Minicams Minicams

Minicams
www.gtc.org.uk
www.gtc.org.uk
Which
Minicams
Minicam?
You only have to look through the pages of this issue of Zerb to see that, all of a
sudden, minicams are cropping up everywhere. Even if they’re not the main cameras
on a production (although increasingly they may play a major part), many crews
include them in the kit for those all-important supplementary angles. Lightweight,
small and unobtrusive, these useful additions to the kitbag can add great ‘value for
money’ shots in all sorts of situations. But there are a wide range of options out
there – so how do you choose?
GTC sponsors Prime Television have been at the forefront of minicam technology in
television for over ten years and have become one of the UK’s leading suppliers of
broadcast minicams and robotic cameras. Managing director and minicam expert
Nick Ludlow runs through the choices, providing an overview of the different factors
to consider when choosing the right minicam for the job.
Bradley Engineering BE-HDC100
T
he last ten years have seen the
increasingly widespread use of
specialist mini-cameras and
remote control heads across a wide
range of areas of the entertainment
industry including: reality shows,
hard-hitting documentaries, dramas,
sports coverage, TV commercials, and
news and current affairs programmes.
Productions use minicams as single
camera units (one-off specialist shots),
for undercover surveillance, as on-car
and motorcycle-mounted cameras and
on full-blown multi-camera remote
head, fixed minicam HD productions.
High-end HD minicams offer a
wide variety of creative options but,
as minicam technology is getting
better and better, it can sometimes be
harder picking the optimum minicam
for a production than choosing the
main camera and format. This is
where specialist technicians can really
help with advice based on their wide
experience of using these cameras.
44 Spring 2012 ZERB
It was undercover documentary and
wildlife productions that first began to use
minicams. That was before the demand for
this technology really kicked off with the
advent of major reality shows, starting
with Big Brother back in 2000.
Historically, it was undercover
documentary and wildlife productions
that first began to use minicams.
That was before the demand for this
technology really kicked off with
the advent of major reality shows,
starting with Series 1 of Big Brother
back in 2000, and then the multiple
other similarly filmed shows that have
followed. Now, 12 years on, there are
minicams and remote minicams being
employed on all types of small and big
screen productions.
GoPro Hero
First up is the very popular and
extremely versatile GoPro mini HD
camera. Although not true HD in the
broadcast sense, this camera is an
excellent piece of kit that can now
be found on many TV productions.
Whether you’re shooting a car- or
bike-mounted exterior or an extreme
sporting event, the GoPro can capture
ultra-wide angle HD video that is
GoPro Hero 2
acceptable as part of the SD content
of your TV production.
Not wanting to do ourselves out
of a hire… every DoP working in TV
should have one of these. You can
mount them anywhere, on practically
anything, and in all sorts of weather
conditions; then take it home and
use it on your mountain bike or kids’
skateboard. Your producer, director,
not to mention the kids, will love you.
Do make sure you get/hire/buy the
latest GoPro though. GoPro launched
the HD Hero 2 at the end of last year.
It shares the same dimensions and
ultra-wide angle 170 degree lens as
its predecessor (the HD Hero) and is
supplied with all the same mountings
you need in order to mount it to
almost anything. It also uses the same
waterproof housing, that not only
makes it completely splash-proof but
also turns it into a proper underwater
camera, capable of depths of up to
60 meters… but that’s where the
similarities end.
There are big differences in the new
GoPro HD Hero 2 over the original
Hero. The Hero 2 has the ability to
capture full HD at 1080p, whereas
the earlier model could only achieve
this at 720p (16:9) or 960p (4:3). If
you are looking for slow motion, the
new Hero 2 offers a 120fps mode at
848 x 480 which will slow the action
by four times. The team at GoPro
have even improved the time-lapse
feature, which can now take photos
automatically at preset periods; this is
available at half-second intervals and
burst shooting at 10fps.
With up to 9 hours of record time
on a 32GB SD card this makes for a
very useful tool on just about any
production but perhaps the most
important differences from the
previous version, from a production
perspective, are the HDMI and external
microphone ports.
