Production: File-based workflow

Broadcast

The days of linear workflows are already numbered at the BBC and multiplatform content means many more are making the leap into file-based working. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/production-file-based-workflow/817529.article

A quiet revolution is sweeping the broadcast industry, radically altering the way in which programmes are made, worked on, stored and retrieved. The impetus behind the workflow revolution is twofold. First, there is the growing demand for delivering multiple versions of the same content for distribution to different platforms. And, second, at the other end of the production process, there is the growing range and sophistication of tapeless acquisition formats. The result is the demise of traditional linear workflow patterns. Individual craft workstations have already been replaced in post-production facilities by workflows centered around shared storage.

This model is expanding to encompass file-based capture at the start of the production process and file-based delivery at the end. As this transition occurs - and it will be many years yet before end-to-end tapeless workflows become widespread - the previously segmented boundaries between production and post blur.

Nowhere is the file-based workflow revolution more in evidence than at the BBC. The broadcaster's goal has been to migrate to fully tapeless and HD production by 2010. That ambitious target has now been reset as aspirational but nonetheless remains core to a massive internal project branded Digital Media Initiative (DMI) due to get underway from October this year. By removing tape from the workflow the DMI aims to break through the BBC's content divisional boundaries and create a single “digital repository” of information and content for use on multiple platforms.

“DMI encompasses a number of things but it is essentially about transforming the skills, processes and technology to enable end-to-end file-based production and delivery of our content to meet the needs of an on-demand world,” explains BBC Vision Studios technology controller Jon Attard.

BBC news, the BBC's radio production and Glasgow's Pacific Quay have already embarked on a digital overhaul to replace tape and enable collaborative multiplatform production. Next it's the turn of departments within BBC Vision, journalism, audio and music and information and archives.

Beginning with the Natural History Unit, children's and sport, the first£81m phase will begin this autumn in conjunction with technology partner Siemens.

“We will begin with those genres that are driving toward multiplatform and those starting to bank HD content,” explains Attard. “Phase two will extend DMI to other genres and regional sites. During this period we will assess key technical challenges such as how to roll out DMI in a way that meets the needs of Media City at Salford and the needs of external post-production and production suppliers.” A third phase will take the project to completion by 2012.

One key characteristic of the DMI initiative is that only new material will be automatically stored in digital form. There's simply not enough money to digitise the bulk of the 1.4 million hours of BBC back catalogue.

There are broadly three stages to the proposed DMI workflow initiative. In the first, all material is ingested into an online server, comprehensively logged and made available to producers collaborating across genres and across media. In the second, rough cuts are finished on craft stations and packaged for multiplatform delivery whether to HD master, encoding for mobile or distribution to playout partner Red Bee. In the third, copies of all final content are stored in a digital archive.

So how will the DMI initiative improve workflow efficiencies at the BBC? “Previously offline and craft edit suites were run separately and followed from each other in the production chain,” explains Attard. “Now that workflow will be more closely integrated.” In addition, before the introduction of DMI, the only way to share media was to dub out to tape and re-ingest. In future any producer can activate content on ingest.

Attard is keen to stress that DMI will be phased in rather than imposed with a big bang. “It's a very pragmatic approach,” he says. “We've asked each department what its editorial drivers and business needs are and worked back from that.”

Where previous step changes in production technology have been installed in discrete areas, DMI is an attempt to fundamentally overhaul root and branch processes so that every asset the BBC produces is accessible for reuse both internally and by the public. That ambition involves improving the BBC's ability to locate content. At present the corporation's blogging site Backstage admits that “our audiences can access our content faster than we can”.

Says Attard: “It becomes imperative to add clear descriptors whenever changes are made to content. One of the challenges for the production and craft community will be to pay close attention to new metadata (content description) guidelines. “They need to appreciate the impact that the information they add has on the production process and audience further down the chain,” he continues. “There might be a tendency under pressure to forget about metadata. That won't be okay in the future. Accurate and detailed metadata is critical in order that BBC content can be found by our audiences.”

Instead of a simple textual search mechanism the aim is to build a data model which will enable rich, intelligent searches across all content held in the digital archive. The ultimate goal is that content should be accessible whether a user is in Bristol, Glasgow or Manchester.

“Content from a factual production, for example, could be immediately sucked in and made available to news or entertainment. This opens up exciting opportunities for collaboration and creativity across divisional boundaries,” says Attard.

Producers, he says, will get used to the idea that other producers or members of a different team “may look at your hard- fought-for rushes at the same time as you. An online team is going to see material the moment you bring it back to base. The industry is competitive so this development represents a genuine cultural challenge.”

While the BBC's DMI initiative is the biggest example of how tapeless is revolutionising workflow, the move to tapeless is also affecting the workflow and workplace culture of smaller broadcasters and the post industry.

MTV Europe is upgrading its Camden HQ to accommodate a high-speed digital network that will distribute media to and from its US parent and European offices. According to MTV Europe vice-president, technology Dave Colfer: “The biggest issue is change management. How do you change to deal with files? What processes change? How does it alter roles and responsibilities? Any producer moving to file-based delivery faces a hefty task in terms of managing and accommodating cultural change.”

