American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 74

Flow
orkflows have existed in some form since the birth of cinema itself, but today, as digital-imaging techniques become more and more prevalent, the very concept of a “workflow” can be difficult to define. In practice, a digital workflow truly begins the moment a manufacturer lays down a set of specifications for a digital camera system. Those choices affect the quality of the outputted image, establish its recorded format (tape or a file-based alternative) and have a major impact on post pathways. Once specs are established, the workflow branches out in both physical and theoretical directions. On the physical side, data-handling protocols must be established for hardware and software usage both on and off the set. One must also properly address issues related to color space, transforms and the file-format containers in which image data is stored, converted and used to communicate with different platforms and devices. Each step on this path is slippery enough to cause stumbles, either through human error or through the loss of information as image data is transferred and/or translated. Pitfalls can include errors or limitations introduced during image acquisition; mishandling of the physical data itself; problems involving the integration, manipulation/processing and delivery of the digital imagery during post; and, finally, complications related to digital exhibition. To define the concept of a digital-image workflow, we should begin by breaking down and analyzing the entire image-making chain. When film was the prevailing capture medium, on-set
74 January 2012

Go withthe

AC ’s technical editor surveys evolving digital workflows and some of the challenges they pose.
By Christopher Probst •|•

protocols were established for handling the camera negative and safely conveying it to the lab. The lab, in turn, had its own set of procedures for creating dailies off the developed negative and preparing those original elements for final assembly and printing. Further steps were established for editorial, sound syncing and so on. In today’s industry, which finds digital-imaging tools introduced and supplanted with head-spinning frequency, workflows are evolving in new ways and at breakneck speeds. “Post is no longer a ‘place,’ it’s a state of mind,” states Michael Cioni, founder and CEO of Light Iron, a post facility that targets productions with file-based workflows. “As soon as you pull the card out of the camera, post has started, even though you’re still on set. On [the upcoming feature] The Amazing Spider-Man, all of the data backup, sound syncing, Avid dailies and color-corrected dailies — in other words, the footage that would be sent out to the studio executives and all the filmmakers — was created without a brick-and-mortar post house. On a movie that large, that’s a profound thing.” The creative potential of emerging digital technologies is vast, but the importance of handling data correctly on set is often overlooked. Brook Willard, a digital-imaging technician whose credits include The Muppets (AC Dec. ’11), The Amazing Spider-Man and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, says, “My biggest pet peeve regarding on-set data handling is the cavalier attitude people have about it. With film, we hand the negative over to the lowest-paid member of the camera department. With digital data, it’s even scarier. Everybody has a computer, and everybody has copied files to a hard drive

American Cinematographer

American Cinematographer - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2012