Clearly, the GoPro 2 is a useful tool
and certainly makes an ideal action
camera on location, but you need to
know its limitations. It is a favourite
with production managers because
of its low hire cost but they are often
under the misapprehension that it
offers broadcast quality HD. The fact
is that the single CMOS sensor is only
0.435 inch big, meaning that this
camera does not meet any national or
international broadcast specifications
for HD. Also, the camera records in
MPEG-4 H.264 which can sometimes
lead to issues in post-production,
especially with Avid. Finally, there is
only a limited amount of set-up you
can do on the GoPro and so camera
matching to your main camera can
be quite difficult; this can obviously
lead to a much heavier and more
costly grade in post.
The rate card price for GoPro
HD Hero 2 cameras with two
32SD cards and all the mounting
accessories is £35 a day.*
Sony HXR-MC1
The first affordable truly HD minicam
came along in 2009 from Sony, in
the form of the now commonly used
HXR-MC1. For the first time we had a
camera that could output and record
in 16:9 (at that time a rarity) as well
as output 1080/50i. This minicam,
Spring 2012 ZERB 45
Minicams
www.gtc.org.uk
Sony HXR-MC1
which was essentially a Sony AVC-HD
camcorder with the head separated
from the recorder by a cable, allowed
high quality HD images to be captured
at a fraction of the cost of the
alternatives on the market at the
time. It was not all good, though, as
the camera head still didn’t meet the
broadcasters’ requirements for full HD
and only had the ability to record in
AVC-HD, which is not an acceptable
HD format and one that can still cause
importing problems with Avid edit
systems. Using an external recorder
such as the Convergent Design
NanoFlash overcomes this problem
but you have to rely on the use of a
non-lockable HDMI cable. Another
shortfall was the lack of an external
microphone/audio input, leaving
only the camera’s internal mic, plus
a separate sound recording device
might be needed. That said, the Sony
HXR-MC1 is still a favourite at Prime
and is used on a variety of jobs.
This incredibly robust and all-round
broadcast HD minicam workhorse
hires out for £65 a day with two
Sony 8GB ProDuo cards.
Panasonic AG-HCK10G
Not to be outdone by Sony, Panasonic
launched the AG-HCK10G a year
later (2010) and, like the Sony, the
Panasonic was a split camera head
and handheld recorder – but that is
just about the only similarity. The
AG-HCK10G camera and AG-HMR10
CCU recorder provided a huge step
forward. The camera was signed off by
many broadcasters as full HD because
of its 1/4.1” three-CMOS camera
system producing 1920 x 1080 high
definition video. This camera has a
full range of professional features
with menus for white balance, gamma
curves, detail and timecode settings.
In addition, it is a truly multi-regional
camera allowing progressive and
46 Spring 2012 ZERB
Panasonic AG-HCK10G
interlaced recording in both the PAL
and NTSC flavours of HD. The camera
has an input for external audio,
meaning that you could now record
sound directly to the camera without
worrying about sync issues.
As broadcasters do not regard
AVC-HD as an acceptable HD
recording format, Prime has
custom-built portable rack systems
that can take up to four Panasonic
AG-HCK10G feeds (per rack) via the
HD-SDI in/output, recording on to four
Convergent NanoFlash recorders at
50fps with a timecode feed and audio
recording on to a 788 recorder; all
recording on tough, low-cost CF cards.
It’s always a good idea to record in
CCU as well, especially for that ‘oncein-a-lifetime’ stunt or reaction shot.
Using the Panasonic cameras through
the record racks means that true HD
content can be provided within a
reasonable budget. This system has
been recently used for the full HD
productions of Driving Academy
(BBC), Full Stretch (Channel 4) and
numerous inserts for Text Santa (ITV)
over Christmas. The Panasonic
camera is also currently in use on the
new Kudos Production Nemesis (in
production for BBC1/HBO) for all
their specialist camera and stunt
shoots.
