Panavision Genesis

[chupap]

As much as it seems like a slap, I can see both sides of this--having 25 guys standing around with their arms crossed, shaking their heads and berating the poor soul who is handling the demo for not having included this or that is probably not as productive for them as working with the individuals as each show comes up. I had a good three or four days over there recently and we covered a lot of ground.

 

I'm opting to fly dual-system with the recorder remoted; after one day of actual shooting I'm pretty convinced that this is the way to go unless the geography precludes having a guy trail you with a deck (20 feet of cable is allowable after the 6' of lightweight dual BNC at the camera end). The camera flies really nicely in this configuration, and although the power is half that of the one piece system, it's still formidable. It's weird to have to think about powering a video camera up and down like you are rolling a film camera, but it seems to be the way to go.

 

There is a fair amount of anecdotal information about possible interference from the camera to the deck; it is extremely sensitive to HMI and Kino ballasts (and even Kino heads, so no onboard eyelights!) 12 feet is the recommended distance from same--and remember, that's the camera, cable and deck ALL needing to keep 12 feet away. Could be tricky in many sets.

 

Panavision is working on a Copperhead fiber system that will likely solve a lot of these issues, and allow the deck to be remoted to the DIT station where it belongs, but we won't be seeing that solution on this particular show, sadly.

 

Erwin took some pix at the prep, for anyone who might be interested:

 

http://web.mac.com/chupap/iWeb/Site/Genesis.html

[David Allen Grove]

"25 guys standing around with their arms crossed, shaking their heads and berating the poor soul who is handling the demo for not having included this or that is probably not as productive for them as working with the individuals as each show comes up."

 

But Charles, that's half the fun! haha :lol:

[Erwin Landau]

So a couple of new things that I learned about the Genesis:

 

 

- Panavision is planning on having 80 Cameras ready for use by the end of this year!!!

 

- Low-mode is achieved by flipping the image in Camera, so no real use for the lowmode bracket exempt for mounting AKS.

 

- The angle on which way you load the tape is critical! Load it in a wrong angle and the deck will eat the tape. Could be interesting to load the tape in lowmode...

 

- (Rumors: Next time Panavision files for captor 11, it could be bought up by ARRI ?????)

 

 

Fly safe, I guess...

 

 

Erwin"Learning something new every day"Landau

[Eric Fletcher S.O.C.]

- (Rumors: Next time Panavision files for captor 11, it could be bought up by ARRI ?????)

 

 

Panavision is Arri's largest client

[Brad Grimmett]

- Low-mode is achieved by flipping the image in Camera, so no real use for the lowmode bracket exempt for mounting AKS.

 

Fly safe, I guess...

 

 

Erwin"Learning something new every day"Landau

So what's with this?

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Brad,

 

"So what's with this?"

 

It is a seat for the director so he no longer has to walk next to you while he chews your ear off. Now he can rest on his much deserved perch while barking out orders sort of like Peter O'Toole's crane in "The Stunt Man."

 

 

Here is the deluxe version:

[Erwin Landau]

That picture is from Superman... before they figured out what to do for low mode. I guess they are still not sure what to do... I remember being shut down every time I asked the guys at Panavision about Low mode with the Genesis. I don't know. I guess you will find out once you are up for a show with that puppy.

 

On Charles prep they used the Lowmode bracket for the Panatape (modified to run on 12 Volt) and the Down converter for the NTSC Steadicam Monitor. The FF motors are mounted from the Hill Panabracket...

so far I hear that Charles is okay with it, I'll ask him next time I talk to him, what he did for lowmode.

 

 

Fly safe,

 

 

Erwin"I don't know, what do you ask me for?"Landau

[Brad Grimmett]

Brad,

 

"So what's with this?"

 

It is a seat for the director so he no longer has to walk next to you while he chews your ear off. Now he can rest on his much deserved perch while barking out orders sort of like Peter O'Toole's crane in "The Stunt Man."

 

 

Here is the deluxe version:

Ah! That makes perfect sense! I gotta get that cupholder installed....I'm always spilling my scotch in tight doorways.

[Charles Papert]

Since each new operator is having to sort of re-invent the wheel when they come up against this camera, I thought we could have a dedicated thread with individual's findings as a resource.

 

I realize there is a separate thread about the Genesis (http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=669&st=0) but I thought that if one of the mods could prune out the posts in their that and repost them here, we could have a more utilitarian thread. Along those lines, it would be great if conjecture, rumors, bitching etc. could remain in that thread while we keep this one more straight-up factoid-based.

 

I'll start us off with some posts of my discoveries.

