AudioMedia - October 2008 - (Page 56)

video guide A Sound Pro’s Guide To Video HD Acquisition: Part 4 KEVIN HILTON takes a final look at the inroads into film-making that digital processes are creating, with ever-speedily evolving technologies. sign that technology is changing ever more rapidly, especially in new areas of development, is when innovative products begin to appear in second generation versions. This is already happening with digital cinema cameras, five or so years since the originals first appeared as viable products. The ARRI Arriflex D- has moved on not once but twice, with the D- and the D- HD. Introduced earlier this year at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the D- is based on ARRI Imaging Technology (AIT) and, like its predecessor, is designed as a replacement for film cameras. This ambition is shown even more clearly with these cameras, both of which incorporate ARRI’s new Mscope technique, designed to create a widescreen cinema image within the camera. This is done by producing an anamorphic output that, after post-production, can be projected on to a screen as a CinemaScope-style picture. A specialised lens is used to compress : : widescreen images through a : aspect ratio film frame, or an electronic sensor, which is then re-formed for projection (anamorphic is from the Greek for ‘form anew’). The D- has one CMOS chip that is the same size as a Super frame, and can be fitted with corresponding mm lenses. ARRI claims the same depth of field as film cameras and has provided an optical viewfinder that works with both variable frame rates and the manufacturer’s film camera accessories. Improvements on the D- include better colour saturation and a sharper picture. The MTF (see glossary) has been enhanced through the use of a re-designed down-sampling algorithm and recalibrating how it works with the optical low pass filter. Another new feature is the ARRIRAW output, producing raw sensor data that can be used at up to frames per second (fps). The D- and D- HD share many of the same features, including variable speed and the optical viewfinder, but there are differences in output formats. The Dproduces anamorphic footage as ARRIRAW or Mscope, while the HD version offers only Mscope. Similarly the D- ’s main outputs are ARRIRAW, Mscope, or HD, while its relative has only either Mscope or HD. ARRI has moved into digital cinema cameras from film. Other challengers in this field have gone straight into the new technology without any experience of celluloid. Like ARRI, Dalsa now has two cameras in its range and is regarded as a leader in k ( horizontal pixels) cinematography. The company was founded in by scientist Dr. Savvas Chamberlain, whose career has included research into CCD, MOSFET, and semiconductor devices; and a professorship at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Dalsa has used its experience in imaging chips to produce digital cameras, with the Origin being its debut in the field. Using a frame-transfer CCD the Origin has a sensitivity rating of ASA and is fitted with standard mm lenses, again to underline its role as a digital film-style camera rather than a video-like recorder. As is now common the viewfinder is an optical model, and a live DVI output allows a monitor screen to be connected. The camera’s main output is x pixels ( : aspect A SOUND PRO'S VIDEO GLOSSARY MTF Modulated transfer function is essentially the frequency response of an optical system. It is also a method of testing the optical frequency response of a scanner or other lensbased system, and is taken as a measure of the sharpness of a picture. Both are based on transfer function, which is the ability of an optical device to transmit frequencies. In this way the capacity of a lens to hold the diminishing details of an image can be measured and quantified. An electronic means of performing this important function is preferred because it does away with the vagaries and possible inaccuracies of human sight and perception. This also allows measurements to be taken on a regular basis and the new findings crosschecked with previous readings. MTF additionally enables a full and accurate evaluation to be made by pulling together all that information together in just one, quick appraisal. ratio), of which x are optically active ( . : ). The sensor has optically dark columns to create dark references for signal processing, with data sent over four optical fibre strands contained within a / -inch cable, controlled by the Infiniband protocol. Footage is stored on a digital film recorder, such as the Codex Digital unit, after which it can pass through the digital intermediate post-production process that has now replaced the optical film procedure. The smaller, lighter Evolution, which was due on the market during the third quarter of this year, uses the same CCD chip as the Origin but is more able to be mounted on the shoulder than its bigger brother. The first full-length feature film to be shot using the Origin is Tempting Hyenas, directed by LeVar Burton, who has worked his way to the Director’s chair from the engineering deck of the USS Enterprise through helming episodes of the Star Trek TV franchise, and shot by Director of Photography Kris Krosskove. The next instalment in the James Bond saga, Quantum of Solace, will feature visual effects photographed using eight k Origins. There is always a maverick in any market, and in the digital cinema camera world that role is taken by Red Digital Camera. Its Red One has been a fixture at exhibitions over the last couple of years, but the cinematography business has been rife with rumours about whether it works or is actually a real product. That speculation has subsided as Directors and Directors of Photography have been using the camera on productions, although none has yet been in the top-flight. The Arriflex D-21. Peter Jackson, the technologically discerning Director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, shot a short film, Crossing the Line, to test two Red prototypes, and the commercially savvy manufacturer has used this endorsement to publicise its digital cinema offering. The Red One is based on the megapixel Mysterium CMOS sensor, which produces a Super size frame with , progressive running at up to fps. Pictures are x pixels, and can be down-sampled to p and p. Red has broken with the style followed by ARRI and Dalsa and not tried to make its offering look like a film camera. The Red One weighs lbs and looks more like a video surveillance camera than something a feature film would > 56 AUDIO MEDIA OCTOBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - October 2008

Audio Media - October 2008 Content Recording Post Broadcast Geofocus:�Portugal &�Spain What's Up UK IBC Report Microtech Geffel UM 930 Steinberg Cubase 4.5 ADK�Hamburg &�Vienna Final Cut: House of Fallen Lexicon PCM96 Review The Conch Awards Feature Sound Devices 788T Review Lexicon PCM96 Allen &�Heath Zed R16 Power: Fact & Fiction, PT.2 Product Sampler Plug-ins Video Guide AMSR Plasa Report Audio Technica IEM�M3 Rushes Live Mixing Techniques:�Bruce Johnston Drawmer 4x4 Kickbox

AudioMedia - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.