Shooting in cold weather has its challenges, but optical disc recording was up to the task
At the beginning of the year, Don Bland trekked to the Arctic Circle to shoot interviews at natural gas exploration sites and remote villages for the second season of the History Channel series Ice Road Truckers. That footage, shot with several Sony PDW 355 XDCAM HD camcorders and Canon HD lenses, is currently airing. The show was just nominated for an Emmy Award for cinematography. [Bland has been nominated three times in the last two years in the cinematography category.]

For the extreme shoot, Bland spent about 75 days (from late January to April) in sub-freezing weather that ranged from -20 to -40 degrees Celsius. Audio was recorded with Lectrosonics 400 Series wireless audio recorders and Countryman waterproof wireless mics. They also used a Sennheiser 416 mic on the back of the camera with a Rycote windscreen to fill out the stereo mix, Canon 3.6x Super wide-angle and 20x telephoto HD lenses, Litepanels LED lights, and small Rosco LightPads.

Q: How do optical discs compare to videotape in such extreme weather?
A: The first year we were up there in the Northwest Territories, we brought up a Sony F900 (tape-based) camera and four PDX 355 XDCAM HD (optical disc-based) cameras. We had no idea what would happen, but we figured we would give both tape and the optical disc a try. At about negative 35 degrees, the XDCAM cameras clearly outperformed the F900, and continued to work all the way through our two-and-a-half month shoot.

The only problem I had was that the PDX 355’s LCD flipout screen and eyepiece would freeze. There would be heavy streaking and things like that. This past season I had to rig a telescope (dew) heater to the LCD screen to keep it warm and make it able to display images. Out in the freezing cold, you learn to be creative.

Q: Batteries usually are a problem in cold weather as well. How did you get around this?
A: We’re using the Anton-Bauer Hytron 140s and they do pretty well. While we’re shooting we’re keeping them warm and constantly charging inside a vehicle with the engine running. Lithium-ion batteries used in our audio equipment lose their charge really fast, but the Anton Bauers are able to hold up to the cold.

Q: How did the optical disc hold up?
A: I never had a problem with the disc. It gives me about 80 minutes of record time at full HD resolution on a single 23 GB disc. That’s like two F900 [HDCAM] cassette tapes. These cameras have true intervalometers, so we’ll set them up in a house pallet and leave them for three or four days and they keep working.

Q: How did you protect the cameras from the cold?
A: We had some insulated jackets made by PortaBrace, but I found that with the thick gloves and jackets I was wearing, it was easier to access the camera and lens without a cover on it. The cameras could take it. I have never seen any camera take what these XDCAM HD cameras did. Honestly.

The other thing I found is that the camera can record in almost pitch-black conditions. Literally without lights. It has got fantastic sensitivity. However, some images can appear blurry if they are moving fast. Usually, fast handheld pans cause streaking when the shutter is wide open.

Q: Is there anything about the camera you didn’t like?
A: The front of the XDCAM camera has a connector for a stereo mic, which we kept breaking, perhaps because the input jack is too exposed. The new Sony PDW 700 model has a new flip-out window to control the audio, which I think is better than what is on the 355.

I also wish the camera had a high-quality color viewfinder. It has the same old BVW-600 black-and-white viewfinder. Sony should put the viewfinder that comes with the F900 on the XDCAM HD series cameras. It makes a world of difference when you’re shooting HD. I would pay more for the camera to get a good viewfinder. This way the operator knows exactly what he’s doing at all times.

Q: Describe your workflow to get each episode to air.
A: The show is edited on an Avid Media Composer back in Los Angeles at the Original Productions facility. Once we finished individual scenes, we’d FedEx discs to LA, usually about every third day. That’s where the footage was cleaned up and scenes were put together to make a complete show. The fact that the discs are so lightweight also saved us considerably in shipping costs.

We didn’t do any kind of EDL in the field. We'd just shoot, shoot, shoot. I do like the way the menu files are set up in the XDCAM HD camera. After I do a time-lapse or other effects, I can look at it immediately and see what I’ve got. I can also look at the gamma and color-correct images in the camera when I feel it needs it. The time-lapse feature is especially good to set a mood or show a long progression of time.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception about HD production?
A: The biggest misconception is that HD equipment is easier to use than SD gear. I see people go out and shoot without knowing what they are doing, and then say the video doesn’t look good. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can’t make good HD pictures. Forget the comparisons to film images; HD can look great in the right hands.