Art
Donahue is the Producer, Editor, and Cinematographer
of “Chronicle” which has aired on WCVB-TV5 Boston,
from 1987 to the present. He shoots, writes, edits,
and posts “Chronicle” shows at a rate of one show
every five weeks. Over the past thirty-three years
Donahue has won just about every award you can imagine
for a broadcast journalist, including thirteen Emmy
Awards for news photography, editing, and producing.
Donahue is a local pioneer in HD production and WCVB
is the test lab for
High Definition (HD) for the Hearst-Argyle Television
group.
Until
recently, shooting in HD required large professional
cameras. Since 2002, Donahue has been shooting
“Chronicle” with Ikegami V90 DVCPRO-HD cameras
that weigh in at almost fifty pounds including two
wireless receivers. JVC introduced the HDV
videocassette format along with a small 1-chip
consumer camcorder at NAB 2003. HDV records HD images
compressed with MPEG-2 and stored on tiny miniDV
tapes. In 2004 Sony introduced the HDR-FX1, a
three-chip HDV camera. While heavy compared to the
little 1-chip consumer cameras, this five pound
HDR-FX1 (and it’s sibling HVR-Z1U with additional
features) is very small and light compared to the
Ikegami V90 and it’s ilk. During the past ten months
Donahue’s been using the Sony HDR-FX1 camera
alongside, and sometimes in lieu of, the large and
heavy Ikegami V90.
I
recently caught up with Art Donahue and we discussed
his journey into broadcast journalism, how shooting on
HDV has changed “Chronicle,” and the industry
transition to HD may change broadcast journalism.
David
Tamés: What led you into broadcast journalism? Can
you share the path you’ve taken to get where you are
today?
Art
Donahue: Like lots of kids, I wanted to make movies,
but I couldn’t afford 16mm film. Growing up in
Northampton, I saw the only way I could have access to
film was to work shooting news at a TV station. In
high school I worked on a garbage truck in a park to
save $300 to buy an old Bolex. I started shooting news
events in Northampton and giving them to WWLP-TV22 in
Springfield. They would give me 5 rolls of Ektachrome
for every roll I gave them. The week I graduated from
high school in 1972, I got a job as Sunday night news
photographer for $2/hour. I learned how to process
16mm film, mix chemicals, and shoot and edit 16mm
sound-on-film. I ended up working full time while
attending UMASS Amherst full time. As the news
business changed from film features to live shots, I
sought out “Chronicle” for the haven it is for
long form storytelling.
Tamés:
What do you draw your inspiration from? Who’s work
do you admire?
Donahue:
I read a lot about early silent film production. They
had to figure out how to tell stories with pictures
using incredibly primitive equipment and little money.
You gradually realize that whatever original idea you
think you have in your head had been done on film
nearly 100 years ago. Very humbling. In the Thirties,
“The March of Time” newsreel instructed all their
35mm cinematographers to shoot only locked down shots
without movement. They wanted editors to be able to
cut the shots to any time they needed and not be stuck
with camera moves that dictated the length of the
shot. That’s what I try to do in HD. Unless I can
find some motivation for a move, I don’t do it. I
want people to see the detail in HD shots. If I start
moving the camera around for no reason, people’s
eyes will pull back and it will look just like SD.
Anyone who thinks they’ll shoot great HD off their
shoulder should be forced to watch their footage on a
giant screen. I don’t want to watch the first
skateboard POV video in HD. The shaky-cam thing
isn’t going to make the transition. Shooting for a
large screen is quite different. The “March of
Time” folks knew this seventy years ago.
Tamés:
At what point did you start to think that HDV might be
a viable format for shooting for HD broadcast?
Donahue:
We tested JVC’s first camera when it came out. We
didn’t have a way to incorporate the footage into
our Avid DS/HD system at the time. In November 2004 we
tested the FX1 and immediately bought one, hoping to
use it for POV shots for a program called “Haunted
New England.” The results were so good, I shot the
entire show with it.
Tamés:
How does the HDV footage compare with what you’ve
been getting from the Ikegami DVCPRO-HD cameras,
especially when the footage is inter-cut?
