ABC's Vision of HD

Home , Currie Graham, Dominic Monaghan, Gordon Clapp, Harold Perrineau, Ian Somerhalder, Josh Holloway

ABC’s Vision of HD An interview with Alex Wallau

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PUB: HighDef Magazine 8.25 x 10.75 / BP2004 c o n t e n t s

NEWS 6

FEATURE ABC’s Vision of HD 8 8 an interview with Alex Wallau HD Tips: Know Your Camera by B. Sean Fairburn 14

HDTV Forum: Mixed Message on LCOS by Chris Chinnock 16

HD Sky Captain Eric Adkins by Conrad Denke 17 17 Daniel Pearl Creates Dark, Frightening “Frankenstein” by Bob Fisher 20

HD Gets the Red Carpet by Gerard Pomeroy 22

“A Prairie Home Companion” Comes to DVD by Jessie Nagel 24

24 Highdef Science on Discovery by Joseph Becker 26

HDTV, the Consumer Front by Dale Cripps 28

Post in HD or Not? It’s No Longer the Question by Randie Swanberg 29

“Strange Days on Planet Earth” 26 by Brian Cali 30

AMP Equips Blind Expedition in Tibet by Pamela Davis 32

The Ideal HD Editing/Compositing Workstation by Terry Cullen 34

Chris Columbus Discovers Paradise by William Conner 37 32 HD Color Grading Basics by John Davidson 40

Vol. 7, Issue 1 HighDef Magazine is published quarterly, free for professionals in all areas of video and film production, nationally by American Press Services, 2247 15th Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119. PUBLISHER: Conrad W. Denke EDITOR: David W. Thompson PRODUCTION: Gina Griffin Hanzsek DISPLAY ADVERTISING: Call David Thompson at 1-888-282-1776 or e-mail [email protected]. Deadline for advertising mechanicals is fifteen(15) days prior to publication date. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms, are 37 available on our website: www.HighDef.com. Send address changes to: HighDef Magazine, 2247 15th Ave. West, Seattle, WA 98119. PRINTER: Banta Publications Group, www.bantapublications.com

Front Cover: Desperate Housewives, primetime soap with a truly contemporary take on “happily every after,” this new hour-long drama takes a darkly comedic look at suburbia, where the secret lives of housewives aren¹t always what they seem. (L to R) Nicollete Sheridan, Brenda Strong, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher. Photo courtesy of ABC/Moshe Brakha NEWS

NFL HD FACILITIES EXPAND ear digital editing software. Avid Xpress comer Laura Allen, and filmmaker and NFL Network has installed a master Pro HD software delivers support for Louisville native Romans in the title control suite that supports mirrored native Panasonic DVCPRO HD acquisi- role. The film is one of the first feature- SD and HD program feeds transmit- tion and editing, Avid DNxHD editing length projects to take advantage of ted to cable and satellite affiliates. Last and rendering, and realtime multicam- the desktop HD editing capabilities November the network launched its era functionality. made possible by the Panasonic/Apple cable and satellite operations with the implementation of IEEE 1394 FireWire help of Ascent Media Network Services FOX, CBS TAP HELINET FOR with 100 Mbps DV-HD (the native operations and engineering staff. HD FOOTBALL video compression of Panasonic Fox and CBS have selected the DVCPRO HD recording systems). DALSA OPENS LA FACILITY Helinet/Cineflex HiDEF HD aerial BAND PRO PARTNERS WITH DALSA Corporation announced the camera platform to provide aerial HD ACCUSCENE DALSA Digital Cinema Center in coverage of NFL games this season. Woodland Hills, California. The 12,000 The aerial cable system – built around AccuScene Corporation Ltd. of square foot full service rental facility the Sony HDC-950 and HDC-F950 Scotland announced the appointment at 6160 Variel Ave will be home to cameras – has been used in several of Band Pro Film and Digital, Inc. of the DALSA Origin, the world’s first games in 2004 and is enlisted for Super Burbank, California as a Sales Partner and only 4K HD digital motion picture Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Fla. for the AccuScene™ range of HD eye- camera. The Center will provide a full piece viewfinder products and accesso- spectrum of digital cameras, accesso- LG EQUIPS HOTELS WITH ries. A full-color, high-definition eyepiece ries and services to meet the needs of HDTV system, the AccuScene™ provides an production companies and directors LG Electronics is equipping hotels with advanced viewfinder with the added of photography for a wide range of HDTVs, some integrated with digital facility of integral exposure monitor- production needs, from reality televi- tuners. The array of a new televisions ing and focus assist systems for precise sion programs to feature film produc- includes a widescreen 42-inch PDP, adjustment of both camera focus and tion. DALSA acquired the assets of 32-inch LCD and 30-inch CRT HDTVs exposure. Broadcast Plus, an established video that have encryption technology to SONY CHOSEN FOR THE equipment and services provider in protect digital content. “Now we have REBEL BILLIONAIRE Los Angeles currently serving broad- an encryption system that is both com- FOX’s The Rebel Billionaire: Branson’s cast and HDTV productions. patible with existing PPV interface con- trollers and meets the needs of movie Quest for the Best treats viewers to KVH BRINGS HD TO RVS studios and satellite providers,” said a program that not only features the KVH Industries is launching its Richard Lewis, senior vice president, LG largest prize in reality show history, but TracVision HD converter for DirecTV Electronics. also one that has been shot using the programming for RVs and motor tools of choice for high definition pro- homes. TracVision enables DVB-com- ARTBEATS FILM CLUTTER 2 ductions, Sony CineAlta™ technology IN HD patible TrackVision L3 and S3 anten- and the HDW-F900 camcorder. Bunim- nas to seek out, decode and track Film Clutter 2, sequel to Artbeats’ Murray Productions, the award-winning DirecTV’s new bird at 101 degrees popular Film Clutter collection, is now production team behind The Simple W, which beams most of DirecTV’s available with over 80 new clips of Life and The Real World, opted to shoot HDTV programming. countdowns, leaders, grain, scratches, the The Rebel Billionaire using six Sony light leaks and gate artifacts. Artbeats, HDW camcorders for their cost-effi- HDTV ON DEMAND IN D.C. an industry leader in royalty-free stock ciency, flexibility and image quality. Comcast has launched HDTV On footage for film, video and multimedia Demand in the Washington, D.C. professionals, developed unconven- BEXEL ADDS 60 CANON metro region, which includes the tional techniques for damaging film LENSES surrounding Virginia and Maryland to produce some of the most useful “Bexel has landed quite a few large suburbs. Philadelphia-based Comcast and unusual effects footage available. reality projects, including Survivor serves nearly one million households Artbeats Film Clutter 2 is available in and past and future episodes of The in the D.C. metro region and has both SD and HD. Apprentice,” stated Tom Dickinson, man- invested $600 million to upgrade aging director of Bexel, a world-leading more than 9,000 miles of fiber-optic SWEET WILLIAM ON international provider of professional cable. The On Demand service is VARICAM AND FCP HD video rental equipment and on-site added to the 18 HDTV channels that Sweet William, an emotional coming- technical broadcast services. “And our Comcast currently offers. of-age feature, was shot on location Olympic rental contract also included in Louisville, KY last summer with a large amount of lenses. Given those AVID XPRESS PRO HD Panasonic’s AJ-HDC27 VariCam® two factors, it made perfect sense to Avid Technology, Inc. announced plans HD Cinema camera. Writer/actor buy a significant amount of Canon to release Avid Xpress Pro HD soft- Bruce Marshall Romans’ debut film, lenses to service those two large types ware, the first portable HD version of Sweet William stars celebrated screen of rentals. HD 6 the company’s industry-leading nonlin- and stage actor Frank Langella, new- “NYPD Blue,” presently in its 12th season on ABC, is one of the longest-running ABC’s Vision of HD police dramas in broadcast history. Since its network debut in September 1993, the series earned 27 Emmy nominations in its first season, won the coveted award for Outstanding Drama Series in its sophomore year and received Emmy Awards for writing and directing in its fourth and fifth seasons. “NYPD Blue” has received an astounding 82 Emmy nominations, winning 20. Set against the gritty backdrop of New York City, “NYPD Blue” portrays realistic characters devoting themselves to the pursuit of justice while attempting to integrate their personal lives. “NYPD Blue” stars Dennis Franz as Detective Andy Sipowicz, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Detective John Clark, Gordon Clapp as Detective John Medavoy, Bill Brochtrup as John Irvin, Henry Simmons as Detective Baldwin Jones, Jacqueline Obradors as Detective Rita Ortiz, Currie Graham as Lieutenant Thomas Bale and Bonnie Somerville as Detective Laura Murphy. NYPD is shot on film and broadcast in Standard Definition and HDTV.

