Just in Time Films

Panasonic Z10000 Review

2012-02-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

Panasonic HDC-Z10000 Review

Until now, there really hasn’t been a decent prosumer 3Dcamera. The options were limited to either consumer-grade products like Sony’sHDR-TD10, or professional products like Panasonic’s AG-3DP1. But now Panasonichas released the HDC-Z10000 for the MSRP of $3500. It adds advanced featureslike separate manual rings for focus, zoom, and iris, a convergence wheel, anddual XLR inputs. But is it worth stepping up from the consumer models?

First, a word of disclosure: I bought this camera with myown hard-earned money. I paid $3299 just before New Year’s Eve, although it cannow be had for a couple hundred less.

PICTURE

The Z10000 utilized two 1/4.1” imaging sensors, each with6.21 effective megapixels ((2.07 x 3) x 2). There are two ways to look at thesensors. On one hand, these are the same sensors used in considerably lessexpensive cameras (such as the newly announced Panasonic HC-X series). On theother hand, these are the same sensors used in 2010’s AG-3DA1, a camera thatstill retails for $16,000.

OK, great, but how does it look? In bright light, the imagesare stunning. In low light, not so much. I’ve done a half dozen test shoots inclubs and bars and simply cannot get the footage to look good. The pictures arestill dark even with the iris fully open, and they get a lot of digital noiseonce gain is added.

But in sunlight or brightly lit rooms? WOW. The colors areamazing. It is easy to avoid overexposure, and the results are highlysatisfying. But the crummy low light performance means you’ll need to carefullyplan your project around the camera.

SOUND

The built-in microphone can record in 5.1 Dolby Surround,but the sound quality is not excellent. Luckily, the two XLR inputs mean youprobably won’t be using the build-in mic very often. I paired this camera withan Audio-Technica AT897 and have been very pleased with the results. Attachingan external mic restricts you to Dolby Digital stereo or LCPM stereo recording.Stick with LCPM for the highest bitrate (1.5Mbps).

FEATURES

If you’ve used any of Panasonic’s mid-range cameras, you’llbe familiar with the layout here. There are independent focus, zoom, and irisrings up front and a convergence wheel on the side near where the iris wheelwas on older models. Shutter speed is adjusted through the touch-screen.

It is an OK setup, but I would like more customization. Forexample, I almost never change iris once it is set for the environment, but Iwant the ability to control convergence as the camera is moved. The convergencewheel does not lend itself to on-the-fly adjustment. I’d like to swap thefunctionality of the iris ring and convergence wheel. Can’t. Bummer.

A feature from DSLR’s that I used a lot was Focus Assist,where you could temporarily zoom in 5-10x to adjust focus. Not only does thiscamera not have it, but it is actually not possible to zoom in to adjust focuswhile in 3D mode. The reason for this is that the convergence is automaticallyreset whenever you zoom in. There is a Focus Assist feature, but I haven’tfigured it out yet. It highlights whatever is in focus in red, but I don’ttrust it as much as actually seeing my subject in focus.

Like many Panasonic cameras, there are user-definablebuttons that be assigned to a host of features. There are three hardware Userbuttons and another four accessible through the touch-screen display. Among the18 features that can be assigned are: Histogram, Convergence Reset, 3D MacroMode (for recording subjects 1.5 feet away), and 3D Display Mode.

That last one deserves some discussion because it is amongthe best features of the camera. The LCD display can be viewed in 2D mode, 3Dmode, or Mix Mode. Mix Mode allows you to see both the left and right viewssimultaneously. The subject is converged when the two frames overlap perfectly.Anything closer than the converged subject will appear to be in front of thescreen and anything further away will appear to be behind the screen.

The Z10000 supports Scene Files, customized settings thatfine-tune picture settings for specific environments. Sadly, it does not appearto support the same Scene Files as earlier Panasonic camcorders. OlderPanasonic camcorders could access 24 Scene Files while the Z10000 is limited to6. But 24 settings can be adjusted for each Scene File, including Gamma, Knee,Color Temperature, and Chroma Level. Used properly, these can dramaticallyimprove picture quality in challenging situations.

The Zebra function is essential and helps prevent image overexposure. There are two Zebra settings by default (80% and 100%), but you can adjust them to whatever sensitivity you'd like.

The camera can record to two SD cards simultaneously, but oddly they cannot be used to record separate left and right streams. Rather, they can record in backup mode (where the same content is written to both cards), or extended mode (where one card will fail over to the other once full).