Donahue:
Initially, I was blown away by how close the live
uncompressed picture looked. In my opinion, 80 to 90%
as good. There was not 50,000 dollars worth of
difference between the two live images. Engineers
were, of course, more critical, but impressed none the
less. HDV
is not as good, but it comes close. It’s better than
you’d expect. I’d like to see what a great lens
would do with that chipset. The highly compressed
recording format of HDV is the issue. Compression
artifacts show up in certain high motion scenes, but
it’s not that bad. I wouldn’t want to shoot slow
motion sports with so much compression. The HDV images
look softer than DVCPRO-HD, but you can cut them
together by applying a sharpening filter (Unsharp
Mask) with the Avid DS/HD in post. The Avid can really
tweak the HDV image so you’d have to look pretty
close to tell what format you’re looking at,
especially in scenes where there is little motion.
Tamés:
Are HDV cameras up to the task of professional image
acquisition?
Donahue:
HDV is probably not the ultimate solution for
“Chronicle.” HD acquisition is continuing to
evolve. Ideally, Mike Keller (Eastern Regional
Director of Engineering for Hearst-Argyle and
responsible for HD acquisition and development) would
like to see a camera that’s more rugged and uses
less compression. But for now, it’s one extreme or
the other, DVCPRO-HD or HDV. “Chronicle” has been
jokingly referred to as “pictures by the pound”
and I can get more footage and variety with HDV.
I’ll shoot as much as I can in the future with HDV.
This little camera is just the first generation,
quality is only going to get better.
Tamés:
Some people quip that small cameras are not perceived
as professional, has this ever been an issue for you?
Donahue:
I work alone and have to carry everything. I’m still
waiting for the first person to tell me that their
story is too big for my little camera. People are
surprised when you show up with a little camera, and
it’s fun to see their reaction. I’m not very
intimidating with that small camera, and I think that
it helps put people at ease. After 30+ years of
working with giant [cameras], using a camera that
looks like a home video camera does take some getting
used to. But it tends to make you invisible. I can
shoot HDV and no one asks me what I’m doing. People
generally ignore you. This means I can get my shots
and move on without having to explain myself and my
giant camera. At the end of the day, I’ve got my
story and my back isn’t killing me.
Tamés:
Has the small camera changed the stories you tell?
Donahue:
Because my job as producer on “Chronicle” is to
showcase New England in HD, having truly portable
equipment means I can get the camera where the shots
are. This is a huge change from what it was like
producing with a full sized camera. Now I can get HDV
just about everywhere. I shot a show on skiing and
skied with the HDV camera. I shot a tree canopy
ropewalk that was 75 feet up a ladder bolted to a
tree. Just put the camera in a backpack and climbed
up. I just finished shooting a show about US Route 2,
460 miles through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. I
had 45 locations in the show and over 400 shots. I
couldn’t physically get the large camera around in
the same amount of time. I’m hoping to shoot a
hiking show with the camera this fall. We are getting
a Glidecam and I’m looking forward to being able to
make steady fluid moves that we couldn’t afford with
a full sized rig.
Museums
and Art Galleries were pretty much off limits with
full sized cameras. Pro HD cameras are not very
sensitive in low light and many museums won’t let
you light. The Sony FX-1 is only about a half stop
more sensitive than our Ikegami but the Sony can slow
the frame rate to 4 fps and you can lock off shots on
paintings and exhibits, in incredibly dim light,
making great looking images at 0 db gain in available
light. I use the slow frame rate in libraries, I’m
in and out without the hassle of dragging in lights
and annoying curators. I told myself I’d never shoot
in a canoe ever again with a full sized camera. It’s
one of the most unstable platforms out there. With all
that weight high on your shoulder, you’re a camera
drowning just waiting to happen.
Tamés:
Are there some things that the big broadcast cameras
are still better at?
Donahue:
I do miss the range of optics with the 2/3 inch B4
lens mount. We have a massive 22X HD zoom with a
doubler that really makes great telephoto shots. The
big cameras are built to last. I’m very interested
to see how long my plastic HDV camera will hold up.
