Friday, October 12, 2007

Shooting in HD



I can’t tell you how many times people have come up to me just to let me know that they love the fact that Chronicle is in High Definition. Being the first show in Boston to lead the way in this technology, I can say that it has been a challenge but rewarding at the same time. Chronicle has always been a program driven by visuals so it made perfect sense to put the show on the cutting edge from the cameras, editing systems as well as a new Control Room, which is where our show is mixed together live and then delivered to you at home.


The ironic thing is that when we made the commitment to change over to high Definition, most of our viewers did not even own a H.D. television set. In fact, I would say that the majority of our viewers still do not own one but the numbers are growing daily. For those that do, they are getting the best possible image available and as a Videographer, that is the ultimate goal.


From a shooting standpoint, capturing images through a H.D. camera has a new set of guidelines and demands. The obvious change is that the 4x3 screen ratio has turned into 16x9. What this offers is a much wider field of view, which can create beautiful panoramic shots. Personally, I love to shoot the outdoor type of shows, which means the more mountains and streams the better. With an H.D. camera, it’s almost like looking through a window because the colors are so vivid and the overall picture quality is incredibly sharp. Focus has now become extremely important as well as lighting indoors. With viewers at home owning 50-60 inch monitors, everything shows up in great detail, which means there is no room for error.


My hope is that we can revisit some of the areas we have profiled in the past, such as Alaska, Iceland and Hawaii just to name a few. I have had the opportunity to shoot in all three and I look forward to the day I return with this camera because they are all incredibly beautiful places. As a Chronicle viewer, I think you will be glad I did.

Posted at 10:40 PM by Bob

On The Road

Chronicle has been on the air for twenty-five years and there are many reasons for its success. Two of those reasons involve a 1969 Chevy and a reporter named Peter Mehegan. The “On The Road” series has taken Chronicle viewers on a guided tour of some of the most beautiful places in the State of Maine. Along the way, we have been fortunate enough to meet many interesting people and collect the stories of their lives to share with you, our viewing audience. I have followed the Chevy for years along winding roads that hug the rugged coastline to inland destinations like Moosehead Lake. We have traveled to small towns located just over the Maine / New Hampshire line to as far north as the Canadian border and beyond and have hit just about every small village in between. Having said that, each trip up north is a new experience and I look forward to every one of them.

As the season’s change, Peter points the Chevy northbound on 95 heading for Maine with me following close behind. There are a few traditions however and one of those has been meeting at the Diner on Rte 1 for breakfast. The itinerary for the next four days is spread out on the table next to a cup of coffee along with a well-worn State of Maine DeLorme map book. One thing that Peter prides himself on is the fact that he can find just about any spot in Maine with this book and rarely will ask for directions. After all these years, I can honestly say it’s true. I have followed the Chevy on main roads that turn into dirt roads that turn into logging roads and amazingly enough, we end up in the town we are supposed to be in, and on time.
We shoot these shows four times a year and hopefully hit them at a time where it brings out the best images for that particular season. I would say the trickiest show to schedule is the fall because we try to shoot during peak foliage and anyone from New England knows that planning in advance for the best week is basically impossible. The winter shows can be the most beautiful but they are also the most difficult because we are dealing with temperatures that many times are well below zero. In those conditions, the camera will freeze up as well as the Chevy. I remember a couple years back driving along an isolated road somewhere on the coast in the dead of winter. I was in my warm Explorer watching Peter scraping the ice off the inside of his windshield with one hand and holding the wheel with the other. There was obviously a little flaw in his heating system, which could have been anything from mice that built a nest under the hood, which blocked the heat to the hole we found under the floor mat that was large enough to allow a small dog to get through. The fact that the heater control adjustment was a screwdriver just made it a complete picture. I do have to admit I felt bad knowing that Peter had his hat, coat and gloves on just to stay warm while driving to the next location and at the same time, I had my coat off, listening to music with the temperature inside my truck sitting about seventy-five degrees, but that’s life on the road.

It doesn’t always work in my favor as we sat in my truck outside of a lighthouse up in Lubec waiting for the driving rain and howling winds to subside so I could get the shot I needed. This was one of those ocean storms that churned up the coastline and made shooting outside, lets say, a little unpleasant. Peter was next to me reading his newspaper when I heard a voice saying, “Bob, I really need the shot of this lighthouse”. As I was heading out the door in the driving rain to get my camera, Peter did say that I could use his umbrella if I wanted it. At that point, he went back to reading the paper and I proceeded to get drenched.

The Chevy as you know has had a complete makeover and is absolutely beautiful. The days of Peter being offered money for just the engine so it could be put in a lobster boat are long gone. Also gone are the squeaks and rattles that I have become so accustomed to hearing. What has stayed is a series that is dedicated to taking viewers to places that many people have never been to and in some cases, never heard of. There are those that travel to Freeport to shop at L.L. Bean and feel like they have experienced Maine. Others need to travel further north to the pristine wilderness of the great North Woods but the fact is, it’s all part of the State of Maine. On a recent trip for this TV crew, it was spending an evening at an Inn, which was once a Coast Guard station. With the eerie sound of a distant foghorn, this could have been a scene from a movie but for the people that live there, it is real life and real life is what we try to capture.


Posted at 8:59 PM by Bob