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Jan 24, 2005 10:04 AM
Telecine Two-Step
By Michael Goldman
Romance & Cigarettes, an upcoming independent feature written and directed by John Turturro, illustrates the growing affordability of HD dailies in the indie film world. Turturro shot the movie in 35mm over the course of 45 days in New York City, and during that time, he turned to a workflow process developed by PostWorks, New York, to create simultaneous, direct-to-tape-and-disk HD and SD transfers for the purpose of quickly achieving two key goals.
Those goals: to let editor Ray Hubley quickly edit the movie in his Avid Media Composer using instantly accessible audio-synched selects for rapid dailies viewing in PostWorks’ digital theater; and simultaneously archiving those takes in the 1080/24p HD format in order to speed up the HD online process once Hubley finished his edit.
PostWorks has been improving this pipeline and workflow approach during the last two years. According to Billy Baldwin, PostWorks' president, for Romance & Cigarettes, the company utilized a Thomson Spirit DataCine in combination with a da Vinci 2K color correction system and a Panasonic AJ-HD3700 deck to produce HD D5 dailies and SD DVCAM versions, fed into the company’s Avid Unity network. Baldwin says the company used an Evertz Tracker system to build visual windows and flex files for the SD media, while audio, recorded on-set to DVD-RAM disks using a Fostex PD-6 deck, was synched during the film transfer in an offline edit suite.
“The idea is to get rid of the work print process and serve multiple masters--not only for dailies viewing, but also for the whole editorial process at the same time,” says Baldwin. “In particular, it helped for test screenings, which are becoming far more important in filmmaking at this level. Considering the time frame was so short, and we had to do it each time on a single pass while making sure all the EDLs and their metadata were correct, this was definitely the most complex test of this workflow we have tried on a feature film.
"The point is: we can get the images directly to the Unity server and the editorial suite simultaneously. HD transfers have traditionally been reserved for higher budget films, but this is very much a smaller, independent venture, and now that kind of speed and efficiency is available for those kinds of projects.”
HD Video Monitors On The Rise
The number of studios planning to buy HD video monitors increased by more than 50 percent in the past eighteen months. One in ten (11 percent) of U.S. studios/facilities plan to buy one or more HD
video monitors in 2005.
Just about anything about HD seems to be a hot topic these days. If your game involves HD workflow, knowing who is planning to buy HD video monitors can help target marketing and sales. Although the number of U.S. studios planning to buy HD video monitors this year is relatively low, it jumps up to 18 percent for post facilities and production companies. In addition, 15 percent of animation/FX studios and 14 percent of broadcast/cable studios are planning this investment.
Please forward this TrendWatch Visual Effects Fast Fact to others who may find it of interest. Anyone may sign up for this free TrendWatch Fast Facts featuring facts from our Visual Effects/Dynamic Media reports. You can sign up for Fast Facts e-mail service at http://www.trendwatch.com/fastfacts/efx_05_01_18.html. These market facts based on original TrendWatch market research with executives and business owners in the visual effects/dynamic media industries and are provided by TrendWatch strictly for educational purposes.
MIRA Mobile Launches M-5 With Fujinon Lenses
When MIRA Mobile Television, based in Portland, Oregon, launched its new high definition, dual-feed production truck, M-5, on Saturday, Dec. 4th, 11 Fujinon HD lenses were on board. MIRA Mobile, a Fujinon customer since 1995, will use the lenses on its M-5 to cover live professional and college sporting events in the western United States. The unit produced its first show in HD on Dec. 7--a professional basketball game between the Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats, in Sacramento, Calif.
M-5 is the first dual-feed truck for MIRA Mobile Television, allowing two separate crews to produce two different shows at the same time from a particular event. It features two separate production, audio, and tape/media storage rooms. Considering it will be servicing not one, but two crews for many events, it's essential all equipment on M-5 is reliable and of the highest quality. That's why Rick Hayes, chief engineer, MIRA Mobile Television, chose Fujinon glass for the unit.
"Fujinon lenses are extremely reliable and the [new lenses on M-5] are excellent in terms of HD," said Hayes. "We've found Fujinon's XA87 HD zooms reliably maintain the crisp detail necessary throughout the entire length of the lens, and we've found minimal ramping of f-stop throughout the entire length of the zoom. The entire range of our Fujinon HD lenses have exceeded our clients' needs and expectations."
MIRA Mobile's new M-5 includes: four XA72x9.3BESM and two XA87x9.3BESM (with stabilization) HD zoom lenses; two HA13x4.5BERM wide-angle HD lenses; and three HA22x7.8 BERM ENG-Style HD lenses. The lenses are currently affixed to Sony HDC-900 and HDC-950 HD cameras. In March of next year, they will be affixed to Sony HDC-930 and HDC-910 HD cameras, which will acquire signals in the new 1080/60p format.
