Guns, Germs and Steel docu-drama shot in HDCAM across eight different countries

Guns, Germs and Steel is a three-part documentary produced by Lion TV for National Geographic and PBS in the US, with international distribution to follow. Based on the 1997 best-seller by Jared Diamond, the series looks at the reasons behind the success of certain cultures, suggesting it is the geography, not the people, that determines success.

Tracing the history of the human population from 11,000 BC to the present day, Diamond examines the spread of humans around the world, ecological and geographical differences, the development of agriculture and the domestication of animals. He also acknowledges the impact disease and technology (guns, steel weapons and ships) has had, hence the title of the book and series.

Director Cassian Harrison says he would normally shoot on 16mm film, with interviews on Digital Betacam, but costs prompted the decision to go HDCAM. “We wanted to avoid telecine costs, and with a documentary shoot like this, you carry very large quantities of film stock. HDCAM was a very effective way of avoiding these transfer and stock costs,” he says.

HDW-750P Shooting Kit

VMI supplied a full film-style drama kit based around an HDW-750P HDCAM camcorder. VMI is so convinced of the future of HD that it is committing another £800K – on top of that already spent – to the technology. It is also building a 20-seat HD preview theatre in Soho. “Where companies own residual programme rights, they are committing themselves to shooting documentaries in HD to safeguard their long-term commercial interests and programmes rights,” says Barry Bassett, MD of VMI.

At present, Guns, Germs and Steel is to be delivered in standard definition, but Harrison hopes to deliver in HDCAM if the money becomes available. “It’s a bit like shooting on 16mm for TV,” he says. “Although it over-resolves at times, even if you down-convert for TV, you’ve still got a better image than if shooting in SD.”

Filming took place in eight different countries, including Jordan, Zambia and Peru, and combined straight documentary with drama reconstructions. The majority of footage was shot at 25P but Harrison switched to 50i for some half-speed sequences. “I am very impressed. I would definitely use HDCAM again, even over 16mm,” he says.