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"2BPERFECTLYHONEST",
SHOT WITH PANASONIC AJ-HDC27 VARICAM®,
TO DEBUT AT TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
Comedy Stars Adam Trese, Andrew McCarthy, John Turturro
 SECAUCUS, NJ (April 1, 2004) – Writer/director
Randel Cole’s tantalizing comedy, 2BPerfectlyHonest,
shot in New York City with Panasonic’s AJ-HDC27
VariCam® HD Cinema cameras, will have its world premiere
at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, Sunday, May 2
at 8 p.m. The film has a powerhouse cast that includes
Adam Trese, Andrew McCarthy, John Turturro, Aida Turturro,
Robert Vaughan, Hayley Mills and Vince Curatola. 2B was
produced by Jeff Mazzola and John Scaccia, with Chris
LaVasseur as Director of Photography.
With Manhattan as a vibrant backdrop, 2B teasingly chronicles
the lives of two young Internet entrepreneurs, Frank
(Trese) and Josh (McCarthy). Cole likens the playful
comedy to a contemporary Arabian tale, with one story
folding within another within another. Starting with
a bedtime story told to Josh’s young son, the plot
goes back to another story (the pair’s search for
venture capital funding), and within that story is a
dream of a suspicious, sudden business windfall. Many
of the actors play two characters, one for each “story.”
The production team rented the VariCams from Abel Cine
Tech Inc. (New York, NY).
 Panasonic’s AJ-HDC27 VariCam replicates many of
the key features of film-based image acquisition, including
24-frame progressive scan images, time lapse recording,
and a wide range of variable frame rates (4-fps to 60-fps
in single-frame increments) for “overcranked” and “undercranked” off-speed
in-camera effects. The AJ-HDC27 VariCam also features
CineGamma™ software that permits Panasonic’s
HD Cinema camera systems to more closely match the latitude
of film stocks.
 Recounting the decision to shoot with Panasonic VariCam
cameras, Cole said, “When the producer and I originally
discussed the project, we were open to all formats for
picture origination. Given budget limitations, we knew
that 35mm was not a possibility. With our cast
in mind, we then weighed the various options of Super
16, HD and DV. We visited
DuArt Film Labs and scheduled
screening time to view comparisons of Super 16mm, Beta
SP, Digital Beta and DV transferred on an Arri laser
printer to 35mm film. In my opinion, none of them looked
acceptable. Colors were washed out, contrast was poor
in highlight areas, and artifacts were noticeable.
 “We then contacted Technicolor, who had a reel
to show us of HD24P shot on the VariCam that was also
sent
to film-out via the Arri Laser printer. This footage
looked breathtaking, to the extent that I was having
trouble believing that I was watching transferred ‘video.’ What
I also liked was that on the transfer process to film,
we could select a film stock with fine grain or large
grain depending upon the look we wanted, thus avoiding
any tinkering with ‘film look’ plug-ins.
In my opinion, I think the look is far superior to
anything 16mm or Super 16 has to offer, and it is on
equal footing in many ways with 35mm.”
He continued, “Ultimately, we evaluated 3 cameras:
the Panasonic AG-DVX100, the Sony 900, and the VariCam.
The VariCam had a less electronic look and the colors
are much more pleasing when compared to the Sony 900.
One of the advantages of shooting HD24P is that adding
another camera is not nearly as expensive as compared
to film. We used two VariCams, with Steadicam, on three
days of our two-week shoot, which offered us a fluid
and accelerated way to tell the story and capture the
action. And the two cameras allowed us to keep the
actors fresh.”
 DP Chris LaVasseur came up through the ranks as an
assistant cameraman (A Bronx Tale, Malcolm X, Single
White Female); 2B is the fifth feature on which he’s
served as DP, and his first outing with the VariCam.
“VariCam really helped us in terms of dynamic
range, holding up in all kinds of lighting environments,” he
said. “We used limited artificial lighting throughout
the shoot. We had one shot inside an ad agency, with
windows across the whole wall of the loft. It was important
to see the cityscape outside the windows. I shot at
500% (bringing detail level down), and was able to
capture all the detail outside the window. The camera
also handles highlights amazingly well. Most video
cameras clip, but not VariCam.
Highlights have a natural
bloom. We shot a subway train head on, and the highlights
are beautiful. It really sold us on the camera.
“ VariCam is user-friendly—you can get into the
menu very quickly. We played with the menu a bit, setting
the gamma to our liking for a cinematic feel. Probably
the most stress we subjected the camera to was a four-hour
shoot in a steam room—even though we were making
our own steam, it was very hot in there. I brought
the camera in ahead of time to acclimate
to
the humidity. We had no problems with condensation,
a weak point I’ve noticed with other video cameras.
Moreover, we didn’t finish on time, and irate
customers forced the owner to turn on the real steam.
The actors were laughing and telling us to keep rolling— we
shot for another half-hour!”
Cole noted that the “slightly smaller size” of
the VariCam, its ability to maneuver in small spaces
and set-up quickly, was tailor-made for a shoot on
the streets and subways (and in the steam rooms) of
Manhattan. Cole said, “The VariCam 24P image
quality (which I distinguish from a traditional video
look) has proven to me that I will need a very good
reason to shoot film ever again. That may sound overreaching,
but I like the look of HD24P--and I started out my
career as a cinematographer shooting with Arriflexes.
HD24P is much easier to work with, allows the use of
35MM prime lenses so that I can get the depth of field
I want, and affords me a faster work pace, which I
prefer. All this translates into time-savings, and
lets me take that money and put it to work up on the
screen, which is what audiences pay to see.”
 Cole estimates that shooting 2B in HD saved about $125,000
when compared to shooting 35mm, and approximately $50,000
vs. Super16, taking into consideration a blow-up for
16mm and an Arri Laser transfer for HD24P.
The off-line edit was done on Avid Express at 2B’s
production offices. On-line work was done at Rhinoceros
Post (New York, NY); picture was conformed using the
Avid Nitrous HD system, followed by the Da Vinci 2K
for HD color correction with a D5 master. The Dolby
Surround Sound Mix was performed at Magno Sound & Video
(New York, NY).
 Cole concluded, “For me, the term video and HD24P
should not be used interchangeably. It’s like
calling a car a truck—they both have wheels but
there is a world of difference between the two. The
same holds true for HD24P vs. video. The sooner we
can come up with a new name for HD24P images, the faster
the preconceived notions of using it will dissipate.
“ In some ways, I prefer the look of HD24 to film.
A pristine 35mm print looks wonderful, but after a few
screenings it becomes a mess with scratches and dust.
With HD, the look is consistent with every pass. I
also am not a big fan of film grain--I like a tight
grain structure and 24P solves that problem. VariCam’s
flesh tones and color renditions are extremely pleasing,
but keep in mind, I am talking about a viewing experience
that uses D5 HD tape as the source and a Panasonic
PT-D9600U projector with 12,000 lumens of brightness.
Under those conditions--which are the only way to make
a fair comparison--not only do you
not know the difference from film, if you do, you don’t
care. That’s the most important point—that
the viewer stay in the moment and not be sitting there
distracted by issues of image quality.”
For information on the Tribeca Film Institute, visit
www.tribecafilmfestival.org.
For 2B, visit www.2BPerfectlyHonest.com.
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