(L to R: Bonnie Somerville, Photo: ABC/Frank Ockenfels ABC/Frank Photo: Bill Brochtrup, Currie Graham, An interview with Alex Wallau, President, ABC Network Operations and Administration Mark-paul Gosselaar, Henry Simmons, Dennis Franz, Gordon Clapp, Dale Cripps, editor and publisher of HDTV Magazine, interviewed Alex Wallau. As president, ABC Network Dale Cripps: What are the most notable changes you have seen in the HDTV movement since Jacqueline Obradors) Operations and Administration, Mr. Wallau has direct oversight of ABC News, Network Sales, Affiliate Relations, we last spoke a year ago? Broadcast Operations and Engineering, Research, as well as the integration of ABC Sports with the ABC Television Alex Wallau: There has become more of a sense of inevitability about HDTV as a format. That Network. Over the years, as network vice president (1993-96), executive vice president (1996-98), president, is true for both consumers and broadcasters. Improvements in 8-VSB (over-the-air transmis- Network Operations and Administration (1998-2000) and now president, ABC Television Network (2000-pression standard) have been a help at the broadcasting level. The amount of programming, including ent), Mr. Wallau has witnessed many milestones in ABC’s broadcast history. He has been a strong advocate for Monday Night Football, has helped the consumer’s sense of the inevitable. You can add to this the ABC’s innovative digital ventures - including broadcasting the Primetime schedule in High Definition. 8 most important thing --the new low price points. 9 VelocityHD White HighDef Ad 12/15/04 2:51 PM Page 1

DC: The cost associated with HDTV must have of value. Whether individual station operators are impacted the bottom line. What has Wall Street’s able to extract value from MSOs is a part of the attitude been towards ABC for doing HDTV? negotiations under way. Those negotiations are always difficult. AW: It’s under the radar screen for Wall Street. First of all we were able to offset some cost with DC: What is the basis of cable’s resistance? Editing Doesn’t corporate sponsorships. It did not all effect the AW: Far be it from me to take cable’s side, but bottom line negatively. We have a great and help- let me express their viewpoint. They feel that it is ful partnership with Zenith- a free over-the-air broadcast, whether analog or LG. We are very grateful to digital, and so they have a right to take it down them for their participation. and turn it around for their own customers. Considering the billions of Have to Start Retransmission consent means that they don’t dollars in costs in broad- have this right. The question is: what value do casting, the millions of dol- you get for giving retransmission consent? To the lars we spent on HD was cable operator the ability to extract cash runs not so significant. into an attitude of religious fervor by the MSO, “ ” DC: The last time we who feels the pain for paying for free over-the-air With an A spoke we talked about sat- broadcast. ellite carriage. You said the DC: How is Monday Night Football doing for affiliates were very uncom- you? fortable with it. Does that remain true? AW: We are up year-to-year so far. We think the games look terrific in HD. I am proud that ABC is AW: The affiliates are involved in what most believe is the single great- very uncomfortable about est driver for the adoption of high-definition. us providing our Highdef signals to satellite. That still DC: I talked to Bryan Burns (ESPN) the other is very true. I am aware day. They made the announcement for a second of what CBS and NBC ESPN in HDTV. have done... and, we may AW: Their adoption of 720p, along with Fox’s end up there. But there is decision for that format, has been a great move significant resistance at the for what we believe is a great High-def format. affiliate level. They see it as Photo courtesy of ABC a way for people to get ABC Network television DC: Were you glad to see Fox come in? shows by some means other than the affiliate in AW: Yes, of course, The biggest single benefit for the marketplace. They want to be the provider. us was when the Department of Defense made ALEX WALLAU has DC: Murdoch and DirecTV made a rather stun- the judgment that 720p was the superior format been promoted to the newly created ning announcement not long ago saying that they for their purposes. For a number of reasons we position, President, ABC are going to have upwards of 1000 local HD thought that it was the better format. Interlace Television Network Channels starting with 500 as soon as next year. artifacts in the digital world didn’t make sense. ™ Administration and How does that contrast with the kind of thing When the DoD agreed, it was very comfort- Come see VelocityHD in action, and we’ll spell it out for you. Operations. Mr. you just mentioned? ing since we were at that time out on a limb by Wallau will report to ourselves. Since then the European Broadcasting Patricia Fili-Krushel, AW: Local into local is O.K. That retains the Union has decided on 720p/50. Fox has. ESPN President, ABC affiliate’s advertisers. That is just taking their signal Television Network.The has. We don’t care if the manufacturers make and putting it on the satellite and playing it back VelocityHD brings guaranteed, full-quality, real-time editing performance to high promotion is effective 1080i or 720p. What we prefer is they do what definition at a remarkable price — the type of “real-time” performance that delivers immediately. Mr. Wallau into their own market. They have no problem Panasonic did with their D5 professional tape true productivity gains, not just the type that sounds good on paper. Without will assume overall with that. They have a problem with distant sig- format - make it switchable between the two. responsibility for Sales, nals, such as WNBC in New York being nation- sacrificing quality or format flexibility. Compressed. Uncompressed. Full-raster. 1080. We want our switchers that way too. We want Broadcast Operations ally distributed. They get harmed because their 720. Interlaced. Progressive. HD. SD. VelocityHD does it all. and Engineering, and our cameras that way. That is the way the world commercials are not seen. It is not their local Affiliate Relations. (He is headed. Visit leitch.com/vhd and discover the benefits of a system that delivers both will also continue as programming. It hurts their viewership. They have substance and style. ABC’s on-air boxing an understandable concern. DC: Do you find additional use for the band- analyst.) width that you don’t need for HDTV when using DC: What is the relationship now with affiliates 720p? and cable? Are they finding a home for HD carriage? AW: Absolutely. That is one of the reasons we chose it. There will be some benefits down the AW: It varies. But it is still a battle. Cable and line for our affiliates because they will have more Canada +1 (800) 387 0233 Europe +44 (0) 1344 446000 10 satellite operators clearly see HD as something USA +1 (800) 231 9673 Hong Kong +852 2776 0628 Latin America +1 (305) 512 0045 www.leitch.com AW: Certainly! Monday Night Football, the Academy Awards in February, and the American Music Awards in January. We are trying to do vir- tually all of our specials in HDTV. DC: Do you find that Highdef is influencing the way programs are conceived and produced? AW: I find that people are trying to raise the bar on all of what they are doing and HD is a part of that process. Creators are excited from any increase in quality and excited about HDTV. DC: Let’s talk about the transition itself. Were you interested in the attempts by Senator John McCain to set the hard date for spectrum return to 2009 with a provision for a billion dollar loan to subsidize decoders for those refusing or unable to buy one? AW: I think it will take a lot more money than one billion dollars for a 2009 certain cut-off. It is absurd to think that Washington is going to turn off television to tens of millions of people. It’s Photo courtesy ABC political suicide. room in their digital spectrum to do other things. One of the funny things you hear in reviews DC: Is the Disney Corporation happy with the about HD PVR’s is that people find that the move you made to HDTV? (L to R) Al Michaels, capacity is 13.4 hours (for 1080i) but if you AW: Everyone is very pleased with the 720p Evander Holyfield and record ABC shows in 720P it’s 16 hours. decision. That was something felt to be very Alex Wallau. DC: What is the health of broadcasting today? important by the Disney Imagineering people, who were convinced that progressive scanning AW: It is a struggle. When you combine us with was the way to go. That has been a good thing our station group we are profitable. It is a busi- for us with other areas of the company that are ness that is extremely powerful but there are producing content. both challenges and opportunities in the future. DC: When you go home what is your own DC: Which challenge just shakes you to the core? viewing experience? What are your habits like? AW: PVR’s. In the mid-term that is the single AW: I watch more D-VHS I would bet than any- biggest challenge. We can play in most of the one in the world. I have D-VHS recorded both in distribution channels but the potential for disrup- New York and Los Angeles because I don’t get to tion of advertising is the single greatest threat we watch a lot of the shows live. So, I have D-VHS have. tapes made of all of our competition and our DC: Do you see the Internet for distribution in own shows. I have four separate JVC 400s - the ten or more years? professional version of the D-VHS player. I also have two HD-PVR’s. I have six more SD PVR’s. I ABC/Reisig & Taylor AW: One of the things that makes broadcasting watch a lot of television. compelling is local content. Viewers want to see their local news shows, especially. So, it would DC: And your family, do they feel as enthusiastic “LOST” – From executive producers J.J. Abrams (creator of “Alias”), Damon Lindelof (“Crossing Jordan”) have to be some kind of broadband distribution about all of this? and Bryan Burke (“Alias”) comes an action-packed adventure that will bring out the very best and the that was in conjunction with our affiliate body to AW: Martha and I have been married for 37 very worst in the people who are lost. “Lost” stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge make it as strong as it is right now. One of the years. We don’t have children but I can tell you Garcia as Hurley, Maggie Grace as Shannon, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Malcolm David Kelley as Walt, Daniel reasons we have such access to people’s homes that when my niece and nephews come to visit Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Dominic Monaghan as Charlie, Terry O¹Quinn as Locke, Harold Perrineau as Michael and Ian Somerhalder as Boone. Lost is shot on film and broadcast in is because we are in combination with local affili- they are more impressed with the fact that the X Standard Definition and HDTV. ates and their programming. It would be impor- Box has a component output that makes for bet- (Front row: Dominic Monaghan, Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly. Middle row: Josh Holloway, Yunjin Kim, Daniel tant to keep that going as long as the affiliate ter graphics then they are by seeing some HDTV relationship remains sound. Dae Kim, Malcolm David Kelley, Harold Perrineau. Back row: Terry O’Quinn, Jorge Garcia, Ian Somerhalder, show. Maggie Grace, Naveen Andrews, Emilie De Ravin.) DC: Any specials coming up that will be ideally DC: Thank you Alex. HD 12 suited to HDTV and thus exciting for the public? 13 © 2004 Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. U.S.A., © 2004 Fuji Photo Film “ I took my best work, the select of the selects, t i p s and entrusted it to b y B . SEAN FAIRBURN SOC Fujifilm HD videotape.”

