Tuesday 04 Mar 2008 - 09:51
NBC Universal's TV movie based on the cult cheesy TV show Knight Rider has used Iconix's small HD-RH1 HD camera to capture shots including scenes from the point-of-view of the sarcastic robot car Kitt.
The series was brought back as a movie by executive producers Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity
franchise) and David Bartis (The O.C. and Heist. The movie was directed by Steve Shill (Dexter), and stars a cast of young and seasoned actors, with the star of the original show, David Hasselhoff, appearing as special guest.
The HD-RH1 was used to allow the production team to acquire a range of shots that wouldn't have been possible with a standard-sized HD camera, including scenes inside KITT filmed from the point of view of the car itself. According to Knight Rider DoP Jamie Barber, the HD-RH1 was an integral part of creating the film's overall look.
"The driving shots could only be accomplished with the Iconix, and the film would not have turned out the way it did without it," Barber said. "The camera is so small that I was able to put it in places where I wouldn't have been able to put an ordinary camera without a lot more time and effort.
"There was one shot where the car runs literally right over the camera, right down the middle of the street. Using black paper tape, I taped the camera to the road, ran the cable, and then had the car run over it at high speed. There was maybe a half-inch clearance over the camera-there's no other high def camera I could have done that with."
Using a suction cup mount and c-stand arm, Barber was able to mount HD-RH1 virtually anywhere on the car itself. "The majority of the interior shots were accomplished with the Iconix," Barber continued. "Shots of the car driving itself, the steering wheel turning, all of that kind of thing. The Iconix is such a small, light camera that we could put it anywhere-we would do mounts on the outside of the door as the car was driving, looking over the empty driver's seat and into the passenger seat."
In addition to the Iconix HD-RH1, the "Knight Rider" production team used the Sony F23, recording out to an SR1 deck.
"Both the Iconix and the F23 record to an SR deck, so there were absolutely no compatibility issues for us," Barber explained. "And the image quality was phenomenal-complete inter-cutability. We set up a rig in the trunk of the car with special slots for the SR1 decks and the Iconix controllers. We would just slip in the deck, and instead of all this grip gear, I had the black paper tape, so I could mount the Iconix exactly where I wanted it and we were able to go right away. The Iconix simplified our workflow, and it gave me creative freedom."
A first for a camera this size, the HD-RH1 system can capture and output video in both NTSC and PAL formats in all HD resolutions, including 720p, 1080i and 1080p while supporting frame rates of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60fps.
Digital Arts Staff
For more information see the Iconix Video Web site.
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