The city of Duluth and Duluth Public Access Community Television (PACT) in Minnesota purchased 10 Panasonic AG-HMC150 handheld AVCCAM camcorders and made them available to its members for both studio and field production.

PACT is a volunteer, non-profit organization that encourages and enables individuals and groups to produce local programs that are non-commercial and uncensored. PACT offers equipment and provides editing facilities to its members, who, in addition to producing their own television shows, can take PACT-sponsored classes in electronic field production, videography and postproduction.

PACT manages four channels for the city of Duluth on Charter Communications. The eclectic programming ranges from live coverage of city and county governmental meetings to shows produced by religious organizations and enthusiasts of all stripes: sports, music, local history, finance and more.

Executive director Jerry Moscatelli joined PACT in 1996, shortly after the organization’s move into its current quarters in Duluth City Hall. A veteran of nearly 30 years in the city’s cable and broadcast industries, Moscatelli was well equipped to manage PACT’s exponential growth, expansion typified by the large-scale purchase of the HMC150 AVCCAMs, which replaced aging Mini DV and S-VHS gear.

“The HMC150 AVCCAM is the camera for public access,” says Moscatelli. “Anyone in our business should take a look at it. We were initially drawn to the camcorder’s cost-effectiveness, its tapeless, low-cost SD media, small size and HD acquisition. We also liked the HMC150’s XLR two-channel audio inputs and wide-angle Leica Dicomar zoom lens.”

Six of the AVCCAMs are provided to PACT members for field production and are also used for general camcorder instruction. Moscatelli says that the organization hopes to initiate classes in digital cinematography in the near future. Members can also schedule time in the PACT studio, where four of the HMC150s have been configured for studio use. PACT’s HMC150s were all purchased from EPA Audio Visual (Rockford, MN).

Studio productions are both live and pre-recorded. Programming shot in advance is recorded to Panasonic DVD recorders with built-in hard drives and recorded to tape as a backup. In the field, shooters are provided with 16GB SDHC cards and are encouraged to shoot in the HMC150’s highest-quality PH mode (average 21Mb/s, max. 24Mb/s) at 1080/60i. Editing is done in both Apple Final Cut Pro and iMovie. Material is currently delivered to Charter Communications on DVDs. Moscatelli said he anticipates also using the HMC150s to produce video streaming for the city of Duluth and PACT Web sites.

“Having shot with the HMC150s for the past several months, I’ve come to depend on the on-screen waveform monitors and the selectable, switchable audio inputs,” Moscatelli says. “There’s easy access for the shutter and user-friendly buttons on the side panel. The expanded focus assists are especially beneficial.”

“Our members have been able to pick up on the HMC150s very quickly,” he adds. “They’re definitely producing more quality video faster.”

“We are very thankful for the funding from the City of Duluth that allowed us to purchase these cameras from Panasonic,” Moscatelli says.