The introduction of tapeless camera formats is also finally beginning to affect post producers. “People are dabbling in tapeless formats often as a second camera for additional footage,” reports Evolutions operations director Owen Tyler.

Tiger Aspect took both Paul Merton-fronted documentaries (Paul Merton in China/India) to Evolutions after shooting on Panasonic's tapeless P2 camera. But, according to Envy chief engineer Daniel Sassen, producers must consider whether tapeless is right for their programme.

“The wrong choice could have major implications. The whole tapeless workflow fits the unscripted ‘reality television' model precisely, but it may not be quite so appropriate for drama or other scripted programming. Producers need to decide how important their rushes are to them once the show has been completed.”

Sassen adds: “Bearing in mind that a memory card is considerably more expensive (around£450 each for Sony's 16GB card) than its tape equivalent - based on 60 minutes' recording time - you would not hold a memory card ‘library' in the same way as you would hold a conventional tape library. The picture data needs to be copied from the memory cards to a hard disk for long-term storage or archive.”

Similar issues are being encountered by 3SixtyMedia as it begins to phase in tapeless production of 250 annual episodes of Coronation Street. “We still have the comfort blanket of tape as back-up but our biggest concern is how we decide on the life-cycle of media,” says head of post David Boyle. “Storing media on onsite archives (where it is readily accessible) is expensive so how long does it exist before we delete it and store in a deep (off-site) archive? Asset protection is perhaps the key. It means ensuring the data has been named accurately so we can track it.”

Lime Pictures has been recording the bulk of Hollyoaks direct to hard disk since 2001. Its new HD production will also record location-based material to the optical disk-based XDCAM HD to speed up the transfer of rushes into Lime's server.

“You should make the technology fit how you want to work and not let it dictate to you,” says Lime Pictures production server manager John Robertson. “It's perhaps easier [for us] posting just one production and using only a single file format whereas an external facility has to be able to handle multiple formats.”

The investment in disk storage and the fibre-optics that connect them is not inconsiderable. “We produce a high enough volume to justify the outlay,” says Boyle. “We know the work will keep coming for long enough for us to write off the cost.”

By recording feeds directly to a server the demarcation between production and post is even less apparent. “Since in theory we could edit rushes as soon as they're shot, at what point do we begin editing?” asks Boyle. “Do we create a special post media manager with responsibility for pressing the record button? These are some of the cultural issues we're having to address.”

High-def Hollyoaks

Lime Pictures is overhauling its in-house post facilities to accommodate the HD production of Hollyoaks for C4. Its HD facilities, which will be operational by June, centre on a 102 TB storage area network (SAN) to accommodate 650GB of material per episode. An additional 27TB of near online storage will retain material until transmission and then delete it. “We'll be acquiring four times the amount of data compared with SD but maintaining the same tapeless workflow,” says production server manager John Robertson. “Moving data won't be a problem once it's on the SAN.”


Corrie goes tapeless

Facility 3SixtyMedia is installing an Avid Isis central storage system that will eventually result in a fully tapeless workflow for ITV flagship Coronation Street. The soap is shot on DigiBeta but future productions may shoot studio material direct to disk and location work to file-based formats.

“The overriding factor is efficiency and economy,” says head of post David Boyle. “We currently ingest and go back out to tape four to five times in post. A tapeless workflow would eliminate that. Craft editing time remains the same. The chief savings of up to three days per episode comes in conform, online, grade and dubbing since media will remain on the server for everyone to access.”

The new infrastructure could also be used on stablemate ITV productions. “There is a bigger picture to this,” says Boyle. “We have an engineer dedicated to assessing whether this same system could be scaled to post Emmerdale.

“Beyond that we can see real benefits in the technology for distributing media to desktops for all ITV productions so everyone from researchers to producer-directors and execs can obtain ready access to material.”


Iron Maiden on the road

For Iron Maiden's current Somewhere Back In Time World Tour, restrictions on flight cargo meant the band's videographer Johnny Burke had to revise his normal production plans.

“Typically I would take as many flight cases as I wanted, including up to 12 cameras and hundreds of tapes, but since we're packing everything including 70 crew and all the stage set into a Boeing 757 I needed a much lighter set-up.”

Burke opted to experiment with the Sony EX1, a new camcorder that records to memory cards, hooked to a laptop running Final Cut Pro (FCP).

Burke produces packages on location for use by local broadcasters and also produces content for Maiden's official website.

“The big advantage is speed,” he claims. “I can take the cards straight from the camera into FCP and begin editing footage in HD within minutes.

I can do that on a plane or in a hotel room and have it ready for MTV when they want it.

“I was reluctant to use a new system on a new tour but if this works in the field, I'm not going back to tape.”

