PANAVISION GENESIS

THE CAMERA    FILE-BASED WORKFLOW    TAPE-BASED WORKFLOW

    The Panavision Genesis has been a standard in digital technology since digital acquisition was viable for high quality production. Many high end productions have been and continue to be shot on the Genesis, as it continues to be a household name among top directors of photography.

  • Q: What frame rate should I shoot with on the Genesis?
  • A: We recommend shooting in 23.98 for the greatest flexibility in post. This will allow you to create HD and SD masters and 35 mm film. You can also record in 25p for a PAL delivery.

  • Q: At what frame rate do I record my sound?
  • A: Most clients are recording sound at either 23.98 NDF or 29.97 NDF for a 23.98 Genesis shoot. It is recommended to have a master audio file and a back up.

  • Q: What resolution should I acquire my images at on the Genesis?
  • A: The Genesis records at 1920x1080 resolution.

  • Q: What is Panalog?
  • A: Panalog is a transfer curve developed by Panavision to transform the internal 14 bit linear digital signal into a 10 bit quasi-log signal. Panalog is carefully designed to capture and preserve the entire range of the camera’s signal. Panalog creates a perceptually equal grayscale with more values in the darker regions of the image than a linear system

  • Q: What is the Genesis camera’s output?
  • A: 14 bits per color converted to a 10 bit 1920 x 1080. The output is available in RGB (4:4:4) or Y, Pb, Pr (4:2:2). Each frame is recorded on the VTR with 10 bits of information per pixel. Most productions shoot RGB 4:4:4.

  • Q: What is the SSR1 and what is the advantage to using it?
  • A: The SSR1 is Panavision's solid state recorder. The SSR1 allows you to record via HD-SDI protocol on solid state memory. Once you have recorded your media to the SSR1 your data manager has the ability to record out to HDCam SR tape. The distinct advantage to using the SSR1 is it's weight. It is much lighter than the Sony SRW1 recorder making steadi-cam an option on the Genesis.

  • Q: How do I archive my digital negative shot on the Genesis?
  • A: FotoKem offers LTO archive for digital negative. A single LTO4 data tape can hold up to 750 gigs of media. If you are planning to use the Genesis as a data camera, an hour of uncompressed media is approximately 600 gigs. If you are on a 30 day shoot w/2 hours of media a day than you are looking at approximately 36 TBs of storage or 48 LTO4 tapes.

  • Q: What is the danger working tapeless?
  • A: It is completely safe to work tapeless as long as you have the appropriate support. Transcoding, archiving, and data management can be a daunting tasks and relying on a post facility is the best way to insure your project will be completed in a cost efficient and safe manner.