. The lens’s servo encoders were (fortunately) accurate to less than one microsecond along the horizontal axis.

In future, it would be useful for us to develop a method of encoding our servo data into the DPX’s metadata, something along the lines of the Cooke 4i lenses. Once a camera’s field of view is known, it is possible for software engineers to calculate the camera position.

Before this calculation, standard calibration procedures are carried out, known as Intrinsics and Extrinsics. The former compensates for geometric

Waveform showing uneven lighting of green screen – it will not key well

Adding some fill-in redheads allows a more reliable key signal

Not ready for the living room yet, the Holovizio monitor needs a little extra hardware to make it go

Where occultation occurs (a fancy way of saying that something is standing in front of something else i.e. you can’t see it) the views are interpolated in software.

hidden redheads either side improved the shading; we now had flat-tops to the waveform making for a good key signal. Just to be certain, we did an impromptu on-set chromakey test using Grass Valley’s Edius edit software.

Fencing scenario – Two duelling fencers, recorded at 720/50p. Fastmoving subjects so high temporal resolution was required.

To make the operator ‘s job easier, and given the ability to record 1080 and 720p, it was decided to use the new DVS-based mobile units in conjunction with our existing studio infrastructure (see picture).

Capture session Free Viewpoint TV sessions are usually shot in one of two ways; either a number of cameras encircling the subject and giving a 360 degree view (convergent view) or, a number of cameras placed in a straight row, side-on to the subject (parallel view).

For these sessions the parallel view would be used with one exception. It was a requirement of our collaborators that we should have a sequence in which the cameras formed a shallow arc. This involved a certain amount of manhandling of the rig, so this

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Calibration Subsequent analysis of the video images is made easier if each camera

distortion due to camera angle, and the latter defines the relationship between the camera angle and real-world objects. In essence, this is equivalent to the camera pan and tilt angle (see picture).

Depth of field For the music and lecture scenarios, it was decided to expose for an in-focus plane correlating to the screen depth.

To reduce the effects of horizontal disparity limits, the depth of field was kept to that of the human eye, (approximately 0.2D).

Camera adjustments Having set up the basic viewing geometries of each camera it’s time to don the white gloves, sit at the CCU and do the vision-control bit. The

Pre-capture intrinsics and extrinsics calibration electrical set-up of each camera is not that different from conventional production. The tools are the same, both using the Tektronix WFM700 waveform-monitor and the previously mentioned CineAlta monitor. When discussing levels, we sometimes get our Ks in a twist – my levels are 0 to 700mV, whereas a software engineer works on 0 to 255. This often causes confusion when trying to decide why part of an image has disappeared due to some apparent exposure/lighting problem!

Surprisingly, some sessions created in our studio are never actually displayed afterwards. In the world of image-processing research, sequences are often number-crunched into oblivion or just used as objects for algorithm testing. These particular FTV sessions however will need to be displayed again in the real world so a certain amount of camera racking will be needed.

Levels White-clipping and black-crushing destroy potentially useful data so good level housekeeping is as important as ever.

Colour balance The Kino-Flo lights run at about 4100K so a tad cold for the Viper’s 3200K (auto-whiting has caused us many problems so presets are now preferred) but most sessions, including this one, are not that critical. More important is consistency between cameras – any colour balance error can be taken up in our equivalent of post – software engineering slaves.

Some of our researchers are now working on more precise colorimetrybased projects – camera set-ups may not be getting any easier!

Research: multiview TV

www.gtc.org.uk Gamma and matrixing Often these two subjects are met with blank expressions from our people.

A quick back-of-a-napkin course in TV cameras eventually gets an answer to my question ‘Do you want them switched in or out?’ As with colour balance, it really depends on whether the pictures are intended to be displayed again; switching the gamma off simplifies the subsequent software processing but gives a pretty grim picture, which is not ideal for demonstrations to sponsors.

Occasionally, experimentation with matrixing controls can help with matte separation – the lecture session’s green screen key against a blue background was improved considerably by adjusting the matrix coefficients whilst keeping a wary eye on noise performance.

Detail correction A favourite tweak on cameras and telecines, this control needs delicate handling in scientific work.

Colour changes of up to 5 pixels can be obscured by excessive over/ undershoots on object edges, thus

the brightness of the object (some people may argue that this is yet another dimension, but I think we’re getting a bit philosophical here), then we get what is called ‘ray-space’, probably the most important thing recorded by our eight data-streams.

If ray-space data could be turned into a pseudo picture it would look something like a twisted ribbon representing a horizontal section of the object ‘in the round’.

If you to draw with a pen a line from the front of a person’s nose around the circumference of their head and then back to their nose again, that is one horizontal slice of the ray-space data.

Many more such lines in a vertical direction effectively map out a virtual 3D image, which can be manipulated in mind-bending ways. We will not go further into the subject or ray-space now as the subject fills many books, all of which are hellishly mathematical in their treatment.

In our FTV sessions the Vipers can only see part of the way round so obviously we can’t re-create a 360 degree view, but there is enough

FTV is regarded by many as the ultimate television experience... its most exciting goal, given a suitable display device, is a pseudoholographic display offering either a partial or 360 degree view. degrading the process of extracting the foreground from the blue screen background (segmentation).

Let’s go 5D! At the completion of the three capture sessions it is interesting to note what information has been recorded. Each session results in thousands of DPX frames stamped with a unique timecode, representing action photographed from eight different viewpoints. More precisely, each individual frame gives us two dimensions, namely the height and width of an object. We also now have, thanks to the previous camera calibrations, information regarding the camera-to-object distance (another dimension) and the angle of the rays of light coming from the object (two further dimensions).

So, we have the five dimensions that enable us to virtually map any point in the original scene from the various camera viewpoints. If we also modulate all these dimensions with

information to create a limited 3D effect on our Holografika monitor.

research? I’m a big fan of this type of equipment, not only because it’s where my experience lies but also because the standards are so well documented.

If there’s a question of compatibility regarding interfacing or colorimetry, then I can usually look it up within SMPTE or ITU documents. Another advantage is customer backup; you can talk to the design guys about esoteric things such as shutter timing, pixel size etc. Try doing that with prosumer equipment! Specialist camera manufactures offer militaryderived products with very high specification (and price), but without standard HD-SDI or genlock interfaces.

Some researchers will occasionally fabricate rough and ready set-ups using webcams. Cost and ease of handling are the main advantages here, but again you lose out on scan synchronisation, optical performance and consistency of hardware quality.

