Panasonic VariCam 35 4K Helps DP Jay Lafayette With Martin/Short Netflix Special

Emmy Award-winning Director of Photography Jay Lafayette selected seven Panasonic VariCam 35 4K cameras and two VariCam LT 4K camcorders for the live shoot of Steve Martin and Martin Short‘s upcoming Netflix special, An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, recorded at Greenville, SC’s Peace Center Concert Hall earlier this year.

Martin Short’s An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life

In the special, the longtime pals and comic icons share quips, musical numbers, and conversations about their lives in show business. The Netflix original special begins airing this Friday, May 25.

For the past two years, the VariCam 35 has been Lafayette’s camera of choice to shoot numerous Netflix comedy specials with such headliners as Dana Carvey, Tracy Morgan, Fred Armisen, Jim Jeffries, Norm Macdonald, and many more. Late last year, the DP also used VariCam 35s for NBC’s A Pentatonix Christmas Special, featuring the popular a capella singing group.

Lafayette’s introduction to the VariCam 35 was through his colleagues at VER’s Television and Cinema Division. “I was very curious about the 35’s capabilities and, with several Netflix projects pending, I needed to shoot true 4K,” the DP recounts. “I loved the image right out of the box — it was much more cinematic than other 4K option.”

“Having the option of a native ISO 5000 is invaluable for these comedy specials, which are almost always shot in a live performance environment with paying audiences,” Lafayette says. “We can’t make things brighter in the theatres and undermine the audiences’ experience. Having such a clean image to work with at that exposure index is a game changer.”

Lafayette noted that he always hires a DIT on these live performance productions, and routinely performs a thorough first pass color grade on set. “Another incredibly useful asset of the camera is the Panasonic ROP, which enables the remote operation of each camera from a central location. This gives us full control of iris, roll, cut — every menu item — from the video village,” he says.

The DP typically uses between seven to 12 VariCam 35s to shoot a stand-up performance, and often adds one or two VariCam LT 4K camcorders for Steadicam work. His lensing selections vary from project to project, but his go-to choices are often Fujinon Premiere and Angenieux zoom lenses.

Password must contain the following:

A lowercase letter

A capital (uppercase) letter

A number

Minimum 8 characters

;
SVGLogoHR_NOTAG-200

The Latest in Sports Video Production & Technology
in Your Inbox for FREE

Daily Email Newsletters Monday - Friday