LONDON - Adam Alexander of Seven Stones Media, here, gets around. He had just finished shooting A Year in Kew for the BBC when he hit on a new idea for a cooking series based on the return of chef Giancarlo Caldesi to his Italian roots. Caldesi planned to set up a cooking school in his native Tuscany and Alexander envisioned producing a cooking show following the chef’s progress.
Alexander shot a teaser on DVCAM in late 2004 and got a green light for the series from BBC2 last year. He’d intended to produce the series in standard definition, but was interested in a DV camcorder that could also shoot HDV as an investment in the future. Early reports about JVC’s GY-HD100 (www.jvcproeurope.com) got Alexander over to Planet PC in West Yorkshire where he bought two of the cameras – among the very first available in the UK.
Alexander had to choose the right cameras for this job. The realities of shooting the documentary series included tight budgets and a six-week schedule for shooting 20 episodes, as well as the ability of the cameramen to use the camcorders with confidence in the confines of a working kitchen. Since food was the main subject, it was vital that the camcorders produce high quality images and color representation.
Alexander feels his choice of the two GY-HD100s was perfect for shooting in the small location - both cameramen were able to maneuver themselves around the chef with the camcorders on their shoulders or even held at arm’s length. The small size of the camcorder encouraged more challenging filming techniques, while its light weight meant that 14-hour days were managed without problems. The camcorders are each equipped with three widescreen-native 1280 x 720 pixel CCDs, providing extremely high resolution and color accuracy.
“The GY-HD100 is a cameraman’s camera,” says Alexander, who had stopped using another make of HD Handycam. “It feels and functions as a true professional camcorder should.” The JVC camera’s ProHD format is based on HDV but “designed strictly for professional use” with professional timecode and audio features.
Return to Tuscany will air on BBC2 at 3pm during May 2006. Alexander completed the shows in SD mode since he feels that HDTV has not been perfected in all areas of the production chain and it is not yet an absolute requirement of broadcasters. For now, Alexander will continue using the camcorders in SD mode, confident that his video material is being generated by three HD CCDs. He believes that the day when HD becomes the norm is not far off and he’s happy his investment in JVC’s ProHD format allows him to shoot some HD work while continuing to produce work called for in SD.
Alexander’s new job is A Year in Tibet, 12 half-hours for BBC4 following community life in a small village in Tibet.