Whilst we are still very proud of the Vipers and the excellent pictures they give, we do have a requirement for smaller prosumer camcorders for use in our less critical experiments.

It seemed as if we could find all the features we needed at 1/20th the price of their bigger brothers but it was soon discovered that some cameras were not all they seemed to be. Product auditioning showed camcorders that had own-brand type progressive-scanning and, with one exception, the dreaded ‘jelly-vision’ caused by rolling shutters. This last defect is absolutely unacceptable for image-processing research. This experience goes to make the point previously made: with prosumer you usually can’t talk to their R&D guys – you actually have to evaluate thoroughly the product and make sure it fulfils your needs.

As always: caveat emptor.

Kit List • • • • • • • • •

Grass Valley/Thomson LDK 7500 Viper cameras Canon HJ11 ex4.7 lenses DVS ProntoXway digital recorders Sony BVM-F24E CineAlta monitor Kino-Flo MEGA 4 bank fluorescent lighting Leader LV7330 rasterizer Tektronix TG700 SPG Tektronix WFM700 waveform monitor Evertz HD9010TM timecode generator/reader

DVS Digital Video Systems AG www.dvs.de/products/video-systems/pronto3.html Holografika HoloVizio monitor: www.holografika.com Tektronix: www.tek.com

The results Once the foreground objects are extracted from the blue screen background, the images will give us both short and longer term information about each capture sequence. We immediately have the opportunity to extract up to four stereo pairs from our eight views; the data required for pseudo-3D display will require more work. The important point is that the Diomedes team now has sequences which can be used for multiview and compression research.

Improvements to transmission technologies will see an increase in bit/symbol rates in terrestrial and satellite TV, clearing the way for multiview or near-3D television.

In the Year 2525 What other future opportunities are there for professional TV/D-Cinema equipment in the world of science and

Fact File Andrew Birt spent 19 years with LWT’s production engineering department; 1995 saw a change of role to HDTV hardware design at character-generator manufacturer Aston Electronics. Since 2002, Andrew has been Supervisory Video Engineer at the University of Surrey’s CVSSP research centre. In 2004/05, he designed, built and project managed CVSSP’s HDTV blue screen capture studio. An active member of the SMPTE, Andrew has particular interest in holography and cinema technologies, both silver and digital.

He also has an interest in colour systems, in particular the history of the Technicolor three-strip system.

Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP): www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/cvssp Diomedes project: www.diomedes-project.eu Andrew’s university website is at: http://info.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/A.Birt/ and a blog about the design and construction of mobile units featured in this article can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/5s72z8s

Spring 2011 ZERB 69

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Homeless woman among flattened houses, Gaza 2009

Hearing without headphones Andy Cottom worked for many years in hostile environments as a television sound recordist before changing direction to train as a psychotherapist. A specialist in trauma counselling, the combination of his two careers makes him particularly well suited to working with crew members struggling to come to terms with distressing events they have witnessed in the course of their work.

“Get the widow’s tears”. It was May 1982 and we were standing at a reverential distance from the funeral of one of the first British casualties of the Falklands War. Pulling the headphones from my ears, my producer had told me to get my cameraman to shove through the throng of mourners for a close-up on the face of the dead soldier’s widow.

I started out in news and moved into documentaries, all too frequently in places that nobody else wanted to go.

Eventually, changes in the industry and the attractions of family life persuaded me to put down the microphone and retrain as a psychotherapist.

Now I work in my private practice in comfortable Westminster, specialising

The image of violence or suffering can stay with us, sometimes for years, waiting for us to process it The demands of the news desk had replaced propriety and respect in the producer’s head and, for that moment, she had no regard for anyone’s feelings.

It was only after the story was cut and aired that she broke down in tears, horrified at her lapse of humanity.

For 25 years I carried ridiculously heavy recording equipment through dozens of trouble spots around the world, from Beirut to Bosnia via Nicaragua and Northern Ireland.

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in working with clients that have been affected by trauma. My Nagra may have left a lasting impression on my spine, but I’ve carried a far heavier weight from some of the scenes that I witnessed in my work as a sound recordist.

Documentary crews inevitably see events that others never will. That’s the nature of the job. Most of the time it is a privilege, but every so often we see something that maybe

we shouldn’t; something that is inherently disturbing. There is rarely any warning and more rarely still time to think about it until after the job is done. As a result, the image of violence or suffering can stay with us, sometimes for years, waiting for us to process it. The bar at the Commodore Hotel in Beirut, notoriously popular amongst journalists covering the war in Lebanon, typifies how easy it is to avoid processing the day’s events.

How much easier to have a beer with your colleagues than to sit alone in your room attempting to come to terms with the destruction and anguish that you’ve witnessed?

Nonetheless, sooner or later, come to terms with it we must.

I was part of a team and our job was to show the horrors of the famine.

Although I have never forgotten that scene, I don’t now burst into tears unexpectedly as I did for many years when its images sprang uninvited into my head. That’s because the considerable time I spent thinking RHYS WILLIAMS

RHYS WILLIAMS

PTSD counselling

Intrusion of memories I remember standing beside a mass grave in Ethiopia at the end of 1984, wondering if I would ever be able to forget what I was seeing. No matter how much I wanted to turn my head away, to block out the stink of death and the wailing of the bereaved,

Malnourished child in a makeshift camp, Sudan. Starvation and rape were common

PTSD counselling

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Fallujah, 2004, one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Iraq war

Maybe it feels embarrassing to admit just how much it is hurting you, or you may feel that speaking about horrors releases them from the cage in which you have locked them in your attempt at control.

It feels even harder to talk about this to anyone who hasn’t been through something similar. You see your friends’ eyes glaze over or hear them try to change the subject. The awkward silences prove that those horrors really are unbearable and that we need to protect our family and friends from such terrible truths.

You can feel that you would pollute your family life by bringing back the

about them helped me to find a way to accept their awfulness. The famine undermined my concept of the world as a benign place, and, on behalf of our audience, I witnessed it.

As a psychotherapist and trauma counsellor, I now help people to think about their experiences and to find a way of accepting them. Many start by telling me “I just can’t stop thinking about...” They hope that the years will heal their mental wounds but discover that emotions respect no time limit. Memories can flood back in nightmares or flashbacks, seemingly uncontrollably. The insistence of those thoughts is one of the danger signs, but trying to block them out with alcohol or drugs should also set off alarm bells.

