Panasonic White Papers

Clark Media Varicam Quick Start Whitepaper
By Patrick McCarty & Robert Kupillas – Clark DIT / Engineers
Clark’s Panasonic Varicam “Quick Start” white paper is a guide to the Clark way of shooting P2 HD. Our in-house engineers/DITs have gathered their on-set experiences to create a “field guide” with step by step instructions to navigate thru the intense Panasonic menus to, for example, load a scene file, change gamma curve, and other various menu settings.

While still maintaining a fundamental language, any new-comer to Panasonic P2 can learn dos and don’ts of camera settings and P2 card essentials. This paper also includes explanations and descriptions as to why a DP may or may not use specific “looks” and/or camera settings. Furthermore, provides specific coordinates of gamma settings, in order to put your own spin on a Clark standard look.
This guide also gives effective field experience for metadata creation and control, as well as proxy viewing. This paper is best suited for those who are on-set with a Clark Varicam who require more than a base knowledge, but who also benefit from efficient on-set guidelines for camera control and recording.
 

Avid Editing Systems and Panasonic P2 File Based Workflows
By Paul Samson – Avid, Adobe and Sony Training for Television
This paper is written for people just beginning to work within the P2 format on the Avid editing system. It gives a general overview of P2 codecs, bit rates, frame options, and file structure. This paper is a guide on how to screen, link, import, edit and output P2 recorded media using the Avid editing system.

Best Practices Guide to Digitas Cinematography using Panasonic Professional HD Cameras
– By Suny Behar – Director/Cinematographer
This paper tackles the task of bridging the digital tools of today’s P2 HD, with the creative practices and methods of cinematographer’s new to P2 technology. With the cinematographer in mind, it clarifies choosing a codec, gamma modes, use of dynamic range stretch (DRS), and even how to use a matrix and color correction. Highlighting the Panasonic HPX-3700 Varicam, one learns how to record RGB 4:4:4, and even can consider options to print to Kodak film.

Using P2 HD with Adobe CS4
By David Jimerson – Producer/Editor
This paper is a detailed step by step guide on how to use Panasonic P2 footage with in Adobe’s Creative Suite 4 (CS4). An entire section is dedicated to working within CS4’s Premiere Pro, from set up and import to editing and export. Also, this paper clarifies setup and applies tools in After Effects when using P2 footage. And finally, you can read on about how to burn DVD or blue ray copies using Adobe Encore.

Time Management: Offloading, Transferring & Transcoding in P2
By Hal Long – Director/Cinematographer
This white paper is a generalized overview of transfer methods, hardware, software, and common rules of thumb for P2 data transfers. This paper gives direct results of Panasonic transfer testing using Mac and/or PC methods, and focus on typical real-world scenarios. It also provides recommended drive and format explanations and recommendations.

Understanding P2 Workflow: Proxy Video – from A to iPod
By Suny Behar – Director/Cinematographer
This whitepaper takes a look at the film dailies process, and how P2 HD has designed more efficient and portable options. The paper explains record format and resolution selection for P2 while simultaneously recording P2 HD, and the tools you’ll need, camera, cards, computer hardware and software. It gives step by step instructions on how to format and record proxies to P2 cards and SD cards, and also how to transfer and view on a iPod or other portable device.

Understanding P2 Workflow: Apple Final Cut Pro
By Arther Aldrich – Editor and founder of New Jersey Final Cut Pro Users Group
This paper will give a new P2 user a useful overview of shooting with P2 intended for edit on Apple Final Cut Pro. Learn general rules to shoot, back up, ingest, and archive all with P2 data and FCP. Learn requirements and storage needed for your next P2 project.

Metadata Workflow: the Power of File-based Workflow
Copyright Panasonic Broadcast
Here is a step by step guide and outline on what is metadata and how one could use it effectively. With the growing number of data being stored and/or archived, metadata is a resourceful tool to help you organize and then locate footage when needed. This white paper will guide you, when and how you can load Metadata, as well as “key rules of thumb” to help you not get lost in your media. Learn how to use Panasonic’s free software P2 CMS, as well as tips on how to navigate thru the camera menus when formatting and loading SD cards for metadata upload.

AVC-Intra – Getting started with the industry’s most advanced compression technology
Copyright Panasonic Broadcast
This paper discusses the chronology of compression as it pertains to HD, and in particular, Panasonic’s AVC-Intra. It explains concept and specifications of the evolution of HD compression and the differences between “Intra-only” compression and “Long GOP” compression. It goes on to explain how spatial intra prediction and entropy coding are the most significant contributions to “Intra-only” compression. This paper also explains how AVC-Intra and P2 data is file structured using formats such as MXF, XML, WAVE and MP4 files.

Using P2 HD with Final Cut Pro 7
By Hal Long - Director/Cinematographer
Final Cut Pro offers one of the most widely used editing platforms for content created with Panasonic’s P2 system. With each new version of FCP, its capabilities regarding P2 are enhanced and made more efficient. This document covers the basics of working with P2 and FCP 7 as introduced in Final Cut Studio 3.