Noted feature and commercial director of photography Allen Daviau, ASC (ET: The Extra Terrestrial), asserts that the advertising industry’s resistance to finishing commercials in high definition is a “pathetic, wasted opportunity.
“There is no way to justify that,” he says. “It’s not the broadcasters that are the problem; it’s the agencies. They won’t spend a few thousand dollars extra.”
Film is a high definition medium, so the production format was not an issue. The matter was that most commercial postproduction and delivery continues in standard definition.
HD offers a higher resolution rendering of a commercial, compared with today’s standard definition delivery formats. And the cinematographers–the “guardians of the images,” a phase they often use–want to protect the work.
Daviau and other leading DPs voiced their concerns on this subject during an American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)-hosted panel discussion about commercials at the recent Cine Gear Expo held on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif. In addition to Daviau, speakers included Curtis Clark, ASC; Peter Lyons Collister, ASC; Jon Fauer, ASC; Guillermo Navarro, ASC; Ron Dexter; Bill Bennett, ASC; and Jeff Cronenweth, ASC.
“I regret that the agencies and clients aren’t out there [in the audience],” Fauer told the standing room only crowd during this frank discussion. “I think by the end of the year, everyone in this room will have an HDTV set. HD camcorders and DVDs are available, and HDV [an HD prosumer format] and high definition DVDs are on the way–It’s a tragedy that we shoot 35 mm and then it goes to Digi Beta. We need more HD postproduction and broadcasting [of commercials].
“The agencies need to realize that we are at a turning point,” he cautions.
Another topic that came down to protecting the look was that of collaboration–and particularly the growing importance of communicating with colorists and visual effects artists. “Collaboration is the key to the success of making a commercial without compromise,” voices Clark. “It’s in our [the DP’s] own interest to stay involved. The talking is crucial; you’ve got to be on those conference calls. I go to the color correction session when I can.”
Also speaking to the cinematographers in the audience, Cronenweth adds, “Commercial [makers] are always trying to be different–to do something we haven’t seen before; The competition is fierce — Stay on top of your jobs, as commercials are laden with more visual effects — And if time permits, be there [for the color correction session.]”
When they are not face to face with the production team, communication methods used by cinematographer vary. Fauer speaks highly of the new Kodak Look Management System. Bennett reports that he records a mini cassette that he sends to the lab for assistance.
When asked if the agencies want the cinematographer in the color correction session, responses were mixed. Some said they are welcomed; others report that they have been asked not to attend sessions. In both cases, the cinematographers theorized that these decisions were based on fear– perhaps fear of error or of losing a client.
“A commercial has to have powerful visuals; that the bottom line,” Clark concluded.
Tech Talk
Cine Gear also hosted what became a much-discussed series of tests of the latest in digital cinematography cameras; tested were the Genesis from Panavision, Woodland Hills; the Origin from Toronto-based Dalsa; and the D-20 from Munich-headquartered Arri. The tests were conducted by Russell Carpenter, ASC, and the aforementioned Bennett.
Shooting took place at Hollywood-based Mole-Richardson, and the test material was later reviewed and color corrected in the digital intermediate theatre at Hollywood-based Laser Pacific.
Meanwhile, in the CineGear exhibition area, some new technologies–some expected and some surprises–grabbed some attention.
Among those were the anticipated new series of ARRI Master Primes lenses from Arri. The company showed off their capability using footage shot by Bennett, who speaks highly of the lenses.
Panvision showed the Hylen Lens, unveiled last year and designed for commercialmaking; the AWZ2 Zoom lens (40-80mm front anamorphic zoom lens); and new additions to its collection of Primo Lenses: SL24-CF, SL32-CF, SL65, SL85 and SL125.
Grass Valley showed its Viper camera and new portable Venom Flashpak solid state dockable recording system, which enables a cinematographer to work untethered with the Viper. Recording in Viper’s highest “Filmstream” resolution–uncompressed 4:4:4 RGB color space–Venom has a 10-minute capacity.
Hollywood-based Gamma & Density previewed an upgrade to its unique 3cP (Cinematographer’s Color Correction Program) on-set color correction system that debuted earlier this year to much interest. This system enables the DP to color correct, save and send images to a colorist during or after a shoot–improving communication and collaboration. The upgrade allows HD and other digital image sequences to be color corrected and played back on set as uncompressed HD or SD video stream.
Among Cine Gear’s surprises was London-based DP Partnership, which showed up at a small stand with its new Codex portable high-resolution and hard-drive based media recording system designed for recording from digital cinematography cameras, including the Viper, D-20 and others. The system can record two channels of HD/2k images up to uncompressed 4k. And, its netShadow feature can be used to immediately deliver images by network–on Sohonet, for instance. These images could be sent, for example, to a visual effects house if the production is an effects-laden spot, an editor at an editorial house, or to an agency for review.
Another stand featured the inventive London-based Light by Numbers lighting control device, which has already been deployed on a number of features including the highly anticipated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The system is designed to help make lighting less complicated, and operates from a center control station. Features include: Remote cue triggering (i.e. when an actor hits a light switch, he or she actually triggers the lighting); wireless control of light (which can make changes anywhere on set); 2-D plot printouts, frame grabs, time code triggering, remote faders, 3-D plots and WiFi remote.
Mountain Lakes, N.J.-based ZDC exhibited the P+S Technik Skater Mini Dolly–a small, easy to use device that sits only two inches from the ground. The company says that with the Skater, shots that would normally require sophisticated rigging or even motion control could now be executed with almost no prep time.