Repeated trauma The word trauma comes from the Greek for a wound. In the course of their work, news and documentary crews might encounter situations that feel like violent assaults on their minds. When we try and make sense of these experiences, it seems impossible,

negating our entire way of thinking.

When we try to find sense in the chaos of war or violent death, naturally we fail because it has no sense. But when we fail, we have a tendency to try again. It is common for a sufferer of trauma to repeat the traumatic event, albeit unconsciously, many times over, as the mind struggles to make sense of what it has encountered. If you make your living in news and documentaries, you’re likely to find yourself in much the same situation time and again – another trouble spot, another horror story. Adrenaline isn’t addictive but history does repeat itself.

appalling experiences of a shoot – your loved ones can watch it on the television but can’t handle discussing it at the dining table.

Many trauma sufferers feel that no-one else can ever understand, and this can lead to withdrawing from others and becoming isolated. How do you put the trauma of life and death into a perspective that also includes paying the bills and arguing over who should win The X Factor? If the shoot and the home inhabit two such separate worlds, it is no wonder that relationships with our family members can suffer.

RHYS WILLIAMS

It is common for a sufferer of trauma to repeat the traumatic event, albeit unconsciously, many times over, as the mind struggles to make sense of what it has encountered

Isolation The camaraderie of the documentary crew has fallen away over the years since I took off my headphones for the last time. Many former colleagues now work largely on their own – director, cameraman, recordist and researcher all rolled into one. This appears to have exacerbated an already difficult problem. Who can you talk to? It is hard to talk about an unpleasant experience at the best of times.

Journalist venturing down empty street after running battles in a week-long incursion into Nablus (West Bank)

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JOHN TEMPLETON

PTSD counselling

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Banda Aceh, Indonesia – complete devastation after the tsunami

Two heads are better than one when it comes to working out how to deal with disturbing emotions. You can ease the trauma by talking about it, especially with a person who was there with you Anger It is right to be angry about violence and injustice. I used to rant and rave about the unfairness of the conflicts that I got caught up in – passionate debate was my way of expressing my fury about some of the awful reality I encountered. But it gets dangerous

when you take out that anger on an innocent target, when the frustrating traffic jam brings on road rage. Just as dangerous is when we turn our anger on ourselves, making the sins of an unjust world our fault, hating ourselves for not being strong enough to solve them.

Self help These, then, are the warning signs of trauma: memories that you cannot forget, increasing use of drugs or alcohol, a compulsion to repeat the experience, a sense of isolation or rage. Being aware of these behaviours is an important first step towards coming to terms with the powerful emotions that underlie them.

Two heads are better than one when it comes to working out how to deal with disturbing emotions.

You can ease the trauma by talking about it, especially with a person who was there with you. If a pain feels unbearable, sharing it can show that the hurt can be survived. If my colleague or my friend can bear to listen to my story, then maybe it isn’t impossible to live with the experience.

Professional assistance

IDF soldier taking aim in street battles in Balata Camp, West Bank, 2007

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In addition to the colleague or the understanding friend, there are the professionals, men and women like myself, who can and will listen.

Talking, in confidence and without fear of being judged, can help sufferers come to terms with even the most distressing experience. Counselling may help them to place the trauma in context, so that it fits with the other parts of their lives. This can help to make sense of what happened, or to develop an acceptance that some things simply will never make sense.

If you find additionally that your work

exposes you to recurrent trauma, ongoing psychotherapy can then help you to understand why you decided to put yourself in such situations in the first place.

I dutifully whispered the producer’s demand into the cameraman’s ear but we didn’t move any closer to the widow.

We not only ignored our producer’s order but also her pain. I now know why it is so hard to stand at an open grave – it insists on making us think of our own mortality. If I had known that then, I hope I would have stood at my producer’s side and helped her to come to terms with that terrifying truth.

Fact File Andy Cottom was a freelance sound recordist for more than 25 years before retraining as a psychotherapist. Working in both private practice and the voluntary sector, he is able to use the experience of his first career to help people affected by war and crime.

For more information, visit Andy’s website at: www.andycottomtherapy.co.uk Or search for a therapist in your own area through the Foundation for Psychotherapy and Counselling at: http://www.thefpc.org.uk

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k c e P y r Ro Trust SINCE RETIRING AS CHAIRMAN OF THE GTC IN THE SUMMER, BRIAN ROSE HAS TAKEN ON THE NEWLY CREATED ROLE OF GTC WELFARE OFFICER AND HAS BEEN WORKING WITH VARIOUS INDUSTRY CHARITIES TO FORM BONDS WITH THE GTC AND TO INVESTIGATE WAYS IN WHICH THE GTC AND ITS MEMBERS CAN BOTH GET INVOLVED AND BENEFIT FROM THESE LINKS. HE RECENTLY ATTENDED THE RORY PECK AWARDS CEREMONY. Here is a question for you. Over one hundred people killed in conflict areas since 1985. So who were they?

Soldiers? Civilians? Aid workers? No,

Here is another statistic for you.

For every pound spent on preventing conflict, we spend over two thousand pounds on weaponry and the military.

TIME WAS, IF YOU WORKED FOR THE NEWS, YOU HAD TOTAL PROTECTION. IT WAS IN THE INTEREST OF BOTH SIDES OF A CONFLICT TO ENSURE THAT NEWS CREWS WERE SAFE. NOT ANY MORE

Andy portch, sky news

Andy portch, sky news

Rory Peck Trust

Filming on the front line – an occupational hazard for news cameramen

What can we do? they were all freelance cameramen and women, bringing pictures of conflict; pictures that have often changed terrible situations, making people and governments aware of the futility of war.

Danger zone Time was, if you worked for the news, you had total protection. It was in the interest of both sides of a conflict to ensure that news crews were safe. Not any more.

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According to the All Party Group on Conflict Issues, even a small conflict, such as a minor civil war, costs an average of $64 billion – and this in the ‘enlightened’ twenty-first century.

I say this, because I believe we cannot go on in this way. As a civilisation, as a world, as a global village, we simply cannot afford to waste our resources and humanity on such stupidity. And you’ll probably say, ‘Yes, I agree with you; but what can we, as ordinary people do about it?’

Of all people, we as cameramen, can actually do something about it. We live in a ‘global village’. We work in television. With virtually instant communication, it is becoming more and more difficult to hide behind the great lie. But at the same time, it can become more and more dangerous to expose the truth.