This versatile camera is quick to rig,
responds well to low light and, most
importantly, is full HD and can match
convincingly with footage from main
cameras on a shoot. Other benefits
include: an adequate (but not good in
bright light) 3.5” colour LCD screen,
speaker/headphone and HDMI output
sockets allowing listening and handy
reviewing of footage; and a USB 2.0
interface allowing connection to a PC
or Mac. A slight negative is the single
SD card slot; a quality piece of kit like
this could really do with two, allowing
the operator to download rushes while
continuing to shoot.
There are applications where the
AG-HCK10G is not suitable, with the
camera head being twice the size of
a Sony HXR-MC1 and four times the
size of a GoPro. It is often too big for a
body rig or for a very discrete camera
set-up. That said, I would put this
camera at the top of the pile for most
HD productions. We have used it for
external and internal vehicle-mounted
shots; as a static camera for wide
shots on multi-camera shoots; as fixed
cameras in studios; and on numerous
hidden camera shoots.
The wide-angle adapter and
15-meter extension cable make the
camera even more versatile for any
shot where space is at a premium or
when you want to get the camera
head further away from the recorder.
The Panasonic AG-HCK10G hires
out for £140 a day with two 32GB
SD cards and add £80 a day for a
Convergent Design NanoFlash with
two 32GB Compact Flash cards.
The Panasonic AG-HGCK10 is the
best all-round package for any HD
production.
Minicams
www.gtc.org.uk
Toshiba IK-HD1
Toshiba IK-HD1
A clear leader in the field of high-end
minicam manufacturing is Toshiba. We
have been using Toshiba minicams for
top-end acquisition for over
15 years; with a wide choice of prime
lenses, this is our first choice for
big screen and drama productions.
Toshiba started in the medical arena,
making small medical cameras long
before they were commonly in use in
TV and commercial film production.
The Toshiba TU-48 was the minicam
of choice for many years, from Top
Gear to Nissan car commercials, but
that was not HD. Toshiba’s IK-HD1 is
now, as you would expect, a totally
different camera. The IK-HD1 still has
the same practicality of the TU-48 but
now boasts BBC-approved HD with its
three-CCD 1/3-inch interlace sensor
outputting 1080 x 1920 via HD/SDI,
composite or component.
Not only is the Toshiba IK-HD1
the most compact HD camera on the
market but with a choice of lenses
(2mm, 4mm and 8mm) it gives the
sharpest, clearest, true colour imagery
available. It is also ideally suited to
applications where extreme vibration
is an issue due to its fixed prime lens.
Because of this it has been used as
a bobsleigh-mounted camera at the
Winter Olympics, and various sporting
events at the Commonwealth Games.
Its 65 gram weight and 1.6 inch
dimensions mean that this little
camera can be used in even the
smallest of spaces to give shots you
simply cannot get with other cameras.
Combine the Toshiba with a Polecam,
with remote cable lengths of over
30 meters, and perhaps a waterproof
housing, and you can achieve truly
Bradley Engineering BE-HDC100 on mini track
great HD shots, within a budget, that
would never have been possible before.
The top of the range Toshiba IK-HD1
camera hires for £200 a day.
Bradley Engineering
cameras and remote heads
A big part of the minicam market
is multi-minicam location shooting
and Prime has provided solutions for
many memorable productions such
as: Scariest Places on Earth, There’s
Something About Miriam, Ant and
Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away, The
Sack Race, Sunday Night Project,
Celebrity Stitch Up and Coach Trip.
From the first production meeting
for Scariest Places in 1999, it was
clear that the regular multi-minicam
set-up of numerous fixed cameras
was not going to be enough for this
huge multi-minicam production. The
production called for 24 minicams
in six rooms in a large, supposedly
haunted, castle in Scotland. I proposed
a remote mini-camera system from
Bradley Engineering that we had just
started testing. To be honest, the
cameras were fraught with problems,
the long cable runs were problematic
and power/data issues presented
serious learning curves, but in the end
the production was a huge success and
Prime has been pleased to work with
Bradley Engineering (also sponsors of
the GTC) ever since.
