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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact:
Erika Powelson
Powelson Communications
831-424-1811
erika@powelsoncommunications.com
Company Contact:
Paula Lumbard
FootageBank
310-822-1400 x105
paulal@footagebank.com


FOOTAGEBANK OFFERS EXCLUSIVE PANASONIC EXTREME SKATEBOARDING COLLECTION
Specially Produced Footage Pushes the Envelope of High-Definition Action Sports

Los Angeles, CA – February 9, 2006 – FootageBank , the only footage company specializing in High Definition (HD) native content, announced today  a spectacular new collection of contemporary skateboarding footage shot by Panasonic. Produced in the 720p/60 HD format to capture the split-second grace and grit of teenage skateboarders, this cutting-edge footage is exclusively represented by FootageBank.

Panasonic Broadcast originally commissioned the footage to showcase its top-of-the-line VariCam HD Cinema™ camera and its high-contrast professional plasma displays and projectors. Action sports director/cinematographer Denver Miller and Mill Reef Video producer Fred Grossberg shot day and night on Salt Lake City streets, under freeways, at high schools, and in skate parks with a crew of 10 and a dozen young skaters.

“We were pleased that Panasonic applied the highest production values to content that is typically shot on Mini-DV prosumer cameras,” said Paula Lumbard, founder and CEO of FootageBank. “The footage is masterfully shot by a director of photography who specializes in sports coverage providing a truly raw experience. The viewer is right beside the skaters on the streets and in the bowls as they land amazing tricks or bounce back from horrendous crashes.”

“Panasonic went all out on this production,” said Grossberg. “We used two 720p VariCams shooting at 60 frames per second because they’re ideally suited to action sports. We also had three state-of-the-art Canon HD zoom lenses, a Steadicam, and a 25-foot jib with a 360-degree dutch head. We tethered the cameras to Panasonic D-5 HD tape decks for ultra-high HD quality, and we often turned the cameras sideways to shoot footage for vertically-oriented plasmas. The results are amazing.”

The new collection features hundreds of clips of young skateboarders and their lifestyle, including both gritty street scenes and the spectacular athleticism of deep-bowl skating. Taking full advantage of the Panasonic VariCam 720p/60 format, the footage includes crystal-clear slow motion and stop action as well as unusual motion blur effects. Most of the clips use the standard 16:9 format suitable for television, film, advertising, and corporate use. The collection also features vertically oriented 9:16 clips designed for retail and other public-venue applications.

About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co., Secaucus, NJ, is a leading supplier of broadcast, professional video, and presentation products and systems. Panasonic Broadcast is a unit company of Panasonic Corporation of North America. The company is the North American headquarters of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service, and R&D operations.  For more information on Panasonic Broadcast products, access the company’s web site at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.

About FootageBank
FootageBank is a privately held company based in Los Angeles, California founded by industry icon Paula Lumbard. Lumbard anticipated the coming demand for High Definition (HD) Motion Content in 2002 when she opened her second footage company. FootageBank continues to be the only footage house specializing in HD native content and is dedicated to shooting and aggregating collections of HD images to service the rapidly growing demand for HD content in the film and television marketplace. For more information, please visit www.footagebank.com.