jvc in Kurdish iraq doc performance

C

caldwell

Active member
just came back from a month +++ shooting in northern Iraq (kurdistan) having used my JVC hd100u... for a documentary

footage has now been analyzed by the major post house in the city as dubs were being made and they were amazed at its footage as compared to other hdv cameras...
When scene at full resolution when problem solving with an editor, it literally stopped work and created a crowd.

nuts and bolts
in the field it functioned as it should and held up.
the anton batteries lasted all day. at least ...
length of lens was fantastic especially for creating seperation and needed depth of field. fuji's wide angle adapter looked great as well.
it is of the feeling for this type of doc that having tape was important/ 1 because rolling power outages and surges killed computers there sometimes even through protectors/... (no slam on the panasonic/ i've only heard good things)


My background is using sony sx/ and sp cameras Panny 900sx and sony's large hd cam...
I chose the jvc for its ease of manual use and it was a fairly easy translation. i perhaps should post a couple of pics of it in action.

i shot it 24p creating some post headaches that hopefully will solved.

ps Kurdish iraq is a fair bit safer than the rest of the country or surrounding countries for that matter
 
[SIZE=+0]Bully for you, Caldwell. Out-freaking standing!. Not so much for the report on the camera which is of course great but for taking the time to go out there, put yourself directly in harm's way and in the line of fire and bring back the goods from half a world away. I don't care where you were in that country or how much "protection" you had...anywhere there is in harm's way and in the line of fire. Again, out-freaking standing!!! And thank you for the time, the effort and the expense of doing what you did. Doing that major-network style is one thing but CALDWELL is what this business is all about.[/SIZE]
 
Can't wait to see the doc! What are your plans for it? What network?

I agree with jlames. Outstanding! Let's see some pics in the meantime.
 
thanks it was an enjoyable trip
I emailed warren some pics, he said he'd put them up... which i really appreciate.
 
pics from Iraqi documentary shot with jvc

pics from Iraqi documentary shot with jvc

Thanks to warren for the following...
http://www.rvimedia.com/andrew.html

http://www.rvimedia.com/andrew.html


here is the play by play of the pictures

first is simple from a mountain above the city... didn't know it at the time but we had walked through a former mine field, that was questionable to get the shot.

second is simply tourist shot, while taking a break, not JVC under the seat... sound via wendt 4 channel mixer mkh416 mic and kmr81 camera mic with rycote fuzzy type thing

third just what was across the street... ps people smoke a lot there... not sure if that is big news.

fourth just finished shooting an election rally and saw these kids... seemed like such a north american thing to do, roller blade...

fifth and sixth
gas station... believe it or not these are gas stations, note the former tanker truck containers on the roofs of the buildings. Gravity fed fuel lines. They have modern ones as well, but they are rationed, these are pay as you go.

7th
market... over and over again people would give us fruit or foods or chai..etc Kurds are hospitable lot... though knowing a few words is helpful and astonishly door opening.

8th...
American gothic in Kurdistan/ we were touring Sadam's former palaces that day... he had lots of them... behind me is a convenience store. i'm the short one at 6ft...
we towered over the local population.

9th
one of our guards at the breakfast table after the overnight shift... a true gentleman he went out of his way to teach us the language and laugh at us.

10th... barbed wire fence just below the former minefield oh well.... strange to see kids play in it but they seemed to know what they were doing, where to run where it was still questionable... the children seemed mature there.

thanks again to warren....
doing the doc with canada's NFB and History.

have fun.
 
Bloody marvelous pictures. Well done.

What did it cost to hire the guard?
He seems like an interesting character.
What advice did he give you?

Ed Hill
 
most of the pics are from a 30 year old nikon with a 50mm lens or a 105mm,
just piling through the tape right now...

to answer ed hill, we assembled security via the family connections,
the guard in the 9th picture had a face that had seen a lot of pain but still could smile easily... Veteran of a few wars and a civil war (Kurd vs Kurd)
i took pictures of them bought an inkjet printer and gave them portraits as they have very few pictures of themselves... i have good memory of the guards roughly 8 worked with us over the time we were there... AK's are the choice weapon, they don't keep them with their safeties on, however very few accidental shootings or accidents in that way.... they have all been shooting since they were kids.

i appreciate the feedback... making independent docs is tough sledding.
 
I believe I'm the third person to say the 9th is amazing and I'm sure I won't be the last. It just looks so cinematic. Great grabs all together.
 
These are really solid!

Man you just could not pay me enough to be over there. Screw that.

I do look forward the doc however! Keep us posted!
 
caldwell said:
most of the pics are from a 30 year old nikon with a 50mm lens or a 105mm,
just piling through the tape right now...
Click to expand...

Okay, just so we are all clear, exactly which pictures (if any) above were shot with the HD100? I'm confused.
 
i am sorry to mislead the photos are mostly shot with an old nikon...

the jvc camera itself is seen in a couple of the shots...

the camera performed extrodinarily well, coming back with a rich colours and resolution... and handled the dusty environment well.
the post house here that did dubs was blown away... and the NFB has used the camera twice on docs (the other it backed up a varicam),
this doc needed something light and transportable

i (with the help from warren) posted images from iraq due to interest in the documentary...

sorry for the confusion... but i do appreciate the feedback... its rather lonely putting a doc together and this has been a pleasant distraction.
 
Excellent run & gun stuff! My favourite camera...for this and that, I'm waiting for the GY-HD7000@next NAB...will there be better than 1920x1080 2/3" 3CMOS?

EDIT -- So, isn't there HD100 stuff among your posted photos? -- is this? Any of them?
caldwell said:
i am sorry to mislead the photos are mostly shot with an old nikon...

the jvc camera itself is seen in a couple of the shots...

(...)

sorry for the confusion... but i do appreciate the feedback... its rather lonely putting a doc together and this has been a pleasant distraction.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
thanks again for Warren for putting up the pics

http://www.rvimedia.com/andrew.html

i have to admit its fun talking about the documentary.... the business side of the film is all i've been dealing with lately.

what i've been pleasantly surprised with in using the camera is the acceptance from other crazy experienced camera folks (me just 8 years and still learning all the time)... what it does is puts a lot into a small package that is familiar.

the bad ... the roll up time....


for a description of all the photos
they are there...

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=51061

any questions about iraq or other stuff i'll have to answer there too i believe....
thanks
 
Ooo are they calling it Kurdistan already?

Thsi si gonna be trouble in the next few years. I was in turkey for the last six months. They are worried that the formation of Kurdistan will cause problems along their southern border. ( Turkey touches Syria, Iraq and Iran, and apparenlty soon to be Kurdistan )

ITs a very unstable political climate there now, not just in iraq but because of what the toppling of the iraqi government has caused. Many ethnic groups now want a country of their Own, and noone wants to give up land.

This will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years.
 
I'm told that the likelihood of the 7000 actually hitting the street is slim at best, the bar having to do with 2/3" CMOS chips. We have a standing order with EVS for three of them if they do become a reality but I understand t's one of those, "Don't hold your breath" kind of thing! Sorry and I can always be wrong but JVC is absolutely committed to the mid-tier marketplace where the GY HD100U "A" lives. The money and the effort they're putting into this thing tells me that they believe that the high-end is shrinking and the mid-level is expanding and that's what they want to own. Thus, despite the hickups, the commitment to customer service at the Indie level. We should be able to ask these people for just about anything and they'll bend over backwards to get it done because we're the butter on their bread.

Just a thought.
 
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