Louisiana filmmaker, John McDougall chose JVC’s ProHD GY-HD250U because his production company needed an affordable camera that could shoot true 24 frame capture to HD for a small feature film by rap artists Lil’ Boosie and Webbie. The film is loosely based on a true story about two young men from different parts of town, who after the death of a mutual friend realize they have a lot in common.
“I come from a traditional filmmaking background and wanted a camera that would deliver true 24 frame capture to HD, while deriving a native image with no interpolation of pixels from an interlaced set of fields,” said McDougall. “Another enticing and important feature the GY-HD250 provided was the interchangeable lens option, so we used a Fujinon 13×3.5 lens.”
The film was shot on a very fast-paced shooting schedule with long days and in extreme temperatures. Some scenes were shot in extremely tight quarters or with very limited power available. “A great deal of the scenes were shot at night, so we had to kept lighting down to a minimum at times, especially in car scenes. The low light performance of the camera was outstanding,” commented McDougall. “Most of the driving scenes were handled by small LED mini lights with color correction gels to throw off strong greens, reds or color correction to tungsten.
The camera configuration consisted of a Fujinon TH13x3.5BRMU lens, Cavision matte box with French flags, Tiffen 4×4 filter set, Cavision follow focus unit, and Manfrotto 519 head with an on-camera Marshall HD mini monitor. “The majority of the time the camera lived on an EX/fx custom EZ-jib atop an adjustable column mounted to the base of a skater dolly–on and off rails,” noted McDougall.
McDougall further commented on the camera’s versatility and custom menu functions. “The GY-HD250’s custom menu functions provide a wide range of looks within the camera. I really liked the ability to view live 720p signals directly off the camera while shooting. The GY-HD250 performed very well. I was able to adjust the presets to provide a softer de-saturated look, which allowed us to obtain a great film-like appearance. I was pleased that the camera held a strong charge with the Anton Bauer batteries under these conditions.”
The film staring Tyrin Turner and rappers Lil’ Boosie and Webbie will be distributed by Asylum/Warner and is scheduled to be released in mid to late summer.
Dark Sees Light
Hi-def director and producer Randall P Dark has opened Randall Dark Productions in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. The company’s mandate is to create and bring to market digital, high-resolution content of the highest quality.
The road to Randall Dark Productions started just over 20 years ago when Dark started working in HD on a miniseries that was being shot in Toronto.
Hooked on the attributes of this emerging technology, Dark founded HD Vision a few years later in New York. The company set out on a goal to be an integral part of the growth of digital content worldwide.
Carrying the HD torch, Dark became a pioneer of the technology and the images his company generated helped set the standards by which new televisions are judged to this day. In 2002, Randall launched HD Vision Studios in Los Angeles. Randall Dark Productions represents the next HD chapter in his career.
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Contact SHOOT editor Bob Goldrich with HD-related news and developments at rgoldrich@shootonline.com or (323) 960-8035.
