“Only HD could have created a film like the one that has been made”
Co-produced by Real Madrid Television, Huckleberry Films and Pendelton films, and distributed by Sogepaq, the documentary Real, The Film reveals little known details of the club, the football team, its work and its organisation.
Under the direction of Borja Manso, Real, The Film was shot in New York, Caracas, Japan, Senegal and Madrid, combining fiction with reality. It’s about five stories, five lives, five cultures – all different and all connected by a common thread: a passion for Real Madrid.
In terms of the script and production, the production is divided into two parts: one dramatic and fictional; the other documentary.
The role of director of photography was divided in the same way. The fictional part was handled by Argentinian DoP Ramiro Civita (whose credits include Garage Olimpo, Todas las azafatas van al cielo and El abrazo partido). The DoP for the documentary sections was Rafa Roche (De Salamanca a ninguna parte and Lobita bajo el sol).
Commenting on the detail of the documentary sections of the film, Roche explains that this in itself could be divided into two parts: one historic, the other contemporary. “The historic part of the documentary presented the challenge of mixing NTSC images, PAL, 8mm and 16mm with live action that we recorded on modern systems,” Roche says.
The production was shot with the HDW-750P and HDW-F900 HDCAM camcorders. The fictional story used a Pro 35 adaptor for the HD camcorders, with cinematic lenses, whilst the documentary sequences used Canon and Fuji lenses.
Roche says the choice was made “because it would have been impossible to have responded to this challenge with traditional means. Only HD could have created a film like the one that has been made”.
In September 2004, the first team started recording matches, public appearances and press conferences.
HD overcomes the budgeting and technical limitations of film Since January this year, they have been working as two teams in parallel. “In 35mm, this would have been inconceivable, there is not a budget that would allow it, whereas in high definition it becomes possible,” Roche says.
As well as the two crews with HDCAM, two HDV crews were also used, shooting with the HVR-Z1E, for the “making of” segments, occasionally as second camera and also as camera assist. For this last use, when they were shooting with the Pro 35 adaptor on the HDCAM camcorder, the HDV camera recorded the camera signal in HD, with PAL output.
“From a technical point of view, HD was a comfortable format for the production as much as for the post production and the compositing,” says Roche.
“The response of HDCAM is fantastic, because we have a format that practically captures in 2K, and that means that when projecting, you’ve got almost the same quality as you would have with film.”
The Real Madrid vs Barcelona game was chosen as one of the moments of great dramatic and narrative strength in the film.
This was echoed by the efforts made by the production team. Roche tells of the challenges of the work: “This game was covered with six HDW-F900s and four HDV camcorders. It was decided to record everything, from the players in the hotel to the technical chat.
The camera unit travelled with the team in the bus to the pitch, while another unit covered the activity of the international press at the stadium. A third unit closely followed the activities of the president, Florentino Pérez, from first thing in the morning. Imagine all of this being achieved with 35mm – it would be impossible.”
The game was dramatic, with high tension and a good narrative: excitement, tiredness, emotion, suspense. A gripping game until the end. Everything was recorded, and this was only possible thanks to HD.
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