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"Perya' - latest developments in affordable broadcast quality production on DSLR cameras

Bit of a technology blog this one

If, like me, you are a keen follower of the developments in DSLR Video capabilities, you will have been charting the Canon rise to fame with the EOS5D MarkII films last year including the amazing Laforet film Reverie

The changing technology seems set to revolutionize production costs while growing production values and impact on the traditional way in which commercial photography, journalists and citizen journalism responds.

The ability to shoot in full HD (Always arguable as a term by broadcast producers) on solid state, with lenses that would cost at least double is they were specific to 'video' cameras is very attractive. The look and feel of the footage is enhanced by depth of field, wide and other 'looks' that would only be achieved by costly prime lenses with video & film cameras.

The significance in changing job roles which is reflected in the paper based media in reduction and the video production training given to photography journalists also hints at an interesting future for stills based photographic journalism.

Even paparazzi are asked to provide full HD footage - able to shoot multiple fps and select that one frame where the celeb, half blinking or yawning, looks their worst.

For production of short films or even feature films this is also an exciting time. With aCanon 7D body retailing on some sites at just over £1k the production of films of broadcast quality is also within reach for many education providers, historically limited to lesser quality formats through budget, they can now produce films that would stand up in cinema projection environment.

There are downsides of course. Full HD on a shoulder mounted video is difficult enough to avoid shake, which, by time it's viewed on anything bigger than a 32" HD Television can lead to sea-sickness. A hand held stills camera body weighed down by heavy lenses is even more cumbersome. Hence the need for a quality steady cam such as the Blackbird (eghere) if not locked off on a tripod. You will also need a selection of lenses that, although cheap(er) could also stretch your budget.

The limiting of video capture length (Around 4GB/ 12 minutes at Full HD or 24 SD) may have more to do with export laws which would lead to describing the product as a ' HD video camera' and be subject to a different level of tax than the capability of the technology. Unless you are filming an extended sequence of dialogue, action or a live Prog Rock drum solo, this may not present much of a problem.

"Perya"The Perya film lists the following: Lenses: 16-35 mm 2.8 17 mm TS 35mm 1.4 50 mm 1.4 85mm 1.4 100 mm 2.8 macro 70-200 mm 2.8Though the film was shot with no additional lighting or post production grading! It was shot in 1920x1080 @ 24fps (Very filmic) Transcoded to XDcam codec and edited in Premier Pro CS3.

Production can therefore be quick and mobile as the team write in their blog;

"We got it Tuesday 6pm and had to return it the following Thursday at noon. 
We wanted to document something truly Filipino and came up with the idea of shooting a "Perya". There really is no direct equivalent in English. It's not as grand as a carnival, not as permanent and posh as an amusement park, there are no pumpkins nor cows in competition like a country fair. It is what it is - a Perya".

It will be interesting to see how DSLR production develops. Certainly in our sector the ability to create these sort of images to such a discerning audience as many of the young people who contribute to these projects is a great leap forward. The production values for the digital shorts developed by the regions film makers will also present amazing possibilities.

As the technology develops and we see true hybrid stills and video camcorder models occupy the common ground between, ideally at pro-sumer levels, this together with the ability to extend the minutes of video footage that can be captured in one shot will improve options and drive price down. At Pro level the one to watch would be the anticipated Red camcorder and it's equivalents with the promise of 2k/4k capabilities at a price which may not be that much of a leap from the current DSLR's once kitted up?

More about DSLR filmmaking can be found here