August 6, 2008

'LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG WORLD' SHOOTING IN HD

Most of the show takes place on the family's 34-acre farm in Portland, though the crew also follows them on vacations and on the road. The team shoots 16 hours a day for five days a week.

Line producer Matthew Morgan says the Gay Rosenthal team spent two days testing different cameras, exposing them to the rough conditions normally encountered during the show's production. They also shot in varied lighting, as the show often includes both day and night encounters.

After the two days of testing, DP Tom Curran and his crew brought the footage to Los Angeles and showed it to executives from GRP. The JVC models (http://pro.jvc.com/pro), it was decided, produced the smoothest and sharpest image quality.

Footage for the show is captured to both to tape and hard drive, and the HD material is downconverted to SD for editing on Avid systems. Focus Enhancements' Firestore drives serve as backups to the tapes.

Little People, Big World airs on Mondays at 8:00pm (EST) on TLC.