(Secaucus, New Jersey--December 18, 2008) San Francisco-based director/writer Jason Zada, whose prominence among digital content marketing producers dates back to the early days of the Internet, shot a five-episode web series and three 30-second broadcast spots for adidas with AJ-HPX3000 native 1080p P2 HD and AJ-HPX500 2/3” shoulder-mount P2 HD camcorders.
The campaign features five adidas-sponsored Major League Soccer teams and depicts “a day in the life of soccer in America” as seen through the eyes of several professionals who spend time with young players on and off the playing fields of their home city.
The broadcast spots, which aired on ESPN and elsewhere during the 2008 MLS season, were designed to drive traffic to the web episodes, which can be seen at http://www.adidas.com/us/campaigns/mls/content/default.asp.
For the Dream MLS campaign, San Francisco digital marketing agency EVB (which Zada had founded and led for several years prior to his departure earlier this year) hired Zada and San Francisco-based Bad Company to create a massive amount of content on a limited budget, while traveling to eight cities within 13 days. Zada served as Director and Head Creative, Danny Toback was Director of Photography and Bad Company’s Raub Shapiro was Producer.
“In terms of a camera, I told Danny I needed the best image quality possible, with maximum flexibility, the ability to shoot for long periods of time without interruption, 35mm depth of field--and all this within a constrained budget,” said Zada. “Oh yeah, I wanted two of these cameras and we needed to travel them all over the United States, and immediately get the images to our editors back in San Francisco so they could begin work right away.”
“Jason was clear that he wanted the intimacy of a documentary while the images had the lighting, depth of field, and depth of color of a controlled production,” said DP Toback. “We also needed to shoot a lot in a short amount of time. All of the current digital options were assessed, from the Genesis, Viper and Red to the Panasonic AG-HVX200 with a Red Rock Lens adapter. After evaluation, it became clear that one of the Panasonic HD cameras with a P+S Technik Pro 35 Lens System would the best choice to satisfy all of our requirements.”
“We narrowed it down to the HPX3000 and HPX500. Both cameras use multiple P2 cards and, along with the P+S Technik Pro 35 Lens System, afforded us the full range of 35mm lenses and depth of field,” said Roback. “Both cameras having nine stops of dynamic range, a 4:2:2 color space and working at a minimum ASA of 320 (500 on the HPX3000) allowed us the flexibility we needed to shoot inside or outside, early or late, with a minimal lighting package and crew, and retain the high-end broadcast quality imaging that we desired.
“The differences between the cameras were few but important to consider. The HPX500, although having only eight bits of color depth compared to the 10 bits of depth offered by the HPX3000, has multiple frame rate options from 6fps to 60 fps, while the HPX3000 has only 24, 25 and 30fps (as well as 50p and 60i). On the other hand, the HPX3000 clearly has a more complex image. Using the AVC-Intra Codec shooting at 1080p, the HPX3000 produces an image almost double the resolution and color depth of the HPX500.”
“We made the decision to start with the HPX500 hoping to utilize its various frame rates and extended shooting time,” Toback said. “Using four 32G P2 cards while shooting at 24pn/720p, we could shoot for five hours without reloading. Although I would have preferred the extra dynamic range and resolution, the shooting would be fast and furious and I was confident the HPX500 would meet our expectations.”
“In each location we would be shooting numerous ‘interview’ set-ups including one in-car, a green screen set-up, a full episode with each player tutoring a group of teenage soccer players, and a wrap-up get-together of pro player and kids,” the DP explained. “Our first stop was in Los Angeles, shooting Sascha Kljestan of team Chivas USA. We had two HPX500s, both equipped with the P+S Technik Pro 35 Lens System, Matte Boxes, Follow Focus Units, monitors and one set of Ziess Super Speed lenses along with an additional 14mm and 135mm Ziess lens.
“The HPX500s allowed us the flexibility we needed to complete this high-velocity shoot. Switching lenses on the fly and not having to ‘reload’ tape or film were instrumental in my being able to fulfill Jason’s vision, making it seem as if there were cameras everywhere covering the action. With Camera Operator Bobby Eras managing the handheld wide angle while I went from tripod-mounted long lens shots to handheld medium shots, we were able cover a tremendous amount of ground quickly and efficiently. We ended our day at sunset on the Venice beach, where I was able to utilize the camera’s dynamic range and shoot silhouettes of the kids playing soccer against the vibrant orange and red skies.”
Once the first episode’s principal photography was completed, the Director and DP reassessed their needs and determined that, going forward, they only needed to shoot at 24fps. At that point, they opted for the superior image quality of the HPX3000, and upgraded to that camera.
“In each location, we would take one-camera package and shoot pieces of the city itself – not the regular postcard shots of well-known icons but identifiable portraits of the city and the street soccer community,” Toback recounted. “We would then repeat the two-camera shoot with a different athlete, different kids and different scenarios. In each city, the ease of use and the ability to download the footage quickly and efficiently were invaluable. Using the easy software download for the AVC-Intra Codec, we could import the files to multiple hard disks and Fedex each episode’s footage back to EVB in San Francisco.”
