TV3 produces its new series 'Com si fos ahir' with Sony's PMW-F5 cameras

Three Sony F5 cameras with Sony DVF-L700 monitor for the set, and three Sony PMW-F5 outdoor cameras, with DVF-L350 viewfinders, were used for the recording.

With if you are there (As if it were yesterday) the new series of Televisió de Catalunya (TV3) for the afternoons, directed by Sònia Sánchez, based on an idea by Núria Furió, is using the cameras of Sony PMW-F5.

The series starring Marc Cartes, Àurea Márquez, Eduard Farelo and Sílvia Bel is set in the city of Barcelona. It has outdoor locations throughout the city, as well as interiors on the sets of the Ilumina studios, in Esplugues de Llobregat.

The main element to consider in a daily broadcast series is the production time. That is why it was necessary to make the step to a super 35mm sensor camera system, instead of 4/3 sensors.

The Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media (CCMA) has chosen to produce a logarithmic signal, with its subsequent color correction compared to the traditional camera control system, could not slow down the production process. The team needed their images to come to life and required a small, modular camera that would give them lightness in the movements of each shot. The F5 camera is exceptionally small and lightweight, so you can mount the most suitable setup for every job or every shot.

The F5 is a highly sensitive camera that effortlessly adapts to different production schedules, from documentaries to music videos and ENG. Cinematographers tell their stories with light and shadow, so the ability to render tones, from the sharpest shadows to the brightest highlights, is a crucial test for any digital camera. This camera stands out for its large exposure latitude of 14 stops, which offers the audience more emotion, depth and detail in each frame.

Pace of work

Cinematographers have noticed how the F5 shows every last detail of the highlights, while maintaining extremely low noise in blacks and shadows. "The introduction of Sony's PMW-F5 cameras into the filming of the series With if you are there has solved the equation, a robust and reliable camera that allows you to sustain the continuous pace of work both on set and outdoors," says director of photography Domènec Gibert (AEC).

In this production the cameras were used in studio configuration with Full Servo 20-120 PL lenses, in most cases.

Three Sony F5 cameras with Sony DVF-L700 monitor for the set, and three Sony PMW-F5 outdoor cameras, with DVF-L350 viewfinders, were used for the recording.

The recordings are made in slog3 and that signal is fed into the Digition system, which is the system developed by the CCMA. This system brings together all the images produced in the corporation, for subsequent editing and color correction. Recording and ingest into the Digition system is done via fiber using the "Ereca camracer" system and sometimes using Sony SxS cards.

Por el momento la grabación se realiza en 1920×1080, a 25p, pero se ha usado puntualmente la resolución de 4K para grabaciones que requerían de encuadre o composición. También la opción de cámara lenta S&Q proporciona un elemento que ayuda a la narrativa en ciertos momentos, sin ir más lejos se utilizó en el teaser de promoción de la serie.

Domènec Gibert points out that "the greater latitude of the camera has made it much easier to work outdoors, where the pace of filming does not allow for long lighting times, whether outdoors at night or during the day. This greater dynamic range is appreciated in the compensation of indoor light with exterior light."

In addition, the sensitivity of 2000 ISO has made it possible to work on set with lower light levels, as well as to photograph exteriors at night more easily.

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