The Ikegami V90 makes an incredibly beautiful and
sharp image. The 100Mbps DVCPRO-HD 1080i recordings
are excellent. But it’s really a studio rig for a
big crew. I’ve taken it many places, but my primary
concern has always been the logistics of getting it
around and having enough power for it. It certainly
turns everything into a big show. If you want to make
a big impression, carry a big camera.
Tamés:
I see that some pieces of the show are shot on film,
what does film let you do that video can’t?
Donahue:
In the past we did a few 16mm film parodies of
1950’s New England tourist films incorporating Peter
Mehegan and Mary Richardson into the old footage with
period microphones and shooting them with WCVB’s
Arri-SR. In HD, I occasionally shoot 16mm for effects
shots. I shoot at 12 fps, so I can get 5 minutes out
of 100 feet, and then half the frame rate on tape to
get back to real speed. The 12 fps has a great look
for creepy point of view stuff. I use an old Bolex and
a 5.7mm Century wide lens that I’ve owned for 30
years. In SD, I used to shoot some Super 8 Kodachrome,
but now the only Kodak Kodachrome lab is in
Switzerland, and I can’t get it processed and back
in time to get it in the show. Also, have you ever
seen Super 8 in HD? Not a pretty sight.
Tamés:
What are the technical challenges faced in the
transition to HD?
Donahue:
HD is a no mistakes medium. Any problems with focus,
exposure, steadiness, color temperature, and
especially audio, are magnified on the big screen for
all to see and hear. Errors that were masked by low SD
resolution and small screens and speakers will no
longer be hidden. It requires a higher discipline in
the field. The transition of television news to HD
will be slow and difficult. Compressing HD signals
into microwave and satellite channels is going to make
live HD news difficult for a while.
Tamés:
What about the creative challenges faced in the
transition to HD?
Donahue:
I’m hoping that broadcast journalists will think
creatively about HD and not just bring over
traditional cookie-cutter SD storytelling techniques
to this new medium. HD is all about image clarity,
detail and sound. Broadcast journalists will have the
ability to put the viewer at the scene like never
before. I’m hoping that photojournalists will seize
the opportunity and go out and tell stories with the
greatest tools they’ve ever used. It’s a rare
chance to pioneer new ways of storytelling.
Tamés:
Do you think stories will change as more viewers have
HD in the home?
Donahue:
Click around the cable dial and look at how many
channels are just pictures of people talking, just
like TV was 50 years ago, when giant TV cameras
couldn’t move and you had to stand someone in front
of them. Now we have these incredible HD cameras that
you can take to any story. I truly hope HD will make
television a more visual medium and showcase our world
instead of just talking about it. Ideally, I want
talking head shots to be no longer than any other shot
in the show for pacing. It’s up to me to find the
visual “B roll” to cover the interview.
Tamés:
The accessibility of the medium, in terms of
production tools, has made it easier than ever to
produce content, however, the craft still takes time
to master. What advice do you have for people starting
out in your profession?
Donahue:
As far as learning, I think DVDs are a great teaching
tool. You can freeze-frame any shot of any movie and
study the composition and lighting. Figure out where
they put the lights. Make lighting diagrams of shots
you like. You can break down sequences shot by shot.
Learn to storyboard. Learn pacing. Tell the story in
pictures, not words, that’s for radio. Today, you
have access to all of the world’s greatest films.
You can listen to the director’s commentary. I’ve
read every issue of American Cinematographer since
1971, it’s been a great resource for me.
My
advice is to buy an HDV camera and forget about any SD
camera. Have you seen the reaction HDTV owners have to
SD programming? They won’t watch it. In ten years no
one will want to watch your SD program. Even if you
have no intention of releasing in HD yet, use the
down-converted SD out of the HDV camera. It makes
great looking SD. By buying HDV you get both HD and
SD. Future-proof your project. When the standard for
HD recording onto DVDs is finally set, it will be the
pivotal moment for HDTV. As soon as there is a cheap
way to play back HD the public is not going to
tolerate SD. That may happen faster than you think.
David
Tamés is Program Director of the Digital Filmmaking
program at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at
Boston University (http://www.cdiabu.com). He may be
reached at dtames@cdiabu.com.
