Professional Lighting & Production - Summer 2019 | Page 31

Frame
A single frame is one complete video image.
When all of the lines comprising the video
image are delivered sequentially, it is called
progressive video. When the odd lines and
even lines are delivered as separate fields, it is
called interlace video.
IMAG
Short for imagine magnification. Frequently
used for live concerts, comedy, spoken word,
or conferences and conventions, a camera
video output relays a live image of the event
taking place to a display device in real time.
Pixels
The small red, green, and blue microdots that
make up the image on any type of display. The
more pixels there are, the sharper and clearer
the picture will be.
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Refresh Rate
Identifies the number of times that an image
is “refreshed” every second. The higer the rate,
the smoother and more seamless the images.
Resolution
The size of any given image in pixels. When it
comes to video equipment specs, resolution is
generally defined as the number of horizontal
pixels x vertical pixels. Here are some widely
used resolutions:
• Standard Definition (SD) has always
been a 4:3 aspect ratio with a pixel reso-
lution of 640 × 480 pixels
• High Definition (HD) video has a higher
resolution and quality than standard-
definition. While there is no standardized
meaning for high definition, in general,
any video image with considerably more
than 480 horizontal lines is considered
high-definition in North America. Most
often, an HD display is one with 720 or
1080 vertical pixels.
• XGA is a display resolution measuring
1,024 pixels horizontally and 768 pixels
vertically, giving a total display resolution
of 786,432 individual pixels. XGA has a 4:3
aspect ratio.
LAVISH VISUALS FOR THE
CHEMICAL BROTHERS
PL&P Winter 2018 Issue
The Chemical Brothers were busy through the
summer of 2018, performing on the main stage
of a number of major summer festivals before
some high-profile European headlining shows
of their own. In both cases, the experience was
driven by lavish visuals that ran the gamut from
abstract video content to spectacular light and
laser displays to, of course, a pair of dancing
5-m-tall tin robots.
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SXGA is a display resolution measuring
1,280 pixels horizontally by 1024 pixels
vertically, giving a total display resolution
of 1,310,720 individual pixels. SXGA has a
5:4 aspect ratio.
WXGA defines a class of XGA displays
with a width resolution sufficient to
create an aspect ratio of 16:9. A WXGA
display has 1,280 to 1,366 pixels horizon-
tally and 720 to 768 pixels vertically.
WSXGA defines a class of SXGA displays
with a width resolution sufficient to
create an aspect ratio of 16:9. A WSXGA
display has 1,600 to 1,920 pixels horizon-
tally and 900 to 1,080 pixels vertically.
UXGA is a display resolution measuring
1,600 pixels horizontally and 1,200 pixels
vertically, giving a total display resolution
of 1,920,000 individual pixels. UXGA has
an aspect ratio of 4:3.
2K resolution is a generic term for display
devices or content having horizontal
resolution on the order of 2,000 pixels.
4K resolution refers to a display device or
content having horizontal resolution on
the order of 4,000 pixels.
8K resolution, which is still fairly nascent,
refers to a display device or content
having horizontal resolution on the order
of 8,000 pixels.
Saturation
Saturation is a measure of colour intensity. In
the absence of saturation, the colour hue is
a shade of grey. A highly saturated hue has a
vivid, intense colour, while a less saturated hue
appears greyer and more muted.
Video Noise
Undesirable static, dots, and graininess in a
video picture. Noise is a common result of
shooting in low light or with the camera’s
gained turned up.
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio is that of a
desired signal to an unwanted signal,
such as static or noise.
Marcus Lyall – one half of @smithandlyall,
the creative force behind the design of those
shows – told PL&P about delivering a fresh, one-
of-a-kind experience that would live up to the
duo’s impressive legacy.
“The central mandate from the band is,
‘Put the biggest screen you can fit on the stage
behind us.’ We then work out how to make the
lighting and other elements work around that.”
The screen for this run of outings was 20
m wide by 11 m high and comprised of GLux
10 mm transparent LED modules, and played
PROJECTION
Put simply, a projector is a device that integrates
a light source, an optics system, electronics, and
display(s) for the purpose of projecting an image
onto a surface for large image viewing. Here are
some terms that pertain specifically to projection.
3LCD
A common three-colour system for projecting
images via LCD (liquid crystal display). It uses
dichroic mirrors to separate the RGB compo-
nents of white light coming from a projection
lamp. Each colour is fed to separate LCD panels
that control the amount of coloured light that
passes through them. The light from each LCD
is then recombined using a dichroic prism be-
fore going out the lens and on to the surface.
ANSI Lumens
ANSI lumens is the widely accepted measure-
ment of the overall brightness of a projector,
specifically in North America. Because the
centre of a projected image is brighter than
the outer corners, ANSI lumens is the most
accurate representation of the image bright-
ness. ANSI lumens are calculated by dividing a
square-metre image into nine equal rectan-
gles, measuring the lux (or brightness) reading
at the centre of each rectangle and then
finding the average of the nine points.
DLP
Digital Light Processing is a commercial name
for a display technology first developed by Texas
Instruments. The technology inside can also
be referred to as DMD (Digital Micro-Mirrors).
It consists of an array of mirrors where each
mirror represents a pixel element. For example,
a high-definition DLP projector or rear projector
with 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution would have
over 2 million tiny mirrors (as that resolution
would have a total of 2,073,600 pixels). Each mir-
ror is attached to an electronically driven hinge
that controls the amount of coloured light that
is reflected from the mirror into the projection
lens and onto a surface. Projection systems using
DLP technology use one to three DMD devices,
or chips.
host to some very imaginative cinematic imag-
ery throughout the performances.
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