[Charles Papert]

ONE PIECE:

Pros:

If DP will allow SD transmission during takes, no cables to contend with off the rig

Playback viewable on monitor (for confidence i.e. gate checks etc)

Less possible interference from electronic ballasts, RF

 

Cons:

Excessive power consumption (between 11 and 13 amps, anecdotally)

Excessive weight (anyone put it on a scale yet?)

Longer rig

In full-time “fan on” mode (for very hot environments), noisier rig closer to the actors/mikes

 

TWO PIECE:

Pros:

Nice and light (similar to Arricam LT) rig, but shorter profile

Power consumption of camera head around 5-6 amps, not a problem for most rigs

Sled configuration “normal” (post length, gimbal placement, arm strength etc)

 

Cons:

Cables off rig (1 BNC for 4:2:2 mode, 2 for 4:4:4 mode)

Max length of cable to deck: 6 foot lightweight BNC, 20 ft heavy guage BNC)

Greater chance of interference from electronic ballasts, RF; Panavision recommends 12 feet radius from any component (camera, deck or cables) as opposed to 6 feet when configured one-piece

Less mobility due to tether to the deck

Deck needs to be carted around in a backpack (not supplied) with plenty of ventilation and its own power source.

 

 

For pictures of the two piece mode, see:

=http://web.mac.com/chupap/iWeb/Site%202/Genesis.html

 

Panavision will supply operators with a split power cable for the PRO junction box that requires the rig to be in the “separate” (aka Arri 3) mode, and combines the CAM and AUX power outs to the camera Lemo. The power input to the Genesis is an exceptionally obscure connector which precludes the possibility of making a low-profile cable (the strain relief is integral to this connector).

 

For one-piece operation, they will make cables that go directly from the D Tap on the Anton Bauer plates at the base of the rig to the camera to prevent voltage drop.

 

What may be the "holy grail" of two-piece operation is the Fiber Optic system; Panavision has spec'd very thin and flexible fiber cables that are all but invisible hanging off the rig. This means that the deck can be remoted back to the engineering setup, so no backpack and also no concerns about RF interference through the cables. Drawbacks to this setup: each cable only carries the equivalent of a single HD-SDI cable, so two are still required for 4:4:4, and an Evertz transmitter box goes on the rig for each cable. These are not too heavy,perhaps 10 oz, but a bit of bulk, especially with two of them stacked (and probably a downconverter of the same size as well). Also the rental for the fiber system is quite expensive.

 

Regarding the interference issue: the rub seems to be that it is possible to see a clean image on the monitors but the hash will appear on playback. It's a good idea to spot-check Steadicam takes in particular if the two piece configuration is used, not just the 3 second record review function but maybe even an entire take if there is any suspected interference (proximity to ballasts etc.). Also note that all transmitters should be kept a distance from the camera and deck--if Modulus/Canatrans etc are to be used, it should be on the bottom of the rig.

[Charles Papert]

Conventional operating notes:

 

 

Walkies will interfere with the image, causing it to black out momentarily. Keep all walkie keying a good 10 feet from the camera. It seems to be the case that the problem lies in the Astro onboard monitor, so if the HD-SDI is looped through that monitor, the picture will be lost back to the engineering monitor, but not in the viewfinder.

 

The viewfinder is a remounted F900 color LCD, acceptable for framing but not great for focus. The leveler is a work in progress?current version sits unfortunately far from the camera body, fine for left eye viewing but a bit far for right eye use. There is another viewfinder mount that mounts close to the body for handheld use, but it is an expensive rental (complete assembly). Panavision will likely provide the older black and white CRT F900 eyepiece for free, which is a good configuration for handheld.

[Erwin Landau]

Additional power issues with the Genesis, please check:

 

http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...amp;#entry22415

 

 

http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...?showtopic=3989

[Charles Papert]

Update on the eypiece leveler and extended viewfinder arm: the engineers appear to have incorporated some of my and other operator's notes from our meetings as the current model is much more ergonomic than the one I described earlier. It has a lot of adjustment points although it's still not as easy to use as it could be. One great feature is that if you want to go handheld with just the camera body in a similar configuration to the 2 piece Steadicam mode, you can reverse the sections of the viewfinder arm to position the optic way forward, almost at the mattebox, which allows you to should mount the camera in a balanced fashion. This is much more comfortable for long shooting stints than the fully built camera in one piece mode, although it would be ideal if the assistant were using a wireless focus control as they would have a hard time fitting the whip in somewhere under your chin!!

 

There is a also a new output box that can be mounted in either mag port that has the 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 outs as well as an integrated downconverter.

[JobScholtze]

Anyone seen this in real life already? Looks promising

 

CLICK ME

[Erwin Landau]

Hi Job,

 

There is already a topic on the red:

 

http://www.steadicamforum.com/forums/index...?showtopic=3005