My experience with the HVX 200 on a feature film.
Please excuse my English since I am not natively English speaking.
We just wrapped a feature we shot with the HVX-200. I was the first AC. It was the first time I've used that camera and am very pleased with it. The film will be blown up to 35mm and released for the cinema.
Testing / Equipment
Before the shoot we had one week of testing. I recommend that to everyone who had never used that camera before because it is different. I shot with almost every camera in the world including the Viper but never had so many issues that were specific to that camera.
Next to the camera we had a Focas mattebox and follow focus. As well as a Bebob Foxi electronic follow focus and zoom control. A Cartoni Focus head with aluminum legs as well as a Manfrotto monopod and the DVRig Pro.
During testing I soon preferred the Bebob follow focus over the Focas. It reacted faster and I had the complete focus range with one turn of the knob. The Focas needs about three turns. Although it is mechanically linked to the camera it is not a mechanical follow focus. The focus ring on the camera is just another sensor that drives the electronic focus motor. And it is reversed compared to a film follow focus.
So the Bebob is actually more direct. In fact I never used the Focas during the shoot. The Bebob also comes with a 6m (20') extension cable. Very useful.
For storage we had six 8GB P2 cards. A P2 store for use on location and a Power Book G4 with external hard drives to download and view the footage.
We decided that I will be next to the camera to pull focus with the flip out monitor turned around so I can see the image while the DP uses the viewfinder. But then during the shoot we never did it that way.
We set up six scene files for different situations in the movie. We knew we were going to have a lot of low light so some were optimized for that others for a fog scene or for outside.
We shot some tests that we then took to a telecine house and transferred it to 35mm.
The quality of the film out was amazing. Very close to Super 16. We also compared it to another reel that was a blowup from DVX-100 PAL footage and the quality is so much better. The PAL footage looked very soft and noisy while the HVX was sharp and crisp.
We decided on the 1080p/25 recording format. This format could be edited with Avid Xpress Pro HD. For hispeed we used 720PN and converted the footage to TIFF sequences for importing to Avid. I hope Avid will release an update soon to support all P2 formats natively. The European version of the camera cannot record in 24p mode. Although even in Europe cinemas project their films with 24 fps.
At first we had an Astro HD monitor. While it had a very good waveform it also had a noisy fan and therefore could not be used on the set. We changed it for a bigger Panasonic BT-LH900 which turned out to be a very good choice.
It's battery powered and mounted to a light stand it was very mobile.
Camera Setup
The biggest problem for me was that there was no 12V output and that the camera could not output HD and composite at the same time.
I soon found out that to use my onboard monitor and video transmitter I would need an external power source. So I fixed my small power distributor on the Focas adapter plate and powered it from an external 12V battery. Now I could plug in my onboard monitor and the video distributor as well as later on the HDSDI converter.
Sound wanted an image as well and it had to be wireless. In the first week we connected his video transmitter to the output of the monitor. It was in a little bag together with a battery to power it. On the camera I had a Kramer pico video splitter and an onboard LCD monitor so I could be on either side of the camera and see the frame. The video distributor splits the composite signals in two without losing brightness. This was important because we had to be able to check the levels on the waveform in the monitor. We did calibrate the output of the splitter to match the HD output.
Although this configuration worked well we only had a PAL image. And I could not judge if the image was in focus or not. So whenever we did those super closeups I hooked the monitor up via component. Every time I did this the sound mixer complained that he lost his image.
So I started looking for a solution. Which I found. I needed an external down converter
that converts the HD component to composite and also passes through the component signal for HD monitoring. I called a few rental companies and no one had this. But one had another solution.
We ended up using two AJA converters. One was on the camera. It converted the HD component to HDSDI. Unfortunately it was a 5V version so I had to make a 12V to 5V DC converter and mount that to the camera. Because the converter needed one amp it got really hot and I and the DP burned ourselves a few times so I quickly changed the position from the handle to in between the iris rods. One NP-25 battery that was powering the AJA lasted for about three hours.
We then had one BNC cable that carried an HDSDI signal to the monitor. From there we put another converter in the bag with the video transmitter. That one converted the HDSDI signal to composite. Luckily that one was 12V.
The shoot
We were shooting a lot of low light and very low light. In the script there was a big part of the movie that was night and the power had gone out. So the only light source was a camping lantern and some street lights from outside. The street lights were motivated by some custom built natrium vapor lights but the camping lantern was the actual source. So we have a lot of scenes where we are around 30% IRE. Usually we shot wide open. The camera was most of the time on a Minijib that was on a dolly. So it could freely move. And it did so. We had only wide shots, closeups and extreme closeups. Nothing in between. For the closeups we had a series of diopters from +1 to +3. With a +2 diopter you can shoot one eye so it fills the frame. Of course focus is super critical at that level and distance markings are not usable.
