[Reported on July 7, 1998 by Jerry Witt]

 

One of the best experiences that has come out of our struggle to get our film made was a shoot we did last month. In order to build David's director's reel and get something to show potential investors, we shot a few pages of the script on DV video. Although DV will not be mistaken for 35mm film anytime soon, it does have some unique feature. We were able to shoot in progressive scan mode which shoots 30 discrete images per second as opposed to most video, which shoots 60 interlaced fields. The "video noise" in dark, under-lit areas seems closer to film grain than traditional video. And the image quality from these little cameras is far superior to my experience with Hi-8, in many respects it approaches Betacam.

We did a one day shoot. The entire crew consisted of myself, David and our composer friend, Marty Blasick, who handled audio duties. Dennis Domingo lent a hand during the load in and wrap.

David directed and I operated the camera. We collaborated on the lighting, working with a small kit. The lights consisted of a 2k, two 1k's and a couple of Inkies. We did double system sound and recorded to DAT because the camera itself generates some noise and we didn't want the boom mike to be teathered to the camera.

We edited the project here at Motion City Films. Marty created a score that evoked the sub-jazz tones that fit the project so well. The cast included Brent Frasier and Paul Gunning, both of whom did a great job. It feels real good to work with talented professionals such as these guys.

Below are some screen shots of the finished scene. If enough people email me and express interest, I will upload the completed scene as a QuickTime or Real Video movie.