Thus, those cameramen and women who bring us the news, have a vital role to play, a role that goes far beyond that of simply making

television programmes. One such cameraman was Rory Peck. Rory was killed in crossfire while filming the battle for Ostankino TV Centre in Moscow between Vityaz special forces and oppositional gunmen led by Albert Makashov, during the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.

The Rory Peck Trust was established in 1995, two years after the freelance cameraman was killed. It was set up by his wife, Juliet, and close friends to provide the help for freelancers and their families that nobody else would give. They also established the

Rory Peck Trust

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Rory Peck Awards to honour the work of freelance news cameramen and women. It is a unique organisation.

Just like in the more urbane areas of television production, most of the cameramen and women working in conflict areas are freelance. Indeed, it goes further than that. Many of them work entirely freelance; producing the material uncommissioned, in the hope that it will eventually be transmitted.

True, there are those who may be motivated by fame and fortune. But, if the recent Rory Peck Awards are anything to go by, most are motivated by a need to expose evil and to tell the truth.

How much risk is too much?

RICK LOOMIS, LA Times

Now, let’s get one thing quite clear.

Time was when conflict cameramen could take a gung-ho attitude.

We’ve all seen it in the movies; and some of us (me included) tried to emulate them. In my time as a press photographer in Israel, I was shot at (twice), threatened with death by rioters, and nearly got roasted in a

war, fought by ‘gentlemen’ to rules, one of which was, ‘Don’t shoot the cameraman’.

Not any more. Members of the Press and TV are now seen as legitimate targets, either because combatants don’t want their material to be shown, or because they can be kidnapped and used as hostages.

Prepare yourself It’s one reason why broadcasters now insist that anyone working in a combat zone receives training in hostile environments. All very fine and sensible; especially if you are an employee. For freelance newsgatherers however, it’s not so simple.

Andrew Kain of AKE in Hereford was the first person to provide hostile environment training. A typical five-day course would normally cost about £2500 (frankly remarkably good value in itself). But with a Rory Peck Bursary, the cost drops to about £300, a far more affordable prospect.

Such training is now essential if you are going to be insured. Whilst it’s not going to teach you how to

CNN cameraman Carl Penhaul and GTC member John Templeton (r) in Fallujah, 2004. John benefited from training funded by RPT in 2000

fire. But it was all very exciting for a 24-year-old just starting out on a new career. My battered Nikon Fs attest to this.

become an award-winning combat cameraman – that’s not the purpose – it will train you how to be safe and to keep out of trouble in hostile areas.

THE RORY PECK TRUST ACTIVELY PARTICIPATES IN INTERNATIONAL MEDIA DEBATE, ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS, SEMINARS AND HUMAN RIGHTS FORUMS But these days, such an attitude spells at the very least, extreme stupidity. It’s not just a case of the Health and Safety brigade and the insurers. The world has changed; radically. Time was when, as a member of the Press or TV, you were totally protected, by both sides. There was a feeling of invulnerability. War was

In the end, it could save your life, and the lives of others; pretty good value for the cost of a decent night out in London. Incidentally, the Trust doesn’t just operate in the UK, it’s very much an international organisation, helping news-gatherers throughout the world, especially in those areas that are themselves the subject of conflict.

Stills photographer Osama Silwadi was a beneficiary of the Rory Peck Trust

Rory Peck Awards Even if it’s a rather poorly chosen metaphor, the Rory Peck Trust punches above its own weight. For example, their Annual Awards held at the BFI Southbank Screen 1, is a huge ceremony, attended by industry luminaries from throughout the world. It was even covered by SIS LIVE. The format itself (and even the glass awards) may be similar to the

Where it can, funds permitting, the Trust will help those injured or, worst, the families of those killed. This assistance may be something relatively simple, such as a piece of equipment that allows an amputee cameraman to continue working. Or it may be financial help for treatment or to tide a family over in times of distress.

Standing as it does in the background, one can’t help but admire the fantastic

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED; RADICALLY. TIME WAS WHEN, AS A MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR TV, YOU WERE TOTALLY PROTECTED, BY BOTH SIDES GTC Awards – but they fill the largest cinema at the South Bank. Guild members take note!

The Awards ceremony is the main fundraising event of the year, with tickets costing £80 (somewhat less for freelancers and, as I say, the 450-seat theatre was full. It is very well supported by the Trust’s many sponsors, especially the news organisations as well as by major manufactures, such as Sony.

It is not just about training and awards, although these tend to be the most visible parts of the organisation. The Rory Peck Trust actively participates in international media debate, round table discussions, seminars and human rights forums. Many of these meetings seek to support the rights of journalists and newsgatherers in the very countries that are subject to conflict. An example of this was the Zimbabwe International Cooperation Stakeholders’ conference held in Harare in August 2010.

It takes enormous courage to film in such countries. But for that courage, we wouldn’t know what is happening in the world, and couldn’t even attempt to make changes. As we’ve seen, such risks far too often lead to death or injury. Most of the time the motivation is to tell the story, even if on occasions this means committing the most dreadful sin of all; getting involved.

work the Trust does. For, in the end, it isn’t only freelance newsgatherers and cameramen. It’s everybody. Because of their support, we can be kept better informed.

As television cameramen, we lead remarkably privileged lives. We get to work with the stars, to visit all kinds of wonderful places and sometimes – very rarely – to help change the world for the better. As Ghandi said, ‘We must be the change we want to see in the world.’

Fact File • The Rory Peck Trust operates in over 60 countries and distributes around 100 charitable grants a year to freelancers and their families in need • Since its establishment in 2000, the Rory Peck Training Fund has awarded more than 400 safety training bursaries to freelance journalists and media workers • The 2011 Rory Peck Awards will be held at the BFI Southbank on Wednesday 16 November • For more information about the work of the Trust and the Rory Peck Awards visit www.rorypecktrust.org

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3D analyser software

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Shooting how can you tell if you’re getting it right?

Judging by the overwhelming demand for the GTC 3D workshops held at the Sony 3D Training Centre in December, everybody wants to learn how to shoot 3D at the moment. As 3D becomes increasingly commonplace, production companies will want to shoot in a variety of situations and on various formats, including the cheaper, lower-spec cameras. But how do you reliably ensure the quality of the 3D image at the point of capture across such a wide range of shoots and hardware? Robin Palmer, MD of Cel-Soft Ltd, explains the importance of accurate quality control and measurement in 3D work, and introduces Cel-Scope3D, a stereoscopic analyser programme that runs on Windows.

