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of the Union:11/10/2002 Technology for the Independent Film/TV Producer By Mark J. Kapczynski As we begin this endeavor on IndieProducer.com., I felt the best place to start is to take an inventory for the technology that we as Film/TV/Video Producers use and come to rely on… We that sure id a scary task! Are you ready for acronym soup? As a voting member of several SMPTE committees, I live, breath, eat, drink, the very technology and standards that guide us in our quest to tell a story. There is nothing that I love more than to find the latest and coolest technology to use in my next production. I remember 15+ years using a steadycam to get a free-moving camera to follow the actors as they traveled on their cinematic and creative journey. Technology is a great tool, when used in the right hands and for the right reasons. Today, we are seeing great adoption of High-Def (HD) and 24p Digital Film Capture at the camera. This is quite exciting as we are able to bring digital bits of our films in to the post-production world. Using 24p HD cameras and the Digital Intermediate (DI) process in post- production, we have complete control over our films, tv programs and videos. We CAN create any look we want. Indeed such wonderful power. Power over the film medium? Maybe! Just remember, with that power comes responsibility. It is amusing, almost ludicrous, that many producers want to shoot on HD to take advantage of the marketing or PR value. But the reality is use technology if it adds values to the story telling process or simple put—SAVES YOU MONEY! Do not use technology for the sake of technology. That said these are the top technology systems and processes that a wise indie producer should be aware of during the next 12 months: 1- Digital Dailies – this is the process that as you shoot film or video; the footage is transferred to a digital format such as Mpeg 2 or Mpeg 4. The post-production houses that you work with will offer this as an alternative to VHS tapes. This is a great little technology that can make your life easier during production. 2- Digital Mastering – this is the process by which you complete the film or video using Digital tools and equipment. This means that you no longer go back to your negative or source tapes once the footage is brought in to the digital world. The key to this, is to make sure that your post-production house is using 2K resolution to ensure that the finished Digital Master is equal to a cut negative. As a producer, this gives you the freedom to then output your digital master to any tape format, DVD format, film format, or even internet formats. And besides, you will need a Digital Master for distribution. 3- Digital Intermediate – I love this process! A few post-production houses like Efilm, Cinesite, and Technicolor are offering this service. Just as you master digitally, the DI process assumes that you shoot on film, digital master/color correct digitally and then output back to film for distribution. This gives you lots of creative control and freedom in the final phases of your post work. 4- HDTV – High Definition TV is coming, no matter what anyone says, with over 550 stations in the US broadcasting some content in HD. By 2006 this will be the standard for TV delivery. As a producer, you need to see the opportunity with HDTV. Many consumers have bought HDTV’s and are dying for content. With your Digital Master, it will be very easy to output a version for HDTV. This might be a great way to get distribution. 5- Digital Cinema – While I am not overly excited about Digital Cinema due to the enormous under-taking and costs associated with rolling it out; I do see some great short-term opportunities for producers to screen their works using Digital Cinema. Many film festivals are using MPEG 4 formats to screen many movies—instead of using VHS tapes. Also, many theaters that have bought the expensive digital cinema project equipment do not have content from the major studios to show—you have an opportunity to get a digital cinema distribution deal. 6- Digital Cameras – I love these things! In my opinion, this is the future of film/tv production. The ability to work in an all digital environment opens up many doors to distribution and cost savings. The digital process must start on the set to take advantage of the end product. George Lucas shot "Attack of the Clones" this way, and just as the Non-linear editor has taken over the editing process, so will digital film cameras. Sony, Panavision, and Thomson are leading the way with 2K resolution cameras. This is an amazing numbers of digital bits. 7- Video on Demand – this technology and service offering has been a little bit asleep the last few years. Cable companies have struggled to find the technology to use to deliver this kind of service over cable. They found that it was too expensive to be done. Others like Intertainer have failed to deliver this as a model for the Internet. There is an effort being made by 5 of the major studios that will launch this year and will open the door to VOD – it is called MovieLink. This brings excitement to the digital medium: to finally see the studios get behind this technology – with their support, this WILL happen. 8- High-Speed Networks – as high speed networks become more pervasive, distribution digital bit while in post-production will improve the digital workflow of making a film or TV show. Then, as broadband penetrates the consumer homes or leveraging the HDTV signal space, we can easily get those digital bits to consumers in the home. 9- Formats! Formats! Formats! – This is scary. There are some many formats that exist today in film, video, audio, etc. The only way to solve this problem is to digitally master your project. The number of formats is only going to increase as new ways to get content to consumers ramps up. Pay special note to the different video codecs for digitizing film and video. Do not get stuck in only being able to support ONE format. 10- Consumer Electronics – this is where the money meets the road. CE manufacturers are pushing for new form factors, new capabilities, and integrated systems - to offer the consumer the newest, richest, most thrilling entertainment experience at home or on the road. Make sure you know where these guys are heading – this will be the key to reach the consumers of your content. The more you know, the more you will find interesting opportunities to get your project distributed. Stay tuned week to week, and month to month as we (Mesoft) explore new technologies for you the Independent Producer – and how to make/save money using these tools. We will drill-down on each topic above and new ones as they come along – to best help you navigate the digital jungle. Until next time, remember one thing – DIGITAL MASTERS empower you more than any other technology or process.-----Mark K -MS |