Multimedia
Blogs
Forum
Affordable HD
Whitepapers
Newsletters
Events
Advertisers
DCP Directory
MillimeterHD Focus
Jan 10, 2005 4:02 PM
Restoring The Grateful Dead to HD
by Cynthia Wisehart
The convoluted path from a 1974 concert stage through Jerry Garcia’s brain to a modern cineplex leads through film vaults and facilities including American Zoetrope, Monaco Labs, Retina, and Visual Arts and through technology including the Thomson Spirit Datacine, Discreet Smoke, and MTI Film’s restoration tools.
The HD debut of The Grateful Dead Movie later this month links theaters that are separated by three decades worth of time and technology to suggest an unorthodox role for HD. The late cinematographer David Myers shot The Grateful Dead Movie in 16mm over five days at San Francisco’s Winterland in 1974. In 2003, the unusual film was restored to DVD and now San Francisco-based CINEvents will premiere the HD version of the film as a digital broadcast to select DLP/Dolby 5.1 cinemas across the country.
All this format shape-shifting has put a remarkable range of technologies and skills to use. It’s an example of how modern HD tools and ingenuity can pull the past out of the depths of celluloid and back into the spotlight.
Late in 2003, Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux approached producer David O. Weissman to restore Garcia’s film for DVD release. The first task, not surprisingly was not technical but archaeological, as the team deployed in search of the old elements, ultimately finding a clean 35mm CRI that had been made from the A/B roll original.
The remastering effort--led on the picture side by colorist Gary Coates and on the sound side by film editor/sound engineer Robert Marty--went into final telecine at Retina and the possibility of a theatrical release became concrete as the sharp, saturated, psychedelic imagery emerged from Coates’ Da Vinci. A final frame by frame clean-up pass using MTI Film tools and Discreet Smoke at Video Arts proved that a theatrical release was a legit ambition.
While HD post tools were making the piece theatrical-ready, developments in digital cinema suggested a technology-driven distribution plan. Bob Stewart’s company CINEevents had done some special HD fiber-optic broadcasts at cineplexes in the past including a Super Bowl event last January. A Grateful Dead movie--given the band’s loyal niche audience--seemed like just the kind of thing that would help fill a cineplex in off hours.
The idea of using digital for alternate cineplex events such as corporate meetings, concerts, sporting and interactive events is in its infancy (despite years of trying in various ways), but it remains one of the most fascinating aspects of digital cinema development since it suggests new distribution paradigms and--like the Internet--plays to the potential of narrowcasting to niche audiences with the added advantage of HD. The implications of this for audiences, distributors, content creators and post facilities would be sufficiently revolutionary that they are worth pondering even if implementation takes years or is supplanted by other forces.
The Grateful Dead Movie is scheduled to broadcast from Los Angeles’ HD Vision broadcast center on Jan. 24, 25, and 26 to cinemas throughout the U.S. For more information and tickets: www.dead.net, www.cinevents.net, or (866) 900-DEAD.
Framestore CFC invests in JVC’s DLA-HD2K
Framestore CFC is in the process of building four new
color grading and digital intermediate production suites in Soho and each
will have its very own HD2K projector. One suite has already been completed
and the other three will be finished in January 2005.
The HD2K is being used on forthcoming feature film productions including The Proposition and Royston Vasey’s League of Gentlemen.
Michael Cowler, Senior Engineer at Framestore CFC explains why they chose the HD2K. “We wanted the biggest bang for our buck--period! Our essential criteria was the colour quality, the resolution, and the contrast ratio. These are by far the strongest points of this projector.”
The HD2K produces natural but deeply rich colors with a high definition resolution of 1920x1080i at 60Hz. It has an impressive contrast ratio of 2000:1 which allows for real cinema-quality blacks with smooth gradations and low noise. For these installations, the HD2K projectors are used with Filmlight’s Baselight colour grading system and are calibrated using Truelight.
Given the technical needs of any colour grading facility, Framestore CFC needed to achieve a delicate balance. “The nature of our work requires the very highest specifications, but at the same time we resolutely wanted a solution which would be both cost-effective and future proof. The HD2K stood out from the pack. All other projectors offering the same level of technical specifications were far more expensive,” states Cowler.
He adds, “At the end of the day, we want the real look of film and we aim to give our clients the ‘ultimate cinema experience.’ JVC’s HD2K projector produces images that provide the richness and experience closer to that of film.”
Mammoth HD: Where the Lava Flows
Mammoth HD starts the new year with lots of lava. G. Brad Lewis (aka: Volcanoman), renown volcano photographer, moves into motion and signs with Mammoth HD for footage representation. Brad's initial collections feature the volcanic activity of the Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's "Big Island" and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Brad also adds to MHD's collections with Hawaii and tropical subjects.
The MHD Lava Collections--featuring the power and allure of Hawaii's Pele--include day and night lava flows, oozing, steaming, dripping, glowing, cooling, and rolling across the land and into the sea. Clips in the collection are in closeup detail, medium and establishing shots, ranging in length from 5 seconds to over 40 seconds.
