Panasonic's VariCam LT Chosen For ITV Drama

Panasonic's VariCam LT has been chosen by ITV Studios as the primary camera for the emotional factual drama, Little Boy Blue.

The drama documents the true story of the 2007 killing of 11-year old Everton fan Rhys Jones, who was caught in the crossfire of a gangland shooting as he made his way home after football practice.

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. After proving to be highly capable, the LT was selected as the main camera and used exclusively handheld on the shoot.

"We didn't want to be putting up cherry pickers and lighting rigs," Mr Gillham explained.

"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."
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.

The third episode of Little Boy Blue airs on ITV1 at 9pm on Monday, 08 May.

business.panasonic.co.uk