American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 77

Seeing the Light in Post
Nuke Studio was used as the
primary creative software framework on
the post side, together with custom
computational plug-ins developed by Lytro
for depth keying and image processing. The
frames captured on set go through a
processing system that turns them into
light-field EXR files with embedded metadata to match the decisions made on set. In
the case of Life, one of our first steps in post
was to sit in on a light-field editorial session
to experiment with different possibilities
with depth of field and focus - expanding
on the initial determinations made on set
with the help of preview files, and in the
initial edit.
Robert and I came out of this sixhour session with our final EDL, or lightfield decision list (LDL). When you retain the
Z-depth information of everything in a
scene and don't have to fully commit to
what was captured on set, it gives you the
ultimate creative flexibility to hone a shot
exactly the way you envision. Looking
toward the future of cinematography, these
are going to become very powerful tools.
That being said, it is still essential to retain
the original creative vision of the director
and the intended look established by the
director of photography in any production.
In the case of light-field capture - or any
project for that matter - it is important for
the cinematographer and director to oversee the phases of postproduction that build
on look development.
The visual-effects artists found the
ability to derive an alpha matte solely based
on depth, and to separate objects without
having to deal with any green- or bluescreen spill, to be revolutionary. Once
completed, the visual effects were dropped
into scenes, and the plates and visual
effects were then rendered as traditional
flattened 2D files to move into our DI
session, which took place at Technicolor
with colorist Jason Fabbro. The DI session
moved very quickly because the material
was in such great shape. At that point, only
minimal refinement was necessary.
All in all, we had a little over two
months from beginning to end to complete
Life. In that brief period, we were able to
produce a piece that showcases why lightfield capture is the wave of the future, and

Top: Lytro Cinema allows the cinematographer to select what is in focus and change the f-stop of that
focal plane. For this shot, Stump opted for an "impossibly shallow" f.5. Bottom: Stump checks the
monitor for a different setup.

to produce highly complex sequences -
that otherwise would have required
substantial visual-effects man hours - in
record time.
Why Light Field Matters
Over the years, I've given a lot of
consideration to what we would be able to
do when this technology finally arrives in a
usable state, and what the most exciting
part of this adventure would be for me. The
notion of being able to derive depth data
for every pixel on a camera image is incredibly exciting.
In addition to shooting movies, I'm
integrally involved in the visual-effects and
3D arenas, and the possibilities of what you
can do with the depth data that Lytro
www.theasc.com

Cinema affords is remarkable. It will give us
the ability to generate 3D movies from a
single camera, with left- and right-eye
points of view from the same lens; to derive
depth information to generate 3D incamera far more accurately; and to pull
mattes without a greenscreen. All of these
creative capabilities, along with the many
tricks with focus that can be done in post
using synthetic depth of field, introduce so
many new possibilities to filmmaking.
It's still early days for Lytro Cinema,
but the technology is advancing rapidly,
and I'm looking forward to bringing it into
a studio feature or episodic project soon.
●

August 2016

77


http://www.theasc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 2016

Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Intro
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 8
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 10
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 12
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 18
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 28
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 40
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 48
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 58
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 72
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 73
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 74
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 75
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 76
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 79
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 80
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 81
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 82
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 83
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 84
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 85
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 86
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 87
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - 88
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2016 - Cover4
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