<a href="http://www.imagesystems.tv.“>Image Systems has announced today that CBS News, the news and information arm of CBS Corporation, has purchased a second Nucoda HD for their New York facility. The new grading and mastering system is in addition to the Nucoda HD that CBS News bought in 2008. Both systems are a key part of the CBS Broadcast Center where “60 Minutes,” “CBS News Sunday Morning,” “48 Hours Mystery,” and specials are created. Precision panels have also been installed on both Nucoda HD systems.
For the past three years, the original Nucoda HD system acquired by CBS News has been utilized on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” the 32-year old newsmagazine hosted by Charles Osgood. First purchased for “60 Minutes,” that installation laid the groundwork for the system and its integration with the news division’s Avid editorial pipeline. Nucoda’s integration with an end-to-end, file-based, Avid-centric workflow was an important feature for this broadcast environment.
Colorist Neal Kassner, a 30-year veteran of CBS News, has been working on the Nucoda HD for the past two years. With the migration of primetime’s single-topic "48 Hours Mystery" to HD, an additional Nucoda HD was required for the series and the special-events programming such as "9/11: 10 Years Later."
Kassner’s job, whether on a news magazine or investigative piece, is to maintain a sense of reality, creating a look that’s natural for both shows. "This is news; we’re cognizant of not misleading the public. I’m aiming for consistency with footage that may have been shot days or weeks apart," he explains. "Whether it’s main character interviews, B roll, or archival footage, I need to keep each element looking the same so nothing jumps off the screen because it feels out of place. I am able to accomplish that easily with the Nucoda HD."
Kassner recently completed “9/11: 10 Years Later,” a two-hour special from the “48 Hours Mystery” production group. Much of the program recapped the 2002 documentary by the French filmmaking brothers Jules and Gedeon Naudet, who were following a New York City firefighter on a typical day when he rushed to respond to the crisis at the World Trade Center. Their documentary contains what is believed to be the only video footage shot inside Ground Zero. The rest of the new program brought viewers up to date with the same characters a decade later.
"One of my first jobs on the Nucoda color grading system was with the Naudets in 2007 for their documentary, ‘In God’s Name,’" Kassner recalls. He reteamed with the brothers for the color grading of the re-edited version of their 2002 documentary, which comprises the bulk of "9/11: 10 Years Later." "I had to get close to matching what had been done with the previous color correction system," he says. "In the original documentary each brother’s camera had a separate signature look. Nucoda HD gave me the ability to control the image in ways I couldn’t have done 10 years ago." He also color corrected HD footage that was captured this year.
Martin Bennett, MD of Media for <a href="http://www.imagesystems.tv.“>Image Systems, comments, "We are delighted to extend our long-standing collaboration with the CBS News team. This additional Nucoda HD installation is a testament to the power and versatility of the Nucoda toolset in response to the extreme imagery and scheduling demands in the broadcast environment. ’60 Minutes’ is a preeminent investigative television program in the United States that has garnered numerous awards over the years. We are proud to be part of its creation."
About <a href="http://www.imagesystems.tv.“>Image Systems
<a href="http://www.imagesystems.tv.“>Image Systems Media Unit, formerly Digital Vision, is a division of <a href="http://www.imagesystems.tv.“>Image Systems AB, which specializes in high-resolution image processing, film scanning and motion analysis solutions. Headquartered in Linköping, Sweden, <a href="http://www.imagesystems.tv.“>Image Systems has offices in Hägersten, London and Los Angeles. The company has three business units: Media, Defense and Motion, managed via a global network of qualified distributors. Its Nucoda and Phoenix image grading and restoration software solutions and Golden Eye range of scanners provide innovative tools to create and master media in HD, 2K/4K and stereoscopic 3D. The TEMA software platform provides a range of user friendly, high-speed motion analysis solutions for the automotive industry and other industrial test and design applications. The TrackEye system provides image analysis solutions for the military reconnaissance and testing markets. For additional information, visit www.imagesystems.tv.