hdIt never ceases to amaze cally. If you turn them OFF, then familiar with its features.” How me that when given the ability you MUST manually adjust for refreshing would that be? to adjust something on an HD EVERY single shot. Otherwise Three things will happen: camera that couldn’t be adjusted don’t complain when it’s not 1) You gain tremendous respect before, people will still find it working for you. from others proving that you easier to NOT adjust it and Hey I have an idea. OK care for the quality of your work complain about it anyway. gather around and listen closely. enough to know your limits. 2) This is comparable to sitting Test it first until you understand You’ll be motivated to learn in your garage, turning on your how it works and when to use it. the gear so well that you’re not car radio, setting the volume It’s that simple. turning down job offers due to B. Sean Fairburn so that it’s comfortable there, Hire someone that can your lack of skill. 3) You’ll be rec- SOC, Director of Photography putting the top down, doing 75 prove they know what they’re ommended by others because 818.621.3912 c, mph down the freeway, leaving doing to show you where to they are impressed by your atti- Local 600, Agent the volume where it was last look and how to see what is tude and knowledge. Steve Jacob set, and then complaining to being adjusted. Take a workshop It doesn’t matter what kind 323.460.4767 the radio manufacturer that you that will stretch and challenge of camera you are using: Viper, can’t hear it. It’s as if we forgot what you already know. Learn Sony, or Varicam. Learn how it that they put the volume knob how to use the adjustments to works before you complain that there for a reason. improve your abilities to do the the volume is too low. HD It’s the same in the complex work that is your profession. B. Sean Fairburn, Producer/ arena of making adjustments to Have the guts to say: “I’m not Director/DP Armor Clad cameras. If you turn on the Knee as familiar with that camera as I Warriors, Role Model Productions Sat and the DCC/Auto Knee, would like. Maybe I should con- LLC, [email protected], adjustments are made automati- nect with someone that is more www.seanfairburn.com

Pilot Mike Melvill standing on top of SpaceShip One. Shot in High Definition with the Fujinon 101x lens by B. Sean Fairburn. Director and cinematographer Al Giddings has shot thousands of hours of footage during his Emmy winning career and now he has taken the best of his work, 10,000 shots in analog, digital and film creating a remarkable new HD library. Al Giddings Images offers one of the widest varieties of ultra-high quality HD imagery available. He could have used any brand of videocassette, but he chose Fujifilm. “The color and resolution of the upconverted HD images is stunning, better than I ever thought possible. And it’s all stored 14 on Fujifilm videotape.” Forum hdtvb y CHRIS CHINNOCK Mixed Message on LCOS

For projection displays, there are three main els and go right to a 1920 x 1080 resolution. technologies: LCD, DLP and LCOS. The first By October, the company decided to exit the two dominate products today, but Liquid LCOS commercialization altogether. Crystal On Silicon (LCOS) has been promis- At nearly the same time, Philips also ing to become a viable technology for some decided to quit making LCOS panels and time. There are now some very impressive abandon further production on its recently LCOS products out in the market, but with introduced LCOS rear-projection TVs. Philips Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures some recent high profile failures, everyone is had been developing LCOS technology for wondering what is going on? a decade, but like Intel, fell victim to internal Sky Captain Working in favor of LCOS technology management reviews that could see risking are companies like JVC and Sony. JVC has further investment in the technology. HD Chris Chinnock is by Conrad Denke produced its version of LCOS (D-ILA) for The third blow came when another Eric Adkins President of Insight Media, a market years serving the high-end professional pro- LCOS producer, Brillian, announced that its research company jection market. Recently, they have offered manufacturing partner for rear-projection was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was a options at the time. A camera like the Viper with specializing in 1920 x 1080 resolution versions for home having problems producing the light engine. dream concocted by director Kerry Conran uncompressed capturing onto hard drives was the projection theater enthusiasts and a 1280 x 720 resolu- These RPTVs, which offer exceedingly good some 12 years prior to principle photography. not a viable option with three cameras, often display industry. tion rear-projection TV for mainstream con- performance, were slated to top a new line Eric Adkins, DP, had worked with Kerry start- shooting simultaneously. Knowing that we would Jude Law as Sky Captain [email protected] sumers. Sony has also introduced a 1920 x of high-end TVs to be marketed by Sears. But ing at CalArts where he tutored Kerry’s cin- be compositing in black and white after the key and Gwyneth Paltrow as 1080 high-end home theater projector using when trouble loomed and the Christmas sell- ematography class. Together they worked on a was pulled made it easier to justify the decision Polly in “Sky Captain and LCOS technology (they call it SXRD) and ing season was in jeopardy, Sears cancelled project involving 2D composite animation and regarding color space issues.” the World of Tomorrow” plans a 70-inch rear-projection TV with the the order. live action. Their expertise grew together adding The entire movie was shot in a studio, same resolution next year. So what does all this tell us? Many will 3D computer animation and culminated in a 6 except for background plates, and all the live Many think 1920 x 1080 resolution pro- read these tea leaves differently, but we minute demo called The World of Tomorrow, which action was shot in front of a blue screen. Eric jection systems is where LCOS will find its believe the failures noted above do not mean was the key to the ultimate greenlighting of Sky chose blue over green for several reasons. market niche. On the other hand, there have LCOS is finished. It does mean that these Captain. Gwyneth Paltrow’s “Veronica Lake” hair worked been some big stumbles in LCOS recently, companies had flawed technical and/or manu- The original budget for Sky Captain was better in action sequences, keying over blue using namely Philips, Intel and Brillian. facturing approaches that led to problems. about $5 million dollars. For such a limited an Ultimatte plug-in with After Effects software. Intel for example, generated a lot of Given the right manufacturing, marketing and budget with extensive graphics, Eric had the There also was a lot of green in the mock P49 challenge of planning for the recording of digital cockpit interior. excitement at CES’04 as it announced its product decisions, LCOS can succeed in the background plates and the dramatic live action During the extensive testing phase prior entry into the LCOS arena with plans to offer market. To date, we haven’t seen the right for- in a time restricted inexpensive way. “We were to the shoot, Eric designed a system of lighting 1280 x 720 resolution LCOS panels to RPTV mula, but with many companies still plying the fascinated by the work of George Lucas, and primarily using Space Lights and a lighting grid system integrators. By last summer, it decided LCOS waters, we think it’s only a matter of decided that HDCAM with the CineAlta F900 where adjustments could be made easily. With 16 to skip commercializing the 1280 x 720 pan- time before someone hits a home run. HD would be the best choice, considering all the the budget restraints, he found himself a hands- 17