Even without a closeup lens the focus distance on the camera is inaccurate. Depending on the focal length the reference point is from the front element of the lens up to 8 centimeters back. For closeups I was using the monitor. Thanks to the extension cable an the HD zoom function I was able to pull focus by watching the HD image. It worked out really well.
During the first week when we connected the monitor via composite I noticed a burn-in effect of the OSD-messages on the HD-monitor. It went away after a few minutes but it was kind of scary. It didn't happen when we connected it via HD-SDI.
On one take I used the autofocus. It was during the first week on a four minute closeup on one of the actors. There was enough light (about 50% IRE) and the camera was on a tripod. The actor was not moving. But still after a while the camera started pumping. It went out of focus and back in. A few times. I have never again used autofocus since.
Workflow
On the set we used 8GB P2 cards. Every card was numbered and that number was kept all the way to the editing room. It was the only way to identify a clip afterwards except by looking at the slate. It also helped prevent accidental formatting. Odd numbers go in slot 1, even numbers in slot 2. And script could see on the monitor when the card changed.
We downloaded the footage on a Power Book G4 to a 500GB external drive. From there it went to a 160GB drive that went to the editor every night.
We had the P2 log software to watch the footage on the Mac.
When we were on location or at times where there was only one assistant we used the P2 store. The problem was then downloading because it takes hours to download only a few cards from the P2 store to a hard drive on a mac. Don't know why.
Also for slow motion we had to convert the P2 footage to TIFF sequences so the editor could import them into Avid. This took hours as well and we used a second iBook to do that.
For feature projects I would use a PC laptop to download because of the better P2 drivers, faster USB and free codec.
Reliability and wear
During our four weeks of shooting we did lose some data. One audio file and one video file (mxf) disappeared unnoticed. There was no error message during the copy process. And we lost two takes because I once accidentally formatted the wrong card in the camera. Because we used an Apple Power Book G4 to download the cards we could not format the card in the computer and had to do this in camera.
I did try to rescue the data off the card but did not succeed. I was able to get the clips back but a lot of frames had pixel errors so the clips were unusable.
After two weeks of shooting the composite plug wore out. The cable kept slipping out of the plug and we lost image. Because of the hooks it never fell off completely but enough to lose signal.
After three weeks the plug for the remote focus extension cable broke. The tip fell off.
Luckily I had bought a replacement plug the weekend before. But it was a pain to solder. The replacement cable from bebob was 90 euros. At the local electronics shop I got one for 10.
Please excuse my English since I am not natively English speaking.
We just wrapped a feature we shot with the HVX-200. I was the first AC. It was the first time I've used that camera and am very pleased with it. The film will be blown up to 35mm and released for the cinema.
Testing / Equipment
Before the shoot we had one week of testing. I recommend that to everyone who had never used that camera before because it is different. I shot with almost every camera in the world including the Viper but never had so many issues that were specific to that camera.
Next to the camera we had a Focas mattebox and follow focus. As well as a Bebob Foxi electronic follow focus and zoom control. A Cartoni Focus head with aluminum legs as well as a Manfrotto monopod and the DVRig Pro.
During testing I soon preferred the Bebob follow focus over the Focas. It reacted faster and I had the complete focus range with one turn of the knob. The Focas needs about three turns. Although it is mechanically linked to the camera it is not a mechanical follow focus. The focus ring on the camera is just another sensor that drives the electronic focus motor. And it is reversed compared to a film follow focus.
So the Bebob is actually more direct. In fact I never used the Focas during the shoot. The Bebob also comes with a 6m (20') extension cable. Very useful.
For storage we had six 8GB P2 cards. A P2 store for use on location and a Power Book G4 with external hard drives to download and view the footage.
We decided that I will be next to the camera to pull focus with the flip out monitor turned around so I can see the image while the DP uses the viewfinder. But then during the shoot we never did it that way.
We set up six scene files for different situations in the movie. We knew we were going to have a lot of low light so some were optimized for that others for a fog scene or for outside.
We shot some tests that we then took to a telecine house and transferred it to 35mm.
The quality of the film out was amazing. Very close to Super 16. We also compared it to another reel that was a blowup from DVX-100 PAL footage and the quality is so much better. The PAL footage looked very soft and noisy while the HVX was sharp and crisp.
We decided on the 1080p/25 recording format. This format could be edited with Avid Xpress Pro HD. For hispeed we used 720PN and converted the footage to TIFF sequences for importing to Avid. I hope Avid will release an update soon to support all P2 formats natively. The European version of the camera cannot record in 24p mode. Although even in Europe cinemas project their films with 24 fps.
At first we had an Astro HD monitor. While it had a very good waveform it also had a noisy fan and therefore could not be used on the set. We changed it for a bigger Panasonic BT-LH900 which turned out to be a very good choice.
It's battery powered and mounted to a light stand it was very mobile.