"Paramount in our decision to purchase Fujinon lenses for M-5 was our long business history with the company," said Frank Taylor, general manager, MIRA Mobile Television. "We're well aware of the quality and reliability of their products and the quality of their customer service. Over the course of our relationship with Fujinon, they've proved themselves time and time again."
Fujinon is increasingly becoming the company mobile production truck manufacturers turn to for high-quality lens needs. Along with MIRA Mobile Television, the Chicago-based Trio Video purchased ten Fujinon HD zoom and ENG lenses as an integral element of a system-wide SD-to-HD upgrade within an existing production truck. That purchase followed a successful installation of Fujinon lenses in Trio Video's Tango production truck and provided Trio Video with a full complement of top-shelf HD lenses to enhance its nationwide coverage of sports and other critical live events. Meanwhile, F&F Productions out of Clearwater, Florida selected a variety of Fujinon HD and ENG lenses for two HD production trucks launched in summer 2004.
"Fujinon is pleased that MIRA Mobile Television, Trio Video, and F&F productions have all entrusted Fujinon to supply the lenses they need to enhance the quality of their mobile productions," said Dave Waddell, Marketing Manager, Fujinon. "The mobile production market continues to grow, and the need for versatile HD lenses is greater than ever. Our complement of lenses for this market is designed to meet the different requirements that these companies face at each shoot, and our commitment to both HD and mobile production remains firm and continues to grow along with our range of lenses and associated technologies."
Fujinon is a major manufacturer and distributor of optics and lens assemblies for the broadcast, digital cinema, and industrial markets. The company's line of television zoom lenses are used in virtually every segment of the broadcast industry, including electronic newsgathering, studio and field production, and high definition television. For more information about Fujinon broadcast and communications products, call 1-973-633-5600 or visit our website at www.fujinonbroadcast.com.
MIRA Mobile Television is a Pacific Northwest-based mobile facilities company founded in 1982. The company operates from field shops in Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon. In addition to M-5, MIRA operates M-1 and M-2, 48ft. analog expandos; M-3, a 48-foot digital truck; and M-4, a 53ft. digital expando. For more information, go to www.miramobile.com.
Sonic Announces CinePlayer HD
Sonic Solutions announced its new high-definition media player for next-generation optical and content formats, CinePlayer HD. Combining comprehensive support for VCD and DVD formats with advanced interactivity and HD playback, CinePlayer HD will be the reference PC playback solution used during the development and roll-out of authoring systems for the forthcoming HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats.
“As Hollywood creates HD packaged media, they not only need professional authoring solutions but also require a reference-standard proofing application to ensure the quality and playability of their final product,” said Mark Ely, senior vice president of strategic planning at Sonic. “Working closely with the standards bodies and Hollywood studios, Sonic will be delivering next-generation authoring solutions this year and with them, Cineplayer HD. With its support for existing media standards, its ability to handle multiple HD video codecs, and its patented advanced interactivity capabilities used to web-enhance over 1,500 major DVD movie titles, CinePlayer HD will be the ideal HD player for PC and aftermarket drive OEMs that want their customers to enjoy Hollywood content on their next-generation optical drives.”
Cineplayer HD combines the interactive playback technology pioneered by Sonic’s subsidiary, InterActual Technologies, with support for advanced video and audio codecs, delivering the ultimate HD movie experience. InterActual’s interactive media player technology has become the de facto standard for adding web-connected and advanced interactivity to Hollywood titles, enabling studios to not only add additional content beyond the scope of the DVD format, but to connect directly with the audience via the Internet. Blockbuster DVDs such as Elf, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix Trilogy, Spiderman, and Star Wars all take advantage of InterActual technology and have become benchmarks for the advanced interactivity required in the next-generation HD optical formats.
“Sonic has always been at the forefront of new media technologies and formats,” said Morgan Holly, managing director of Blink Digital, an Ascent Media company, based in Santa Monica, Calif. “As we get ready to create HD content, having a reference playback system for benchmarking our titles is critical. We look forward to using CinePlayer HD as we bring HD content to market.”
"Intel and Roxio, Sonic’s consumer products division, have been collaborating on the development of highly optimized H.264/AVC codecs for the Intel Pentium 4 processor supporting Hyper-Threading Technology," said Kevin Corbett, vice president and chief technology officer, Intel's Desktop Platforms Group. “We look forward to working with Sonic as they bring their H.264 player solutions to market."