It is a constant source of concern among originators of 3D productions that poorly composed 3D stereoscopic images can cause headaches and eye strain. The human brain integrates the separate views of the world seen from the left and right eyes into a single ‘solid’ scene. The eye muscles constantly adjust convergence and focus to follow regions of interest.

To paraphrase Steve Schklair (CEO of 3ality Digital Systems): Most audiences are going to be new to 3D. If they are presented with programmes that are hard to watch or cause headaches, they could easily be put off 3D film and television completely, so it is very important for everyone in 3D programme-making or 3D equipment provision to make it as

Most audiences are going to be new to 3D. If they are presented with programmes that are hard to watch or cause headaches, they could easily be put off 3D film and television completely When presented with the output from the left/right camera system of a 3D rig, the brain has to process two partially correlated images into a single coherent view. If just one of the multitude of camera settings is out of alignment, some viewers will struggle to correlate the images.

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good as possible. ‘Good’ means getting it technically right from the off.

Critical camera axes 3D rigs must be solidly built to ensure that camera alignment can be set up and rigidly maintained. There are three relative rotations: pitch, roll and

yaw. In 3D, the yaw (y axis) rotation is particularly important, as it sets the convergence of the optical axes.

Any vertical misalignment must be eliminated and both cameras should, of course, be on the same focal plane.

Another important factor is the interocular distance, or the axis-centre to axis-centre gap between left and right camera lenses. This introduces two additional camera axes. The average human interocular distance (between the centres of your eyes!) is about 50 mm but the 3D camera interocular is more an artistic choice than a technically fixed distance. There can be wide variation, depending on the scene and the intended viewing conditions.

In addition to the five critical camera axes, 3D content producers need to consider variations and inconsistencies between left and right lenses. There are many parameters that will affect matching, such as white balance and gamma. Note also that any image stabilisation should be switched off.

It is easy to assume that everything can be ‘fixed in post’. This may not

always be possible; lens flare and lost genlock are two good examples. Quite apart from the time and cost issues, any fix to a stereo pair’s geometry will involve throwing away part of the source images or compromising dynamic range and resolution. For these reasons, initial camera set-up, alignment and monitoring before and during shooting are much more important in 3D than 2D. There’s much more to successful 3D than simply adding an extra dimension.

Disparity The word disparity in 3D terminology refers to horizontal differences in the position of objects viewed from the left and right camera positions. It is these (sometimes tiny) differences that the brain interprets as depth in the 3D scene. Setting and controlling the range of horizontal disparity (the depth budget) is the major part of 3D image quality control. However, there is also the possibility of vertical disparity between the left and right viewpoints.

If one camera is higher than the other, meaning the optical axes of the two lenses are not on the same level,

3D analyser software

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Figure 1: Cel-Scope3D can show up to six different selectable display modes including real-time disparities

vertical disparities will be introduced.

These defects will degrade the 3D quality because some parts of objects will be visible to one eye and not the other. Curved and oblique objects will have a slightly different shape viewed by the two eyes.

It is very difficult to ‘fix’ vertical disparity errors in post-production.

The images or objects can’t simply be shifted as they can for horizontal disparity. There have been instances of feature film scenes so badly misframed that they have had to be manually retouched frame by frame, since reshooting was not an option. With the above in mind, it is important to check before shooting that the two cameras’ optical axes, not just the mounting plates (if side by side), are on the same plane and that the lenses are precisely the same height.

In addition, if one camera is tilted with respect to the other, there will be rotational disparity between the images (although this is easier to fix).

On all professional stereo rigs, there is always a height adjustment to tune out any vertical disparity.

Environmental, positional or accidental changes mean this cannot be relied

on to remain accurately set for the duration of the shoot. If there is no servo-driven (expensive) automatic alignment system, then the set-up should be checked from time to time.

If lenses are changed, all settings will need to be re-calibrated.

Horizontal and vertical disparity can be made visible by displaying the difference between the left and right images on a monitor (preferably in luminance only) and there are various hardware and software solutions for this. More useful still, either on set or in post, is to have the images analysed on a continuous basis, an alarm being triggered if the vertical disparity or the depth budget of the horizontal disparity exceed the specified limits.

Left/right synchronisation Synchronisation is not really a problem with professional cameras; you just loop through your reference (black) to each. Not that long ago you had to worry about the PAL horizontal subcarrier and accurate sync matching but these no longer matter as digital cameras only need component sync and the downstream equipment is tolerant of sync offsets. However, if for budget reasons or because you need a compact rig, you want to shoot with semi-pro cameras, domestic camcorders or DSLRs, it can get tricky.

The problem with low-cost cameras and camcorders is that few of them can be genlocked, although apparently there is an unofficial locking mod being offered for some Canon DSLRs. The other option is to use one camera as a reference, starting and restarting the other repeatedly until the left

and right outputs match reasonably.

Within +/–8 ms or 20% of the frame period (in Europe) may be good enough. Checking the output sync can be done with hardware scopes or with appropriate software. If the syncs are not matched, the 3D images will look fine until anything moves rapidly. Then each camera will be seeing completely

good because it too uses long-GOP MPEG but at least you will have captured 3D as a single file.

Camera dynamics When shooting with ordinary 2D, you can do almost whatever you like with camera dynamics. If you pan wildly from side to side or up and down,

When playing back captured 3D footage or observing live with a real-time stereoscopic analyser like Cel-Scope3D, it is possible to detect disparity errors in real time different views of the moving objects (separated by the timing difference in the sync). The depth illusion may be seriously compromised and the motion may look staggered.

Compression All low-cost cameras recording to a disk drive or solid-state memory currently use compression. This is normally long-GOP MPEG. Even with the cameras frame-locked, there is no guarantee about the GOP framing, so this could be wildly out. Just what this actually looks like is an area for experiment. There is a solution to this problem: take an uncompressed live output into a specialised 3D recording device or direct into a computer/laptop with suitable 3D capture software.

HDMI is good for this because it is not compressed; the HDV format is not so

what you see through the viewfinder is what you will get. If there is likely to be camera shake or vibration, you can switch in a stabiliser in the camera or lens system. But 3D requires much more careful consideration of camera dynamics. If a pan is too rapid, then the audience may lose depth perception, and rapid pans reduce the horizontal detail that is a necessary component of 3D imaging for the brain to be able to fuse the scene.

