Panasonic VariCam LT 4K cinema camera

Finding the Available Light

Tue, 07/09/2019 - 13:07 -- Nick Dager

Part Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, part Goonies on skateboards, director Lije Sarki’s Concrete Kids tells the story of two nine-year-old boys from Venice, California who, for a contest, set off on a mission to cross Los Angeles on skateboards at night to reach the Staples Center by morning. Now streaming on Amazon Prime, the low-budget feature from The Orchard was shot by cinematographer Daron Keet with Panasonic VariCam LTs in available light mainly at night.

Overcoming Equipment Limitations

Thu, 06/13/2019 - 14:09 -- Nick Dager

San Francisco-based cinematographer/colorist Stephen Berke was director of photography for the award-winning short film Snaggletooth, which had its New York premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Berke was also the DP for two additional short films, The Interview (currently showing on the festival circuit and Best in Show winner at the 2019 Albany Film Fest) and The Shepherds of Cat Island, a 10-minute single-take, premiering soon. His camera of choice is the Panasonic VariCam LT.

Acclaim for 83 Days

Wed, 12/05/2018 - 12:05 -- Nick Dager

83 Days, a shattering narrative short about racial injustice, which was shot with Panasonic cinema cameras, has been named an Official Selection of the 2018 Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival. The film has already received several best of festival nominations, including Best Short Film, Best Drama Film, Best Short Film Director and Best Short Screenplay.

Location Shooting in Rough Terrain

Wed, 12/14/2016 - 12:48 -- Nick Dager

The upcoming feature film Maine follows the journey of a married woman from Spain to reclaim her identity while solo thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, a trip that is sidetracked when a lone American hiker pursues her. Cinematographer Donald R. Monroe said, “Simply getting to our locations proved a major hurdle. Frequently, each day began by transporting the entire production over a mile via ATVs; then the shooting crew would walk an additional ten minutes to the location. We were often far from battery charging and data transfer stations— the high-capacity P2 cards allowed us to be largely self-sufficient.

Shooting in Tight Spaces

Thu, 09/22/2016 - 13:49 -- Nick Dager

Cinematographer Gareth Paul Cox recently shot up-and-coming director Aundré Johnson’s tentatively titled project, The Driver, an ambitious 15-minute short that takes place mostly inside a car. It tells the story of a limo car service driver, who ventures off the beaten path to start his own car service using borrowed money from individuals with possible mob ties. For Cox, there were several big challenges for the low budget short, including driving and shooting on L.A. streets without a process trailer, or any serious rigging.

Shooting Out of the Box

Tue, 07/05/2016 - 14:29 -- Nick Dager

Director of photography Art Aldrich recently completed a 10-day shoot at the KPMG WPGA Championship in Sammamish, Washington. Aldrich, who numbers major broadcast and cable networks, Fortune 500 companies, advertising agencies and independent production facilities among his clients, is a longtime Panasonic user, and recently purchased three VariCam LT 4K cinema camcorders to support his extensive video work in corporate branding.

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