Camera Setup
The biggest problem for me was that there was no 12V output and that the camera could not output HD and composite at the same time.
I soon found out that to use my onboard monitor and video transmitter I would need an external power source. So I fixed my small power distributor on the Focas adapter plate and powered it from an external 12V battery. Now I could plug in my onboard monitor and the video distributor as well as later on the HDSDI converter.
Sound wanted an image as well and it had to be wireless. In the first week we connected his video transmitter to the output of the monitor. It was in a little bag together with a battery to power it. On the camera I had a Kramer pico video splitter and an onboard LCD monitor so I could be on either side of the camera and see the frame. The video distributor splits the composite signals in two without losing brightness. This was important because we had to be able to check the levels on the waveform in the monitor. We did calibrate the output of the splitter to match the HD output.
Although this configuration worked well we only had a PAL image. And I could not judge if the image was in focus or not. So whenever we did those super closeups I hooked the monitor up via component. Every time I did this the sound mixer complained that he lost his image.
So I started looking for a solution. Which I found. I needed an external down converter
that converts the HD component to composite and also passes through the component signal for HD monitoring. I called a few rental companies and no one had this. But one had another solution.
We ended up using two AJA converters. One was on the camera. It converted the HD component to HDSDI. Unfortunately it was a 5V version so I had to make a 12V to 5V DC converter and mount that to the camera. Because the converter needed one amp it got really hot and I and the DP burned ourselves a few times so I quickly changed the position from the handle to in between the iris rods. One NP-25 battery that was powering the AJA lasted for about three hours.
We then had one BNC cable that carried an HDSDI signal to the monitor. From there we put another converter in the bag with the video transmitter. That one converted the HDSDI signal to composite. Luckily that one was 12V.
The shoot
We were shooting a lot of low light and very low light. In the script there was a big part of the movie that was night and the power had gone out. So the only light source was a camping lantern and some street lights from outside. The street lights were motivated by some custom built natrium vapor lights but the camping lantern was the actual source. So we have a lot of scenes where we are around 30% IRE. Usually we shot wide open. The camera was most of the time on a Minijib that was on a dolly. So it could freely move. And it did so. We had only wide shots, closeups and extreme closeups. Nothing in between. For the closeups we had a series of diopters from +1 to +3. With a +2 diopter you can shoot one eye so it fills the frame. Of course focus is super critical at that level and distance markings are not usable.
Even without a closeup lens the focus distance on the camera is inaccurate. Depending on the focal length the reference point is from the front element of the lens up to 8 centimeters back. For closeups I was using the monitor. Thanks to the extension cable an the HD zoom function I was able to pull focus by watching the HD image. It worked out really well.
During the first week when we connected the monitor via composite I noticed a burn-in effect of the OSD-messages on the HD-monitor. It went away after a few minutes but it was kind of scary. It didn't happen when we connected it via HD-SDI.
On one take I used the autofocus. It was during the first week on a four minute closeup on one of the actors. There was enough light (about 50% IRE) and the camera was on a tripod. The actor was not moving. But still after a while the camera started pumping. It went out of focus and back in. A few times. I have never again used autofocus since.
Workflow
On the set we used 8GB P2 cards. Every card was numbered and that number was kept all the way to the editing room. It was the only way to identify a clip afterwards except by looking at the slate. It also helped prevent accidental formatting. Odd numbers go in slot 1, even numbers in slot 2. And script could see on the monitor when the card changed.
We downloaded the footage on a Power Book G4 to a 500GB external drive. From there it went to a 160GB drive that went to the editor every night.
We had the P2 log software to watch the footage on the Mac.
When we were on location or at times where there was only one assistant we used the P2 store. The problem was then downloading because it takes hours to download only a few cards from the P2 store to a hard drive on a mac. Don't know why.
Also for slow motion we had to convert the P2 footage to TIFF sequences so the editor could import them into Avid. This took hours as well and we used a second iBook to do that.
For feature projects I would use a PC laptop to download because of the better P2 drivers, faster USB and free codec.
Reliability and wear
During our four weeks of shooting we did lose some data. One audio file and one video file (mxf) disappeared unnoticed. There was no error message during the copy process. And we lost two takes because I once accidentally formatted the wrong card in the camera. Because we used an Apple Power Book G4 to download the cards we could not format the card in the computer and had to do this in camera.
I did try to rescue the data off the card but did not succeed. I was able to get the clips back but a lot of frames had pixel errors so the clips were unusable.
After two weeks of shooting the composite plug wore out. The cable kept slipping out of the plug and we lost image. Because of the hooks it never fell off completely but enough to lose signal.
After three weeks the plug for the remote focus extension cable broke. The tip fell off.
Luckily I had bought a replacement plug the weekend before. But it was a pain to solder. The replacement cable from bebob was 90 euros. At the local electronics shop I got one for 10.
