Behind the Orange Curtain

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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This week we are back to a techie topic that actually comes from a question from client at Gear Monkey.  It involves frame rate and time code.  Specifically, how does frame rate affect time code and what are the differences between the various frame rates like 30p, 29.97, 24 and 23.98?  I will try to keep this one brief and concise so that no one’s brains melt and ooze out of their ears.

First, let’s address time code.  There are essentially two types of time code, drop frame and non-drop frame.  Drop frame time code was created to account for the extra amount of time that it took to broadcast the color portion of the television signal when NTSC was invented.  In order for the time code to match the actual elapsed amount of time, two frames needed to be dropped every minute but not every tenth minute.  During a discussion a few years ago on this subject I asked a group of editors when they thought it was appropriate to use either type of time code.  One editor responded, “Don’t they use drop frame on the east coast and non-drop on the west coast?”  I have never forgot that answer.  The bottom line is that if you are working in standard definition NTSC and will be broadcasting your program (obviously this doesn’t matter for commercials since the program has to be longer than a minute before it matters) then use drop frame time code, otherwise non-drop is fine.  In fact, in any HD format there in no drop frame because you do not need to compensate for the NTSC color delay.

Now, with regard to the varying frame rates available to us in the brave new HD world, here are some tips.  Firstly, let me clarify a few things.  23.98 and 23.976 are the same thing.  The abbreviated 23.98 uses that complex mathematical function known as “rounding.”  Wouldn’t my high school math teacher be proud?  However, 23.98p and 24p are NOT the same thing and I have seen the pain in the eyes of those who have made the wrong choice.  Any footage that will be broadcast or laid off to videotape for final mastering should be done in either 23.98p, 29.97p(or i) or 59.94p(or i).  It is now possible with the advent of things like Final Cut Pro and file based camcorders to create and edit true 24p or 30p projects.  This is fine if your distribution will only be via computer display or if you are printing back to film, however if you want to lay that project off to videotape or broadcast it you will be bummed when you have to re-render that project from 24p to 23.98p or from 30 to 29.97.  I will spare you the long explanation and to why this is, but it has to do with the 60Hz power source we have in the USA and other places.  Some  video cameras refer to 24p or 30p when they are actually referring to 23.98p and 29.97p (i.e. SDX-900, DVX-100, HVX-200, etc.)  If you are shooting with a video camera, you can be fairly certain that you are shooting in either 23.98, 29.97 or 59.94 (i.e. Varicam).  Just make sure that you set up your Final Cut or AVID project accordingly.  For more on this see this older post. 

Feel free to post additional related questions as comments to this post.  In my next post, I will address the issues of color space and color recording formats in current formats.  Happy producing!

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I will be speaking on a panel this Wednesday, March 18th at 6PM covering “VIDEO 2.0 – 2K and 4K HD Production Needs.”  We will be discussing a variety of HD, 2K and 4K techniques, workflows and pitfalls.  The event will be hosted by the MCAI of Orange County at my good friend Brad Hagen’s office.  Come say hello and check it out.  

Here are the details:

MCAI Meeting – March 18th — We’ve got four experts to address the critical needs of high-end HD Production: Do you really need a DITech? How important is on-set color correction? What are the hidden issues of tapeless workflow? Do I need the expense of a video village? And is guerrilla HD possible? Bring all your questions to this important meeting!

Our panel includes experts in all aspects of HD. Their practical experience in shooting (and troubleshooting) and posting native 2K and 4K formats, as well as many other formats, will give you a comprehensive insight into the high end of Hi Def Production.

Click here for more info and to register

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As Washington continues to dole out billions of dollars to every possible financial institution, insurance company and automaker, I thought we should look at how some of those companies are using those taxpayer funds – or in some cases keeping them.

As the economy’s slump continues, GM has raised an uproar among production companies by playing hardball on payment terms.  GM, who has received billions in tax dollars from Washington to “bail them out,” has offered to pay ad-production firms 50% of a commercial’s production costs 60 days after the first day of shooting and the remaining 50% when the ad is finished. That’s a major departure from the standard practice set by the AICP of paying 50% or 75% of the cost before production starts.  Mind you, GM spots range between $500,000 and $1 million each in production cost.

GM has been trying to persuade production companies to accept its new payment terms by suggesting it is looking to have a few “preferred vendors.” In order to be on the list, the production company would have to agree to the new payment terms. That reminds me of all the times that I have been asked to work on a pilot for free and if the series sells then I would get that contract and lots of work.  Guess how many times that has happened?

I don’t know of many, if any, production companies these days that could do this even if they wanted to.  Credit (and cash too for that matter) has become almost non-existent for all companies regardless of their size.

Even Anheuser-Busch (InBev) is trying to overhaul its advertising-related deals. The world’s largest brewer by sales recently told media outlets that they will now be waiting 120 days after an ad runs to receive payment versus the typical 30-day standard.  I guess that means that not enough people are going home and getting drunk on Budweiser after getting laid off from their jobs.  Perhaps this plan will help them in that regard, as I can guarantee you that this move will cost people jobs.

As it has been evidenced that Washington has no ability to solve this crisis, let’s hope that people will turn away from Washington and the plummeting stock market and just get back to work.  The best thing for the economy is for everyone to go back to leading normal lives; shopping, buying cars and homes, marketing and advertising.  Now, of course all these things must be done responsibly and irresponsibility is how we got into this mess in the first place, but at this point everyone, both those affected by the downturn and those who are not, has just stopped doing anything.  In our industry, the economy will not turn around until people start buying again and they are not likely to do that until companies begin to advertise again, not like GM and InBev’s plan, but decide to put legitimate dollars into marketing their products.

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