In this week’s post I have decided to address some very technical, often confusing and even more often misunderstood concepts in digital video; color space, chroma sub-sampling and gamma.  (see I told you it would be techie)  These concepts have become more important to understand recently in light of the new “digital cinema” cameras like the RED, SI-2K and the new Varicam that have brought “film-like” workflows into the television world.  The fact is that these cameras can capture much more than our current HDTV systems can display.  The challenge then for those doing high-end production work is how to retain as much data as possible through the post-production process so that we can maximize the look of the final product.

Color space refers to how color values are represented.  In the television world (which is the only one that I will address here), there are two options, RGB or YUV.  RGB is found in high-end formats like HDCAMSR and YUV is found in most others.  RGB is the purest form of representation but requires the most data to store.  YUV allows for greater compression, which is why it tends to be so popular in the digital video world.

Chroma sub-sampling has to do with how much chroma information is lost relative to the luminance information when recording in compressed formats.  In 4:4:4, everything is given equal weight, whether in YUV or RGB.  In 4:2:2, 4:2:0 or 4:1:1 the amount of chroma information sampled is less.  Here is a diagram that may help you understand what I am saying.

HDCAMSR is one of the few formats that will allow recording in RGB color space with 4:4:4 chroma sampling.  If your budget allows, this is the best quality path to go down.  A competent post house that is up to speed with RED and SI-2K workflows can convert these cameras files to HDCAMSR in 4:4:4 for high quality mastering.

Lastly, is gamma.  Gamma curves are applied to video signals to allow the captured content to be properly displayed on various monitors.  The problem with this in recording formats is that applying a gamma curve to the image before recording does not always preserve the maximum amount of information throughout the post-production process.  These newest cameras can all acquire in either a RAW or logarithmic format (like Panasonic’s Film Rec gamma), which will look very odd on a monitor, but allows the maximum amount of dynamic range in the recording.  Use of one of these types of gamma requires that a look up table (LUT) be applied to the output when doing final color correction.  This is a normal part of the workflow if you are using products like Autodesk’s Smoke and Fire or Apple’s Color.  It is often difficult for many to understand why the image looks “bad and washed out” through the offline process, but the end results are worth it.

This is only a very cursory look at these concepts.  If you would like more information or have additional questions, feel free to contact me through Post Factory.

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Most people in the advertising business have seen a significant uptick in activity in the past month.  This activity has led many, myself included, to ponder whether this means that the recession is over.  While the activity is increasing, the money has not quite followed.  There has been a flurry of boards and bids, but decisions are still very slow in coming.  Also, those jobs that are moving forward are doing so with smaller budgets and in different fashion than before.

There is fairly solid consensus that the rest of 2009 will continue to be challenging.  The truth is that there is no where for ad spending to go but up.  However, this new spending comes with significantly increased accountability.  We will all have to learn to work differently from this point forward.

One thing is for certain, online will change the way the television ad business works going forward.  Online will affect how TV programming is distributed and how advertising will integrate with the new distribution methods and models.  For an interesting look at how online video ads will impact live TV ads, take a look at this study by CBS.

CBS Study: Online Video Could be More Valuable than Live TV

Have you seen the recession easing?  Let me know.

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This is a re-post of a blog entry by my good friend Phil Cooke that I thought was so poignant that I would share it here.  In every recession or downturn, I have found that the first thing that companies do is cut their media and marketing spend.  No recession can end until companies realize that in order to sell, they must advertise.  Once they begin to return to advertising and marketing, things begin to turn around.  I am certainly beginning to see things move and improve, but we have a long way to go.

Thanks for the post Phil!

Budget Tight? Then Advertise

Are you watching the car companies? They have no money and are in the middle of a government bail-out. So what are they doing? Spending money on advertising! While some people are surprised, they’re actually doing exactly the right thing. Most leaders pull back from media and marketing during challenging times, but that’s the moment you should be advertising the most. Understand that advertising is about recognition and perception. During difficult times, your problem is awareness – how do you get people to try the product, open the door, or listen to your message? Obviously quality products and great service matter. But without recognition and awareness, those great products just sit on the shelf, churches sit empty, and service companies don’t get calls. If you’re struggling financially, be very careful about dumping your advertising budget. That could be the very thing that gets you back on track.

See the original post here.

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When I first heard of this, I was both intrigued and troubled at the same time.  A production company and director auctioning an entire TV spot on eBay – soup to nuts.  Half of me thought, “Wow, this could be a great way to get a ton of publicity.”  The other half of me thought, “Wow, our entire careers and the sum of our creative efforts have been reduced to the likes of sticky-man wall crawlers and pot leaf sunglasses.”

At the end of the day, the auction ended for just $5,000.  As the owner of a production company and facilities company, I can assure you that the expenses for the deliverables alone will cost this company for than $5,000, not to mention the labor and lost opportunity cost.  I hope for the sake of the director who auctioned himself that he gets some future benefit from this endeavor.  (see previous post)  If not, perhaps he can trade his services for one of the other items pictured above.

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A friend shared this with me and I had to pass it along.  Of course, I have never had an experience like the ones in this clip.  My clients all volunteer to pay more than I ask.  Maybe I should keep this cued up in our conference room for use during negotiations.  Enjoy.

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OK.  I know that this post is a little overdue, but things have been getting much busier for me.  On the whole, NAB 2009 was a bit of a sleeper.  The crowds were down by about 50,000 people.  There were vastly fewer exhibitors and even fewer big innovations.  Essentially, the show can be summed up in two letters – 3D.  Almost everyone who makes a camera or editing system was showing something 3D.

