Gulf War II in HD

[Kevin Arnold]

I found this story in the NY Times.  Looks like the military will be producing some HD material that we may actually get to see.  I wonder where it will show up--networks? or probably HD net.

Military Prepares to Look at War Through a High-Definition Camera Lens
By DEBRA KAUFMAN



ANTA MONICA, Calif., Mar. 9 — If war is indeed coming soon to Iraq, images of that war are likely to follow not long afterward at the local multiplex — all shot in the latest high-definition digital video.
Just as grainy Movietone newsreels brought images of World War II to the home front, the military hopes the new footage it will present — with high-technology cameras to match the high-tech weaponry — will provide a far more crisp and vivid window into this war.
 "The impact of war has always been filtered by the poor quality of film and video," Dale Cripps, publisher of HDTV Magazine, said. "The impact of the horrors of war in high definition are going to wake a lot of people up."
From the military point of view, the project "is intended to maintain a strong connection with the American public and create a better understanding about sailors and the marines, and how the Navy and Marines work together to accomplish their missions," said Lt. Col. James Kuhn of the Marines, who heads a Marine and Navy effort to outfit four teams of combat camera operators with high-definition cameras.
The first newsreel could be in theaters within weeks after war starts, and since a digital record, unlike celluloid, will not crumble over time, the images will also provide a record for future generations.
Digital footage of this quality — high definition has five times the resolution of standard television, plus Dolby-level audio — will probably not show up on home television sets. No broadcast network plans to send high-definition cameras into combat, in part because of the difficulty of transmitting its bandwidth-hungry signal.
"The only way to get a signal back will be via satellite, and transponder space will be at a premium," said Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association.
Bill Wheatley, a vice president at NBC News, said NBC will be using tried-and-true Sony video cameras. "We've looked into using an HD format for news-gathering in the field, but it's cumbersome, expensive and not easy to edit," he said. "We'll get to it at some point, but especially for a war we want to use what's dependable." Gordon Castle, a CNN senior vice president for technology, said CNN's smaller field cameras are all standard-definition digital. "Our current infrastructure does not support HD," he said.
The lack of high-definition television news from the Middle East will be noticed by only a handful of Americans. Jeff Joseph, a vice president at the Consumer Electronics Association, said 2.4 million digital sets — including standard, enhanced and high-definition — were sold last year. And Mr. Cripps noted that fewer than 500,000 of those are able to receive a high-definition signal, either over the air or via cable.
Just off the tarmac at the Santa Monica Airport, Colonel Kuhn busily prepared the last details of this mission, a partnership with a civilian production company, American Rogue Films. The camera teams are expected to be deployed in the Middle East within days, most likely first to Kuwait.
The newsreel they will create will be the second produced by American Rogue with the Navy and Marines. The first, "Enduring Freedom — The Opening Chapter," was made after the Sept. 11 attacks and screened before the main features at about 200 Regal Cinemedia theaters. Regal Cinemedia now has digital projection capabilities for 2,000 screens in 160 theaters across the country, said Lauren Leff, a vice president.
For Navy and Marine Corps camera operators, their unofficial mentor is Norman T. Hatch, a former Marine staff sergeant, who was honored with an Academy Award in 1944 for his World War II short "With the Marines at Tarawa." Mr. Hatch, 83, who has discussed the new project with crew members, carried a 35-millimeter camera, a format that has largely been abandoned in favor of lighter 16-millimeter cameras and, more recently, video. The new Panavision-Sony camera, at 25 to 35 pounds, will be half the weight of a comparable 35-millimeter camera, though far heavier than other digital video cameras.
The cameras are able to withstand extremes of weather, as demonstrated by their use in numerous nature documentaries. Another advantage is the 50-minute cassette capacity, compared with 11 minutes for a 1,000-foot roll of 35-millimeter film. But most important is the ability to capture digital imagery.
The footage will be put to multiple uses, including a four- to five-minute newsreel. Budgeted at $1.2 million, it will be directed by Klaus Obermeyer of American Rogue.
Captain Matt Morgan, who will head one Marine camera team, said there were also internal discussions to produce more newsreels.
Most important, he and other combat camera operators see it as an opportunity for a meticulous documentation of the action. "We want the big picture," said Navy Chief John Wilson, who will operate one of the two Panavision-Sony high-definition cameras. "The footage we shoot could be used 50 years from now to train soldiers in boot camp."
In addition to the Panavision-Sony HDW-F900 cameras, Colonel Kuhn's crew will use seven Panasonic AG-DVX100's, which offer the same 24-frame-per-second rate. This allows easy transfer from video to film.
Chief Warrant Officer B. Sean Fairburn of the Marines, who will operate the other Sony camera, also sees the project as an opportunity to paint a lasting picture of marines and sailors in combat. "If I document everything well," he said, "any number of future uses can be made from it. When I'm in combat, shooting, I'm carving up an elephant to serve to hundreds of people."