The Panasonic VariCam LT is starting to make inroads into the television drama market.

The VariCam LT was used as the primary camera for ITV Studio’s factual drama Little Boy Blue, which will air its second episode on Monday. It was supplied by Leeds rental house ProVision.

Channel 4’s Born to Kill, currently on air, also made use of the VariCam LT.

The VariCam LT was launched last year, with Panasonic looking to make inroads into a drama market that has long been dominated by Arri and, to a lesser extent, Red.

Little Boy Blue Director of Photography Adam Gillham (Downton Abbey, The Halcyon) ran the LT through portrait and low light testing with Director Paul Whittington, responsible for The Widower and Cilla as well as The Moorside, another Jeff Pope written drama to use the VariCam. The LT was selected as the main camera and used exclusively handheld on the shoot.

With a particularly sensitive subject matter, and the fact that the production was taking place in the vicinity of where the real life events played out, there was a strong feeling that work on the series should be kept as inconspicuous as possible. Here the VariCam’s strong low light performance was a key factor.

“We didn’t want to be putting up cherry pickers and lighting rigs,” explained Adam Gillham. “Shooting on the LT was a new experience for me and there was some getting to grips with it and the way it works. Now I know how to get the best out of it I would definitely consider using the VariCam on future projects.”

Staff Reporter

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