Robert Primes on Genesis and the HD Paradigm

Robert Primes, ASC, has built an impressive resume shooting film over the years, and says he remains no stranger to the photo-chemical world. Still, Primes insists he just enjoys shooting HD more than film right now. Some of that has to do with the fact that he''s currently serving as co-DP (with Rick Maguire) on the first episodic network TV program to utilize Panavision''s film-style Genesis digital imaging camera—ABC''s Night Stalker. But Primes'' experiences with HD go back to the 1990s, and he says he became a convert to the advantages of HD image creation, at least for television work, even before he got his hands on the Genesis system.

“I''m 65 years old, and the huge preponderance of my work was all done on film,” Primes says. “So I''m not a guy who does not understand or appreciate film. But I think HD represents the future for our industry, and I enjoy working with it.

“I''m not saying that HD is a panacea for all issues that cinematographers face, but I will say that I appreciate having that great image and all that information available to me on set while I''m shooting. The methodology of film is not to put much effort into the video tap image, since it isn''t (a high quality image). You don''t use a tent or black it out or anything. You use it only for framing and rely on your eye for lighting. That makes film great for run-and-gun work, but for the most part, I can get more data on what I''m shooting using HD than I can with film. I can shoot continuously and experiment more also,” Primes says.

“Now that they are building cameras that are more cinematographer friendly, other improvements will come—there will be better options for changing speeds and they will make the (HD) cameras lighter, smaller, and easier to use. So it just seems to me this is the way things are heading, and cinematographers should learn it and understand it.”

Primes calls Genesis "the best low-light cinematography instrument I have ever encountered." He says that benefit alone makes the camera choice for Night Stalker worthwhile, since the show “roams the night and explores the shadows.” Primes adds that the camera''s performance in low-light situations is so strong that it more than compensates for the fact that the current generation of the camera used on the show is not easy to hand hold and is a bear for Steadicam work. “We still need to use a film camera for high-speed (effects) work,” Primes says.

“Plus, it''s probably more expensive to use on this show than a film camera would be right now. It''s a credit to our producers that they wanted this to be a dark, moody, low-light show, and committed to the Genesis system. For instance, we use Panavision 35mm Primo lenses, which are bigger and heavier than HD lenses. We carry 11 prime lenses and three zooms, plus extenders, as part of our standard package on this show. That''s an expensive package and a big package, but it''s worth it because of the way we can see into the dark.”

Primes says the production has added Panavision''s new Gamma correction software to the mix, giving him a tool to alter curves on the monitor via laptop, capture those alterations on flash memory drives, and color-correct dailies on set.

“With Genesis, they originally took away a lot of the image manipulation controls that many digital cameras have because (Panavision) is marketing the camera as a tool for feature films and for people used to working with film,” he says. “But since we are working in television, and I''m comfortable with digital and like to have those settings, the (Gamma correction software) gives me all the advantages of traditional HD on top of the camera''s other advantages. This way, dailies come out just the way we saw the images on our monitor while shooting.”

Primes says the experience has him looking ahead, beyond Genesis, Viper, and all the rest, to a time when more DPs with similar pedigrees to his own will freely advocate HD image creation as strongly as he does.

“My advocacy is strictly for artistic reasons, and it has nothing to do with economics,” he says. “Film will always have certain advantages, and so will HD, but my point is: anytime I can see my images on a gorgeous 24-inch HD monitor while I''m shooting them, and see those images with greater accuracy, I am going to be in favor of that. And my experience with HD has made me a bolder and more daring cinematographer.”

(Read more about the use of the Genesis camera to produce Night Stalker in the upcoming November issue of Millimeter.)