WIESBADEN, Germany — 24 January 2008 – Panasonic today announced that director Stefano Salvati has begun shooting “Albakiara”, his movie based on an album by Italy‘s legendary pop star, Vasco Rossi. Salvati will use Panasonic P2 and AVC-I100 digital technology to capture all the excitement, drama and romance associated with Rossi‘s hard-living bad-boy image.

To achieve the look he wants, Salvati has chosen Panasonic‘s top-of-the-line AJ-HPX3000G, a five-slot P2 HD camcorder, which is capable of producing optimal HD quality, 1920×1080p images. The AJ-HPX3000G is the first shoulder-mounted camcorder to achieve native full HD in 4:2:2, 10 bit, without pre-filtering. In addition to their high quality, P2 digital images transcoded using the AVC-Intra codec fit readily and cost-effectively into a nonlinear production workflow. Salvati also favors Panasonic equipment because the high-capacity P2 cards minimize dead production time.

Vasco Rossi‘s best-known song “Albachiara” lends its title to the film, which is based on Rossi‘s 2004 album, “Buoni o Cattivi.” The movie is set for release in June.

More information is available at www.panasonic-broadcast.com or by calling +49 611 235 459.

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About Panasonic

Panasonic is a brand name for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd. of Japan (MEI), one of the world‘s largest manufacturers of consumer electronics and ranked third on the Fortune 500 Electronics and Electrical Equipment Index. The company was founded in 1918 in Osaka, Japan, by Konosuke Matsushita and has grown from just three employees to more than 328,645 people worldwide. Panasonic has been operating in Europe since 1962, when it established its first sales office in Hamburg, Germany. The company‘s presence has increased throughout Europe following major investment programmes in manufacturing and sales operations.