CONCLUSION

The Z10000 is a mixed bag that, for me, is an essential toolanyway. When I started down this 3D path two years ago, I had to cobbletogether my own camera from a pair of Canon Rebel T2is and a parallel rig.There were no integrated 3D cameras on the market. In May 2011, I bought Sony’sHDR-TD10, a Handicam that had a single manual dial to control every manualfunction available (and there weren’t that many – shutter speed and framerate werefixed in 3D mode). Now there’s a reasonably priced integrated 3D cameras with ahost of manual controls and customizable features. And it takes excellentpictures in bright light. But low-light performance is poor and some of themost important features are frustratingly implemented. Why are some functions,such as shutter speed, accessible only through the touch-screen? Why is thereno Waveform Monitor? Why has support for Scene Files been reduced from 24 to 6?Why can’t I record left and right video streams to the separate SD cards?

But while those would be nice enhancements, they are not essential. The primary selling point of this camera is the promise of a better affordable 3D camera, and it delivers. It is the best 3D camera you can buy for under $15,000. No competitors were announced at CES 2012, so it is the tool of choice for budding stererographers for the near future. But I'm still waiting for the perfect camera, and one will come along sooner or later. - Chadwick Thomas, Just in Time Films

2012-02-01T23:57:00.000-05:00

The next two videos shot with Panasonic's Z10000 3D camera were recorded on a very beautiful day.

NOTE: Click through to the YouTube page to adjust 3D playback.

Mondo a GoGo

2012-02-01T23:52:00.003-05:00

Here are the first two videos shot with the Panasonic Z10000 3D camera. These were recorded during Mondo a GoGo at the Magnolia Bar & Grill.

NOTE: Click through to the YouTube page to adjust 3D playback.

3D Flamenco Dance Part 2 - 2011 Louisville WorldFest (feat. Vicente Griego)

2012-01-13T18:24:00.001-05:00

Second 3D Flamenco dance perfomance from Louisville's 2011 WorldFest. Click through to YouTube's page to toggle between 2D and 3D modes.

Pfarlee vs The Box 3D

2012-01-12T20:15:00.001-05:00

J:TF teamed up with The Filbis Region for this entry in B&H's Unboxing Video Contest. First time working with the Fabricans. Hopefully there will be more to come soon!

Sony Vegas Pro 11

2011-10-22T10:47:00.000-04:00

Sony has just released the latest version of their flagship video editing program. The most comprehensive rundown of the new features I've seen can be found here.

Hope to tinker around with the new 3D features and post some thought early next week.

Panasonic Z10000

2011-10-01T09:47:00.001-04:00

Pretty excited about this one. Ships mid-November for $3499. Currently raising money like a maniac to pick it up at launch. You can find full details by clicking on the image above, but here's a brief rundown of the features that are most important to me:

1080p24 3D recording
Dual SDXC slots
Glasses-free 3D LCD w/ 2nd viewfinder
Zebra and Waveform Monitors
Scene files (hope I can still find the ones from my old HMC150)
Seperate zoom / focus / convergence / iris rings
Dual XLR inputs

Not sure I'm thrilled with the dual 3MOS sensors, but everything above should make up for it.

Just in Time Films vs Just in Time Films

2011-10-01T09:34:00.001-04:00

While checking the Just in Time Films IMDB page, I found a new movie currently sitting at the top of the list of produced works:

As tempting as it was to let the listing stand (having a feature film starring Bruce Dern in the archive can't be bad, can it?), I had IMDB remove the listing from the J:TF page. I already lost one company name to another film company and don't care to lose another. Plus, the poster is TERRIBLE.

Flamenco 3D

2011-09-06T09:42:00.003-04:00

This clip was shot at WorldFest 2011 in Louisville, KY, 9/3/11. It was over 100 degrees without a cloud in the sky, but somehow the group performed for a full 30 minutes. This is the second song.

Louisville's two premier Flamenco troupes, FlamencoTalk and Camino Flamenco, teamed up with vocalist Vicente Griego for the performance.

Shot handheld with a Sony HDR-TD10 at 1080i60, corrected in Vegas 10.0e and rendered at 1080p30.

Two Dates

2011-08-16T11:53:00.001-04:00

This award-winning entry in the 2011 48 Hour Film Project was directed by Will Cravens (animata's Cinematographer) and Craig Mullins. It won Best Acting for the stellar performances by Kat Carney, Maple Needler, Sean Seivers, Audra Todd, and Patrick Yen. This is the original Director's Cut and is a few minutes longer than the version that screened in the theatre.