18 Worldof Tomorrow” “SkyCaptain andthe onthebluescreen setof Photography,atwork Eric Adkins,Director of

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures shouldbeshut offincluding edge detail andany shootingblue screen even more camerasetup looking “grain.”alsoEric recommends that when canuglyturn stretched outnoise into normal andat-3db gaincontrolled ina environment, it revealsnoiseitstrue atthe bottom oftheprism, gain. Ashesaid: “Anunderexposed blue screen tocorrect theimpact, hesetthe cameras at-3db cameraswaslittlea noisier than theothers, and light,itgave himcontrol ofthehighlights. light.Even though thepolarizer required more himtouselighta key from theside back or¾ heusedpolarizer a most ofthetime. Thisallowed effectonHDwasobjectionable. Tocontrol this interpretedonfilm softasa glow, but thesame ducedglarea onfaces. Thisglare hadalways been fromdimmera board. needshandled byquicka re-patch orcontrolled onDP, with help fromandgrip athe electrical Eric discoveredEric that theblue chip onthe Oneconclusion earlyonwasthat HDpro - set. Whatyou arethen doing isprotecting the theimage unfortunately doesn’t look asnice on ideallyshould beswitched rawsetuptoa where film-outkeep inmind, most ofthesetup control, enabledthem toaverage 37shots day.a sidethekey light wascoming from.” Thissystem whatlens, cameraheight, tilt angle andwhat Mayapre-visualizations,” added,Eric “Weknew mappedoutahead oftime according toour municationandefficiency. “Wehadeverything elaboratepre-planning allowed for good com cameraframe. trollingtheblue spill, uptothesafe edge ofthe installedaround theblue cycwall toassist incon edges.”Inaddition, healso hadblack curtains themonitor, norhave them putanedge onyour bluefor you nomatter how pretty itlooks on goalistonotlet Sony’s electronics clean upthe colormatrixthat affects theblue channel. “The Eric recommendsEric that “whenshooting for a Duringtheprinciple shoot, fulla crew and - - moved. This “breathing”cangive a “video”look to videozooms, itdidn’t breathe astheelements impressedwith thefact that unlike most other 50mmzoom lenses allofthe time. Hewas shoot,hedecided tousematching Fujinon 5- makesthedepth offield comparable.” Onthe sizeofHDissimilar 16mmtoa film gate, which addednoise inthe(mid) gamma levels. inthedarker realms than film tohelp hide the HDcanbeadjusted tocapture more chroma thanartifacts film grainpushed chemically. But, tronicgain toraisethe “ASA”hasworse noise sensitivityandcontrast. However, increased elec Setuptomimic lowera equivalent film ASAin comparedtofilm. Youcanalso change theHD eringcapability ofabout ASA320rating when viaDigital Intermediate (DI).” color-corrected,look uptable (LUT) for film-out signalandluminance rangefor adding inpost, a Inthearea ofoptics, said,Eric “thechip TheSony F900 cameras have lighta gath - - theproject. Because hewaspreparing allhis pho Conranentitled ofMars.”“John Carter HDtech Thiswill include Eric’s next project with Kerry advantageoftheever improving HDtechnology. projectofthis type discovers more andtakes likeproducers of “RedRiding Hood.” Each new compositing.Othershave discovered thesame HDcreated thebest live action elements for ogywith thelook of1930’s motion pictures. And atednewalook bycombining moderntechnol theendofthe lens. nodalpoint turnedout tobeconsistently rightat plates,andother moving graphic elements. This touseasguides for connecting tobackground pointfrom thelens andpoints floorona grid totrackall the shots carefully andlocate nodala tographyaselements for thecomputer, hehad the art isclearly set. theart andEricmark Adkins’contribution oftohistory nologyhasadvanced since SkyCaptain andthe Worldof Tomorrow HD SkyCaptain ,but its cre - - - - in “SkyCaptain andthe GiovanniRibisi asDex Worldof Tomorrow” Photocourtesy ofParamount Pictures 19 t: 978.664.3288 Run by: WMS Ref#: Date: f: 978.664.1345 Frank MU4225_1 09.17.04

Daniel Pearl Creates FrankensteinDark, Frightening by Bob Fisher

Director Marcus Nispel and cinematographer Panavision provided two ARRI 16SR-3 cam- %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi 15%

Daniel Pearl, ASC, had 20 days to produce eras with Angenieux 11:135 and Canon 7:63 15% 20% 20% 30% 30% %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi Frankenstein, which premiered on the USA mm zooms and a set of prime lenses. Most of 10% 5% 2% 1% GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi 15% 15% 20% 20% 30% Network in widescreen HD format as a pre- the time, the cameras were tracking side-by-side 30% lude to Halloween. The 90-minute telefilm is a on dollies. One was usually on a wide master contemporary version of the classic story. The shot and the other one covered a medium focal original Dr. Frankenstein, a.k.a. Helios, is secretly length. Pearl preferred to come in tight with assembling an army of creatures with the inten- one camera for close-ups, rather than zooming, tion of taking over the world. The original because it shows the audience the space behind Frankenstein monster, a.k.a. Deucalion, is deter- the character. mined to stop him. All but a few of the brightest, daylight exte- “It’s a typical confrontation of good versus rior scenes were recorded on 500-speed Kodak evil,” says Pearl. “Marcus wanted Deucalion to Vision2 7218 film with minimalist lighting. be a heroic and empathetic character who lives “Marcus wanted a slightly gritty look,” Pearl on the edge of darkness. He wears a hood that says. “There’s a fine line between slightly gritty masks his face in shadows, except for glances you and obtrusive grain. We didn’t want to cross that get when he steps or turns his face into the light.” line. You have to trust your instincts, understand The film was produced at practical locations how each emulsion reacts to light, and how you in New Orleans. Pearl says the city provided a can manipulate the images in postproduction.” perfect environment. He suggested shooting in Pearl and Nispel put final touches on the Super 16 partially as a concession to a relatively look while timing the film for continuity at modest budget, but also because the compact Company Three. The experience convinced him cameras gave them an edge in keeping pace with the Super 16 format is an attractive option for the ambitious shot list. narrative films destined for HD display. HD

