R|com Creative Blog

Our team has recently completed production of a short mini-documentary project.  It has been one of the most delightful experiences we’ve had in the production space. The film is called “Harmony” and is about a remarkable teacher, Carol Anne McGuire, and her education program, Rock Our World. This is a “fine cut” of the project – a final cut will be completed shortly.

We first met Carol Anne five years ago. The Apple Distinguished Educator was part of a group of teachers we were videotaping for Apple. When we learned about Carol Anne and her interest in changing the world, we were smitten. At the time, Carol Anne was teaching at a school in Orange County, CA. She had just made a video film, using her students. The film was about themselves. All of the students were (and are) blind. But, that’s Carol Anne for you.

More recently (as discussed in a recent blog entry), Carol Anne has been working with the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas. She has been sharing her ongoing core curriculum teaching program that is founded on an international collaboration of music. The program is called “Rock Our World.” It is one of the most amazing methods of delivering education I’ve ever seen.

As Carol says, “when I was a kid, if I wanted to learn about Japan, I’d pick up a book and read it, and that book might have been ten, twenty, or even fifty years old.” Today, when Carol Anne’s students want to know something about Japan, they place a video chat call. Literally. By building musical scores with schools from around the world, and injecting core curriculum (math, science, social studies, etc.), Carol Anne’s children discover a bigger world. And by becoming part of it, they make it theirs – and perhaps a bit smaller, too.

This short video is hopefully a preview of a full-length documentary on the subject. The fine cut process is important, as it gives the filmmakers (us!) the chance to step back from the project for a few days. We can look at the film and evaluate little changes or updates that will help increase the end-result.

Canon HV20 handheld HDV camcorder

There is an interesting balance when it comes to gathering material for any project. The time you spend translates into expense. Even if it’s just your time, wear and tear on the gear, and the cost of media, there is a cost. At the same time, it’s important that you give yourself the best chance to be prepared to take advantage of any situation.

In this case, I’ll refer to video/film. Our team is working on developing a documentary about the history of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It is centered in the present, with flashbacks through history. We must cost every hour of production. So, we typically are careful about how and when we’re spending time or money.

At the same time, I always keep a camera with me. This past Friday, I was in Los Angeles, attending several meetings, including one at a fire station. In the car, I had my firefighter protective gear and a small Canon HV-20 HDV consumer camera. The last thing I was planning on was needing to use it. That alone should be a clue.

During my meeting at Fire Station 76 in the Cahuenga Pass, the Captain noted it was starting to look foggy outside, and it was a sunny day. We opened the front door, and across the Hollywood Fwy, the shoulder of the freeway was ablaze. The Captain picked up the mic on the PA and told his crew, “still alarm, guys. We’ve got a grass fire across the freeway!” I grabbed my gear and as I climbed into my seat on the fire engine, I was thinking, “why am I stuck with this little camera?”

I started rolling tape before we rolled out of quarters, and as we made the turn down Cahuenga Blvd., you could see what looked to be a “nothing fire” across the way. 75 seconds later, as we spotted the rig to block the road and protect the firefighters, the wind was whipping the flames up and potentially threatening brush and homes nearby. This spot was less than a mile from the origin of the large and dangerous Hollywood/Barham fire from March of 2007.

David Barrett gets a muddy face, and camera, while shooting on-scene at a small grass fire in Hollywood.

Because I had a small camera, I felt I was going to be limited in what I could capture. While the camera does shoot HD quality material, it uses a single 1/2-inch CMOS sensor, and the camera itself weighs less than two pounds. So, I decided to focus on POV material, getting tight on firefighters as they attacked this small fire that was trying to become a big fire. I even got directly into the spray from a 1.5 inch line and had to stop for a minute to clean the camera, which was completely covered with mud.

The overall results ended up pleasing me very much. I got some great shots of a firefighter using his line to work through thick smoke to get to the base of the fire. And, as the incident unfolded, I began to test the camera’s capabilities – and while movement is something to be careful with, I was consistently surprised by the image quality.

While still not my first choice for a primary camera, the reason our team has kept it was for this exact purpose – when not expecting something, be prepared to get the unexpected. So, at the end of the day, I got some big shots from a small camera. Watch the video clip below:

Even the Canon HV20 can be built-up into a full cinema rig. But Why?