Shot on a Panasonic AF100, edited in Final Cut Pro.

Sony's 3D HDR-TD10 Camera

2011-08-15T14:37:00.002-04:00

Sony's HDR-TD10 is currently the camera of choice here at J:TF HQ. I've been using it for a few months now, mainly for test footage in an attempt to discover interesting uses of 3D for upcoming projects. The camera is currently for sale at Amazon and the product page includes my early review of the camera:

"I shot my first 3D movie in March 2010 using two Canon T2i cameras on a parallel 3D rig. Editing and rendering the footage was incredibly difficult; I used Sony Vegas to edit each view independently and Stereo Moviemaker to adjust the 3D effect. Finally, I was able to master a 3D Blu-ray using a beta version of NetBlender's DoStudio, a $10,000 program that included support for the 3D MVC codec.

Fast forward just over a year. The newly released 10.0d version of Sony Vegas natively supports the MVC codec, allowing 3D footage to be edited as easily as 2D footage. It also allows 3D Blu-rays to be burned directly from the timeline.

As for the camera itself: I was pleasantly surprised to find it exceeded my expectations. Color reproduction is exceptional, image stabailization is very good, and the glasses-free 3D display is extremely nice. Only the sound quality disappoints, but I almost never rely on built-in mics (opting instead for a Zoom H4N paired with an Audio Technica AT875R).

As an entry into the world of 3D, this camera is phenomenal. There are "prosumer" 3D cameras on the way, but for those who edit in Vegas, there's really no better or cheaper way to jump into the world of 3D shooting and editing today that with this camera.

For those without Vegas, editing a bit more difficult. Clips can be edited in-camera using some fairly simple software (you can even download music onto the camera to use as a soundtrack behind your clips). But you won't get nearly the performance you would get using dedicated editing software. And please note: Vegas is the ONLY software under $4000 currently offering the ability to manipulate MVC files. Premiere doesn't have it, nor does Final Cut Pro.

But for Vegas owners, or just those who love new tech, this camera come very highly recommended!

(I have shown this to a few colleagues unfamiliar with 3D and watched their faces light up with glee; one described it as "like traveling into the future." That's awesome.)"

2010 Subscription Series now available!

2009-12-30T11:49:00.001-05:00

Farewell to the HMC150

2009-12-08T22:39:00.003-05:00

I sold my Panasonic HMC150 earlier today to a hopefully good home in Italy. The HMC150 was the first high-end video camera I've ever owned. I really enjoyed learning with it. Every film in what I consider Just in Time Films' 2nd season was shot with it - everything from Tex Engler's Candy Brandy to The Third Sister: A Universal to animata to HellHouse Vx.

As they say, Onward and Upward...

New and Upcoming Releases

2009-11-25T16:40:00.004-05:00

This past month has been insanely busy around the J:TF offices. It all began the Monday before Halloween, when our captioning evaluation package arrived from the Department of Education (Captioning Test #1, J:TF16). We shot HellHouse V, a DJ show, on Halloween night (Stewart Walker LiVE, J:TF15, and Woody McBride LiVE, J:TF17). The following weekend, we filmed Habib's sister's wedding. The next weekend, we started filming As You Like It, presented by the University of Louisville (J:TF19). That one was recorded over three nights, utilizing five camera and three mic setups. Somewhere in there we filmed an hour long behind-the-scenes documentary for the Getting the Best of Rocko DVD (J:TF18). And finally, our present project: A bike safety video for the city of Louisville (J:TF20).

I also re-watched DARKSIDERS recently (J:TF4). Funny how the H1N1 virus has made that short far more relevant now than when we made it.

I'll be putting up 2010 subscriptions on the J:TF website this weekend. If you missed out on joining in 2009, you missed out on a bevy of releases. We released the numbered edition DVD of The Third Sister: A Universal, the VHS gift set of Backwards Compatible, a limited-edition animata poster, an otherwise-unreleased Broken Spurs DVD, the aforementioned Getting the Best of Rocko DVD collection, and several DVDs full of unreleased content (Degree of Separation, Pekin Express, As You Like It, HellHouse V, etc).

2009 was amazing. 2010 will be even better.

Bike Safety #1

2009-11-11T15:53:00.002-05:00

J:TF18 begins shooting this weekend. It's a bike safety video starring Kirby Adams being produced for Louisville's StreetSense campaign. Hope the weather stays lovely!

Backwards Compatible 25th Anniversary Gift Set

2009-09-16T11:43:00.002-04:00

Party like its 1984! An extremely limited edition gift set of Backwards Compatible, consisting of a VHS copy of the movie, a cassette soundtrack, and an iron-on transfer will be available Just in Time for the holiday season. Order yours today!