Actor Vincent Perez as Deucalion in the USA Cable Network original movie “Frankenstein,” Over 35 HD channels including: photographed by HBO® HD cinematographer You can either watch TV, or you can actually feel it. SHOWTIME® HD SM Daniel Pearl, ASC. An experience you’ll get with VOOM, the ultimate ® Cinemax HD HD satellite service. VOOM was specifically ® STARZ! HD created to deliver HD, with three times the HD SM Rush® HD channels of any other service, plus incredible Monsters® HD picture and amazing sound quality. Want to experience it Rave® HD yourself? Just call 1-800-930-5326 or go to voom.com Discovery® HD ESPN® HD

20 To receive high-definition television programming, customers must provide their own high-definition compatible televisions. Image resolution and sound quality depend on equipment. “3x more HD” based on 8/30/04 Web survey © Michael Grecco/USA Network Grecco/USA © Michael of major cable and satellite service providers. Subject to terms and conditions of the VOOM customer agreement, available at www.voom.com. The VOOM HDTV Delivered names and logo are service marks of Rainbow DBS Company LLC. Other trademarks and service marks shown are the property of their respective owners. © 2004 Rainbow DBS Company LLC. All rights reserved. %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi 15% 15% 20% 20% 30% VERSION: 1 DATE: 09-16-2004 VOM1-04-005-014 30% %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi %2 %10% 5% 2% 1% GATF Dot Gain Scale II -- 133 lpi 15% 15% PG 1 ART jason s. B common size: 20% Skydiver Ad 20% 30% 30% TRAF polly COPY T1 smallest trim 8.25 x 10.75 Page TIME USED AE kara j. T2 MAC mw PROD L 8 x 10 4/C PROOF master B High-Def - Oct/Nov/Dec HDRed Gets the Carpet by Gerard Pomeroy

Randall Dark, HD producer, HJ9X5.5B IRSD wide-angle HD to use on the red carpet, where director, and videographer, rec- lens (now updated as the model you’ve got celebrities coming ognized the potential of the for- HJ11ex4.7B IRSE) and Sony’s toward you and all of a sudden mat in the mid 1980’s. Starting HDW-F900 HDCAM cam- they’re three feet in front of you in his native Toronto, he worked corder are his tools of choice to being interviewed by Kristen on such landmark early HD shoot one of his latest assign- Martin, the show’s host. Having productions as Chasing Rainbows ments, INHD: Reel Look. A series a wide-angle lens that has the (1986). Dark later moved on to of “up-close-and-personal” visits quickness and fast rating of the Texas, where he gained recogni- to gala red-carpet Hollywood 9 to 1 makes it the perfect lens tion as a producer and shooter premieres; INHD: Reel Look is for that environment.” HD of hundreds of HD projects. shown on the INHD cable net- Films featured on INHD: Reel Today Dark is the president of work. Look thus far have included HD Vision Studios, Inc., a full-ser- “What I love about high Around the World in 80 Days, vice HD production, post, dailies, definition is the sense of being The Village, and Mr. 3000. studio, and rental facility based in there,” Dark explains. “This kind To learn more about INHD: Reel Studio City, California of show is a ‘killer app’ for HD. Look, go to www.inhd.com. For Having directly participated We’d all love to shake hands information about Randall Dark as a hands-on user in the evolu- with the stars and directors at and HD Vision Studios, log on to tion of HD, Dark’s equipment movie premieres; my goal is to www.hdvstudios.tv. choices are carefully considered. create that experience in HD. That’s why, he explains, Canon’s This Canon lens is perfect

INHD: Reel Look “Bridget Jones Edge of Reason” Director/Camera Op: Randall P. Dark, Host/Interviewer: Kristen Martin Location: ArcLight Cinemas

22 Elliot Jeni Photo by by Photo

121504_ddc_adv_hdm_out.indd 1 12/14/2004, 2:27 PM Photos courtesy of Prairie Home Companion Home Prairie of courtesy Photos A Prairie Home Companion

DVD menus and edited the gallery slide show Comes to DVD and Melissa Wagner designed all the DVD and CD packaging. Tony Mills and Brian Wagner, also from HI-WIRE, seamlessly united all of the ele- by Jessie Nagel ments for the 24p master. HI-WIRE’s sister company, BWN, mixed over 50 tracks in stereo and After 30 years of A Prairie Home Companion truck from New York (All Mobile Video), and 5.1 surround. on radio, Garrison Keillor’s popular program a separate audio truck from Florida (Artisan With a running time of 106 minutes, the th is now available on DVD, captured in 24p HD. Recordings). DVD includes the 30 anniversary live broad- River Road Entertainment, a Minnesota-based “To capture the feel of the live show we had cast with Keillor and cast performing their spe- integrated entertainment company involved in to deal with several different elements coming cial blend of folk, blues and gospel songs and the production of feature films and documenta- together,” adds Joe Brandmeier. “The eight cam- comedy sketches. The broadcast included special ries, produced the DVD working with HD post era angles were important in keeping the feel of guests Philip Brunelle, Jearlyn Steele and Inga experts HI-WIRE. live radio and giving a few different perspectives Swearingen, and cast regulars Sue Scott, Tom “This is an exciting project, both from the you might not normally see. We had an 18 foot Keith, Fred Newman and Tim Russell, with music HD perspective and the consumer appeal,” notes jib on stage, hand-helds in various places to cap- by The Guy’s All-Star Show Band. Special bonus Prairie Home Productions in conjunction with Lisa Meyer, River Road Entertainment Managing ture the show within the show (i.e, actors, props material includes additional sketches and songs, River Road Entertainment and distributed nation- Executive. and musicians on and off stage, mic stands, music a sound effects “Balloon Trip,” and a behind-the- wide by American Public Media. The DVD and CD A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison sheets all over, etc.), and an additional jib in the scenes photo gallery of rehearsals and candid are distributed by Rounder Records. The DVD can Keillor: 30th Broadcast Season Celebration DVD audience to reach balcony and box views.” shots – all told, more than two hours of material. be purchased at Barnes and Noble, on Amazon. gives far-flung listeners a chance to experience With the HD shoot complete, the footage Offering a unique inside look at one of com and at Best Buy and Target stores. HD the program from the best seats at the famed was sent to postproduction company HI-WIRE. radio’s most beloved shows, the DVD is not Jessie Nagel is Co-Founder of Hype, an entertain- Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. The The best from each night was selected and only a collector’s item for any fan of A Prairie ment communications agency based in Los Angeles, show was filmed using an eight HD camera set- edited to create a seamless one hour and 45 Home Companion, but also introduces others CA. www.hypeworld.com. to a cultural phenomenon that has become as up during a live May 2004 broadcast. minute program. The bonus material on the DVD Joe Brandmeier directed, A Prairie Home much a part of the American landscape as Lake Director Joe Brandmeier, producer Craig includes footage of performances by neo-country Companion with Garrison Keillor: 30th Broadcast Wobegon™ itself. Rice and crew filmed the performance over band BR549 and still photography taken behind Season Celebration. www.joebrandmeier.com. 24 two nights. The production brought in an HD the scenes. HI-WIRE’S Jeff Kopp designed the A Prairie Home Companion is produced by 25 Photo by Jean-Marc Giboux/Getty Images Images Giboux/Getty Jean-Marc by Photo HighdefDiscovery Science on

By Joseph Becker

When I first started developing The Science scientific discoveries happened in different fields Channel’s 100 Greatest Discoveries, I knew it including earth sciences, evolution, biology, medi- needed to be in high definition. This series cine, genetics, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. explores landmark scientific revelations which sig- Each episode showcases scientists from the earli- nificantly changed the world - from dinosaurs to est days who questioned the universe to today’s DNA, electricity to atoms. scientists who continue to examine what makes The nine-episode series begins in February the human race and Planet Earth tick. on Discovery HD Theater. Producer and Director Nye interviews scientists who made great Michael Fountain originally wanted to do the discoveries including Nobel laureates Professor series in film, but that was far too expensive. They Murray Gell-Mann, who discovered the quark

