The third quarterly HD Expo, held June 27, 2002, at Burbank, CA's Barwick Studios, saw the attendance of more than 500 industry professionals. The day's highlights included demonstrations by exhibitors like Panasonic and presentations by speakers like DP Dino Parks.
Panasonic showed off its new AJ-HDC27 VariCam, touted as the first high-definition production camera capable of multiple frame rates at the touch of a button. The 720p camcorder can be used for 60 frames-per-second (fps), or film-like 24 fps acquisition. The variable frame rate feature also lends itself to blurring, zooming, and long exposure effects.
Parks showed clips from the upcoming Simon: The English Legionnaire, an HD film shot in Monaco and Algiers. Other speakers at HD Expo, which featured a fanciful "Fantasy Island" theme, included Randall Dark, president of HD Vision Studios in Studio City. Dark discussed and demonstrated the differences between 24p and 1080i technology.
The next HD Expo will be held September 26, 2002. For more information, visit the website or call (818) 389-9150.