American Cinematographer - July 2007 - 82

should give access to any part of the program and allow changes to any aspect, even work that was completed early on in the workflow and is now “buried” under several layers of additional work. The traditional workflow does not allow this, as the universal digital master is flattened, merging all layers and not carrying any of the data describing the original sources and all the processes that have been applied to it since. The requirement is to store all the metadata associated with making a master; this is not just a shot log or an EDL, but all information about the footage used and all the detail of the processes applied to the media from grain management through all post. This should then allow someone to revisit any stage of the operation at any time. At the end of the process, the finished project can exist as the original footage including visual-effects shots and metadata, which contains all the information of the processes applied to the material to make a master. This requires a database to store and recall all the metadata and a storage infrastructure that allows fast access to all the media, as well as all the equipment and applications needed to process the 82 July 2007 media. Organizations with big budgets can build and support their own systems, but most post houses do not have the resources, specifically the programmers and engineers, to create such bespoken solutions. There needs to be a simpler solution to meet the needs of modern post facilities. A major part of the solution must be a database that can manage the metadata and associated source media. Most facilities have “secret sauce” elements to their workflows, but they need a backbone infrastructure that is off the shelf and can be managed and maintained. This must include storage infrastructure and media and metadata management. Avid’s Interplay looks like a possible database solution. It is also a part of Avid’s Open Storage Initiative. This means its storage, including the Unity ISIS (Infinitely Scalable Intelligent Storage) media network and databases, is now being opened up. Avid claims more than 100 file types, both media and non-media, are supported by Interplay, including multi-resolution video, Microsoft Office documents, Adobe Photoshop and After Effects layered files, MPEGs, TIFFs and spreadsheets. This is designed to create a businesswide workflow that can assist large and small production teams to manage media. Interplay and its access to the Unity ISIS environment could be used as a part of a move toward implementing digital multi-masters. It will allow sharing the process over appropriate platforms while building metadata of the processes and media used. The work could be spread over several platforms in the facility as well as outside. It should then be possible to revisit any part of the project at any time, and to be provided with the complete and precise settings and media that were originally used. For example, if the grading of a digital film master needed adjusting for home viewing rather than theatrical exhibition, the necessary processes could be accessed while the rest of the work remained unchanged. In this case, the processes would start pre-grade with revisiting grain management to further reduce the grain noise for more efficient MPEG coding and better presentation on LCD screens. Next comes aperture correction to adjust sharpness, followed by grading to improve home viewing by giving the appropriate lifts to the darker scenes while leaving other aspects of the grade untouched. Then the result needs to be Diagram courtesy of Simon Cuff.

American Cinematographer - July 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2007