The Coast is Clear

When New Zealand based Execam Television & Video production had to film a documentary recreating World War 2 coast watching activities, their choice of camera was critical. Jim Greenhough, managing director of Execam explains, “We wanted a camera that could cope with the specifics of the coast watchers documentary and this meant starting with a shoot around Australia in Melbourne, Canberra, Townsville and Sydney, then some interviews in various locations around the USA, including a WW2 submarine in the pouring rain at San Francisco and on to the jungles of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. All of this had to be done on a documentary budget so the camera we chose had to be pretty special.”

After a few weeks of research and testing Greenhough and his partner Brent Baader decided on the JVC ProHD camera. He continued, “The JVC ProHD was chosen because of the quality of signal, and the fact that it is an affordable HD camera that comes with a proper lens. It works just like our standard production cameras, so our shooters can easily adjust focus, exposure and colour balance with controls they are familiar with. What we like best about the camera is the fact that it has some decent glass on the front end!”

JVC’s local agent in New Zealand Gencom Technologies were very much a part of the decision making process consulting and advising Execam from the beginning. Greenhough added, “Gencom were very supportive and helpful with the camera and ensuring a smooth editing process.”

Whilst in the Solomon Islands, the documentary team spent two weeks interviewing surviving locals who worked with the coast watchers and visiting some of the key locations involved. Men from a Guadalcanal village were hired to dress as scouts and porters from the 1940s and haul equipment through the jungle and swampy rivers. Unlike most WW2 documentaries, there is no archive film of the coast watchers to help tell the story. Due to the extreme secrecy surrounding coast-watching activities there was absolutely no movie film shot, and precious few photographs either, so the recreations were especially important.

Greenough said, “We used the camera in a range of documentary and re-enactment roles. It is simple to transport, and an easy weight for hand-held work; heavy enough to be steady, but not so heavy it tires you out in the tropics. The camera performed without a hitch, and we are very impressed with the quality of pictures. I would recommend JVC ProHD cameras as ideal for a production house that wants to get into high def without the cost of the top end cameras. It is a cost effective way of capturing great pictures which are future proofed for when high def is the norm.”