Question: What cameras have you been using on recent projects?

Victor Goss: Well, the last show was Panasonic (Oliver Beene), the show before that (Odyssey Five) I used two Sony Cine-Alta's, the show before that (Grounded For Life) I used three (3-perf) Panaflex GSIIs. This show (Carrie) is unusual. We're using five cameras, which is a lot of cameras for a series.

Question: What's your feeling comparing Panasonic's VariCam and Sony's CineAlta (HDCAM)?

Victor Goss: In a nutshell, the Sony is perceived to be higher-level camera because of its 1080 resolution. It's also got the support of Panavision and the sort of beta testing that's been going on using the camera in the field on a lot of different shows now. On the other hand, the Panasonic has got much better color representation than the Sony does.

As far as my perception is concerned, and a number of other photographers I have spoken to, the Panasonic just has a better way of handling color. It has a sort of a greenish shift to it so that it really handles colors like khaki and beige and stuff beautifully - really wonderful colors. That's important to me? that plus the fact that it overexposes a lot like film does. You know you just get sort of pale washed highlights -- instead of a lot of compression artifacts in overexposed areas like landscapes and so forth. Those two things are a big deal, which is why I chose Panasonic for this show.

Question: What about resolution differences between the HD cameras?

Victor Goss: A problem with HD is that the cameras have such edge sharpness that we have to use diffusion so as not to make peoples' faces look too nasty. So whatever difference there is in resolution is immediately compensated for by the use of diffusion.

If you're doing a film out and you're going to a film negative for a feature film release, I have heard that there's a real difference between the Sony and Panasonic cameras. But I haven't any direct experience of that, so I'd like to do some tests to see.

Question: Do you make use of the different frame-rates provided on the VariCam?

Victor Goss: Yeah, we're shooting 60-frames probably at least once a day to four times a week. These are things that we normally would have to bring in a film camera if we wanted to do them. But the majority of time we're shooting at 24-frames

Question: There have been a number of shoot-outs between the various cameras...

Victor Goss: There was sort of a shoot-out at Movieola just before I came up here -- which would have been about the middle of May. They did a seminar over there.

They had someone from Panasonic and someone from Sony showing the cameras and the audience was asking questions about the cameras and so forth. And what it boiled down to when the whole evening was over - here are two cameras that you can use when you're shooting HD.

I thought that was a big step forward for Panasonic because Panasonic has been excluded from the whole mix in most people's view. And I thought it was the appropriate sort of comparison.

Question: So the industry is becoming more aware of choices?

Victor Goss: You know, when you're shooting film you've got Arriflex, and you've got Panaflex and you've got Moviecam and so forth to choose from and without making any comments about which one is better or whatever, those are choices that are made based on the application and who the cinematographer is and all of the different reasons. So therefore, it's good to have two cameras to choose from - you can choose the Panasonic camera, which has its look, and you have the Sony camera, which has a different look.

Question: Can you tell a difference when you watch something, whether it is film or HD video?

Victor Goss: Sometimes it's difficult. I think the HD technology has gotten to where I cannot tell every time whether something is HD or whether it was film. As a matter of fact, I'm talking to some other people up here doing another show and they wanted to see the work that I did, so I had my agent send my reel up to them and they looked at it and said yeah, but we want to see some of the HD work that Victor has done -- and I told them, well, it's on there, so see if you can find it. It's some of the better looking stuff.

Question: There's also the economics of shooting HD.

Victor Goss: In some ways the economies of shooting in HD represent financing of projects. Because the $100,000 you'll save in film and processing at the front end can now be redirected at the back end of the project, in postproduction and investments once potential investors see the end product.

Question: Would you say the attributes of AJ-HDC27 VariCam are well suited for a film-like style or storytelling-type of shooting?

Victor Goss: Clearly, it has a lush filmic look. It is also incredible in low light. Its representation of color is wonderful and you can under and over-expose the way you can with a film camera. I've used all the cameras, the Sony CineAlta, the Panasonic VariCam, all the film cameras, and it boils down to using the one that is best suited to the specific situation. Talking about which is better is less useful than discussing what they can or can't do.

Question: Can you do what you have been doing in your work in film, with HD?

Victor Goss: Yes. Definitely. Everybody I talk to about it, I tell the same thing. Next year, a majority of television projects are going to be shot on HD. So the better positioned you are to use it, the more success you will have. It may turn out that I never get to shoot anything on film again - I don't think that will be the case - but if it is the case, I want to know that I can have something that will live up to my standards.

Question: What would you tell fellow cinematographers about Panasonic's VariCam?

Victor Goss: You know, there are a lot of cinematographers in Hollywood who are really worried that for their next project it will be mandated that it be shot on HD, and they're wondering if they will be able to achieve the same standards that they have set with their film work. With this camera, the answer is a resounding -- yes.

I think film is here to stay like everyone says it is, but we're going to be shooting a lot of TV in HD and you'd better learn how to do it well. It just requires a little understanding and practice and a camera set up in a way that you know what the limitations are. It's a real short learning curve.