OTHER TECH

Open WideThe idea of shooting the new season of American Chopper in high-def came from executive producer Craig Piligian. A founding father of reality TV - he produced Emergency Call and Real Stories of the Highway Patrol in 1991 and was co-executive producer of the first three Survivor series - Piligian admits that taking Chopper to high-def is in part an attempt to keep up with the Joneses. "A lot of the higher-end reality shows are going high-def, and we believe Chopper is a high-end reality show," he reasons. "And I thought high-definition would give us a new look for the second season. It certainly gives you a different look at the bikes. You really get to see those reds, the chromes, and the blacks. In high-def, everything pops."

Using HDTV cameras meant the crew had to make some adjustments. "Sony has yet to make a small handheld camera that we can get in there with," says Piligian. "So it's a little harder for the production guys to show the detail work being done. The bigger cameras make it a little trickier, and it takes longer to do, but it's worth it."

The crew films golfer Love and his wife, Robin, consulting with Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. in their office.

Something else the crew had to allow for, according to Steve Nigg, the supervising producer on the Chopper set, is HDTV's widescreen aspect ratio. "The biggest challenge between this season and the last is the wide angle, the 16:9 frame," he explains. "In a controlled, confined area like the OCC shop, with that wide lens, keeping people out of shots is tough. It's hard to do when a set is that open." (True enough: I had to be shooed out of camera range a few times while I was on set.)

Not that Nigg is complaining. "The upside is what you get when you're close up on the talent," he says with a grin. "When you're on Mikey, you can still see the background detail behind him. It's like looking into a well-cleaned, lighted aquarium."

High-def doesn't lie, either. "Everything is real, especially the skin tones," Nigg points out. "The high-def just picks it up so well. It looks so realistic. These guys aren't wearing any makeup, plus we don't use any special lighting or anything. And that's what's great about HDTV: whatever you shoot is just what you get."

And, of course, the patented family conflicts are heightened in high-def. "The great thing about shooting reality - when you have highly volatile subjects who can fly off the handle, you get everything out of it," Nigg says. "What you see in their faces is so three-dimensional: the veins, the pulse. It brings a new, realistic quality to reality in an almost scary way."

Piligian isn't shy about describing how the show looks in high-def: "It looks f---ing beautiful! There's depth. There's quality. You actually feel like you can get on the bike. You feel like you're in the shop, like you're part of the shop. That's what's neat about it - you're in the shop with them. People can sense it. You got a motor coming out of here , and shop noise in the background. It's real."

Mikey Likes ItBefore I leave OCC for the day, I run into Mikey, who's also on his way out. I ask him if it's been any different shooting the show in high-def. "For me, not really," he says. "The cameras are a little heavier on these guys [points to the two cameramen nearby], but hey, they know how to operate them."

I ask if he's watched any of the Chopper episodes or any other show in high-def yet. "I've seen some of the playback on the monitors," he replies. "And I watched one nature program where everything was in slow motion." Writer Mike Mettler (right) talks shop with jack-of-all trades Mikey Teutel.

While we're talking, Paul Jr. wanders by and playfully bops Mikey on the shoulder. Paul Sr. sticks his head out of the office and notices that Mikey is still lingering. "Hey," he shouts to his shaggy-maned son, "when are you getting your hair cut?"

Mikey instantly comes back with a typical Mikey response: "Soon as I get a real job." He grins at me, pumps my hand, and then he's off. And so am I. Ah, American Chopper in high-def: It doesn't get any more real than that.