Dollhouse

The second season of Twentieth Century Fox Television’s Dollhouse is being shot with the VariCam 3700, Panasonic’s premier solid-state P2 HD VariCam camcorder.

While the first season of the show was shot on 35mm film, the last episode of the season (which was not broadcast but is available on DVD) was shot in HD. “I own Panasonic HD and digital cameras [AG-HPX170 and AG-DVX100 camcorders] and thought I would like the HPX3700 for Dollhouse,” comments Dollhouse director of photography Lisa Wiegand. “We do a lot of handheld work, and the VariCam is more lightweight, streamlined and faster than video cameras with heavy decks on board. Also, I’m a huge fan of Panasonic flesh tones, and our ‘dolls’ obviously need to look their best.”

The Dollhouse production rents two HPX3700s outfitted with Panasonic’s new AJ-CVF100G color viewfinders from Panavision (Hollywood). An AJ-HPX3000 is used for second unit photography, and the production utilizes an AJ-HPX2700 P2 VariCam for high-speed shots and an AG-HPX170 1/3-inch P2 HD camcorder for specialty shots, notably those conveying an apocalyptic vision of the future. The series is shot in 1080p AVC-Intra 100 with Zeiss DigiZoom lenses (wide and long lenses for each HPX3700) and small Zeiss DigiPrimes.

The production is utilizing the HPX3700’s enhanced Film-Rec 600% setting, which provides additional latitude in shooting, particularly for day exteriors with white production design.

Dollhouse Director of Photography Lisa Wiegand.

“The HPX3700 has been an excellent choice for Dollhouse,” Wiegand adds. “It provides considerable recording time with the five card slots, and solid state is decidedly more reliable and environmentally friendly than a tape-based system.”

Offering the ultimate in image quality, the VariCam 3700 (model AJ-HPX3700) advances the art of high-end cinematography by teaming VariCam’s renowned filmic-look, variable frame rates, and subtle tone control with master-quality, 10-bit 4:2:2 AVC-Intra recording as well as Dual link RGB 4:4:4 output.

Combining uncompromising cinematic quality, film-style operability and the exceptional reliability of solid-state, file-based recording, the VariCam 3700 provides premium-quality performance for narrative feature films, episodic television and commercial production. The 2/3-inch 2.2 megapixel 3-CCD camera features full native 1920x1080-pixel acquisition and independent-frame recording with 10-bit, 4:2:2 color sub-sampling.

It records in full-raster 1920x1080 resolution in AVC-Intra 100 for the highest quality, in lower-bit-rate AVC-Intra 50 for extended recording and in DVCPRO HD for added flexibility. The HPX3700 outputs a 4:4:4 RGB Dual Link live signal (via HD-SDI) to deliver pristine images for uncompressed workflows and composition of visual effects, while simultaneously recording 4:2:2 HD video in camera.

The HPX3700 offers variable frame rates from 1fps to 30fps in single frame increments for overcranking and undercranking.

Williams,follows a highly illegal and underground organization that employs individuals who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Hired by the wealthy, powerful and connected, the Actives don’t just perform their hired roles; they wholly become—with mind, personality and physiology—whomever the client wants or needs them to be. Whether imprinted to be a lover, an assassin, a corporate negotiator or a best friend, the Actives know no other life than the specific engagements they are in at that time. When they are not “at work” the Actives or Dolls are confined between missions to a secret facility known as the “Dollhouse,” which gives the show its name.