Photo by: Nick Koudis Koudis Nick by: Photo ultimately found shooting in 24p more logisti- (a fundamental particle that makes up protons cally manageable and creatively, more satisfying. and neutrons), and Dr. Marshall Nirenberg, who 100 Greatest Discoveries Furthermore, with HD, the final product didn’t unlocked the human body’s genetic secrets. host, Bill Nye. have that hard, video look. When considering the visionary thinkers Producers treated the series like film - from the series chronicles, it only made sense to take The structure of DNA as a double-helix: One of the top lighting to the attention to detail in period dress- advantage of the technological leap that HD 100 greatest discoveries of all ing and graphic packages. The historical vignettes offers. Along the way, we made our own great time. (Genetics episode) are in fact reenactments, authenticating and mak- discovery: HD’s clarity and detail immerses viewing the many depictions of those great scientific ers in those “Eureka” moments and better depicts discoveries all the more believable. these astounding discoveries’ enormity. HD Hosted by Emmy-award winner Bill Nye, The Joseph Becker is Executive Producer for thinkfilm, Science Channel’s 100 Greatest Discoveries fea- inc., which produced the program. 26 tures lively and dramatic accounts of how great THE CONSUMER FRONT In HD or Not? by DALE CRIPPS Post It’s No Longer the Question

by Randie Swanberg I was asked today if we have turned the visible improvements over their previous fab line. hdtvcorner on HDTV? A cautious “yes” is my I ask Berkoff if there was any pressure on him or If you live in one of the more than 6 million response. I still remain alert to any cracking Philips to compromise the image quality in order HDTV households in the U.S., it’s likely you’ve of the ice which could cause a collapse of the to lower the price. To my delight he said that been wowed by the outstanding quality of high- movement. I pay attention to the retail sales the road to lower prices had nothing to do with def. You may also have noticed the relative poor results and question what they may mean to compromising image quality. quality of many of the commercials. Many of our future. I have worried about widescreen “We will never compromise the quality of those spots are simply up-rezzed versions of ads displays being cheapened to 480p (or less) in image for price since quantity will take care of that run on standard-def TV. an attempt to reach better price price for us,” explained a confident Berkoff, “We Today, almost all prime time series are post- points (plasma did that). Another are not going backwards. We are only going for- ed in HD, if not for immediate simulcast in HD, concern is over bandwidth being wards with picture quality.” Still, standard resolu- then for the purpose of archiving. The advertising whittled down by cable and/or tion 4:3 set sales were only off by 4% in the first industry, by contrast, has been much slower to satellite services during peak satel- 33 weeks of this year. In this record consumer embrace HD. lite hours. Over-the-air transmis- electronics year some 85% of the non-plasma, Television producers have strong incentive sion has been praised for having a non-direct-view-LCD TVs sold through the 33rd to produce HD masters, hoping their series will better quality than from the more week of this year were non-HDTV direct-view live on for years in syndication, well into the time compressed cable or satellite out- (tube) TVs. HDTV represented only 14% of the when HD will be mandated. Advertisers don’t lets. NBC was widely criticized for total TVs sold in this same 33 week time frame. share that long term view as the life-span of the Dale Cripps is the heavy pixelization due to compression on their The other 86% were standard sets with a life average spot is measured in weeks or months. 30 and 15 second versions to NTSC. When we publisher of HDTV recent Olympic telecasts. They were also raked expectancy of 20 years (or more) and while they There are several good reasons why adver- finished, Revlon and its agency, Deutsch, were so Magazine, the first over the coals for having a day’s delay in the tele- may be set aside earlier there is no evidence to tisers should consider producing more of their pleased with the longer version they decided to publication in the cast, something our viewers said was indefensible. say they will. While the FCC’s mandatory law world dedicated to spots in HD right now. For one thing, HD makes air it in its entirety during the season premiere of Here you have the premier sporting event of the (phases in the incorporation of a DTV tuner the consumer of High- an ideal mastering medium. From an HD master, The Bachelor. With an HD master, it was simple times compromised in quality and importance. in to all sets eventually) will do much to create Definition programming it is quite simple to produce a version of a spot to meet their requests. and hardware, and the The TV stations have not yet found an alter- a broader receiver market though the image for cinema display or to down-convert to NTSC Agencies have other reasons for their reluc- founder and president native use for digital spectrum and so allow all of may still remain 480i for a large segment of the or to PAL for European display. As delivery tance to post more work in HD; it can be more of the High-Definition it to be used in HD transmission. They follow the population. Consumers can jump on that low Television Association mediums continue to proliferate, spots are now expensive, it can take longer, and it can be tech- mantra saying: “broadcast must be best”. While cost ATSC tuner from USDTV at Walmart and of America. He has turning up on the Internet, on DVDs and even nically challenging. All of these obstacles can be they suffer from neglect and a business model hook it to their analog input of an old set. This is been involved with on POP displays in supermarkets. It makes practi- mitigated by learning more about the medium. the development of that can be relied upon they are beginning to a worry to those who need to reach everyone cal sense to have a single master to serve as a At R!OT, we feel strongly that HD is not the HDTV for 20 years and wake up and show an earnestness at making with HD before they can hope to profit from source for all media. HD is also the perfect archi- medium of the future, but rather the medium of is a member of the the transition work. Sinclair Broadcast Group, this magnificent innovation. HD Academy of Digital val medium, one of the best ways to store assets the here and now. So strongly do we believe that once a formidable 63 station opponent to the — Dale Television Pioneers. for often unpredictable future needs. our agency clients ought to be looking to HD, HDTV transition, is now making public service hdtvmagazine@ilovehdtv. He is the winner of We recently posted the Revlon mini-movie that we have held a series of seminars to help that organization’s announcement tapes promoting HDTV available com Sexy Story in Four Parts that featured actresses them learn how to make the HD experience prestigious Press to any of their broadcast colleagues. Halle Berry, Julianne Moore, Eva Mendes and pain-free. Making the switch to HD now will Leadership Award –- While there is pressure to skimp on band- the highest honor the Jaime King. The package was intended to include not only enable agencies to better meet today’s width, displays may not be victim to such pranks. industry bestows – for a 2 minute theatrical version plus several 30 and diverse distribution needs, it will also give those At the “HDTV Forum 2004” conference, I talked the year 2002. 15 second cut-downs for airing on television. We 6 million HDTV owners a reason to stick around to Bruce Berkoff, Executive Vice President and posted the project in HD, then used the high- during the commercial breaks. HD chief marketer of large area liquid crystal displays def master to produce a 2 minute 24p version for LG Philips. I was impressed with their dem- Randie Swanberg is a Senior Visual Effects Artist at for theatrical display and to down-convert the 28 onstration as it clearly showed an increase in R!OT Manhattan 29 Strange Days on Planet Earth

