Grass Valley, Calif. - AJA Video Systems, manufacturer of professional video interface and conversion solutions, announced that their Ki Pro, portable tapeless recording devices were used by Stick Figure Productions for the upcoming season of National Geographic Channel's documentary series Repossessed.
Capturing authentic cinema verite moments for a reality series is difficult. Capturing these moments from the back seat of a Chevy Suburban driving 60+ miles per hour brings the task to a whole new level. That was the challenge faced by Bradley Levin, director of National Geographic Channel's Repossessed and co-executive producer at Stick Figure Productions.
Levin worked closely with the show's director of photography, Antonio Rossi, to devise a unique workflow for the show that trails a repossession company as they confront individuals from all walks of life to repossess their cars, boats, private planes and other vehicles. Rossi outfitted a rig that could be installed quickly and easily into whatever car was being driven on any of the current season's 42 shoot days. The rig included two Iconix HD lipstick cameras, each connected to a monitor and two AJA Ki Pros with SSD drives for four hours of uninterrupted capture.
Rossi selected Ki Pros after learning more about the devices at an Abel Cinetech Emerging Technology Workshop, He was impressed by their extended recording times, XLR sound inputs, compact size, meager power consumption, and versatility.
Season two of Repossessed is in post production and the six one-hour episodes will air on the National Geographic Channel this summer.