Backwards Compatible World Premiere

2009-09-11T17:08:00.012-04:00

Backwards Compatible, our latest short film and puppet opus, will have its World Premiere Tuesday night, 9/15, atop 21C as part of the 2nd Annual Kentucky Short Film & Video Showcase. More info may be found here:

http://www.louisvillefilm.org/index.html

A 60-second preview was shown on 8/31 during the Just in Time Films screenings at Divinity Rose's Gypsie Courtyard, but this is the first time the film will be screened in its entirity.

Djet - Horus Cobra LiVE

2009-09-08T18:18:00.002-04:00

Djet's interactive generative music performance "Horus Cobra," performed live at Dimond's Bar & Grill in Louisville KY as part of Divinity Rose's Gypsie Courtyard in the wee hours of September 8th, 2009. Equipment included Akai APC40 with Abletone Live 8.1 and M-Audio Radeon 49, Nintendo DS running Electroplankton, Apple iPhone running Bloom, and the Eleh releases "Tribute to the Square Wave" and "Tribute to the Sine Wave." Conducted by Chadwick Thomas. Shot in 1080/24p with two Panasonic HMC150s, dual XLR soundboard audio recording. Video available at all the familiar places (Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, etc).

Backwards Compatible complete!

2009-09-08T18:16:00.001-04:00

Our several-months-in-the-making puppet opus is complete! We hope to announce the world premiere soon. Watch this space!

Just in Time Films at Divinity Rose's Gypsie Courtyard

2009-08-26T09:47:00.004-04:00

Next Monday night: Just in Time Films at Divinty Rose's Gypsie Courtyard, Diamond's in St. Matthews (3814 Frankfort Ave). Divinity Rose hosts Louisville's best talent showcase and has already introduced me to great bands, magicians, and... filmmakers I was previously unaware of. If you're not already here, you really should be. Come out and join us! Doors at 8, entertainment at 9, films at 11.

Films include:

DARKSIDERS
The Third Sister: a Universal (presented in HD)
aimata: The Final Cut (presented in HD)

In addition, a handful of copies of the handmade, individually numbered DVDs of The Third Sister: a Universal will be available.

WINNER Best Choreography

2009-08-23T03:28:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Pekin Express for winning Best Choreography in the 2009 Paducah 48 Hour Film Project!

Pekin Express

2009-08-17T16:02:00.002-04:00

The new film will screen September 1st and 2nd at Maiden Alley Cinema. Tickets are $5, General Admission.

48 Hour Film Project Awards

2009-08-09T22:41:00.002-04:00

The awards ceremony for Louisville's 2009 48 Hour Film Project will be held Thursday, August 13th 2009, at 6:30PM in the Speed Art Museum on UofL's campus. Will animata win an audience award? Will it become the first film in Louisville 48HFP history to win Best Picture without headlining its screening group? What will be the ultimate outcome of our third (and final?) entry in the 48 Hour Film Project? Join us this Thursday and find out!

Dress sharp.

A Brief History of (Just in) Time

2009-08-07T22:57:00.008-04:00

Fashionably Dead (July 2007) - Our first entry in the 48 Hour Film Project. Kate Holland says she wishes we had called it "Fashionably Late." We learned the hard way what is and is not okay to attempt in a 48 Hour Film. We pulled "Detective or Cop" as our genre and proceeded to make a black-and-white noir whodunnit, complete with the usual suspects and red herrings. The story was so complex it was undigestable in six minutes. Still, it had a shot I still love (the reveal of the body - across the train tracks and over the railing). Tech specs: 480p, stereo.

Hootenanny (July 2008) - Our second entry in the 48 Hour Film Project went much better and would have gone better still had backstage drama not derailed the thing. Rocko and Ty each gave several hundred percent, but my favorite part remains the poster. WINNER Best Use of Genre, 2009 Louisville 48 Hour Film Project. Tech specs: 480p, stereo.

DARKSIDERS (October 2008) - Hootenanny had nearly 20 people working on it, so I went crazy streamlined with the next project. The entire cast & crew numbered, what, seven? Talakai and I wrote the thing over drinks at Flannigans. We location scouted on Saturday and shot it Sunday afternoon. All the office and break room scenes were shot in the same room. The story is really funny and tight as a drum; I don't think remaking it with better costumes and sets would improve anything. Tech specs: 480p, stereo.

