Terry Benedict''''s upcoming documentary, Conscientious Objector, benefited from having two DPs willing to dive into 24p high-definition, according to the director. Suki Medencevic was the film''''s original DP through most of 2001 before leaving in September to shoot a feature film. Francis Kenny, A.S.C., who is now finishing the project, replaced him.

Medencevic was instrumental in urging Benedict to try high-def over 16mm, taking him to a series of tests at CFI, Los Angeles, and later, rental house Birns & Sawyer, where both men became acquainted with the prototype version of the Panasonic AJ-HDC27V, variable frame-rate camera.

“I felt that 24p/720 progressive would get us very close to cinematic quality, plus giving us the convenience of shooting larger loads without stopping,” says Medencevic. “I also felt the camera had nice color definition, which was important because Terry wanted us to shoot in a stylized way. Therefore, I felt the number of lines — 720 instead of 1,080 — was not as important as the softness and feeling of the image. We were able to do some time-lapse on set, and create interesting exposures with enhanced motion blur.

“I also ended up using a wide range of filters, which you usually try to avoid doing if you are planning to transfer to film, and it worked out nicely,” he adds. “That convinced me we could take a cinematic approach, so I didn''''t think it was too big a risk to go with a prototype.”

Ironically, when Medencevic left the project and Kenny took over, he did so shortly after completing work on a feature film called How High for director Jesse Dylan, using the Panavision version of Sony''''s HDW F-900 24p camera. That makes Kenny one of very few DPs to get production experience in 2001 using both the Sony and Panasonic HD cameras.

“From an optical point of view, it is true that the Panavision HD lens package we used on How High was superior,” says Kenny, “but both cameras produce outstanding images when viewed on a large, high-definition monitor.”

The real problem with using either HD format, Kenny says, is not how to capture images that look great in full HD; it''''s how to know exactly what such images will look like once they are blown up to film.

“The HD monitor is not exactly what you will see when you blow the material up to film, so DPs have to be careful, particularly if they have not yet gone through the post process with this technology,” he explains. “One of the advantages I have on Conscientious Objector is the fact that I have already gone through the post process on How High. For projects that will be blown up to film and exhibited theatrically, you have to be careful on set to make sure you are getting what you think you are getting.”

On the other hand, one of the advantages of the format, Kenny says, is it increases collaboration between the director and DP.

“On both projects, while watching the monitor, I usually found myself in a dark area next to the director,” he says. “That leads to a nice collaboration. Any time you are forced into an intimate situation with your director, the communication and understanding of what everyone wants is increased. So, in that sense, I found these cameras to be better collaboration tools, and that''''s important, particularly for documentaries and indie features that don''''t have a lot of money to spend.”

Kenny therefore feels that tools like the Panasonic camera can greatly benefit documentary filmmakers, who rarely have large budgets, because it can permit them to create certain effects and change speeds in-camera. Such technology can also help them get by without expensive lighting packages, he adds, the current industry debate over how to light for HD notwithstanding.

“With experience, you learn to do with less,” he says. “At first, Terry [Benedict] was shocked when I would set up a single light, and it would work just fine. My thoughts about documentaries are that whenever you walk into a real situation and begin setting up, every minute you take to set up, you destroy the credibility of the non-actors who are your subject. When you over-light or take too long to set up a shot, you will not get the same information out of a subject. Yet, at same time, you do want it to look like a dramatic piece of work. I''''ve found that these cameras, generally, can work well in natural light if you know what you are doing, so my general approach on this documentary was to limit my lighting setups.”