Pans in 3D must be made slowly and carefully.

Until someone produces a dual image stabiliser, turning on independent camera or lens stabilisers for each channel is not an option. Each will react slightly differently when the camera moves, and these differences will give false disparities between the two images, leading to vibration

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3D analyser software being visible in depth. This could be disconcerting and possibly nauseating.

There might also be slight scaling differences between the left and right channels, as stabilisers often introduce some zoom to allow the image to be compensated without cropping, so any internal optical stabilisers must be switched off in each camera of a 3D pair.

A panning, moving or vibrating stereo rig has another potential pitfall due to mechanical dynamics.

If the cameras on an accelerating rig are not rigidly coupled to it, one may shift slightly with respect to the other, again giving rise to disparities.

Obviously, both cameras need to be identical, but they should also only have identical accessories and cable loops attached to them since the combined mass will affect their dynamic behaviour.

This is all very well for a side-byside rig, but with a mirror rig one camera is in a completely different orientation from the other. This relative orientation will stress each camera differently whenever the rig is panned or vibrated, so the rig must be well-built and strong to maintain optical accuracy and integrity.

When playing back captured 3D footage or observing live with a real-time stereoscopic analyser like Cel-Scope3D, it is possible to detect disparity errors in real time. These errors will show if something is amiss with the rig or whether postproduction correction will be necessary.

Cel-Scope 3D The power of multi-core PCs and graphics is harnessed by the CelScope3D software. This allows 3D camera alignment to be performed quickly and confidently so that the 3D is accurate from the moment of capture. Running on a suitably powerful PC platform with Windows, the software can show left and right channels and actual depth dynamics simultaneously. Each display window can be set to show the usual waveform, vectorscope and histogram graphics, as well

as differences in video parameters between each channel. Geometry issues can be easily identified using built-in real-time image manipulation.

Quality control tests can be performed on live stereoscopic video sources in any SD, HD or 2K format from industry standard capture cards or Firewire inputs, or alternatively from file playback.

Cel-Scope3D is designed for use both on set with live inputs and in post-production, reviewing and playing back 3D media files. Captured footage or edits in a wide range of file formats can be assessed in real time.

Disparities are analysed and displayed as clear and intelligible graphics on 2D or 3D monitors. Anaglyph display, touch-screen control and auto-alarm are all supported. Displays can be scaled and arranged as six or eight windows on one or two PC monitors and also on a 3D monitor (Figure 1).

The most important setting for the stereographer or operator to make is assigning the target depth budget for the production as a percentage of screen width or in pixels. The live 3D analysis displays then include depth analysis with depth budget markers, vertical disparity, depth and vertical disparity histograms. These can be colour-coded to correspond to the false colour used on the depth map for easy problem area recognition. Left/ right focus difference and colourbalance difference displays allow camera matching to be easily checked.

Each display mode is configured via a simple menu. Up to 20 configurations can be stored on preset buttons for fast recall.

Embedded audio, stereo or multichannel surround-sound can be extracted, displayed, monitored and checked alongside the video.

There are also logging and GPI options that enable Cel-Scope3D to monitor content at any part of the 3D distribution chain.

Measuring budgets The depth budget is the single most important parameter in 3D stereoscopic TV. A number of on-set and post-production tools for directly

Cel-Scope3D allows alarms to be set to warn when limits are exceeded, so the histogram does not need constant viewing 78 Spring 2011 ZERB

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Figure 2: Depth budget can be shown by a live disparity histogram measuring depth budgets as actually being imaged by the cameras are now available. Thus, the principal adjustment of interocular distance and convergence (the angle of toe-in between the cameras) can be optimally set for each scene. The simplest devices for this are monitors displaying overlays of left-plus-right or left-minus-right with a graticule of

the relative horizontal displacement caused by parallax, a measure of depth. A colour scale is normally applied to the histogram values to aid readability. Figure 2 is an example generated using Cel-Scope3D software. The red marker shows on the x axis where the positive depth limit has been set for objects apparently behind the screen plane. The software

Pairing television cameras to operate in 3D is easy in principle, but even slight differences in physical alignment, optical or electronic performance can seriously degrade the resulting 3D illusion vertical lines that can be adjusted for various horizontal pixel offsets.

By looking at the edges of objects in the scene and comparing with the graticule, you can look for any part that exceeds your depth budget limits. This can be difficult for a busy image, taking into account that you are looking for both forward (negative parallax) and backward (positive parallax) limits. Using a graduated monitor in this way is probably unworkable if the rig, the subjects, or both, are in motion or likely to move.

Powerful image processors can compare the left and right images and work out how the difference translates into depth budget. Binocle, 3ality, Sony, Fraunhofer and Cel-Soft all have products that can do this analysis live.

Although these use widely varying techniques and displays, many feature a histogram to plot the pixel disparity of the detected objects’ depths.

The horizontal scale can be in pixels or screen percentage allowing the displayed depth budget in use to be easily interpreted. This scale shows

actually scans beyond this limit so way-out (reject) objects can still be detected. The same happens for the negative limit marker (shown in mauve) for objects apparently forward of the screen plane.

The height of the peaks in the graph simply shows how frequently particular depth values occur in the scene. Individually, the actual heights are not that important. It is possible to see easily the range of depth values being used (even with rigs or objects in motion) without being distracted by the images. Cel-Scope3D allows alarms to be set to warn when limits are exceeded, so the histogram does not need constant viewing. Depth problems can be viewed with a depth map image of the scene, which is colour-coded to the same scale as the histogram.

The actual depth limits to be set depend on the type of production and the picture format being used.

A typical range is –1% to +2% of screen width. However, there are emerging station-specific and

3D analyser software

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and headaches, or simply destroy the depth effect. This applies to high-end rigs just as much as to semi-pro and industrial equipment. Accurate monitoring during set-up and shooting help to minimise the need for repairs during post-production. Cel-Scope3D analysis software offers cost-effective, real-time measurement of 3D stereo disparities in HD.

Fact File Managing Director of Cel-Soft, Robin Palmer is currently involved with software solutions for 3D and 2D television quality control and measurement technology.

Figure 3: Automatically generated printable depth plot report international standards that should be considered. The artistic requirements of stereographers and directors must also be taken into consideration. If the detection settings are too wide, depth excursions likely to cause problems could be missed while setting too tight a range risks limiting the 3D effect and the images looking flat.

