The Gear:
The camera is a state of the art HD Canon Xl-H1 (high def).
(The beauty of the cam is that it's more like a true 16mm or 35mm in that I work with interchangeable lenses and have total control over the picture. The harsh Artic environment (light) is going to push this thing to its limits.)
I'm also going to be using a steady-cam, a jib-boom and an un-tethered ROV for unprecedented underwater coverage.
The XL H1 is Canon's first high definition (HD) camcorder. It combines Canon's many years of innovative optical, integrated circuit and camera design into a camcorder designed for use by broadcasters in ENG, documentary and reality/episodic TV production as well as filmmakers.
With the "Professional JackPack" on this camcorder you can:
* Send out an uncompressed HD signal (through the HD-SDI terminal)
* Input and output SMPTE time code
* Receive a Genlock signal.
The XL H1 camcorder offers the ability to customize the image using a number of variables. These include: three color matrixes for a wide range of color correction and two cine gammas for intricate adjustment of dynamic range; customizable knee, black stretch, horizontal detail, coring, sharpness, noise reduction, color gain, hue and master color adjustments. Each setting can be modified independently, giving the user precise control over the video's appearance.