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Shooting Candy with P2
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February 3, 2010
Corporate video never looked so sweet.
By Chuck Gloman
Just Born, the confection makers of Peeps, Mike & Ike, Peanut Chews, Teenee Beenee, and Hot Tamales, contacted our university about updating their corporate video that we had created for them eight years ago on VHS. Obviously technology has changed considerably and they wanted a new video to act as a virtual tour through their Bethlehem, PA, plant. With flatscreen monitors placed at various stations throughout the factory, the process of making these delectable treats can be viewed by all. Our job was to record the process and create a video that fits their slogan: “A great candy isn’t made…it’s Just Born.”
Our camera of choice was Panasonic's AG-HPX300. This independent frame camcorder shoots in AVC-Intra (10-bit, 4:2:2) DVCPRO HD using three 1/3" 3-MOS chips shooting through a 17x Fujinon lens. We chose to record in 1080i/60 (1920 x 1080) onto two 32GB P2 cards utilizing the AVC-Intra 100 mode, giving us a little over an hour worth of footage on the cards before we’d have to download the material.
The Panasonic was selected because in my opinion, it’s one of the best affordable cameras out there. Light years ahead of the old VHS version, the new HD footage we shot would be downconverted to SD for the DVD players placed throughout the Just Born plant. In a few years, when HD is the norm, we will create Blu-ray discs in the 16:9 aspect ratio. For the time being, however, the end result will be a letterbox DVD version of the HD footage in SD.
A crew of four of our top freshmen met with Just Born to discuss the script, storyboard, and the editing. In order to shoot in the plant, the crew had to don protective clothing as well as hair and beard nets.
The first day of the shoot involved recording the process of creating blue-colored, marshmallow Peeps. Using just the existing illumination in the plant high above, the camera operator was able to capture the process at f/5.6. With this limited depth of field, the viewer could focus just on the process recorded, but mandating the camera operator to roll focus. White balancing in the multi-hued lighting environment required checking the color temperature constantly. The blue Peeps were in sharp contrast against the highly polished machinery. The Panasonic’s LCD viewing screen was used to play back each shot after it was captured, using only the camera’s viewfinder as our guide. Solid-state technology allows immediately playback of a selected thumbnail from the camera’s menu. Our constant monitoring of the footage would not have been possible using conventional tape without causing problems later on.
The HPX300 was large enough to provide more stability during pans and tilts than a smaller camcorder and the Anton/Bauer battery always showed its current charge on the battery itself.
Audio could have been an issue with the ambient plant noise. The earlier video had an on-camera narrator explaining the process as the video was recorded. Even with a wireless lavaliere microphone, the constant din of the machines was too distracting. Instead, we recorded an ambient track using the on-board microphone (that will be used under the visuals as “plant ambience”) with the off-camera narrator supplying his track in our campus recording booth. The visuals would be edited following the script and the narration could be fine tuned to the cut visuals.
The wider aspect ratio of HD lended itself to the shooting process in the plant. Much more visual information is available in this ratio and the crispness of 1080/60i brings out the details in each individual Peep’s eyes.
Each of the four students had an opportunity to shoot in the plant. One of our students at six foot three was elected to shoulder mount the camera to get the higher angle footage and each of the others would record the subjective as well as the moving shots. We tried to have camera movement in every shot because each visual was of a sweet item moving along the manufacturing process.
In the editing room, we chose Final Cut Pro 7 because it is one of the few software choices that handles AVC Intra. Initially wanting to plug the P2 cards directly into our laptops to access the files immediately, our Macbooks did not have the RAM necessary (or the slots) to make this option a reality. The footage would be edited natively in HD then down- converted to a letterbox DVD as mentioned earlier. The HD file would then be saved for a Blu-Ray master. Corel’s Video Studio Pro X2 allows us to create a Blu-ray master (with our Primera Bravo SE duplicator) that we will store until Just Born needs the HD version.
This project was a great learning experience for everyone involved. We had the opportunity to use the HPX300 in real world and low lighting conditions, and it gives our students the ability to use the latest HD technology after spending only three months in a college environment. Editing the footage in HD permitted the students to see flaws more easily (if a better take was available). Most importantly, for the students, this project allows them to work with new technology using their learned skills while working with real clients to develop resume material. Just Born will also receive a video that is tailor made for their needs that will not be outdated for a long time.
Again, the Panasonic AG-HPX300 is the perfect camera for this type of situation: it records pristine images in difficult environments, you have several HD and SD options for capturing the video, and the editing process is streamlined because all of the images are accessible as a “hard drive” without having to digitize all the footage in real time.
Chuck Gloman is the program director of the TV/Film Department as well as a member of the faculty at DeSales University. He may be reached at chuck.gloman@desales.edu.
| COMMENTS (7) | | 02/09/2010 | | I work for a publicly funded educational institution and am in total agreement with the sentiments expressed above. Apart from the obvious issue of misuse of taxpayers money this is just so short-sighted. Who do they think is going to employ their graduates if they're busy undercutting independent production houses? Thankfully we've always managed to fight off attempts to force us into commercial production - sadly however not every other institution thinks the same way. |
| | 02/07/2010 | | Welcome to the new media world order. I honestly believe this is going to be the norm. Film schools have essentially destroyed what used to be an industry based on mentorship and working up through the ranks.
They provide cheap labor and often times it's the heads of certain departments getting kickbacks to perpetuate this approach. |
| | 02/06/2010 | | Agreed all around - that's an embarrassing piece to put on your website, DV. And I speak as an owner of an HPX300 (who loves the camera, by the way). This "article" is little more than a promo piece for DeSales and Panasonic; very little actual evaluation of the camera. Then there's the whole issue of a University taking jobs that folks like us would be more than happy to do. I agree with the sentiments above on that topic as well. |
| | 02/05/2010 | | That first comment was very well stated - I agree totally! We've had that same situation with the major university in my area, though this looks to be from a private school. At least amateur productions like this can have a way of making competent professionals look very good in comparison.
And here I was hoping to see a thoughtful, in-depth DV review of a very intriguing camera. This article would be fine as a Univ PR piece on their website, but not with DV.com |
| | 02/04/2010 | | Well there's a bit of Panasonic PR that backfired. University probably purchased the equipment at special low cost too. Yet another blow for the private production business. |
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