(SECAUCUS, NJ - May 24, 2007) -- Barry Russo, a Tenafly, NJ-based Digital Image Technician (DIT), is finding that teaming his Panasonic AJ-HDC27 VariCam® HD Cinema camera and BT-LH2600W 26" HD production-quality LCD monitor garners him accolades on recent national commercial assignments for high-profile clients including Verizon and Planters Peanuts.
As owner of Barry Russo Video Productions, Inc., a full-service HD camera and production service provider, he has found that Panasonic HD production equipment allows him to offer "one-stop shopping" production services to clients throughout the Northeast. With more than 20 years in the film and video industries as a camera playback specialist, Russo is a longtime user of Panasonic cameras.
Recently, he completed a 30-minute Verizon infomercial shoot at Silvercup Studios East (New York, NY) for The Lopes Picture Company (New York, NY), one of the country's leading production houses for television commercials, corporate long-forms and documercials. The Director of Photography was Kevin McNight and the director was Susan Buster Thomas, with Russo serving as the DIT. The infomercial, which will air nationally and also be available on DVD, introduces Verizon's residential customers to its FiOS high-speed fiber-optic services.
Russo's VariCam is fully equipped film-style with Panasonic's BT-LH900A 8.4" multi-format HD production monitor, and two Fujinon Cine-style zoom lenses outfitted with a 4x5 matte box, double follow-focus and micro-force zoom control. Other Panasonic gear in his arsenal includes the AG-HVX200 DVCPRO P2 HD camcorder, AG-HD1200A DVCPRO HD VTR and BT-LH1700W 17" widescreen LCD production monitor.
Russo brought two VariCams and two BT-LH2600Ws to the seven-day Verizon shoot. "The DP came to the project asking to use Sony CRT monitors, and left wanting to buy a BT-LH2600W," Russo said. "Overall, the 26" LCD monitors, which we used for on-set master monitoring, supported the subtleties of Kevin's beautiful lighting very well."
"Unlike CRT monitors, which have to be tented, the Panasonic LCD monitors are extremely resilient to ambient light and usually required no tent," Russo continued. "The 26" LCD monitor is always illuminated, so there's no flicker—it's easier on the eyes."
"I recommend the BT-LH2600W as the master production monitor complementing the VariCam on virtually all my shoots," he continued. "It has become an indispensable tool for me. The picture is amazing, very sharp and it is highly user-friendly, especially in terms of its five programmable user buttons and one-piece, lightweight, portable design. The monitor doesn't use a lot of power. It is multi-format and offers a 4:3 ‘safe-area' frame marker, a feature that I use often on HD shoots."
In addition, Russo uses his Panasonic gear on recurring commercial spot assignments for Michael Vicarelli Productions (New York, NY) for products including Planters Peanuts, Ritz Crackers and Crystal Light. The equipment has also been utilized to shoot 30-second spots, predominantly green screen work, for Citibank and off-price retail clothing chain A. J. Wright, as well as internet advertisements for Norelco and Ford.
"I purchased my VariCam two and half years ago, and it's been a critical factor in establishing my credentials as a DIT," Russo said. "The imagery is cinematic, and I love the variable frame rates. My perspective is that I'm competing with 35mm film, and these qualities of the VariCam put me on an even playing field at a greatly reduced cost to my clients."
Panasonic's AJ-HDC27 VariCam replicates many of the key features of film-based image acquisition, including 24-frame progressive scan images, time lapse recording, and a wide range of variable frame rates (4-fps to 60-fps in single-frame increments) for "overcranked" and "undercranked" off-speed in-camera effects. The AJ-HDC27 VariCam also features CineGamma™ software that permits Panasonic's HD Cinema camera systems to more closely match the latitude of film stocks.
With unmatched versatility and image accuracy, the BT-LH2600W boasts a true 16:9 widescreen panel, one-piece design, higher resolution, the industry's lowest delay, and integrated HD-SDI/SDI I/O with embedded audio. Combining stunning features in a space-saving footprint, the BT-LH2600W offers a true HD resolution panel (1366x768), "Pixel to Pixel" mode superior camera focusing, two auto switching SDI/HD-SDI inputs; a high-speed response with no blurring; a Waveform Monitor that graphically displays luminance levels from -5 to 109 IRE in any of the monitor's four corners; and a Split Screen/Freeze Frame function for scene comparison and critical color matching (live input vs. freeze frame). For more information on Panasonic's BT family of production LCD monitors, which include the 8.4", 17" and 26" models, and the new 7.9" monitor/electronic viewfinder model, visit http://www.panasonic.com/broadcast
About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. is a leading supplier of broadcast and professional video products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company's web site at http://www.panasonic.com/broadcast
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