March 2016 CREATION 17
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema cameras go undercover
Major TV manufacturers , such as Sony , are now featuring High Dynamic Range ( HDR ) on their 4K / UHD TV models .
HDR highlight of CES 2016
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas , USA , in January this year provided a glimpse of new technologies and innovations to come in 2016 . Rather than revolution , CES 2016 proved to be more a case of “ evolution ”, as many companies launched “ me-too ” or upgraded versions of existing products , rather than breakthrough concepts .
Rob Gallagher , director , Research and Analysis , Media & Entertainment at Ovum , observed : “ It ’ s a welcome maturity for many new categories , which have suffered from poor design and concepts in the past . But that doesn ’ t mean that companies at the show weren ’ t willing to talk about the bigger , longer-term trends that will reshape the consumer landscape .”
Of Ovum ’ s various observations , CES 2016 would seem to signify how HDR ( High Dynamic
Range ) will be enshrined in 4K / Ultra HD ’ s ( UHD ) future .
Manufacturers such as LG , Samsung and Sony brought down 4K / UHD entry-level prices by bringing the technology to their low-tier product lines . HDR , however , took centre stage with all major TV manufacturers now featuring HDR on all 4K / UHD TV models .
The UHD Alliance , a trade organisation of more than 35 companies that includes Dolby , LG , Netflix , Panasonic and Samsung , agreed on a new standard and logo to capture HDR capability called Ultra High- Definition Premium .
UHD and HDR standardisation will have a significant impact on 4K / UHD TV adoption , said Ovum , as non-HDR-capable TVs will not be compatible with most 4K / UHD set-top boxes and pay-TV services .
For top TV manufacturers , 4K / UHD TV sales already generate more than 20 % of revenue , with this percentage expected to increase “ rapidly ” as 4K / UHD is cascaded down to other models throughout 2016 .
Operation Avalanche , a “ found footage ” film by award-winning director Matthew Johnson and directors of photography ( DOPs ) Jared Raab and Andrew Appelle , tells the story of four undercover CIA agents sent to NASA posing as a documentary crew . There , they discover one of the biggest conspiracies in the US history .
To capture Johnson and the DOPs ’ vision , the film had to be shot with the look of a 1960s film stock and had to look like most of the footage was shot covertly . To achieve these effects , the film was shot in RAW using Blackmagic ’ s Pocket Cinema Cameras , and the footage then graded after the final 16mm conversion .
Johnson explained : “ Basically , we wanted a final print that looks like it was shot in the 1960s and buried in the ground and found in 2015 . We developed a one-ofa-kind conversion process to pull this off . We shot all our guerrilla footage with the Pocket Cinema Camera and then did a 1:1 Super 16mm conversion that we invented ourselves .
“ The Pocket Cinema Cameras were perfect because we get great image quality and the Super 16mm gate is the same as a Super 16mm film gate , which made conversion much easier .”
Another benefit of using the
RTW supports new EBU loudness specifications
RTW , a provider of visual audio meters and monitoring devices for professional broadcast , production , post production and quality control , said that all recently published updates to the EBU R128 loudness specification are supported by RTW ’ s Touchmonitor instruments , the company ’ s flagship SurroundControl 31900 and 31970 series , and all software products that perform loudness measurements .
With the latest updates , EBU R128 stays largely unchanged , but the supplement dealing with short-form content has been simplified . In the previous version , users could use either a maximum ‘ Momentary ’ or a maximum ‘ Shortterm ’ loudness measurement as a parameter to characterise and control the loudness of commercials , promos , and so on .
In the new version , only the short-term measurement is required .
The European Broadcasting Union ( EBU ) anticipates that reducing the options will help simplify content exchange and reduce costs in daily operations . RTW offers this function as a freely selectable feature , where users may turn
Christine is one of the films at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival that was created using Blackmagic Design ’ s DaVinci Resolve Studio .
Pocket Cinema Camera was the camera ’ s small size and ability to shoot discreetly , according to Raab and Appelle . Rabb explained that in order to convincingly pull off the concept that Operation Avalanche is a real documentary filmed in the 1960s , it was important for the crew to use as much of the real world as possible . Having shot discreetly in public in a previous film , the crew was determined to keep the formula for Operation Avalanche .
Raab added : “ We needed a camera that wasn ’ t going to get us noticed too quickly , but could get us footage that was going to stand up to our complicated post process of making it look like archival 16mm film . The Pocket
on or off , one or both measurements , to suit their daily operations .
The ‘ EBU Mode ’ Loudness Metering specification ( EBU Tech 3341 ) has also been updated with new minimum compliance requirements , and various clarifications .
The complementary EBU Loudness test set has been extended with 15 new test signals — all RTW loudness products pass these compliance tests , and take into account the new Loudness range measurement specifications ( EBU Tech 3342 ).
Cinema Camera , with its impressive dynamic range and tiny form factor , became indispensable to our process .
“ In the final film , footage obtained from the Pocket Cinema Camera seamlessly cuts with beautiful archival film from the ’ 60s , and I challenge anyone to be able to spot the difference .”
Operation Avalanche was not the only film to be created using Blackmagic cameras for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival . Other works included The 4th , All These Sleepless Nights and Manoman , while films such as : As You Are , Carnage Park , Cemetery of Splendor and Christine , to name but a few , were graded using the DaVinci Resolve Studio .
All recently published updates to the EBU R128 loudness specification are supported by RTW ’ s Touchmonitor instruments .
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