Now, I think that 3D is cool and the technology has advanced significantly, especially in the ability to display 3D content on LCD monitors and video projectors.  I saw some very impressive displays at Silicon Imaging’s booth and others.  That being said, I really struggle to see how 3D will take hold in the “video” world.  By “video” I mean any content displayed on televisions (HD or SD) and computers (Computers, iPod, iPhone, etc.).  I think that 3D is a great concept for the motion picture distribution industry.  They are an industry that is fighting to keep people coming to theaters to watch movies instead of watch them at home on their HD sets.  When you go into a dark theater to watch a movie, you are there to do nothing but that.  You don’t mind putting on a pair of polarized glasses in order to enjoy the film in 3D.  I have a hard time, however, picturing everyone wearing these glasses all the time.  I have visions of my family sitting at the dinner table with the TV on in the background all wearing our 3D glasses, I just can’t see that becoming a reality.  As more and more video is consumed on “non-traditional” devices (anything but a television), I think that 3D will be less and less viable for that market.

However, perhaps it will be compelling enough at some point for all of us to be willing to keep our 3D glasses at the ready to watch prime time episodic TV or movies at home.  I also think that the video game industry will embrace 3D in a big way, partly because it is easier for them to create (they don’t have to shoot it) and also because it will add to the realism of the CGI environment.  At the end of the day, I just think that the hype is bigger than the reality based on how much of the show was dedicated to 3D.  Meanwhile, I will try to figure out how to get my blog posts to show up in 3D.  Wouldn’t that be cool!

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I ran across this interesting new television from Phillips.  At this point it appears that it is only available in the UK.  Interestingly, it actually has a native pixel resolution of 2560×1080.  Those who are fans of 2K and 4K formats that shoot at a 2:1 aspect ratio will appreciate this (like RED and SI-2K).  Even cooler than the TV with it’s 2.39:1 aspect ratio and native resolution, is the short film that they made to promote it.  If you are any type of effects nerd, like myself, you will appreciate the work entailed in producing a piece like this.  Make sure to watch the link below for the full-screen Flash presentation before going to the link at the bottom which is for more information on the set itself.

Let me know what you think.  Will all TV end up being in 2.4:1 or will this set just swap out letterbox for pillar box?

Flash Movie Link of short film Carousel.

Link to Phillips web site for Cinema 21:9.

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Things actually seemed a little busier yesterday at the show, although the crowds are estimated to be down by about 50,000 attendees.  Here is a quick wrap of yesterday’s cool findings.

1.  Panasonic announced significantly cheaper P2 cards.  They are based on a new technology that is cheaper to manufacture, but shortens the life of the card (5 years instead of 30).  This is a great thing.  We all know that in five years there will be something completely different anyway – like P3!

2.  This crazy rig at the Tiffen/Steadicam booth.  Half of me says “What the . . “, the other half is intrigued by the possibilities.

3.  Without a doubt, Autodesk wins the best booth of the show.  The entire booth is made out of cardboard mailing tubes!  Now that’s being creative.

4.  The NEW AVID.  Yes, AVID is back at the show this year with a much smaller booth, but one that was 100% bigger than Apple’s.  This year they have new leadership, a new logo and a singular brand.  They have dumped all of the brand names that they have purchased over the years (i.e. Digidesign, M-Audio, etc.) and are selling those products under the AVID brand.  I know some of you audio folks will want to stop and pause to grieve.

That’s it for now.  I will try to have a complete wrap up by the end of the week.

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Well this morning as I approached the Las Vegas Convention Center it felt more like going to the show on Thursday (the last day of the show when there is hardly anyone left in town).  I have been coming to this show for a long time and this is the lightest I have ever seen attendance.  I didn’t make it out of the South Hall today and spent most of my time in the lower hall.  Here are some brief highlights of what I thought was cool from Day One:

1.  AJA Ki Pro – This is definitely the show front runner so far.  A small self contained file based that will record in HD ProResHQ for up to 2.5 hours onto a hard drive that you can remove and plug into your computer.  It takes HD-SDI, SD-SDI, analog audio and time code.  It will also up convert your SD to HD on input.

Here is a link with more info:  http://www.aja.com/products/acquire/

2.  My good friends at Silicon Imaging are showing some great 3D capture technologies and workflows.  Very cool stuff!

3.  AVID actually had A.R. Rahman play at their party tonight at the Hard Rock!  (The guy who won two Oscars for his music in Slumdog Millionaire) He only played one song, but that alone was worth the trip over there.  Way to go AVID!  Now if they could only increase the file limit on my Unity.  :-)

Well that’s it for now.  I know it’s not much, but there wasn’t that much excitement today.  We will hope for more tomorrow.

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I know that I promised a post about color space this time, but wanted to share this very good (if not super geeky and techie) article by John Gait of Panavision about the claims and pixel ratings of current “high-resolution” cameras shared with me by Post Factory’s Executive Producer Jeremy Kientz.  It is pretty long and very techie, but his conclusions and points are excellent and it is worth the read if you are a DP or work in the business.  Thanks Jeremy!

http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/the-truth-about-2k-4k-the-future-of-pixels

NAB is next week and I will be providing daily posts of my reactions to what I find.  I am still wondering if anyone is going this year.  Comment to this post and let me know if you are.  I hear AVID is back but still no Apple.

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