Winning Short Shot With Panasonic Mini-DV Camcorder

A six-minute romantic fantasy short film, "Baggage," shot with Panasonic's AG-DVX100 mini-DV 3-CCD camcorder, recently took top honors in the 48 Hour Film Project, an independent filmmaking competition where filmmakers have one weekend to make a short film, 4-8 minutes in length. The camera features CineSwitch technology that supports 480i/60 (NTSC), cinema-style 480p/24 fps and 480p/30 fps image capture.

Panasonic also offers an upgraded version of the AG-DVX100, the AG-DVX100A, which includes 24p and 30p progressive mode functions; improved color reproduction; cine-like gamma curves and better image adjustments; a slow shutter function for higher sensitivity and dramatic motion effects; a squeeze mode for 16:9 recording; and auto focus assist and interval recording modes.

"In our project, we chose to show the difference between fantasy and reality not by color, contrast or perspective changes but by temporal feel (frame rate). Having the ability to switch back and forth between 60i and 24p helped keep us on track. This way we didn't have to switch cameras, tapes or video formats," said DP Sheridan, an ICG digital imaging technician and 24p shooter who worked on the project.