New York-based cinematographer John Foster recently shot the indie comedy “Bottleworld” with Panasonic’s new AJ-HPX3000 native 1080p one-piece camcorder.
Foster previously shot “Rock the Paint,” which debuted at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, with the Panasonic AJ-SDX900 DVCPRO50 camcorder. The experience “predisposed” the filmmaker “to shoot any movie with Panasonic 24p cameras,” which, in the words of Foster, “all yield a filmic look.”
While in preproduction for “Bottleworld,” Foster attended a seminar on the HPX3000 at Abel Cine Tech. Shooting with a camcorder, as opposed to using a camera attached to a deck, and the ability to shoot 1080p convinced Foster to use the camcorder.
“Bottleworld”was shot on location in Bristol, PA, last fall. The 23-day shoot predominantly took place in an abandoned lumber store that the production team converted into a suburban liquor emporium. Foster shot DVCPRO HD at 1080/23.98PA (over 60i) with the HPX3000, which has five P2 card slots.
The camera, rented from Abel Cine Tech in New York City, was outfitted with two Canon HD lenses, a Cine-Style zoom and a wider-angle zoom. Most scenes were shot classically off a dolly.
The production setup was a workstation in the lumberyard behind the store. Images captured on P2 cards were downloaded through an Apple PowerBook G4 notebook to two 500GB G-Tech hard drives that were paired for backup. A MacBook Pro on the set was used for fast assembly edits to watch dailies, Foster said.
“Bottleworld” is being edited with Final Cut Pro in New York; color correction and finish will be done at Shooters in Philadelphia, PA.
For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
