Multi-Purpose Promotional Materials Shot for "Memphis' with AG-HPX300s, 'Hair' Be-In Streamed Live from AW-HE870N POV Camera

 

Bi-coastal Apples and Oranges Productions, with offices in Southern California and Manhattan, has ramped up quickly since its founding in 2008 to become a notable force on Broadway, with two shows currently on the boards, the Tony Award- winning revival of the 1960s' bellwether musical, Hair (associate producers), and Memphis (lead producers), a new musical with music by Bon Jovi founding member David Bryan.  For both projects, and for the highly-anticipated Paradise Found (a new musical directed by Hal Prince that will premiere in London this spring before transferring to Broadway), Apples and Oranges is creating multi-faceted marketing packages using HD cameras from Panasonic Broadcast, including the AG-HPX300 and AG-HPX500P2 HD shoulder-mount 
Handycam HDR-XR500V 120GB Hard Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3.2" LCD)-$830.00
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');" style="text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(51, 51, 102); ">camcorders, the AG-HVX200A P2 HD handheld, and the AW-HE870N 2/3" HD/SD multi-purpose camera.

Apples and Oranges maintains an ongoing partnership with the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange, CA, where company co-founder Tim Kashani, then a student, was introduced to the HVX200A P2 HD handhelds, which the school uses for both instruction and production. Upon launching Apples and Oranges with partner Pamela Winslow, Kashani began incremental purchases of P2 HD 
Handycam HDR-XR500V 120GB Hard Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3.2" LCD)-$830.00
Handycam HDR-CX500V 32GB Flash Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3" LCD)-$729.00
');" style="text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(51, 51, 102); ">camcorders; the company currently owns an HPX300, HPX500 and two HVX200As, and has an equipment sharing arrangement with Dodge College when shoots require additional 
Handycam HDR-XR500V 120GB Hard Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3.2" LCD)-$830.00
Handycam HDR-CX500V 32GB Flash Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3" LCD)-$729.00
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Before importing its digital 
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');" style="text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(51, 51, 102); ">flash to Broadway, Apples and Oranges partnered with Santa Ana's Discovery Science Center in Orange County, CA on "The Science of Hockey," an exhibit thatteaches visitors about physics through the sport of hockey. The production company shot all the exhibit video, featuring the Anaheim Ducks, with HPX500s and HVX200As. Shortly thereafter, Apples and Oranges set it sights on the Great White Way.

 

"While our first assignments were California-based, both I and Pamela, who has deep Broadway roots (she originated the role of Rapunzel in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods), were strongly committed to fostering artistic endeavors on both coasts," said Kashani. "We knew our expertise was in audio/visual marketing, but we wanted to move beyond traditional Broadway promotion, which for decades has consisted largely of newspaper ads supplemented by limited 
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"We were confident that with the P2 HD 
Handycam HDR-XR500V 120GB Hard Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3.2" LCD)-$830.00
Handycam HDR-CX500V 32GB Flash Drive HD Camcorder (12x Opt, 150x Dig, 3" LCD)-$729.00
');" style="text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(51, 51, 102); ">camcorders we had the ammunition we needed to create marketing pieces that were edgier and could blend into the whole panoply of social networkingoutlets," he added.

Kashani relies on the HPX300 as his primary production camera, and typically shoots 1080p at 30- or 24-fps in AVC-Intra 100 (interviews, however, are often shot in AVC-Intra 50 to take advantage of the extended record times). He supplements the HPX300 with the HVX200As and especially, the HPX500 when wide-angle shots and/or low light are factors.

For Memphis, which opened on Broadway last fall, Apples and Oranges scheduled two multi-camera shoots, one of the live show (with several HPX300s time-synced) and one of a three-hour rehearsal. From that material, more than 30 interstitial videos have been created for viewing on the musical's web site (www.memphisthemusical.com) and several social networking platforms, including facebook, myspace, YouTube and twitter. The video has been repurposed for the show's group sales department, and used to produce a DVD for press. The show footage has likewise been used as b-roll in 
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');" style="text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 0, 0); cursor: pointer; color: rgb(51, 51, 102); ">television commercials.

Apples and Oranges has just finished a "making of Memphis" documentary (outlets to be determined) shot with the P2 HD camcorders. Kashani said that all New York-based projects are edited in Final Cut Pro.

For the revival of Hair, the iconic sixties "American Tribal Love-Rock" musical, Apples and Oranges used HXV200As to shoot man on the street interviews that appear on the show's web site (www.hairbroadway.com) and on various social networks. Currently, the company assisted with the design and installation of an HE870N POV camera on the stage of the Al Hirschfeld theatre that will capture video of the show's famous finale, when audience members join the cast on-stage for a "be-in," that will stream live on Hair's web site.

Kashani said that, while video production projects for Paradise Found are not yet fully formulated, he will be taking P2 HD camcorders to London to document rehearsals and interview principals for early show advertising.

For more information about Apples and Oranges Productions, visit www.nyc-oc.com.

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