In 2004, 12 Yard Productions asked
us if we could build a mini-multicam
set-up in a coach for a new series
for Channel 4 called Coach Trip. This
involved five small Bradley Engineering
pan and tilt cameras and two Toshiba
TU-48 cameras, all ISO recorded to a
purpose-built control area at the back
Toshiba IK-HD1 mounted on a Polecam
Spring 2012 ZERB 47
Minicams
www.gtc.org.uk
Lawmate button cam
of the coach. The build and subsequent
success of Coach Trip really showed
what could be achieved with minicams
in such a confined area.
One of David Bradley’s great
strengths is that he always listens
to both cameramen and remote
operators in his quest to develop the
best cameras and remote heads. He
has consequently built up a range of
products and a business that Britain
should be proud of; their quality
products are now used around the
world and their remote heads will be
used in many specialized applications
at the London Olympics. We are
lucky to have these cameras and the
customer support so close to home.
Prime now offers two types of
Bradley cameras in their hire fleet of
remote control minicams, namely the
BE-HD10 and smaller BE-HDC100.
Both cameras use a Sony camera
module, the same one found in the
Sony HVR-A1 professional camcorder.
Technology such as the 2 megapixel
full HD CMOS chip camera module
means this ultra-compact module
is capable of producing full HD with
1080 lines of resolution. Bradley
Engineering then takes the original
Sony chipset out to be augmented
and re-engineered to produce the
Purpose-built control area on the coach for Channel 4’s Coach Trip
highest quality noise-free, lowjitter pictures. The modules are also
modified and improved for better
usability, connectivity and control. The
one-piece design has all the additional
electronics, together with thermal
management and fan cooling, built
into the case.
The BE-HD10 and BE-HDC100 can
be used for single camera or multicamera set-ups with a remote CCU
unit and integrated protocol converter.
This enables the camera head to be
sealed to IP66 and data to be sent
directly as RS485 to the CCU. It also
enables the camera to work in higher
ambient temperatures.
Both cameras have 10:1 zoom
lenses and both accept 37mm wideangle lens converters. All functions are
controlled remotely via equally wellmade joystick remote control units
(RCU). There is a choice of two types
of joystick RCU: a small four-camera
controller and a larger eight-camera
controller. The joystick RCUs are
connected directly to the camera, with
simple protocols, and the CCU data
include pan, tilt, zoom and focus.
The exceptionally reliable, high
quality and well made BE-HD10 and
BE-HDC100 hire out for £200 a day.
In car multi-minicam rigging of a Bentley at Prime TV’s warehouse in London
48 Spring 2012 ZERB
After a recent hidden camera production
for the BBC, there were articles in the
press suggesting the shots were too good
to be from hidden cameras and must have
been staged!
Micro-minicams
Finally, it is not correct to write
an article on minicams without
mentioning the really small hidden
cameras we use in shirt-button
cameras, bag cameras, mobile
phone cameras, glasses cameras, etc.
It is often very important to
carefully tailor micro-minicam
requests to suit the production and
client, especially when it involves
hidden or secretive filming, as the
operator or wearer can find him/
herself in a precarious situation, as on
a recently hidden camera shoot for
60 Minutes, the US news magazine
show. The brief was to provide a
camera to film covertly in strip joints
in Amsterdam. We built a baseball cap
with a HD micro-minicam built into
the front logo. The shoot was going
well, with the cameraman (wearing
the cap) getting great shots as the
stripper took a shine to him and
decided to dance just in front of him.
Unfortunately, her finale culminated
in her pulling off his cap. As the cables
down the back of his shirt separated,
the stripper was left holding a cap
with cables hanging off the back
like some skimpy ponytail, while the
cameraman shouted “I’m a pervert, I’m
a pervert” while making a rapid exit.
Although the camera was lost, the
cameraman escaped with the recorder
and all the footage intact!
