Adam Wilt at DV Magazine, is taking a first look at Sony V1.
In a typical SAT fashion: with V1 Sony has upgraded the Z1 “prosumer” camcorder the same way it upgraded the revolutionary Sony FX1 to Sony FX7. If you’re already familiar with the FX7 or you’ve already read the comparison between FX1 and FX7, you’ll find relatively few bits of new info.
At the same time, Sony V1 is significant because it confirms Sony’s dedication to putting CMOS sensors on its prosumer line of camcorders instead of CCDs. This is an important change of direction as it affects light sensitivity, vertical resolution, and more importantly the “full 1080 HD” of FX7 and V1.
Let’s go quickly through Adam’s points:
Design and form factor: Sony V1 is smaller than the other HDV camcorders and its form factor is close to Sony’s smaller DV models like the PD150/170. It’s also lighter than all previous prosumer models. The top handle has been moved a bit to the front which balances the camera perfectly. The LCD is on the side and has changed very little in practical terms.
Controls: Here Adam seems to be enthralled by the new Sony: “This tight grouping of shooting controls puts them readily within reach of your focusing hand… In my opinion, this is the best Handycam control layout Sony has done.
Audio: There’s little difference from Z1 and PD150 when it comes to audio. The camera features two professional XLRs.
Video: The 1/4″ CMOS sensor is less sensitive to light but offers increased resolution (full 1080 HD). It also offers true 24 frame progressive mode - highly sought after by wannabe filmmakers who strive to shoot filmlike video.
Again, it’s a “sideways upgrade” because you lose some, you gain some. Here’s Adam’s conclusion:
Sony squeezed out some features in the quest to put HDV into a PD170-sized package: analog-in recording, 50 Hz/60 Hz switchability, low-light capability, and standard video connectors on the camera body. But the result is a compact, lightweight Handycam that shoots sharp, clean HDV while offering the best laid-out controls found on a small Sony, and true progressive capture to boot. Rolling shutter will be an issue for some, but overall, the V1 looks like a worthy addition to the choices available to HDV shooters.
Post production took almost a year. The film was edited on an Avid, with an HD cut also maintained in Final Cut Pro The 3D was made using Maya, XSI, and Lightwave The 2D composites were made with Shake, Inferno, Fusion, and Combustion. The filmmakers prefer Macintosh, but large portions of the movie were made under Linux.
Asset management was handled by custom software written in the Panorama development environment, made by Provue. Color management was handled by Truelight software. The film was scanned on a northlight scanner and was recorded on the arrilaser.
Most of the film was shot at high speed, between 50 and 150fps. Normal film is at 24fps. The film was transferred to HD SR tape and quicktime, and HD quicktimes were the basis for the HD preview cuts. The working resolution for the film was 2K, at a working aspect ratio of 2.11 and a projected aspect ratio of 2.35.
Adam Wilt from DV Magazine reviewsPanasonic HVX200 and gives it DV’s Award of Excellence!
Here’s the scoop:
Pros:
Flexible P2 solid-state recording. Support for 480-, 720-, and 1080-line formats. Variable frame rates. High-quality DVCPRO intraframe compression. Full frame shown on LCD and EVF. FireWire and USB file transfer. Tasty 4.2 mm wide-angle zoom with minimal aberration.
Cons:
Expensive P2 solid-state record-ing. Coarse, low-res CCDs with noticeable aliasing. Side-heavy when handheld. Power zoom lacks slow, fast speeds. Hard to zoom smoothly. No 25 Hz format support. No letterboxed down-conversion.
Bottom Line:
The HVX200 “Manycam” offers unparalleled flexibility, shooting four image sizes in two aspect ratios at three different bitrates with 11 frame rates plus true single-frame. It records on tape and solid-state P2 cards, with Panasonic’s naturalistic image rendering. Its SD pictures are very good, but its HD pix lag the competition in fine detail.
The fluctuating nature of the technology means that most filmmakers still have to fight to shoot their films on HD. Directors like Steven Soderbergh and Robert Rodriguez can get away with HD because they keep their budgets down. But once budgets start rising to $100 million, or tent-pole status, the resistance is much fiercer.
And more from Savides, this time re: Fincher:
He’s amazing. I don’t think anybody could’ve done it this way. David had to figure it out on his own, and then present it to the studio. He had to do smaller projects, commercials. He’d been using the Viper, got really used to it. So by the time I stepped in he had gotten the Viper integrated and he’d figured out how to make the camera work. When I got there, 90 percent of the problems had been ironed out. I was just part of the creative solution.
Thank God Tarantino is back. There’s a new double-feature coming out in April from both Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez called Grindhouse.
In between the two features, there will be trailers for movies that don’t exist (similar to Mel Brook’s History of the World).
The above is a shot from one of these trailers - Werewolf Women of the S.S. It will be directed by Rob Zombie and Nicolas Cage will have a cameo as Fu Manchu in it. Nick says no money exchanged hands though.
In my last post, I said this year will be the year of the Threes (Shrek 3, Spiderman 3, Pirates 3) while next year it will be all Fours (like Indiana Jones 4 and Rambo 4 to mention a few).
I was wrong. Some “fours” are getting a head start - Die Hard 4 opens on June 28.
A bit of trivia: Kevin Smith will “star” as the warlock. Let me guess: the warlock will be a mute and he will have an apprentice (Jay) that will do all the dirty talking.
If the poster is not enough for you, check out the teaser below:
Adam Wilt from DV Magazine reviews 
Following Michael Mann’s lead, David Fincher has decided to shoot 
In my last post, I said this year will be the year of the Threes (Shrek 3, Spiderman 3, Pirates 3) while next year it will be all Fours (like
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