WHILE long-running Canadian-produced series such as Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict and LEXX have made news by changing over from film origination to Sony 24p HDCAM, manufacturers are trying to convince the production community that 24p is not the only digital format suitable for dramatic TV. Breakthrough Films’ new Paradise Falls, airing on Showcase, is proving that point by being the country’s first episodic series to shoot on 480p progressive digital, using Panasonic DVCPRO equipment.

Paradise Falls is a half-hour primetime drama set in a small Ontario town, and with its mix of steamy affairs and paranormal goings-on, it is being touted as a cross between Melrose Place and Twin Peaks. But without the budget of those trend-setting 35mm American shows, and considering the large volume of production that had to be completed in a limited timeframe, 480p seemed an efficient solution.

This groundbreaking challenge landed on the shoulders of Toronto-based director of photography Don Purser. Purser was on set for nearly all of Paradise Falls’ 52 episodes, with Toronto’s Luc Montpellier filling in during a brief absence. Purser, who heads the Canadian Independent Camera Association, has an extensive history shooting video dating back to the early 1970s and the youthful days of Citytv. He has lensed news, lifestyle and sports programming, as well as many electronic press kits (most recently for Atom Egoyan’s Ararat), and so seemed a natural choice to take this format into the dramatic milieu. The cameraman can even recall a time predating 3/4-inch tape.

‘The fact that it’s all digital now is just another progression in the tool,’ he says. ‘Every time somebody comes out with a new format and/or new camera, there’s a certain learning curve. All of them seem to have their own idiosyncrasies.’

Purser, who also worked on the hospital doc series Little Miracles for Breakthrough, was given the call for ‘two or three days’ shooting the Paradise Falls pilot in the Muskoka region north of Toronto. The Betacam SP-originated pilot was picked up, Purser got the gig full time, and he proceeded to set up a meeting between the show’s producers and representatives he knew at Panasonic. He says that at that point he had only ‘played with’ the Panasonic AJ-PD900WA camcorder with which he would later be shooting, but he had been impressed with footage he’d seen.

In the face of the rising popularity of high definition origination, Purser was inspired by the challenge of shooting instead with the 480p progressive camera. (The progressive system differs from the interlace format, which is based on interframe motion. Progressive scanning is a procedure closer to computer light scanning than traditional TV light scanning.)

‘I felt there was going to be a place in the market for both the 480p and 720p cameras,’ Purser says. ‘It doesn’t have to be all the high def 1080i interlace or 1080p. Not everybody’s got huge budgets, and I think the cameras are capable of producing a good image.’

Film look

Many viewers probably wouldn’t be aware of Paradise Falls’ video origins, as the production is going for as much of a ‘film look’ as possible, thanks in part to post manipulation by Toronto’s Bullseye Digital Post Production. On the set, Purser used methods common in the film world to soften video’s sharp edges, such as employing Pro-Mist filters and black or gold diffusion.

‘It really depended more on the feel of the scene as opposed to staying with any one particular look,’ he says. ‘I was attempting to keep it non-contrasty, which is the way I like to work.’

Many DOPs still consider digital imaging better suited to studio-heavy shooting, which accounts for most of the action in HD-originated shows such as EFC and LEXX. In exteriors, they say, highlights often burn out. Limitations of the digital format become apparent, for example, in a scene in an early Paradise Falls episode in which two characters are skinny-dipping. Bright sunlight reflecting off the lake surface no doubt makes for a tricky exposure situation, and in the resulting shot details on the characters’ faces are dim.

Overall, Purser believes he got good quality from the DVCPRO camera, especially considering the frantic pace of production. Shooting from August 1 to December 21, 2000, the crew tore through about 11 pages of script per day. The DOP admits that in the rush to get started, he hardly had any time to shoot preliminary tests.

‘It was a question of availability of the camera, and I also had previous commitments I had to honor, which took me almost right up to August 1,’ he explains. ‘We really only had one day of playing with it. It was enough to allow me to get a mindset for what I felt we could do, and then we tweaked and tinkered as we went.’

Because he was learning more about the camera as he went, Purser believes his results improved about a dozen episodes into the season. He credits the contributions of video engineer Barry Elliott as a major reason he was able to get up to speed so quickly. Digital imaging represents a big shift in the on-set dynamic: while Purser was at the camera, Elliott sat by a connected monitor and control unit in a production truck, making the necessary technical adjustments to help achieve the best possible image.

‘I’m not a technician,’ Purser says. ‘I rely on Barry for that end of things. I know what I’m looking for in terms of what I want to see, and I tend to rely on filtration and lighting.’

One aspect of the camcorder to which Purser and Elliott had to adjust was the way it reproduced color compared to an analog camera.

‘We could shoot something in one direction, turn the shot around, and before I’d done any light changes or color correction, Barry would be watching as we fired back up and say ‘What did you just do?’ and I’d say ‘Nothing,” Purser recalls. ‘Based on the angle the camera was seeing the light hitting the subject, it had changed its readings of that color.’

Purser served as his own camera operator for most of production, which called for a large degree of handheld shooting. Although he says the crew employed a minimal lighting package, he describes most of the set-ups as extensive.

‘I believe in lighting the scenario,’ he says. ‘I have a tendency to use more light than some people, not as much as some. We definitely tried to control what we were doing.’

Purser considers himself fortunate for the calibre of crew the production was able to assemble, including gaffer Nick Greenland and key grip/dolly Eric Grauer.

Spectacular in 16:9

Purser composed his shots for the 4:3 aspect ratio, protecting for 16:9. Although Purser believes the show looks ‘quite spectacular in 16:9,’ Showcase is broadcasting the program in the standard box-like 4:3. It is a surprising choice, because the widescreen format would only enhance the program’s cinematic look.

‘To show it 16:9 in the present world, what you would have to do is letterbox it, so you would lose top and bottom,’ Purser explains. ‘I personally like that. I thought it was the way to go, but it’s not my decision. It would have added that extra little element to the presentation of the show.’

However, the inevitability of people having 16:9 TV sets in their living rooms is not far off, so many shows are future-protecting this way. In Europe, many networks are already pushing 16:9, and so are looking for programming in that format. Also, originating on digital allows for easy conversion among NTSC, PAL or SECAM, the world’s major broadcast standards, making programming more conducive to international sale.

Breakthrough Films’ promotion of Paradise Falls as reminiscent of Twin Peaks might help attract viewers, but it also runs the risk of setting the show up as the David Lynch classic’s poor Canadian cousin. Purser isn’t worried, however.

‘I bet our budget was what they spent on catering,’ he says. ‘I think we’ve done an exceptional job introducing a look. I can always go back afterwards and say ‘I wish I had done this or that, but overall I think we’ve put together a pretty good effort.’