“The HPX3000’s durability was superb - neither the heat, humidity nor baggage handling in and out of multiple airports had any effect on the camera’s performance,” he added. “Utilizing the HPX3000’s camera settings in a ‘film look’ mode, I was able to deliver a consistent look that required little correction and afforded Jason the latitude to take the look in any direction he desired in post. To create this look, I set the shutter at 180, the detail down almost to off, the gamma to .45, and with the black stretch turned off, the knee point at 95% and the knee slope 85%.”
“At every stop we were able to take advantage of the HPX3000’s dynamic range, knocking off shot after shot in a multiple of lighting situations, mixing different color temperatures and working at a breakneck pace,” Toback said. “Because of Raub Shapiro’s superb production planning, the onsite logistical control of Assistant Director Jeremy Robinson, and the simplicity and ease of use of the HPX3000, we were able to handle a complex assignment and Jason had the creative freedom he needed to realize his vision on time and on budget.”
The cameras were rented from Birns & Sawyer, Hollywood, CA. The Dream MLS spots and web series were edited on Final Cut Studio 2.
“On the one hand, the HPX500 and HPX3000 were workhorse cameras, holding up so well in the field and withstanding 100-degree weather and what seemed like 3000% humidity in Texas,” Zada said. “On the other hand, the image quality, especially that produced by the HPX3000, blew me away. The look of the Dream MLS campaign is so cinematic and adheres so closely to my original intention of making soccer in America look larger than life, with vignettes sweeping from panoramic views of cities to intimate portraits of athletes and young players.”
“I’ve put Dream MLS spots up against other 35mm adidas commercial spots, and our work looks pretty comparable,” Zada added.
Immediately after the adidas shoot, Zada, Toback and Shapiro went on to shoot web-based material for Kodak, Intuit and JC Penney with the HPX3000.
About Jason Zada
Zada began his career in the early days of the Internet, working with dozens of advertising agencies before founding design boutique, spyplane, followed by digital content marketing agency EVB. During his tenure there, he led the shop to produce a variety of award-wining work for clients such as adidas, Wrigley, Old Spice, VO5, 2k Sports, Burger King, A+E, MTV, Levis and many other high-profile brands. Recently, Zada directed the infamous Office Max dancing elf that was seen by 193 million people in only six weeks, making the project the most successful viral web site of all time. He has won more 50 industry awards and has appeared in Boards Magazine, Shoot Magazine, Communication Arts, the New York Times, Contagious and a plethora of books, magazines and newspapers. Jason frequently speaks at a variety of industry events including, Cannes Lion Festival and South by Southwest. For more information, visit www.jasonzada.com.
About Danny Toback
Danny has been shooting film, video and now digital since the mid 80s. His career spans commercials, television, corporate, eb content and special effects cinematography for such clients as Miller Lite, Kawasaki, Burger King, Fox, Turner Classic, adidas, Office Depot, Honda, and many more. He has just wrapped shooting the green-screen segment of History’s upcoming “Warrior” series and will shoot the rest early next year.
About the AJ-HPX3000
With three 2/3” high-density 2.2-megapixel CCDs, the HPX3000 captures cinema-quality images in full-raster 1920 x 1080 resolution with 4:2:2 10-bit sampling, utilizing the powerful, new AVC-Intra codec. The HPX3000 offers intuitive film camera-like operation with advanced gamma settings, including Film-Rec mode (made popular by the VariCam). Designed for episodic television, filmmaking and commercial production where mastering quality is essential, the HPX3000 records in industry-standard DVCPRO HD at 1080 in 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i and 60i, and in AVC-Intra. AVC-Intra, the industry’s most advanced compression technology, provides high-quality 10-bit intra-frame encoding utilizing the Hi-10 and Hi-422 profiles of H.264 in two modes: AVC-Intra 100 for full-raster mastering video quality and AVC-Intra 50 Mbps for DVCPRO HD quality at half the bit rate, thereby doubling the record time on a P2 card. For added flexibility, the HPX3000 can also produce standard definition recordings in DVCPRO50, and is 60/50-Hz switchable for worldwide use. For more information on the HPX3000, visit www.panasonic.com/P2HD.
About the HPX500
The AG-HPX500 teams the full production-quality of 2/3” 3-CCDs, DVCPRO HD, 4:2:2 sampling and independent frame encoding with the versatility of interchangeable lenses and the creativity of variable frame rates. Offering the highly popular features of the incredibly successful AG-HVX200 P2 HD hand-held camcorder but with many new enhancements, the 8.2-pound HPX500 features progressive 2/3” 3-CCDs that provide a larger light receiving area resulting in increased resolution and sensitivity, superb low-light performance and wide dynamic range. The HPX500 records in 32 high definition and standard definition formats, including 1080i and 720p in production-proven, 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD. The HPX500 records on removable P2 solid-state memory cards in 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p; in 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, and 24p; and in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO and DV. To lower total ownership costs for the fully solid-state HPX500, Panasonic offers a five-year limited warranty (Panasonic Broadcast’s normal 1-year basic warranty plus an extended warranty for years two through five upon product registration). For more information on the HPX500, visit www.panasonic.com/P2HD.
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 principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation (NYSE Symbol: PC) the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, visit www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
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