Used the GH2 for a pro job! (thoughts on the application)

[hunter richards]

So last week I shot a new product promo for Steelcase on the GH2 and it ended up working wonderfully (Dir. Mark Baas, Baas Creative + Design Vox)

We usually shoot these kinda things on the Red because of how it handles the fine patterns and mesh, but because of some specific overhead shots - I wanted to test the GH2 as I knew it would save us precious rigging time.

I did a fabric/mesh test a few days after I got my gh2 and to my surprise, It didnt show any moire or aliasing on the chairs what so ever. And this is that really tight stuff that would destroy any other dslr. So with the camera passing the test and the hat tip from the director and creatives, we decided to give the gh2 a try and I think it ended up being a great choice.

What I love about using the GH2 for stuff like this:

Super light- fast set-up time/ fast rig building
Nice sharp/clean image
Great HDMI out for client/creative monitoring (!!!)
remote triggering (more later)
audible beep for start stop of recording
long record times
long battery life
its cute and looks good in silver!

What I didnt love;

When on a dolly the hdmi cable gets in the way of lcd, making it hard to tilt up to view
(My cineroid evf would have solved this but it didnt get here in time for the shoot, but the hdmi placement could have been designed better on the GH2)

On the shoulder:
We had to do some fast run n' gun so instead of running a cable to video village, I threw on a 7" hdmi monitor on the camera so Mark could see the image too- this worked great as the gh2 also displays an image on the evf even while an hdmi cable is plugged it (every dslr should do this!)
I used a DVtec should rig and some smart assembly handgrips with a coiled start stop controller.








Overhead rig:
Here is where the gh2 shined and how we saved to much time using it. We put the gh2 at the end of a menace arm (used for holding lights usually). I ran an hdmi cable down the arm as well as hooked up a wireless start stop trigger to the gh2. By putting the camera in single AF mode and using a 20mm pancake and 14-42mm, I was able to get the camera up and framed- then half press the remote button, get a single AF focus and start recording.

I was so happy about this because when I do this kind of shot on pro cameras, it takes a much bigger rig and requires more crew and much more time- we had the gh2 up and ready to shoot in about 10 minutes.





On the Fisher:
My only GH2 gripe here- again, the hdmi cable gets in the way of the lcd so its hard to position the way you want. I would have used my 7" monitor but I was lacking a splitter at the time so I had to cock my head a little sideways. If your shooting on a dolly- an evf or extra monitor/splitter is a must.






Conclusion:

All in all everyone loved the GH2, including me. Ill still shoot projects on the Red and other pro cameras as needed, but this was really a great experience overall and it worked great for this project. I know this wasnt an extremely elegant project, but it did prove to me and hopefully you- that you can realistically use the gh2 for everyday corporate work and get away with it ; )

As far as shooting on dslr's go, as of today the GH2 is as good as it gets for me and I look forward to shooting another project on it again!

(btw- I know someone will ask why I didnt have a follow focus on the camera, I dont own a follow focus anymore and just rent them because most of the time I just like using my hand. But I did plan on using a follow focus for this project, its just that the follow focus I rented was missing the 15mm clamp screw and so it was a nogo)

If anyone has any specific questions about something feel free to ask.

[Stephen Mick]

Great write-up, Hunter!

One question…audio. Was it captured separately, or was this just a visuals-only/b-roll type shoot?


SM

[hunter richards]

This was just an mos shoot with VO and music added later (I also shot everything at 1080/30- 80% mode for a slightly slo motion effect- and when doing that the camera doesnt record audio anyway).
But if when I need to use audio on it, I would probably go double system, or use a mixer with the gh2. I think with using the audio levels on camera and a good pre-amp, you should be able to get good sound out of it.

[Stephen Mick]

This was just an mos shoot with VO and music added later (I also shot everything at 1080/30- 80% mode for a slightly slo motion effect- and when doing that the camera doesnt record audio anyway).
But if when I need to use audio on it, I would probably go double system, or use a mixer with the gh2. I think with using the audio levels on camera and a good pre-amp, you should be able to get good sound out of it.

Well, I'll have to test out the audio myself. I've got a GH2 and a Sound Devices 442 mixer sitting in my office, just waiting to make sweet, sweet love.

[hunter richards]

Post pics of that love making! ; ) I bet it will make a nice pair.

[Stephen Mick]

Post pics of that love making! ; ) I bet it will make a nice pair.

They're sipping brandy in front of the fireplace right now. Maybe later.

[rigs]

Looks like a alot of fun Hunter.
I used to do corporate stuff for Steelcase in Toronto Canada back in the 80's. The old FP1 would ring like crazy with its new CCD sensor. Ohhh those where the days.

[timbook2]

thanks for sharing this Hunter. Shows how this little camera can function well when used professionally. I got the same Samsung monitor btw....and the same dv rig :-)

[Futchibon]

Fantastic Hunter!

Could you please tell me what you guys use for sound? Pre-amps, mics, recorders, etc.

Any chance of seeing actual footy? That would be awesome!

THANKS!

[mcgeedigital]

Looks great sir. What other glass did you use?