Eastman Kodak, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., has chosen the NAB as the venue in which to unveil a brand new Super 16 mm film stock combined with a new workflow that offers a flexible and cost-effective option for producing TV content in standard or high-definition formats. The system also provides creative control of the look throughout the workflow from preproduction through postproduction.
The Kodak Vision2 HD System packages the new Kodak Vision2 HD Color Scan Film 7299 with a Kodak Vision2 HD Digital Processor. The new film offers an extended dynamic range and broader exposure latitude coupled with the sharpness and fine grain imaging characteristics similar to the 500-speed Kodak Vision2 5218/7218 color negative film. In addition to mimicking the imaging characteristics of different emulsions, the system compensates for under- and over-exposure, as well as for variations in color temperatures.
The digital processor is a new postproduction tool designed to adjust digital files of scanned film to emulate the imaging characteristics of any current Kodak negative, including grain, contrast and colors. The box is used during a telecine session; it is loaned to the post house for the given job. The Kodak Display Manager, a component of the system, ensures accurate monitor calibration, so everyone, including the director, editor and cinematographer, sees exactly the same images.
Robert Mayson, general manager of image capture and VP of Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division, said efficiencies include the ability to work with a single, multi-purpose film that inherently reduces short-ends and time needed for magazine changes. “The Digital Processor saves time in postproduction by enabling the colorist to find the ideal starting point for a transfer more quickly,” he added.
A separate version of the Kodak Look Manager System designed for broadcast display (the original is geared toward print film for a theater screen) can be used as an optional component with this system. It allows cinematographers to previsualize looks in video space during preproduction, including emulating different filters, lenses, films and postproduction processes.
Jim Minno, director of Kodak’s television segment, reported that the first tests for this new system have already occurred in Los Angeles and in Europe.
