(SECAUCUS, NJ - August 16, 2007) For the past several years, award-winning Director of Photography Joe LoMonaco, founder of Miami-based Sunrise Video Productions, has made the Panasonic AJ-HDC27 VariCam® HD Cinema camera his acquisition mainstay for top-level sports documentaries and corporate assignments.
High-profile projects shot with the VariCam encompass hour-long profiles of quarterback Peyton Manning, pitcher Pedro Martinez and tennis ace Andy Roddick for ESPN, as well as recurring segments for Fox's This Week in Baseball and natural history shorts for the Indianapolis Zoo.
LoMonaco purchased an AJ-HDC27 in 2003 shortly after Major League Baseball Productions decided to acquire all high-definition segments of its flagship series This Week In Baseball with the VariCam.
"As a regular contributor to the show, it made a lot of sense for me to move into VariCam production," LoManaco said. "The camera had great word-of-mouth, and 720p acquisition was becoming standard for clients ESPN and ABC. Wide-angle shooting is tailor-made for sports, as are the camera's variable speed rates. The image quality is just incredible."
Earlier this year, LoMonaco purchased two Panasonic AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD P2 camcorders to use in tandem with the VariCam.
"The HVX200 is a great second camera to the VariCam," the DP noted. "The image stands up very well. Some clients still ask me to shoot 24p DV, which the HVX200 also allows me to do."
LoMonaco has used the HVX200 for back-up on a recent two-camera VariCam shoot for ESPN in the sugar cane fields of Pahokee, FL. Pahokee is famous as home to an outsized number of NFL greats, said to have perfected their running skills as children, chasing rabbits during the annual burning of the sugar cane plants. Currently in production, Chasing Rabbits will air later this year.
Beyond his roster of sports assignments, LoMonaco numbers National Geographic, Harpo Productions, and ABC and Fox magazines among his clients. Last year, he traveled from Yellowstone National Park to the Samburu Nature Reserve in Kenya to profile the finalists in competition for the Indianapolis Prize, bestowed by the Indianapolis Zoo every other year on an individual who has made significant strides in animal conservation efforts. The $100,000 award, first given in 2006, represents the largest individual monetary award for animal conservation in the world.
"Working with high-definition in Africa was a natural," LoMonaco said. "We captured an amazing amount of wildlife along with beautiful African landscapes in a 16:9 frame, and were able to take advantage of the VariCam's off-speed shooting and document the graceful movements of the elephants at high speed."
For more information about Sunrise Video Productions, visit http://www.svpmiami.com/ .
The 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.
The ultra-versatile HVX200 records in 1080i and 720p in production-proven 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD quality, with the ability to capture images in 21 record modes. The camera records video on a P2 card as IT-friendly MXF files in 1080/60i, 30p and 24p; in 720/60p, 30p and 24p; in 50Mbps DVCPRO50 and in 25Mbps DVCPRO or DV. The HVX200 can capture fast or slow action in 720p at various frame rates--the first time this function is available in a hand-held camera. The shooting frame rate in 720p native mode can be set for any of 11 steps between 12fps and 60fps including 24fps and 30fps.
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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