Panasonic has announced a Digital Filmmakers Grant program that each quarter will reward an independent filmmaker with a complete production package to produce a feature or documentary project. Grand prize winners will receive the use of an AJ-SDX900 dual-mode DVCPRO Cinema camera package with Fujinon lens, Final Cut Pro 4, a Power Mac G5 and a DVCPRO50 deck with FireWire card.
Applications are being accepted online through Dec. 31 for the first grant. The first grand prize winner will be announced during the first quarter of 2004. Notification of all winning applicants will be made within 10 days of the close of each quarter.
The recently announced AJ-SDX900 allows filmmakers to shoot native 16:9 24p standard definition video with 4:2:2 color sampling, capture this high-quality DVCPRO50 video directly into a Final Cut Pro 4 system, then (thanks to Apple’s inclusion of the DVCPRO50 codec and real-time 24fps extraction in Final Cut Pro 4) take advantage of the speed of 24-frame editing from AJ-SDX900-originated material natively and render-free.
The Panasonic Digital Filmmakers Grant program will be overseen by Abel Cine Tech, a VAR (Value Added Reseller) for Panasonic DVCPRO HD and DVCPRO50 product lines.