Kobre Meets 'Deadline Every Second' with Panasonic

Ken Kobré used Panasonic’s AG-HMC150 AVCCAM HD camcorder to shoot Deadline Every Second, a documentary profiling 12 Associated Press photojournalists in action around the world. For two years, Kobré traveled three continents to film the news service’s outstanding photographers as they covered everything from clashes in the Middle East to the Tour de France. Kobré’s “one-man-band operation” required him to act as lighting and sound technician, director, producer and cinematographer all at once.

“When shooting a documentary by yourself, it’s hard to control all the technical activities and ask questions simultaneously,” he explains. “The automatic focus and sound level features on the camera allowed me to shoot but still concentrate on my subjects. On automatic, the camcorder itself made excellent exposure decisions.”