BENJAMIN PRODUCTIONS GO WIDESCREEN

FLOELLA Benjamin Productions, London, specialising in lifestyle, drama and young people’s programming, recently acquired a Panasonic DVCPRO camcorder, AJ-D610 for their TV production company.
The company have made many programmes for broadcasters such as ITV, Channel 4, BSkyB and Carlton, as well as many corporate and commercial videos.
Keith Taylor, Director, Cameraman and Creative Director of Floella Benjamin Productions, chose DVCPRO because of its reliability. Having worked successfully with Panasonic’s AJ-D700 camcorder, he upgraded to the AJ-D610 which is a 16:9/4:3 switchable 2/3” camcorder, offering a future-proof widescreen solution for programme making.
Taylor said: “The DVCPRO range offers a cost effective solution, without sacrificing any of the high quality we require for our programmes. Its ruggedness and reliability have been rigorously tested under harsh conditions, such as inclement weather and sub-zero temperatures whilst shooting the TV pilot series ‘Phantus’ in Scotland, or in a testing environment such as the kitchen in Barbados, for the series ‘A taste of Barbados’ where the temperature was over 100º C”.
‘A taste of Barbados’, a 6-part cookery series for Carlton Food Network to be screened in January 2001, is the first in a series about food in the Caribbean Islands, produced and presented by Taylor's wife, Floella Benjamin. These programmes take an in-depth look at the island, its people and its history through its food. Further series such as ‘A taste of Jamaica’, ‘A taste of Trinidad’ and ‘A taste of Cuba’ are planned.
Other programmes scheduled for 2001, to be produced and presented by Floella, include a new 13-part African cookery series ‘Africa on a Plate’, investigating the local culinary delights from Morocco to South Africa, as well as a 6-part series ‘Great British Picnics’, looking at various picnic ideas set in locations across Britain. These will also be shot with Panasonic’s AJ-D610 camcorder. (SP)