Sony And Panavision Team Up To Produce Digital Moviemaking Camera System New Camera Systems To Be Used By Lucasfilm for ""Episodes II"" And ""III"" Of ""Star Wars""
Sony Corp. is collaborating with Panavision Inc. on the development of a digital high definition camera system tailored for use in movie-making. The systems will marry the new 24 frame progressive scan 1920x1080 digital cameras developed by Sony with a special new series of two-thirds of an inch lenses and accessories specifically developed and manufactured by Panavision to meet the desires of cinematographers in digital motion picture production. According to Laurence Thorpe, Vice President of Acquisition Systems for Sony Electronicsí Broadcast and Professional Company, the project is a continuation of a working collaboration launched ten years ago when Sony and Panavision began mutual exploration of high-definition imaging for both moviemaking and the production of high-end television programming. In 1988, Panavision developed a relay optical system that married their 35mm lenses to the then one-inch image format of the Sony high-definition HDC-300 camera. This relay system encompassed an optical viewfinder that was favored by directors of photography. ""A variety of projects were shot that usefully exposed both the advantages and limitations of HD imaging for movie-making,"" Thorpe noted. ""Photoconductive pickup tube imaging limitations, and the high costs of HD cameras and recorders of that time, worked against successful marketplace development. However, much was learned that helped define practical requirements and provided both companies with invaluable experience in planning the next phase in development."" At the 1997 ITS Forum in Los Angeles, Sony and Panavision announced the next phase in this collaboration. The companies had been approached jointly by Lucasfilm who urged development of a digital HD system that would support the making of the new Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III, then in early planning. A 24 frame progressively scanned digital HD system was agreed upon that would include an integrated camcorder and separate studio camera configurations with 24 progressive VTRs, to extend system shooting flexibilities on stage and on location. Over the past eighteen months, a broad series of tests have been conducted by Lucasfilm, Panavision and Sony to confirm key imaging and functional parameters required by Lucasfilm. These include specific definition of lens complements, widescreen aspect ratio management, system operational needs, supporting accessories, and audio requirements. Evaluation of the overall quality of two-thirds of an inch 1920x1080 HD digital acquisition combined with the HDCAMÆ digital recording format, when transferred to 35mm motion picture film, constituted a core element of the test. ""Panavisionís mission has always been to provide our clients with the very best in equipment and services,"" said John Farrand, President and CEO of Panavision Inc. ""Our goal is to develop a series of extremely high-performance lenses, specifically for digital cinematography; to produce a complete system of cameras, lenses, and accessories that will satisfy the needs of cinematographers and directors; and to present this in a form that is both familiar and unobtrusive to their creative needs."" The highly encouraging test results have spurred the pace of the overall development agenda to support preliminary system testing of the new digital camera and lenses by Lucasfilm in late fall of 1999, a prelude to the use of these systems in the shooting of Episodes II and III in the Star Wars saga, with production of Episode II in early 2000.