SYDNEY, 3 November 2014 – Harry Panagiotidis – or ‘Harry P’ as he’s often known – is one of Australia’s most experienced and highly skilled Steadicam operators and the owner of Steadicam Productions. Panagiotidis has over 40 Australian and US feature films credits as Steadicam operator and camera operator. In addition to feature films, Panagiotidis works on many of Australia’s most popular TV drama series and television commercials and is also an award winning cameraman/DOP on documentaries and factual programmes. With his ever-increasing workload and a high-end documentary series on the history of uranium in the wings, Panagiotidis recently decided to buy a new ARRI AMIRA camera and two Fujinon Cabrio lenses.
Panagiotidis explained, “Prior to purchasing the AMIRA, my choice of camera was decided on a project-by-project basis. The ALEXA is the main workhorse in the industry for commercials and drama, but it’s not an ideal documentary camera. As co-producer in the Melbourne-based documentary company Genepool Productions, the choice of camera for our international documentary work was important. We wanted ALEXA quality but with documentary friendly design and use. When our Uranium series (3 x 1hr) was commissioned by SBS and PBS, it was time to have a rethink.”
Genepool Productions, part of the CJZ Group, specialises in creating high-end documentaries and science programming for Australian and international television audiences, so Panagiotidis knew the choice of camera and lenses was critical.
He continued, “I’ve shot and co-produced docos for Genepool Productions for five years and the standard required is very high. The focus is on blue chip science production. The production team has won many international awards, including an Emmy in 2011 for Immortal, a documentary on the genetics of aging. For the Uranium project, we brought on board DP Jaems Grant ACS to work with director Wain Fimeri. As co-producer I was looking for a camera that would be perfect for this series and others we have on our slate and at the same time the AMIRA was being released in Australia. When I compared buying versus rental, the AMIRA looked particularly viable so I investigated further.”
Panagiotidis discussed the AMIRA with ARRI Australia MD Stefan Sedlmeier who agreed he could get a camera and lenses in time for the start of the Uranium documentary shoot.
Panagiotidis added, “We needed a good all-round camera and the AMIRA was ideal. It’s comfortable on the shoulder which makes it perfect for docos, has excellent build and picture quality and its codecs covered everything I could think of when shooting docos. It also allows me to shoot 200 frames at the push of a button, has lots of good presets and built in ND filters. In addition, it makes a great A or B camera when I’m working on drama.”
With the camera agreed Panagiotidis decided on which lenses he would buy to accompany them, something he had a great deal of experience with.
He explained, “I’ve been using Fujinon Cabrio lenses on TVCs for some time so I knew they were excellent. That said, I also compared them to their Canon and Angenieux equivalents and the Cabrios were better in terms of value for money. I also looked for ‘breathing’ within the lenses, something that’s unfortunately quite common with some zooms, but there was none with the Cabrios. In the end I bought a 19-90mm and an 85-300mm as when shooting docos you need a good wide angle zoom and good long zoom. To be honest the 19-90mm is so good it takes care of two thirds of our requirements on its own. It’s a real high quality workhorse.”
With camera and lenses chosen and the documentary start date fast approaching time was tight for getting the equipment ready, something Panagiotidis again turned to ARRI Australia for help with.
He said, “The AMIRA Cabrio combination is an excellent one, as the AMIRA is beautifully balanced with a lightweight matte box and follow focus and there’s no need for an onboard monitor, as the flip out screen works perfectly. The Cabrios perform brilliantly and their rocker zoom on the side of the lens is a big advantage, as they enable us to do quick observational shooting. The quality and versatility of these lenses is excellent too. Now that we had the equipment ordered we needed to get it production ready and that’s where Stefan and the team at ARRI Australia came in. Not only did they get us the camera and lenses quickly but they tested and prepped them for us so they were ready to use as soon as we picked them up – great service.”
Within two weeks of being delivered the AMIRA and Cabrios were on their way to nuclear power plants and uranium mines in France, Ukraine, USA, Japan and Australia, having to shoot in some very tough conditions.
Harry Panagiotidis concluded, “The AMIRA and Cabrios have shot under very extreme weather conditions, including two days of solid rain in exposed mines and never missed a beat. The pictures look great and I’m looking forward to using the camera myself on the next production. I must say a special thank you to Stefan and the ARRI Australia team for all their incredible service and support. This also extended overseas where ARRI’s global support came in to help in Paris. All in all, the AMIRA and Fujinon Cabrios have been excellent and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending them.”