By Myrna Tobisoo, June 6, 2006
"Treasure Hunters," premiering on NBC on June 18, is a new 10-episode reality "quest" series that will feature multi-person teams of treasure-hunting contestants traveling the globe and using folklore, fantasy and actual history as clues to solve an intricate puzzle.
Noted cinematographer Tony Sacco, principal of ABS Productions, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA), served as both Director and DP for the series, which he shot with more than 40 Panasonic AJ-SDX900 DVCPRO Cinema camcorders. Sacco previously shot two high-profile Miramax Television productions, "Project Greenlight" and "Project Runway," with the SDX900; both shows air on NBC's Bravo cable network.
Treasure Hunters will be executive produced by Dan Cutforth and Jan Lipsitz via their Magical Elves production company, which produced "Project Greenlight" and "Project Runway."
"Our first week of shooting we had 42 SDX900s-and we could have used more! In an adventure series that is also a reality show, you want to cover as much as possible-you do not want to miss that one time the cast have that breakdown, or the crucial argument
. I used more than 20 cameras, most with 40X lenses, operated by some handheld floaters and the reality shooters, along with SteadiCam, jib and helicopter aerials using the gyron-stabilized camera mount shooting HD at 30p to cover it," said Sacco.
Addressing the camera's color handling, Sacco said, "Shooting in the SDX900's progressive mode in combination with the cine-like gamma curve creates the illusion of film, and is far superior to standard 60i video. In the unpredictable world of reality filming, where you are not able to paint each scene and light everything, the camera passes with flying colors, handling mixed lighting well, and holding up with major F-stop differences between the subject and background."
"Treasure Hunters" is being edited on Avid NLEs, followed by full color correction.
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