In most of our micro-minicam
applications we use the Lawmate
CMD-BU13 camera recording on
to a Lawmate PV500 digital video
recorder. Although not full HD, the
camera produces an impressive
1280 x 960 resolution at full 720p HD
mode. This is the best quality microminicam available and with unrivalled
broadcast quality video and super
sharp imagery and vivid colours, it is a
vast improvement on the cameras we
used to supply to Panorama for their
investigative and undercover filming
nearly 20 years ago. The camera is
fitted with a wide-angle lens and can
Minicams
www.gtc.org.uk
be positioned pretty much anywhere
you like to get the shot you need,
even at close range, and comes with a
range of interchangeable outer lenses
to disguise the camera as perhaps a
shirt button or even a screw head. A
high gain microphone is supplied and
can be attached anywhere on clothing.
Full audio gain control is offered in
the menu system, allowing crisp clear
vocal audio recording no matter what
the filming environment. If you are
looking for the very highest quality
video possible from an undercover
filming kit (already used by reporters
at BBC, Sky News and ITV), then this is
the package to go for.
The cost of micro-minicams varies
as they usually involve a specialized
build or hide but allow £150 for the
camera and a minimum of £50 for
the build of a hide.
Camera hides
It’s not just micro-minicams that
are used for complete surveillance
or hidden camera shows; we have
converted over 200 day-to-day bits
and pieces for pan and tilt camera
hides. These include a variety of
different speakers; floor and wall book
shelves and cabinets; microwave ovens
and small stacking crates; wheelie
bins and bird houses. We used to have
a great deal of success with hidden
cameras in tube TVs but with the
advent of flat-screen TVs these are no
longer an option.
It is important to really understand
the production, the people you are
filming and the location before
deciding on a camera hide. It is also
important to have at least one person
in the production (within the hit)
who is in the know, as this person can
always divert suspicion away from
a camera/camera hide. On a shoot
for My New Best Friend with Mark
Wooton, the hit subject opened a
microwave oven and revealed a hidden
camera; the whole production held
its breath thinking the whole day’s
rig and shoot would be over, but the
quick-thinking Mark Wooton blurted
out (while shutting the microwave
door) that his flatmate was secretly
filming his girlfriend in the kitchen
as she was a lousy cook. This was
accepted, the production staff
breathed a huge sigh of relief and the
hit carried on with great success.
It can also be said that the great
quality of minicams these days can
actually be a negative on certain
productions. After a recent hidden
camera production for the BBC, there
were articles in the press suggesting
the shots were too good to be from
hidden cameras and therefore must
have been staged! I have often been
asked to film the set-up of the hidden
cameras so that the production has
proof of the minicam usage and the
option of using the set-up footage
within the programme.
Finally, you would be surprised at
just how unobservant people are and
how little you actually need to hide
cameras. I have placed numerous pan
and tilt cameras in large shopping
centres and not bothered to hide them
at all as it is not human nature to look
up (unless you are at an air show), and
even if they do, no one really thinks
they are being filmed in a day-to-day
location or well-staged set-up. This
is not always the case, of course, and
is very much dependent on the type
of production. With so many hidden
camera and stitch-up shows being
shot, there are times when you have
to be extra careful and creative.
If the hit is a stitch-up against an
individual, or a really unbelievable
prank, the target person is likely to
look around saying “Ok… so where are
the cameras?”
Fact File
*All prices quoted for comparative purposes are rate card prices from
Prime TV. Prime TV offers a 25% discount to all GTC members.
Prime Television provides expertise and broadcast facilities including a full
range of Sony cameras, from the PMW-EX3 up to the PDW-F800, along
with a selection of Panasonic and Canon cameras, and a comprehensive
stock of sound and lighting equipment. They cater for commercial
productions, documentary work, sporting events and much more, and
are major providers of crew and equipment to production companies
and broadcasters around the world. Prime is now gearing up to supply
these companies with their extensive expertise and OB knowledge for the
London Olympics in July.
Prime is always looking for experienced crew to work on their various
projects, never more so than this year with requirement for cameramen
for the London Olympics.
Examples of the full range of minicams, as well as all other types of
cameras on hire from Prime TV, can be found on their website at:
www.primetv.com
One of four Toshiba IK-HD1 Cameras rigged inside the Bentley
Spring 2012 ZERB 49