Midway through production, Conscientious Objector — the first feature-length documentary to be filmed exclusively using Panasonic's new AJ-HDC27V, variable frame-rate HD camera — graduated from using a prototype to a production model of the Panasonic camera, continuing an ongoing, extensive test of the technology. That test, conducted by filmmaker Terry Benedict's crew, in partnership with Panasonic and rental house Birns & Sawyer, Los Angeles, began in early 2001, and was continuing as 2002 dawned.
Benedict's film tells the story of Desmond Doss, a medic who received the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II, even though he was a conscientious objector who refused to carry a gun because of his religious beliefs. Early last year, Benedict chose to tell Doss's story by conducting intimate interviews with dozens of veterans who saw Doss's acts of bravery rescuing G.I.s during the battle of Okinawa and concluding by filming an early 2002 reunion of Doss and his surviving mates.
At the urging of the project's original DP, Suki Medencevic, Benedict gave up his initial idea of shooting 16mm and chose 24p high definition instead. Medencevic left the project in September to shoot a feature film and was replaced by documentary veteran Francis Kenny, A.S.C. (See related story, opposite page.) Over the course of several months, under both DPs, the production shot mainly 24p images using the Panasonic camera with a variety of Fujinon HD lenses. They also experimented with the Panasonic camera's ability to overcrank and create stylized imagery and its ability to perform in low-light situations — providing valuable input to Panasonic and the rental house along the way.
Indeed, Benedict's commitment to the camera was based, in large part, on experiments done with the Panasonic prototype last March at a Birns & Sawyer sound stage, arranged by Birns & Sawyer digital cinematography technician Ryan Sheridan in partnership with Panasonic.
“The Sony CineAlta [24p] camera was out at that point, but very much in demand, and cost and availability reasons made it logical for Terry to try the Panasonic camera,” says Sheridan. “We worked for weeks to come up with a film look for his images. At the time, this was all brand new.”
Benedict eventually took the prototype to Arizona to conduct the first of dozens of interviews for the film. He viewed those initial interviews as additional tests before making a final commitment to the camera. Benedict then decided to stay with the camera after determining his crew could make extensive use of filters and other techniques more closely associated with film-style cinematography.
Benedict's team also worked closely with Birns & Sawyer and Panasonic to learn the various menu settings on the camera and different ways to take advantage of the variable frame-rate features.
“The ability to create overcranked shots in-camera is a great asset for documentary-style shooting,” says Benedict. “As a documentary filmmaker, I really think it's better to take advantage of shooting true varied speed images, rather than fabricating it in post, which can create strobing and other issues. That attribute cannot be overstated — documentary filmmakers can really benefit from it.”
At press time, Benedict and Kenny were still using the camera to gather material, as they continue to find more veterans from the battle of Okinawa. Benedict's goal now is to archive more than 100 hours of footage, to eventually craft into a theatrical documentary, an HD version for TV, a multi-tiered DVD, and possibly, a historical archive project.
“Every month or two, we re-outfit the camera for Terry, and the really cool thing is, we can recover his menu settings easily,” says Sheridan. “That's a nice thing about this camera — we can take the settings from its memory card and store them in our computer. That's a big savings for a production — we routinely save settings from every rental using these cameras.”
Birns & Sawyer now owns five of the Panasonic units.