CinePlayer HD will be demonstrated at the Pioneer booth (LVCC CEN/9826) and by invitation at the Sonic Solutions demo suite at the Enabling Technology Forums (suite #205 at the Riviera Convention Center).
About CinePlayer HD
CinePlayer HD combines the advanced interactivity pioneered by InterActual and required by Hollywood studios for next-generation formats, with HD video decoders including MPEG-2 HD, H.264/AVC and Windows Media Video 9/VC1. CinePlayer HD will be available to HD content developers in the summer of 2005 with consumer versions expected to follow.
About Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com) is the leader in digital media software, providing a broad range of interoperable, platform independent software tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users, and technology partners. Sonic’s products range from advanced DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies used to produce the majority of Hollywood DVD film releases, to the award-winning Roxio- and Sonic-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup solutions that have become the premiere choice for consumers, prosumers, and business users worldwide.
Sonic products are globally available from major retailers, online at Sonic.com and Roxio.com, and are bundled with PCs, after-market drives, and consumer electronic devices. Sonic’s digital media creation engine is the de facto standard and has been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, Calif. Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions, CinePlayer HD, InterActual, and Roxio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective owners and, in some cases, are used by Sonic Solutions under license.
Panasonic Introduces AJ-HDX400 1080i DVCPRO HD Camcorder
Panasonic has introduced the AJ-HDX400, a top production, 1080i DVCPRO HD camcorder that makes high definition acquisition more affordable for content creators. The
AJ-HDX400 is available in February at a suggested list price of $42,500.
To dramatically lower the cost of HD postproduction, the AJ-HDX400 teams with the Panasonic AJ-HD1200A IEEE 1394 DVCPRO HD VTR and Apple Final Cut HD software to offer a powerful, affordable acquisition-through-editing system. The AJ-HDX400 features three 2/3” 1-million pixel IT progressive CCDs to produce a high sensitivity of F10 at 2000 lux, outstanding low-light shooting down to 0.008 lux (at +68dB), and ultra-sensitive recording up to 74dB in digital super gain mode. It is equipped with 12-bit A/D DSP circuits that provide optimum picture quality, color reproduction, and luminance gradation, and an advanced 12-axis matrix color correction system permits precise colors to be adjusted without affecting overall color tone.
The well-balanced camcorder offers impressive built-in, image-enhancing features including a Cine-like gamma curve to replicate the look and feel of film, versatile detail functions including precise skin tone detail, and shading correction that adjusts for the use of a lens extender.
The AJ-HDX400 uses DVCPRO HD-LP 9-micron recording to record 33 minutes on a DVCPRO medium-size cassette (a 50 percent tape cost reduction over 18-micron DVCPRO HD recording), and records 48kHz/16-bit digital audio on all four channels. It offers a digital zoom with an up to 400 percent image enlargement where the HD image retains its superb resolution and brightness is maintained.
The AJ-HDX400 provides as standard a 10-second pre-recording function that permits it to capture spontaneous scenes a shooter might otherwise miss. The pre-recording function continually caches 10 seconds of video and audio in memory (time settable by one-second increments) as it enters the camera’s front lens. When a user pushes the record button, video and audio in the cache are recorded to tape. This HD camera also offers a Retake Mode that allows it to automatically back up to the start of the last take and record over it. A one-frame interval REC function is also offered for time-lapse recording.
A standard HD SDI output is included for monitoring and line recording, and a downconverter is built in to produce a NTSC composite output, eliminating the need for an expensive SDI monitor. The camcorder also includes a SAVE REC function that reduces power consumption to a low of 35.5 watts during recording,
Other standard features include: Auto Tracking White Balance; two 4-position optical filters (ND: clear, ¼, 1/16, 1/64; CC: Cross, 3200K, 4300k and 6300K); multifunctional zebra patterns (to adjust contrast, auto white balance and color bar output); four user scene files, three user-customized buttons, one-touch display for 4:3 aspect ratio; electronic shutter (1/100 to 1/2000 sec.) with synchro scan shutter (1/60.3 to 1/249.8 sec.); an easy-slide shoulder pad that adjusts 1.18” in 10-steps; and a 3-point locking viewfinder mount for precise adjustment. The weight of the camera head is only 9.4lbs.
Among the AJ-HDX400’s optional accessories are the AJ-GPS900G GPS unit to record realtime position data onto the tape including altitude, longitude, and latitude; the AJ-HVF20BP 2” HD 16:9/4:3 viewfinder; and the AJ-MC900G 5-pine stereo mic.
About Panasonic Broadcast
Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co. 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. 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 website at www.panasonic.com/broadcast.
