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MillimeterProduction and Post at NAB 2008
May 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By D. W. Leitner and Dan Ochiva
This year's show saw many advances in digital cinema and color-management technologies.
Cine-tal Cinemage
Color and Post- production
By Dan Ochiva
What to do with color?
Capable digital technology is now in use throughout productions, and manufacturers are addressing one of the most difficult issues: controlling color throughout the production process.
Of course, color management is critical for the final look of a project, so manufacturers have tackled the issue on many fronts over the years. Back in 2006, for example, Thomson announced that its Bones open postproduction software framework complied with the American Society of Cinematographers Color Decision List (ASC CDL) standard that had been recently ratified. ASC CDL was intended to create a standard method of describing colors.
Calibration, it turns out, is key to pulling this off.
HP attempted a big splash at NAB 2008 with its announcement of DreamColor Technologies, a joint venture with DreamWorks to develop displays with 30-bit color and a “simple color-management process.” These displays feature a LED-backlit LCD screen that, HP claims, will match the quality of studio-level LCD displays at a fraction of the cost.
Over satellite, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg waxed enthusiastically about the technology at the show. “Prove to me it will be useful first,” was the wary reaction of a couple of DPs that I spoke with. The underlying HP/DreamWorks technology wasn't entirely a debut — it was rolled out last year, aimed at users of HP printers (i.e., mainly graphic artists and professional photographers). The color-management process does not use an open standard, which is potentially problematic to the high-end production market — although with the DreamWorks imprinteur, there may be surprises to come.
Cine-tal Systems continues to make a claim for leadership in comprehensive color management. At the show it announced an agreement with Rising Sun Research (RSR) to acquire that company's cineSpace color-management technology and product line. CineSpace will continue to be marketed as a standalone solution for color management for effects and DI post.
At NAB, Cine-tal and RSR demonstrated cineSpace with Cine-tal's existing product lines. CineSpace was shown supporting display profiling and matching LUT generation using Cine-tal's eL 1000 (a display processor and calibration-control unit) and Cinemage (an LCD reference monitor). In the future, Cine-tal will work to integrate cineSpace software with its own display-management software that has been in development for several years. The idea is to ensure constant quality as both captured images and digital effects move through the stages of on-set production, DI, and finishing. Otherwise, different image display systems that reside in different production and post facilities can radically affect the final image.
UK-based FilmLight, which has been developing tools for color calibration in post, unveiled a new focus on production with the debut of Truelight On-Set at the show. It's an increasingly competitive space: Arri, Da Vinci Systems, and LaserPacific are among the other companies working on products and proposed solutions.
FilmLight claims that On-Set enables the director and DP to set, during the shoot, a look that will serve as the foundation for color correction in post. The software integrates profiles of calibrated cameras and displays with color correction, all keeping to the ASC CDL format, of course. This means that any color decisions made on-set can be transferred to other ASC CDL-compliant devices used in postproduction. On-set corrections are applied in realtime to a 4:4:4 HD-SDI or DVI signal.
FilmLight makes a point of describing Truelight On-Set as “very user-friendly.” Most directors and cinematographers are tech-savvy, but the company believes they don't want to go through any technical training or complexities when they're working on a production. FilmLight also announced Truelight Unlimited, for exporting 3D LUTs to the rest of post (say to Autodesk Lustre or Flame).
FilmLight has also developed a high-end scanner to challenge the Thomson Grass Valley Spirit. While the two companies compete in that area, they're collaborating to enable FilmLight's Baselight color-grading system to control a Spirit. Turns out the well-thought-out control interface panel of the Baselight unit is a hit. High-end colorists around the world have converted to using Baselight color grading, but many of them want to use it to control the Spirit. Now they can.
