WAYNE, NJ -- 07/13/07 --
The intricate movements of the human body are
infinite, and with the use of the Vision Research Phantom® HD camera,
photographer David Michalek was able to immortalize the movements of 43
professional dancers capturing their unique styles of dance at an
astonishing 1,000 frames per second.
The world premiere of Michalek's project, titled "Slow Dancing," was held
last night at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City in which
50-foot-tall, hyper-slow-motion video portraits were projected on the
facade of the New York State Theater.
For the project, Michalek recorded each dancer for five seconds, while they
performed their own unique forms of dance; however, because they were shot
at 1,000 frames per second using the Phantom HD high-speed camera, Michalek
was able to essentially turn the five-second routines into performances
lasting many minutes. For each five-second routine, the Phantom HD recorded
an astounding 20 gigabytes of data. By capturing each dancer's movements at
such a high-speed frame rate and in full high-definition (HD) resolution,
Michalek gives viewers the ability to experience and analyze the movements
of the human body in a format never before seen.
"We evaluated several digital high-speed cameras, but chose the Phantom HD
for its superior image quality, high-definition resolution, and speed,"
said David Michalek. "Considering we were working with a prototype camera,
we had very few camera problems. And, I think Vision Research paid a lot of
attention to our project in order to get feedback for product improvement."
Comprising an ever-changing trio of dancers projected onto the 50-foot-tall
screens, "Slow Dancing" begins with what at first appears to be a series of
"still" photographs and then unfolds gesture by barely-perceptible gesture,
into an elaborate choreography, with the viewer allowed to choose to focus
on one dancer's complete "performance" or observe the interplay between the
three.
The Phantom HD high-speed camera boasts a 2,048 x 2,048 high-performance
complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) imaging sensor, and
introduces the advantages of high-speed digital imaging to the world of 2K
and HD media production. Furthermore, the Phantom HD offers users 35mm
depth-of-field either at either HD or 2K resolution. The flexibility and
control that the camera offers is limitless and applications abound for the
Phantom HD, including broadcasts of rapidly moving sports events, the
production of commercials, music videos or capturing documentaries, and
even the monitoring a rocket launch.
Key Features of the Phantom HD include:
-- HD (1920 x 1080) and 2K (2048 x 1536) resolution using a PL-mount lens
-- Up to 1,000 frames-per-second (fps) frame rate at 1920x1080
resolution, even higher speeds at reduced resolution
-- Adjust frame rate in one fps increments
-- Shutter speeds as fast as two microseconds (1/500,000 second)
-- 14-bit sensor depth (42-bit color)
-- ISO 600
-- 35mm depth-of-field
-- Circular buffer recording/Run-Stop
The subjects chosen for "Slow Dancing" are some of today's foremost modern
and classical dancers and choreographers, as well as recognized master
interpreters of a range of traditional and contemporary dance forms
including ballet, modern dance, and tap. The dancers represent a diversity
of body types, sizes, training, styles, traditions, ages, and ethnicities.
They hail from many places, including the United States, Russia, Africa,
Bali, China, Turkey, Brazil, India, Taiwan, and New Zealand. The dance
traditions and contemporary styles represented are as diverse as Javanese
court dance, krumping, voguing, Afro-Brazilian Capoeira, Hip-Hop, Indian
Kuchipuri, Beijing Opera, and flamenco.
This awe-inspiring digital installation will run nightly during the Lincoln
Center Festival at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York
City, from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. through July 29th.
For more information about "Slow Dancing," visit
www.lincolncenter.org/load_screen.asp?screen=slow_dancing_main, or
www.slowdancingfilms.com
For more information about the Phantom HD high-speed camera from Vision
Research, visit
www.visionresearch.com/index.cfm?sector=htm/files&page=camera_HD_new
About Vision Research Inc.
Vision Research Inc. designs and manufactures
high-speed digital imaging systems used in domains including defense,
automotive, engineering, scientific and medical research, industrial and
commercial, sports and entertainment, and digital broadcast and
cinematography.
The Wayne, N.J.-based company prides itself on the sensitivity,
high-resolution and quality of images produced by its systems, robust yet
easy-to-use software interfaces, and reliability and versatility of its
camera family -- that continues to be the benchmark for all other
high-speed digital camera manufacturers.
Vision Research cameras add a new dimension to the sense of sight, allowing
the user to see details of an event when it's too fast to see, and too
important not to(TM). More information on Vision Research can be found at
www.visionresearch.com.
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Contact:
Kyle Kappmeier
R&J Public Relations
908-722-5757
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