American Cinematographer - December 2009 - 18

Tomorrow’s Technology ASC Technology Committee Looks Ahead to 2010 by Stephanie Argy or the ASC Technology Committee, the year 2009 was dominated by the Camera-Assessment Series, an exhaustive test of seven digital motionpicture cameras that compared each of them to 35mm film reference to explore their performance characteristics. The CAS required the combined expertise of many ASC Technology Committee subcommittees, as well as cooperation with several outside organizations, most notably the Producers Guild of America and Revelations Entertainment, which funded the tests (AC June and Sept. ’09). The CAS also demonstrated the extent to which the Technology Committee’s focus has evolved over the seven years of its existence. Committee Chairman Curtis Clark, ASC notes that the mission statement he drafted for the committee in 2002 made no reference to digital cameras. “They weren’t on the horizon as a serious contender to replace motion-picture film,” he recalls. “In many ways, the ASC Technology Committee has been a barometer of the sea change that’s taken place in the industry since then.” When the committee was formed, he continues, the digital-intermediate process was new enough that only 15-20 percent of feature films were using it. “Five years later, that ratio had inverted,” says Clark. “I don’t think anybody thought the transition would be that rapid. If you add how quickly digital cameras are being adopted, particularly for television production, you can begin to sense the intensity with which this is evolving.” In late September, the Technology Committee met to review its agenda for the coming year, activities that will be based in part on the lessons learned from the CAS. One major goal, according to Clark, is to better integrate the work of the various subcommittees. “It’s easy to say that, but there needs to be a process to facilitate it,” he says. The Camera, Workflow and Metadata subcommittees all worked together to design and oversee the CAS, and members of other subcommittees, including Advanced Imaging and Digital The ASC Technology Committee has been a barometer of the sea change that’s taken place in the industry. Intermediate, stepped in at critical moments to contribute guidance and assistance. Clark is also eager for the Technology Committee to cultivate affiliations with other organizations. In addition to collaborating with the Producers Guild on the CAS, the committee collaborated with outside groups on several other projects this year. One such effort was the Joint Technology Subcommittee on Previsualization, which comprised members of the ASC, the Art Directors Guild and the Visual Effects Society. Chaired by David Morin, a consultant with Autodesk, and Ron Frankel, the president and co-founder of previs company Proof, the subcommittee set a goal of 12 meetings to study the growing craft of previs and begin to develop some definitions and standards for it. This work culminated in a panel presentation at the Produced By conference in June, as well as an article in the June issue of AC. Even more important, though, was the subcommittee’s recent announcement of the formation of a new organization, the Previsualization Society, which will be devoted exclusively to the advancement of previs (www.previssociety.com). Additionally, the subcommittee will begin a new cycle of meetings soon; this time, they will focus on the evolving technology of virtual production, currently epitomized by James Cameron’s forthcoming feature Avatar. Another important Technology Committee alliance is with the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, particularly in regard to the Academy’s next-generation archiving and mastering format, the Image Interchange Format. The IIF’s Academy Color Encoding Specification and Academy Density Exchange, with their greater precision and extended dynamic range and color gamut, are designed to replace 10-bit DPX as the new digital source master. At a recent Technology Committee meeting, committee member Ray Feeney, who is also the co-chairman of the Academy’s Sci-Tech Council, 18 December 2009

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American Cinematographer - December 2009

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