Depth-chart generation A major addition to the Cel-Scope3D stereoscopic analyser will be introduced by Cel-Soft on stand L20 at BVE 2011. A new automatic logging

attention. These must then be marked as coloured lines on a paper chart against timecode. The reason is to prevent jump cuts that are visually objectionable even if within the actual depth budget. An example would be three short scenes where the frontmost object in shot 1 is not present at all in shot 2, followed by shot 3 in which the most front-most object is a lot further back than in shot 1.

Viewers’ eye muscles must be allowed time to shift attention from one shot to the next. It is also advisable to give viewers opportunities to relax their

Summary Pairing television cameras to operate in 3D is easy in principle, but even slight differences in physical alignment, optical or electronic performance can seriously degrade the resulting 3D illusion. Poorly configured 3D can cause eye strain

Cel-Soft Ltd Signal House Wimbish, Saffron Walden CB10 2XQ Tel: +44 (0)1799 599800 Fax: +44 (0)1799 599047 Web: www.cel-soft.com

The depth budget is the single most important parameter in 3D stereoscopic TV... various on-set and post-production tools for measuring depth budgets as actually being imaged by the cameras are now available option generates a printable report of depth budget and depth plot for easy reference by cameramen during a shoot or by editors during 3D postproduction. An example can be seen in Figure 3.

A depth chart is essential for all but the shortest 3D productions. Creating such charts manually is tedious and time-consuming as the stereographer needs to go through each scene and measure the disparity range used for the principal foreground and background objects and points of

eyes during the course of a 3D programme. For these and artistic reasons, a depth script needs to be prepared as part of the storyboarding for a big production.

The new logging option logs against timecode the maximum and minimum depth values employed, together with the range in use. These measurements can be shown either in percentage of screen width or in horizontal pixels.

A cursor can be placed on any object of interest or point of attention for a instant measurement of that spot’s disparity and hence depth.

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Canon XF305 and XF105

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If anyone can…

Canon’s new XF305 and XF105 could be the perfect choice for low-budget HD broadcast work. Christina Fox tried out both for review

The Canon XF305 (left) and baby brother XF105

still have the LCD at a comfortable distance from your eye, but if you want to use it shoulder-mounted for any length of time you will need to buy a rig or a shoulder pad.

The XF305 records at 50Mb/s, which is the main reason why this camera made the BBC’s list. It offers:

Canon XF305 showing the two card slots at the back 2010 was a good year for Canon watching. At Broadcast Video Expo 2010 there were more Canon DSLR cameras in the exhibition hall than traditional camcorders. Those big sensors giving shallow depth of field, the potential for low-cost filmmaking, a fantastic choice of lenses – and they take damn good stills too. What was not to like? Canon brought out several new DSLR models to suit various budgets: the EOS 550D costs about £500 and the 60D with flip-out screen around £800. A whole new industry emerged to provide the DSLR video user with rigs and accessories, with a wide range of programmes being shot on Canon DSLRs, such as 24, Numbers and House.

Are they really suitable for broadcast TV? But what if you don’t want to struggle with a stills-type camera or can’t afford the Zacuto viewfinder and a Singh-Ray variable ND filter for each lens? Most importantly, what if you want to shoot HD for broadcast?

The BBC helped by publishing a list of those cameras it considers to be HD. The full list of approved cameras is at

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http://bbc.in/h5JcXq, and is important because: 1. From April 2011, the BBC “will expect all network programmes to be delivered in High Definition”.

2. It reduces that nervous feeling you get when you take out a loan to buy a new camera.

3. If the BBC approves of your camera, then it is a fair bet other broadcasters will too.

Interestingly, the Sony EX1 and EX3 are missing from the list, but the Canon XF305 and XF300 are there, supposedly for independent production only. Unfortunately, it seems that no one told the BBC’s own DV Solutions department, which has ordered sixty XF305s for hiring to BBC programmemakers!

So why has the XF305/300 made it on to the list? It’s probably thanks in no small measure to GTC member Alan Roberts, who wrote one of his comprehensive reviews on the camera in 2010.

What does it offer?

The camera takes the usual Z1 form factor at a substantial 2.67kg. You can prop it against your shoulder and

• 50Mb/s (CBR 4:2:2) 1920x1080 50i and 25p • 50Mb/s (CBR 4:2:2) 1280x720 50p and 25p • 35Mb/s (VBR 4:2:0) 1920x1080 50i and 25p • 35Mb/s (VBR 4:2:0) 1280x720 50p and 25p • 25Mb/s (CBR 4:2:0) 1440x1080 50i and 25p (CBR = constant bit rate; VBR = variable bit rate) The camera records onto two Compact Flash cards. A 32GB card will give a healthy 82-minute recording time at 1920X1080 50i, 50Mb/s. You will need the faster cards for 50Mb/s recording, and there is a Canon recommended list at http://bit.ly/canoncards. It also takes an SD card for recording menu set-ups and customised files, all of

Face detection locked on to the subject

which can be transferred between cameras.

A fully charged BP-955 battery offered 250 minutes of operation or 265 minutes if you switch off the power to the SDI output.

The camera has three 1/3-inch CMOS sensors. This is small, but the BBC was convinced by the camera’s performance, so it wasn’t a deal breaker. Small sensors won’t give you the shallow depth of field of the DSLR, but for the operator using it hand-held on an observational documentary that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you truly must have a shallow DoF for your low-budget drama, you’re probably going to use the new Panasonic AF101 (with micro 4/3 sensor) or stretch the budget to a Sony PMW-F3K (with Super 35mm sensor).

Face detection

The killer feature for the video journalist or complete beginner is the use of face detection. Tried and tested on consumer camcorders, face detection seems to be bubbling upwards to prosumer kit. If you are sceptical, don’t be – it is surprisingly good. A white box appears around the

Canon XF305 and XF105

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The RGB waveform monitor

face to confirm it has recognised and locked on. It easily pulled focus from a long shot to close-up as someone walked towards the camera.

If there are several faces it will acknowledge them by putting a grey box around the face. But what if it incorrectly chooses who should get the priority white box? No problem.

You can assign a button to flipflop between faces.

Flexible features

Talking of assign buttons, most cameras now offer up to seven

The edge monitor can help with focus

buttons to assign to your favourite menu options. On the XF305 you get 13. Canon has made this possible by making the media playback buttons assignable when in camera mode.