The footage above was imported into Final Cut Pro, and compressed in HD using Compressor. It was not color graded, so what you see is what the camera delivered.

Now, before signing off, note that the Canon HV20 is a highly regarded little camera. We acquired it for use in our production of a cross-country racing documentary in the fall of 2007. We used the camera as an in-vehicle mount, while our larger cameras captured the majority of the action.

As camera technology improves, people are beginning to use these little cameras more and more. In fact, if you want, you can totally lose your mind with these little cameras. The camera rig shown is using a Canon HV20, and includes railing, a matte box, follow focus and even a Marshall monitor for preview and monitoring. The rig costs three times what the camera does, and the 35mm lens conversion device close to double the cost. Imagine that.

We’re pleased to announce that our favoriate Academy-Award® winning producer/director Terry Sanders will be sitting back with family and friends this coming Saturday night when KCET airs his remarkable documentary, “Fighting for Life.” The documentary film has received remarkable reviews and will certainly catch your attention.

Sanders directs Fighting for Life in Iraq.

The film, which Sanders and his crew shot in Iraq, Germany, and the U.S. follows surgeons trained at Uniformed Services University. A majority of military surgeons are allums from USU these days, and their job is often a challenging one. “It was always busy,” Sanders recalled. “And you’d be in the operating room with the surgeons and suddenly the air raid sirens would go off and you knew that mortars were going to be inbound. I was slightly nervous. But, it is an important topic, and I’m very pleased with the result,” he said.

When I first saw the initial sample clip – an eight minute piece that reflected where the film might go in post production, I was really taken aback. The story content was so powerful. Now that the film has been completed, I see new things every time I watch the film. It is moving, heroic, and non-political.

Shot with a multiple types of HD cameras, including the Sony Z1U, Sanders and his crew were given tremendous access to hospitals, surgeons, and patients by the United States Military. The Sony Z1U was useful as it allowed the camera operators to get into areas where a larger camera might not have been as useful, including operating theaters and even a C-17 airlift intensive care aircraft. The film was cut using Final Cut Pro, and for theatrical release was transferred to 35mm film. “It held up very nicely,” Sanders said of the telecine conversion.

KCET will air Fighting for Life on Saturday, May 23, @ 10:00PM local time.

Alternative energy is becoming more of an issue in light of the overall over-the-cliff effect of the U.S. automobile industry. Some universities are working to create concepts related to solar power for a variety of things. While the technology in these cars will not likely replace engines in automobiles, they may take on a supporting role.

This production was created for up to six cameras, four en route, all in HD. Separate teams under the production direction of David Barrett worked to find the lead stories each day, during a 10-day across the US and Canada race. The project was edited using Final Cut Pro, under the supervision of Cameron Barrett. The animation was produced using AfterEffects, and the final project was mastered to HD-CAM for distribution on network and cable television.

One of the things I love about our team is their ability to adapt to changing situations. In 2005, we produced a one hour documentary on a cross country solar car race. The North American Solar Challenge took our crews across the U.S. and Canada as well. We were shooting on public highways, covering 20 teams, and each hour of each day brought about unexpected surprises.

Cameron Barrett focuses on the action

It would be easy to miss key events, and we probably did miss a few. Overall, however, combining the use of radios, text messaging, and multiple camera crews, we were able to stay on top of the action. This was also our second one-hour HD production, and we shot more than 150 hours of video. If only today’s tapeless workflows existed for a reasonable price back then!

Every time I see this show, I think about how important it is to have talented shooters. Cameron Barrett was fantastic at knowing how close to get so the action lept into the lens – without her intereferring with team, drivers, or safety issues. Our assignment shooter, Jim Lahr, was terrific with motion shots, and overall, being able to grab what we needed, when we needed it was a joy to behold.

The key to this show was taking the time in pre-production to assess all of the possibilities that could arise while on the go. We often shoot in a run and gun style, so it’s important to know that we might run into. The experience of this cross country jaunt will help us with a variety of new projects as we move forward. There’s no replacement for experience.