'Californication' leaves no trail of tape

Variety by Peter Caranicas

Arri Alexa allows show to shoot on reusable memory cards

Now shooting its fifth season, Showtime's "Californication" is a case study of the huge technical changes rocking TV production.

Shot digitally from the outset, the dramedy, centered on the bad-boy novelist character played by David Duchovny, has adopted new types of cameras each year, going through three Sony HD models, then Panavision's Genesis, and now, for season five, the Arri Alexa.

"Every time cameras got better, the producers let us upgrade," said d.p. Mike Weaver, who has shot every episode except the pilot. He feels he's finally reached the point where the cameras' dynamic range -- the ability to capture light and dark parts of an image in the same frame -- is close to that of film.

Another big change: the show no longer uses tape. Alexa "allowed us to wade into the waters of tapeless workflow," said co-producer Tom Keefe, who's also been on the show from the start. Everything is now recorded onto reusable memory cards.

"We shoot 14 minutes, pop the card out, pop a new one in, and continue," said Keefe. To prevent any losses, the content on the first card is backed up twice before the card is used again. read more...