by Brian Cali

Around the globe, scientists are racing to solve natural history unit photographed animals and a series of mysteries. Crumbling houses in New plants. An underwater unit shot both scientists Orleans are linked to voracious creatures from and natural history in the Caribbean, Australia, southern China. Vanishing forests in Yellowstone and on California’s Pacific Coast. The series uti- are linked to the disappearance of wolves. An lized a variety of lenses, including macro photog- asthma epidemic in the Caribbean is linked to raphy and microscopy. dust storms in Africa. Scientists suspect we have According to Executive Producer (and entered a time of global change swifter than any underwater cinematographer) Mark Shelley, Sea human being has ever witnessed. Studios Foundation, “Producing in HD represents Strawberries & Milk at 1000fps National Geographic’s Strange Days on Planet future-proofing for us - with an HD master, we Earth, premiering Wednesdays, April 20 and 27, own material that we’ll be able to sell for years 2005 from 9 to 11pm on PBS (check local list- to come. VariCam really pushes color in uncon- ings), explores these questions. Award-winning ventional ways - the underwater video looks bet- actor, writer, director and environmental activ- ter than 16mm, and we got extremely beautiful HIGH SPEED MEETS ist Edward Norton hosts the series, which was imagery on land.” shot internationally with Panasonic VariCam HD DP Erich Roland added, “The variable speed Cinema cameras. function was a perfect match for this shoot. We HIGH DEFINITION Production for each of the four one-hour did some stunning time-lapse photography and Band Pro brings high speed to high 1000fps High Definition under Windows 2000. So the crew can view episodes took place on land and underwater, in created highly-stylized portrait photography with Featuring a prismless 1536 x 1024 CMOS near realtime playback right after the shot. locations including Nigeria, Alaska, St. Thomas, 4 fps swirling backgrounds.” HD definition with Cine SpeedCam™, imager, Cine SpeedCam™ captures up to Trinidad, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Amsterdam, 1000fps at full resolution or 10,000 fps at Defining Band Pro National Geographic’s Strange Days on Planet the premiere true high-speed digital Venezuela, and Yellowstone. Five VariCam cam- Earth is a Sea Studios Foundation Production for lower resolutions. Images are rendered as Cine SpeedCam is another technological uncompressed TIFF sequences or AVI for- breakthrough in HD from Band Pro. At Band eras worked simultaneously: one camera for each Vulcan Productions, Inc. and National Geographic camera system designed for HD mats. Output is simply imported into HD Pro, bringing cinematographers the latest of four episodes shot, one for sequences with Television & Film; WGBH Boston presents the series editing and computer graphics systems. innovations is what we’re about. scientists featured in the series, and a separate on PBS. cinematography. Whether shooting

green screen, tabletop, action Film-style Camera The Cine SpeedCam system includes a To own or rent contact: sports, documentary, music videos, compact Weinberger progressive-scan HD camera that accepts PL mount 35mm or The alien species water or narrative, Cine SpeedCam Nikon B-mount lenses. The film-style camera hyacinth clogged 80% of is fully compatible with a Chroszsiel Uganda’s Lake Victoria, captures slow-motion widescreen Mattebox, Follow-focus, Preston zoom control, 818-841-9655 making it nearly impossible and top-mounted monitor/finder. The system B u r b a n k • M u n i c h • Te l Av i v for local fishermen to jump-off-the-screen images. includes a separate capture station that runs www.bandpro.com maneuver their boats through the water. When it comes to hi def, nobody does it like Band Pro dation Glass shattering at 1000fps

30 Foun Studios Sea © © Photo courtesy of Climb Higher Productions Ltd., Photo by Didrik Johnck Didrik by Photo Ltd., Productions Higher Climb of courtesy Photo AMPEquips Blind Expedition

In Tibet By Pamela Davis

What do you do when world- expedition began,” explains AMP production experience, so our famous blind mountaineer, Erik VP, Aaron Latham. “The first natural approach to each proj- Weihenmayer, asks for help with system we devised was based ect is that of a producer. We’re an HD documentary about his on an Apple G-4 Powerbook always looking for end-to-end At the base of Lhakpa next expedition: leading a group equipped with Final Cut Pro workflow solutions,” asserts Ealy. Ri, the summit to be of blind teenagers up a 23,000 HD with 9 terabytes of external ‘By providing everything from mounted by the blind foot Tibetan peak? “You consider Firewire storage and a second production consulting to camera climbing team, the all the variables unique to their Firewire card in the card slot packages to post systems and crew is drawn to the production, then focus on com- (for the drives). You could then supervision, we can help our village square. ing up with workflow solutions,” connect the mobile FCP system clients streamline their produc- answers Jim Ealy, President of with Firewire to a compact tions and bring costs down.” AMP Filmworks. “A project like Panasonic 1200A DVCPRO HD This documentary, Climb that is bound to have some deck (weighing in at only 18 Higher, is Weihenmayer’s second major hurdles. You can’t simply pounds!) and edit right there on HD effort. The first, Farther ship whatever gear the crew the mountain. Than the Eye Can See, charted orders to Lhasa and then just In the end, two 1200A decks his ascent of Mt. Everest and wait for it to come back.” went up with the crew in order debuted to critical and popular Surprisingly enough, one of to clone the masters. The clones acclaim in 2003. HD the most pressing problems fac- were then spirited down to base AMP Filmworks provides digital ing the documentary crew was camp and shipped off to the edi- production and post equipment time. “To meet their deadline, tor, cozily ensconced in his plush rentals and services from its new the editor needed to be digitiz- (and dry) facilities in London. facility in Los Angeles’s sprawling 32 ing footage the moment the Both of us have decades of LA Center Studios. 1 Beyond HD Pro is a 10 bit uncompressed HD editing/compositing workstation. The Ideal HD Editing/Compositing Workstation by Terry Cullen

Technical specifications imposed by the demand- There are two basic design approaches Part I ing HD format on editing and compositing to handling the data throughput and process- workstations make choosing the right system a ing requirements of HD: dedicated hardware minefield for most editors. Because HD requires or general purpose computers. On top of that, data rates and processing power approaching 50 levels of video compression from none to high times higher than less demanding formats such can be combined with either. When the efforts as DV, the system requirements for HD worksta- to develop workstations for HD started, it was tions are dramatically different. These differences questionable which approach would be the best have caused manufacturers to take significantly or even feasible. The conservative approach was different approaches. In this two part article, we’ll to choose dedicated hardware because it was examine first the critical technical differences unclear early that computer advancements would between these approaches and associated trade- allow general purpose computers to handle HD. offs. In the next issue, workflow, SANs, usability An even more conservative route was to choose and financial issues will be explored. a combination of dedicated hardware and video Terry Cullen, President, Rule #1: Never let a vendor tell you what compression. The reduced data rates of com- Founder and CEO of you need. One size does not fit all. You have pression solved some problems, but with quality 1 Beyond many choices today including: real-time vs. drawbacks. rendering, compression levels, portability, off- Now, after major advances, computer tech- line/on-line and cost? Surprisingly, with all these nology has met and even exceeded the challenge choices, higher cost does not necessarily buy of processing the most demanding uncom- 34 higher quality. pressed HD. The solutions based on general purpose computers have shown to be cost effective detail editing in off-line resolution, including not because they do not require large boxes filled catching a scene that might be slightly out of with custom hardware. focus. And, experienced HD editors and shooters Rule #2: Quality is ONLY a function of have told me they often hold shots longer in HD compression. If an expensive system with dedi- because of the beauty of the medium. cated proprietary hardware is using compression, How can I edit on-line if I have large no matter how good the algorithms, it will not amounts of footage? One workflow solves this have the quality of an uncompressed system problem without the off-line editing disadvantag- that may cost far less. In discussing HD with a es. First the editor would use reduced quality to network executive I asked, “I’m curious, why you initially scan the footage into the computer. If you are looking for an uncompressed system?” His have an on-line disk large enough for 5 hours response, “Considering how much it cost me to of HD, you can use this space for up to 200 light and shoot an HD production, don’t tell me hours of DV or 40 hours of SD. Then you can the first thing you’re going to do is compress it! select your video in a very rough cut, discard the No, forget it. I spend the money for the beauty unused video and then recapture the selected of HD and I want to preserve every ounce of it!” shots up to 5 hours in HD. This is not traditional The debate over compression is complex off-line editing but rather rough video selection. because sometimes compression has very little By reducing the amount of HD footage, you now effect on quality, and other times it is significant. can edit at full HD resolution. In the purest sense, a production seeking the 1 Beyond HD Pro™ edit systems are avail-

