Panasonic VariCam captures FX's 'Dirt'

A pair of Panasonic AJ-HDC27 VariCam HD Cinema cameras is being used to shoot "Dirt," a one-hour FX series starring actress Courteney Cox.

Geary McLeod is director of photography, and Ethan Phillips is digital imaging technician on the show, which was created by Matthew Carnahan. Production of the first 13 episodes of the series began last summer in Los Angeles.

As a single-camera production that requires extensive off-speed shooting, cameras with variable-speed HD video capture were needed. McLeod said most footage was shot at 60fps, which allowed speed adjustments to be made in post at Modern Video in Burbank, CA.

Also, the production used in-camera ramping, allowing the director to ramp up and down on cue for specific steadicam work.

The production crew provided select print dailies and a data DVD with sound to Modern Video. The dailies were upconverted to 1080/24p and mastered on a Panasonic D-5 HD VTR. Tape-to-tape color correction was done on a da Vinci 2K system.

For more information, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.