DARKSIDERS episode 2 (November 2008) - A weak attempt to turn DARKSIDERS into a 4-part series. The camera work is crap, the editing not very good, and the story poorly executed. And the cast kept eating all the props. DARKSIDERS is better as a stand-alone; that completed DARKSIDERS episode 3 script will probably go unmade. Tech specs: 480p, stereo.

Tex Engler's Candy Brandy (February 2009) - A mini-documentary about Grant Engler's first high-end custom auto build, a ram air 57 Chevy layered with more coats of paint than you can imagine. Tech specs: 1080/24p, stereo.

The Broken Spurs LiVE at Headliners (February 2009) - Dual-XLR soundboard recording. Most of the show tripod-shot and the sound levels weren't great. But by the next to last song, the levels were corrected and I un-mounted the camera and shot handheld. The encore came off great and is worth watching. The rest? Not so much. Tech specs: 1080/24p, stereo.

The Third Sister: A Universal (April 2009) - This was a collaboration with the University of Louisville via Axton fellowship recipient Derek Mong. He held a poetry contest among his students and paired the winners up with local filmmakers to create visual adaptations of their work. This film is an adaptation of John D. Baumgarten's original poem. I spent a couple months on this one, experimenting with mixed-media and trying my hand with visual effects. My fondest memory of it is using an uncoiled stage rope, a vat of Vaseline, and a spray bottle of stage blood to create the umbilical cord that the First and Second Sisters fought over in "The Schism (in a Little More Detail for What You Might Have Missed)." OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2009 Axton Festival of Film and Verse. Tech specs: 1080/24p, stereo.

Spurs on the Water: The Broken Spurs LiVE on the Waterfront (May 2009) - The Broken Spurs opened for The Meat Puppets on an unfortunately overcast day. Adam (the lead singer) wanted me to try shooting this hand-held. I didn't set OIS so its way too shaky. The sound is very nice, though, and this represented my first serious attempt at a 5.1 mix. Tech specs: 1080/24p, 2x stereo.

Sure Thing (June 2009, work in progress) - An adaptation of an old 10-minute play shot entirely green-screen from three angles. I have no idea what, if anything, will eventually come of this. But turning my garage into a green studio was surreal and fun. This was also the first film I worked on that I did not write or direct. I only ran camera. Tech specs: 720/60p, stereo.

animata (July 2009) This was an absolute joy to make. The team clicked perfectly and everything just fired on all cylanders. I wanted to focus on performances, set design, and costumes. All three vastly improved. My goal with each film is to outdo the one that preceeded it. I think this one sets the bar for the next pretty high. Tech specs: 1080/30p, stereo. (The film was screened at Village 8 in 480/30p. I shot 30fps to ensure the framerate was consistent with the lower resolution).

Pekin Express (August 2009) My first collaboration with Mae Waits director Donald Mahoney. The story's a bit slight and the outdoor shot is too bright, but the indoor scene looks fantastic and the actors delivered in spades. Tech specs: 1080/24p, stereo.

Backwards Compatible (August 2009) - Film version of a puppet play, directed by Kathryn Spivey of the Squallis Puppeteers. This one features my most complex audio mix to date, incorporating over 50 seperate tracks. Tech specs: 1080/24p, stereo.

Djet "Horus Cobra" LiVE at the Gypsie Courtyard (September 2009) - Djet's interactive generative music performance "Horus Cobra," performed live at Dimond's Bar & Grill in Louisville KY as part of Divinity Rose's Gypsie Courtyard in the wee hours of September 8th, 2009. Equipment included Akai APC40 with Abletone Live 8.1 and M-Audio Radeon 49, Nintendo DS running Electroplankton, Apple iPhone running Bloom, and the Eleh releases "Tribute to the Square Wave" and "Tribute to the Sine Wave." Tech specs: 1080/24p, dual XLR soundboard audio recording.

The Third Sister: A Universal (Numbered Limited Edition DVD)

2009-08-02T14:42:00.008-04:00

After a slight delay, the numbered limited edition DVD of The Third Sister: A Universal is now available.

Gorgeous full color sleeve printed on high-gloss Ultra-bright UV paper, hand cut and hand numbered in silver ink. Disk includes hand-drawn lettering and/or imagery (each disk is different). Strictly limited to 25 copies. $12 PP.

Special Features (access via PC/Mac):

high definition 1080p version of the film (Windows Media Video and Apple Quicktime formats)

mobile versions suitable for iPod / iPhone / cellphones

the original poem

the screenplay

production photos

other assorted digital ephemera