MHD Volcano Collection Titles:
Hawaii: Lava - Vol:1, Vol:2, Vol.3
Hawaii: Lava Flows
Hawaii: When Lava Meets the Sea (Day)
Hawaii: When Lava Meets the Sea (Night)
Hawaii: Hot Rocks and Water
Hawaii Big Island Titles include:
Hawaii: Flora
Hawaii: Mist Forest
Hawaii: Tropical Waters
Hawaii: Waterfalls
Hawaii: Mauna Kea
For more information on these collections and the Mammoth HD Stock Footage Library, and to see the previews of all the Mammoth HD collections, please visit the Mammoth HD website at www.mammothhd.com
About Mammoth HD
Mammoth HD is a new resource for HD, SD, 3D Animation and Motion Graphic Stock Footage. Formats include 1080i, 1080/24p, 720p, HDV and SD. Mammoth HD is producing royalty free collections in an all digital pipeline--from HD cameras thru leading edge 3D and motion graphics applications in HD formats. Delivery is currently on DVD and CD, but plans are underway to have the whole library available as single clip downloads by winter 2005.
Mammoth HD adds new material to the library monthly. The MHD represented talent base comprises award winning cinematographers, videographers, photographers, 3D Animators and Motion Graphics Artists from around the world.
Mammoth HD, Inc. is a Colorado Corporation. Member of NAB, HPA, and GSAM. Mammoth HD, Inc., PO Box 2064, Evergreen, CO 80437
Media 100 and Lumičre HD Announce HDV Support for Media 100 HD
Media 100, a unit of
Optibase and a developer of advanced media systems, announced
Media 100 HD compatibility with High Definition Video (HDV) via
Lumičre HD. Through a software codec featuring Lumičre HD support,
customers will be able to shoot their projects cost effectively in the HDV
format and, without additional hardware, bring the footage in for editing
with all the 10-bit, Macintosh-based power of Media 100 HD.
"HDV cameras are taking the world by storm. The level of integration demanded by the marketplace is to have all the benefits of HD with the convenience of FireWire," said Steve Bayes, director of product marketing, Media 100 Business Unit. "By interfacing with Lumičre HD, we are giving Media 100 HD customers the best of both worlds: a truly unique multi-format HD and SD editing environment together with the flexibility to shoot with an HDV camera and capture and transcode using whatever QuickTime codecs are loaded on their systems."
Producers may encode their HD output into an HDV MPEG-2 transport stream and transfer back to HDV cameras and decks, or produce masters for other formats, such as DVD. For producers not working in an SDI facility, support for HDV via Lumičre HD, a standalone software, enables Media 100 HD customers to maximize this new shooting medium while saving on the costly equipment and infrastructure typically needed to shoot, convert, and deliver in high-quality HD.
"Lumičre HD is the missing link to getting HDV material rapidly and easily from an HDV camera to an editing system," said Lumičre HD president, Frederic Haubrich. We support the top HDV cameras from JVC and Sony, including the world's first 1080i HDV camera, the Sony HDR-FX1(E). Media 100 HD is a robust system with high-value HD and SD editing capabilities. We are pleased that, via Lumičre HD support, the expanding community of savvy content producers and editors will now have the choice to shoot HDV."
Media 100 HD is the first cost-effective SD and HD editing system that deals with the reality that editors will need to work in SD and HD and even mix SD and HD content in the same programs over the next few years. It is the only system in its price class that enables mixing SD and HD content in the same timeline; mixing of 4:3 and 16:9 aspect-ratio content in the same timeline; mixing of uncompressed and compressed media in the same timeline; mixing of M-JPEG, DV, Animation, and other QuickTime codecs in the same timeline in real time without lengthy importing or rendering; mixing of analog and digital video in the same timeline; and viewing of SD and HD output simultaneously regardless of source material. The system features Media 100 Version 10 software, Media 100's biggest Mac-based release to date.
About Lumičre HD
Lumičre HD was formed by a group of video editors and programmers who shared
the common goal of creating user-friendly software that supports the
creative process of video editing. With the desire to help make
high-definition production accessible to independent filmmakers of all
budgets, their first self-titled product offering, launched at NAB 2004,
allows users to edit HDV in Final Cut Pro. Its introduction filled a
conspicuous hole in the market and paved the way for increased adoption of
the HDV format by Mac users. Going forward, Lumičre HD plans to introduce
more editing-related software and continuously adapt its namesake software
to support all new HDV cameras and decks as they enter the market. For more
information, visit www.lumierehd.com.
About Optibase
Optibase, Ltd. provides professional editing, compositing,
encoding, decoding, video server upload, and streaming solutions for telecom
operators, service providers, broadcasters and content creators. The
company's platforms enable the creation, broadband streaming and playback of
high quality digital video. Optibase's breadth of product offerings are
used in applications such as: video over DSL/Fiber networks, postproduction
for the broadcast and cables industries, archiving; high-end surveillance,
distance learning; and business television. Headquartered in Israel,
Optibase operates through its fully owned subsidiary in Mountain View,
California and offices in Massachusetts, Europe, Japan, and China.
Optibase products are marketed in more than 40 countries through a combination of
direct sales, independent distributors, system integrators and OEM partners.
For further information, please visit www.optibase.com.