There is a 1.3cm viewfinder, and a 10.1cm wide-screen LCD which flips out from under the top handle to the left AND right of the camera. This will mean video journalists will finally be able to record an interviewee looking camera right. A further helpful feature is a 3-second pre-record or memory cache, which writes the three seconds before you press record to the CF card.

The media playback buttons double up as assignable buttons in camera mode

The integral lens is an 18x zoom from 4.1 to 73.8 mm You get the usual two zebras, which are both adjustable between 70% and 100%. Surprisingly, you also get two peakings; each comes in white, red, yellow or blue. Thankfully, you can only see one peaking option at a time on the screen.

If that isn’t enough, you can choose from different waveform monitor (WFM) parameters including line, line+spot, field, RGB and YPrPb. Then there is a vectorscope (normal and spot) and an edge monitor – types 1 and 2, which might come in handy for focus-pulling. Choosing a waveform does bump the audio levels off the screen – but the WFM has an assignable button to switch it on and off as necessary.

Integral lens

The integral lens is an 18x zoom from 4.1 to 73.8 mm. The lens opens to F1.6 (ramping to F2.8 on zooming in). At the press of a button the lens can be switched from an infinity ring to one with end-stops; having both options should keep everyone happy.

There is the usual push auto focus button, although this only works in

infinity mode. Behind the focus ring is the zoom, then the iris rings. The two zoom rockers are separately adjustable for variable or constant speeds. The iris control is on an infinity ring, so the F number is displayed on the screen.

According to Alan’s tests, there “was no perceptible loss of resolution through iris diffraction until the lens was stopped down to F8”, so the 1/4, 1/16, and 1/64 ND filters will be handy on a sunny day.

The low, medium and high gain switches can be set from –6dB to 33dB or fine-tuned from 0dB to 21dB in 0.5dB increments, which is something I’ve not seen before.

The shutter has a good range of speeds from 1/25 (in 25p mode) or 1/50 to 1/2000. If you prefer that in angles, you can choose from 360 degrees to 11.25 degrees. If you need to show a CRT in shot, you can adjust the clear scan shutter from 25Hz (in 25p mode) or 50Hz to 251.15Hz. For those woozy shots, there is always the slow shutter from 1/3 to 1/25!

If you want to experiment further, there are slow motion, interval and

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Canon XF305 and XF105 frame recording modes to keep you entertained.

White balance has the usual daylight and tungsten presets, which can be adjusted within a range of –9 to +9. However, the preset can also be set to Kelvin where you can specify a colour temperature in the range 2,000K to 15,000K. You can also store the usual two manual white balances in A and B modes.

All this information is clearly shown in the screens, but if you want to tidy things up you can remove and add on screen details to taste. If you need to know more, the Status button gives seven pages of info in Camera mode and five pages in Media mode. I would have liked one of those pages to offer audio level meters for the two XLR inputs and to confirm the setting of the audio input switches (INT / EXT / line / mic / mic+48V) Not only are these buttons out of the operator’s eyeline, but also are uncovered so can be knocked by accident. Please, Canon, put that on the firmware upgrade wish list!

The XF305 has an HD-SDI output and connections for genlock and

timecode sync. If you don’t need any of these connectors, the XF300 is the camera to check out – it is around £600 cheaper. Apart from that, everything else is identical on the two cameras.

There are also mini HDMI, HD/SD component connectors, BNC video, USB, a 3.5mm mini-jack AV (this can be used as a second headphone socket), two 3-pin XLR sockets and a 2.5mm remote mini-jack.

If, on your computer, you just want to check what is on the CF card, install the Canon XF Utility. I also needed the Canon XF plugin to log and transfer video into Final Cut Pro V7. Both installed without any problems. To be safe, I used a card reader (around £10) to copy the whole CF card contents to the hard drive first and then followed the plugin manual recommendation by importing the video as ProRes 422. Avid users get a version of the software too.

The XF305 genuinely has enough professional features to keep a pro user happy. For those who want to customise the look of their pictures in the Custom Picture menu, there are

From HDMI to genlock - the camera’s many connections

www.gtc.org.uk

The smaller Canon XF105 plenty of options to keep you busy; far too many to outline in this article.

The manual is available from the Canon website.

And the bad news?

Are there any downsides? The off switch is a bit fiddly – making it bigger would have helped. The doors that protect the CF cards must be closed to activate the cards for recording.

This is a good safety feature, until one gets broken and you can’t record.

Sensitivity is about the same as a Z1 – but if you are used to that, it probably won’t bother you too much.

XF105 and XF100 But the story doesn’t end there. If one great camera wasn’t enough, Canon decided it needed a little brother, well two actually, the XF105 and XF100.

In theory it should take another 2000 words to review this, but there is no need. Almost every feature I have mentioned for the XF305 is on the XF105. I had a pre-production model, so they may tweak and change some features before it is launched in early 2011.

The menus are almost identical, and the features a carbon copy. It is as if someone has shrunk an XF305.

If you are on a low budget but need two cameras, one of each would pretty much cover most eventualities; from two-camera interviews and observational docs to conferences.

The most obvious difference is the size. The XF105 weighs only 1.2kg.

There is only one 1/3-inch CMOS chip and the lens is 10x zoom from 4.25–42.5mm. The focus ring can be switched to be a zoom or iris (+ND) ring.

One XF105 feature absent on the XF305 is an infrared option. The upside

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of this is that I can shoot the foxes in my garden at night. The downside will be that the colours may not match perfectly between this camera and the XF305.

At IBC, the XF105 was also being discussed as a low-budget 3D option, as it too has genlock and a feature (axis shift) that uses the optical image stabilisation to help correctly align two connected camcorders during stereoscopic 3D recording.

There is also a focal length guide to synchronise zoom adjustments. I think the final version will be very attractive to the low-budget shooter.

Is this the low budget future?

Back in February 2005, I bought a Sony HVR-Z1, the BBC bought shed loads and so too did the independent production companies. If you were doing a low-budget shoot it was a no-brainer, you chose the Z1. But, that was six years ago, now all those Z1s desperately need to be replaced.

Is this the replacement? Yes, I think it is. With the BBC’s endorsement and its wealth of features, this will be the camera of choice for ob docs, selfshooters and video journalists. I think the XF305 is a winner and the XF105 will make a perfect partner. Inevitably, every time I review a camera I end up buying it – I’ve put my orders in already…

Fact file GTC member Christina Fox is a camera trainer working for a wide range of clients. This article will also appear on her website www.urbanfox.tv with plenty of links for more information.

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