highest quality would want no compression. able in every variation discussed in this article Photo by Renegade Nation However, there are some valid reasons for the including compressed and uncompressed. The compression/quality tradeoff: portability, use of uncompressed version has made the most of Chris Columbus Discovers inexpensive SANs (more in Part II), and time advances in computing power and as with all 1 constraints. The 1 Beyond high performance Beyond systems, uses an open system, general laptops, for example, are unique because their purpose computer approach. power allows editing HD in real-time using soft- The good news - whether your priority is ware compression. cost, time to completion, portability and/or qual- Rule #3: Off-line editing is not a feature. It’s ity, there are now affordable solutions for you. For a tradeoff. It provides benefits like lower cost and additional details consult www.1Beyond.com and Paradise use of smaller and slower storage drives, and read the White Paper “Design Considerations of by William Conner portability. However, just as HD can be cruel to HD Workstations.” HD actors, it can be cruel to editors. You can miss Paradise FX of Van Nuys, California has shot HD Columbus got involved with the project and 3D all over the planet, but nothing matches after he discovered his kids listening to Little the energy and effort they expended covering Steven’s Underground Garage syndicated radio Iggy Pop attacks Little Steven’s International Underground Garage show. A friend and big fan of Little Steven, he Paradise ParaCam Festival. The concert, organized by Steven Van loved the idea of a 3D shoot. “I’m here for the HD3D camera #1 The 1 Beyond HD Pro Zandt, was held in August on Randalls Island in 3D,” he said. system comes complete New York and featured 45 bands including Iggy The design of the show required the use of with near-line removable Pop and the Stooges, The Strokes, Bo Diddley, and three high def 3D cameras that would live on storage. The New York Dolls. Over 16,000 enthusiastic fans stage with the performers. Paradise linked up turned out for the Festival in spite of warnings their proprietary HD3D ParaCam™ technology that Hurricane Charlie was bearing down on the to six Sony F-900 CineAlta™ cameras and six stage that very day. Fujinon zoom lenses with precisely synchronized, Tim Thomas, Max Penner and James Brooke wireless, focus, zoom, and iris lens controls. No of Paradise FX assembled an experienced high small feat. def crew from Los Angeles to work with New The other camera positions included three York’s Renegade Circus and All Mobile Video. stationary HD cameras and a SteadiCam. In Under the direction of Chris Columbus (Harry addition to the HD coverage, eight 8mm cam- Potter, Home Alone), seven HD camera positions eras and six DVCams continuously shot “behind 36 were set up at the concert venue. the scenes” footage. Twenty-one different cam- 37 Photo by Renegade Nation

era angles provided complete and dynamic cov- est HD 3D technology. 3D character animation erage of the event. integrated with retro black and white B-movie The project was originally developed for footage will be scanned from 35mm to HD and digital cinemas and the frame rate of 29.97 was then converted again from 2D to 3D. Paradise adopted. But on the day before the concert, will convert the 2D material to 3D for anaglyphic These go-go dancers Paradise learned that Chris Colombus wanted theatrical release using a new process they have were some of more than to ultimately convert to 35mm film for wide been developing with partners from Japan. 60 dancers that were theatrical release. Switching from 30p to 24p “We had to pull out all the technical stops hired to dance during was no problem for the Paradise ParaCam™, but on this project,” said Paradise Co-Founder, Tim every act. This was All Mobile Video had only secured equipment to Thomas. Business as usual for Paradise whose during Nancy Sinatra’s record at 29.97p. The conversion to 24p would resume in 3D reads across 15 years and some “These Boots Are Made have to be done later. 40 separate 3D projects. For Walking.” Intermittent showers and high winds kept The final picture will be an amusing look at the Paradise crews scrambling for 14 consecutive the state of music today, narrated by 3D animat- hours, covering band after band after band. The ed rock-n-roll characters who not only introduce Sony F-900 cameras performed flawlessly as did each band, but reflect back on the very roots of the 3D synchronized Fujinon 10-1 zoom lenses. “cool.” “Cool never gets old or out of fashion,” All seven HD cameras were synchronized with exclaimed Van Zandt. common time code and a real-time 3D display Paradise FX and Post Solutions in Los allowed Stereographer/DP Max Penner to view Angeles will collaborate on completing this chal- the images live in 3D. lenging HD 3D motion picture scheduled for When finished, the 90-minute concert release in the Spring of 2005. HD 38 movie will have incorporated Paradise FX lat- ColorHD Grading Basics

by John Davidson

Color grading is the process of manipulating and crisp tone to the picture. This process con- aspects of a film or video image in post-produc- ducted during production, can be time consum- tion. Often called color correction, this step in ing and expensive, tying up cast and crew for the the post-production workflow is critical in the duration of the process. It can also restrict the development of the ultimate “look” of any pro- director from making changes later. duction. Originally used primarily for projects that Color grading presents another option: originated on film, the color grading process is create the look in post. If a director shoots in a now an invaluable tool for HD as well. straightforward style, the color grading process Color grading is conducted by a “color- allows him or her to employ the exact same ist” who is often a combination of artist and cold blue tint in post, without the expensive technician. He or she uses a variety of tools to on set adjustments. And, with the color grading manipulate elements of the picture, including process, a director can experiment with a full contrast, black level and brightness, as well as range of stylized looks - risk free, because he or hue and saturation. In addition, the colorist com- she can always return to the original. It’s impor- mands control over gamma (midrange) value, tant to point out that there is no substitute for image sharpness, and the primary color compo- great lighting and correct use of lenses for image nents of video: the red, green and blue channels. effects like depth of field. But even these ele- Additionally the colorist can isolate individual ments can be manipulated in the color grading sections of the image and manipulate them sepa- process. rately from the rest of the picture. The key to maximizing the potential of the Color grading can be used to apply a cer- color grading process is to ensure that on set tain look to a shot, scene or entire program. It lighting has the desired effect on the subjects gives the director tremendous creative latitude and the environment. But they should be careful to tweak and manipulate the most subtle char- not to “overexpose” the image. HD retains an acteristics of the picture to help set a tone or enormous amount of information, but much is mood. Skin tones and textures, scenic shadows lost forever when the whites and high end of the and highlights, and the full range of colors on HD picture are blown out. can be enhanced or suppressed through color On the other end of the scale, information grading. A filmmaker can maximize HD images, and details that are lost in the low end of an yielding vibrancy and brilliance that was captured “underexposed” HD image often can be recov- on the tape, but was hidden until manipulated by ered. So, if given the choice, a DP should err on the colorist. the low side, underexposing an image(without A DP has the option of manipulating light- crushing the blacks), rather than overexposing, ing, lenses, filters and other elements on the set with the knowledge that, if desired, an overex- to produce a desired look. Maybe the director posed effect still can be accomplished through wants to shoot a scene that feels cold. So he or color grading. 40 she may employ techniques to lend a slightly blue Finally, color grading should be conducted These “before” and “after” stills from the HD feature “House With Pool” give an example of one use of color grading. The “before” image shows how the original HD video was recorded by the camera. The color grading objective was to provide more emphasis on the women and create a mystical look with a desaturated tone. The “after” image shows how adjustments in the gamma ratio and power windows along with the de-focus channel on the daVinci achieved those objectives.

after the project goes through HD online edit- For further discussion is the process of DI ing, and preferably before titles and graphics are or Digital Intermediate, which incorporates a lot added. Color grading tools are frame accurate of the same tools and philosophy as described (actually field accurate!), and can import the above. This process then may include going out online EDL to ensure that every frame of video to film for distribution as well as grading to a is manipulated to achieve the desired results. Also projection system in order to best simulate the - and this is important - editing the final version end result in a theatre environment. of the program allows the colorist and the direc- So, when shooting an HD project, it’s wise tor to manipulate each shot or scene relative to to save some of your creativity for the color the others in the program, to ensure continu- grading process. HD ity of the look, or to change looks of adjoining John Davidson is Chief Colorist at Victory Studios in 42 scenes to provide contrast. Seattle.