The top cameras and kit for 2008

Broadcast 

As file-based and hi-def acquisition becomes a reality, we look at 10 of the latest cameras and accessories which are likely to be among the most in-demand this year.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/the-top-cameras-and-kit-for-2008/756693.article

Camera operators have previously been saddled with heavy and power-draining tungsten, halogen or fluorescent tube equipment but the low-cost, low-heat, lightweight and low-power consumption benefits of LED arrays and panels have led to a surge in demand.

A single LED diode is likely to last until you retire, but it doesn't offer much in terms of light output. Most manufacturers, such as Hollywood-based Litepanels, mount hundreds of LEDs into a tray then add a reflector. Its Ringlite Mini (pictured) slots over a camera lens distributing light evenly and directly at a subject.

“LEDs give amazing power efficiency and are a significant help for battery life in ENG situations or if you're running HD cameras (which drain more power than cameras in SD mode),” says Earls.

Japan's IDX, better known as a battery vendor, offers the X3 which outputs the equivalent of a 35W halogen bulb at ‘daylight' colour temperatures and only requires 11W of power, while German firm Bebob Broadcast markets the Lux-Led range for use as a freestanding, handheld or camera light (distributed by Holdan in the UK).

Red one
After recalling its initial batch and subsequently delaying release, Red Digital Cinema's hugely hyped Red One 4k camera is finally shipping. Promising high-resolution digital cinematography on a low budget, the $17,500 (£8,975) camera (body only, lenses extra) could prove irresistible to film-makers or those interested in experimenting in 3D cinematography.

“Despite the late delivery and all the other issues with the camera we are convinced that it will have a dramatic effect on the market from production through rental and through the post workflow,” argues Paul Carter, managing director of hire firm Axis Films, which will stock two models. “There will be a lot of opportunities not least for rental companies and the accessory manufacturers to provide a service for Red owners.”

Until the camera is proven to be roadworthy, however, Axis will insist that an in-house technician, familiar with all the quirks of the camera, attends the shoot. “We envisage that this person would also be responsible for the data-capture side of the operation,” says Carter.

“Anyone who has read the hype will be eager to see what this camera can do,” he adds. “Some producers and DoPs want to be able to say that they are among the vanguard to have shot on Red.”

Panasonic AVC-Intra Compression
Whatever the digital format there's a trade-off between file size and image quality: the smaller the file size, the easier it is to move around but the poorer the quality is.

Panasonic is pushing a new compression technology called AVC-Intra in its latest P2 cameras which enables the recording of HD data as smaller files on a P2 card or alternatively offers much higher quality content at conventional DVCPRO HD bit rates.

AVC-Intra, accessed from the menu of P2 cameras AJHPX 2100 and AJHPX 3000 can be set at 100 Mbps for 1920 x 1080 10-bit 4:2:2 recording or 50 Mbps for DVCPRO HD quality at half the bit rate, but double the record time on a P2 card.

Panasonic claims AVC-Intra, which uses intraframe compression, is twice as efficient as the interframe-based MPEG-2 long-GOP scheme used by Sony in its XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX systems. Sony says AVC-Intra does this by throwing away half the original picture information during recording, so it's really half-def quality.

“It's a very interesting development,” says Prime TV's Earl. “Not only is it good for capturing high end material at lower bit rates for drama but also for the news and documentary markets.”

Polecam
When extreme sports cameraman Steffan Hewitt was directing a series of windsurfing kit commercials in Hawaii eight years ago he found it impossible using conventional equipment to get a shot at speed, shot from the front with a wide angle lens. He experimented with a minicam fitted to the end of a boom pole and got the shots he needed.

Hewitt designed and built a prototype rigged from lightweight carbon-fibre tubes and began selling it. Polecam now has more than 200 customers across the world, including 30 in the UK. “Most are hired by freelance cameramen who then become owner-operators,” says Polecam's Mel Noonan. “It is an extremely simple concept but incredibly useful for achieving creative, out of the way shots.”

Users can even accessorise this accessory with a number of camera heads including Fish Face, a submersible pan and tilt unit, and DiveBag, a latex glove that fits over a mini-cam also for underwater shots.

Iconix Mini HD cameras
There are a number of compact HD cameras on the market but the Iconix, from Iconix Video, has a lot of supporters.

“Because we service a need for small, high quality cameras to function with Polecam we're constantly searching for new models,” says Mel Noonan, marketing director, Polecam. “The one that seems most flexible is the Iconix. It offers interlace and progressive image scanning and can be switched to SD - useful if you want 16 x 9 SD. You can even switch it to dual link mode for component HD recording.”

Polecam has sold more than 60 of the£9,500 units, which weighs less than four pounds, but now also offers the cheaper Toshiba IK-HD1, although this only records 1080i. “The Toshiba is more useful for live events and outside broadcast,” notes Noonan. “The Iconix has been used just about everywhere from motorsport to natural history to reality shows and demand continues to grow.”

Other claimants to the title “world's smallest HD camera” include Bradley Engineering's €5,000 remote head BE-HD10, a new two-megapixel camera which captures HD (1080i or 720p 50/60), and TV Skyline's HD 1100 unit which records 1,100 lines (compared with the 900-line resolution of the Iconix).

XDCAM HD 422
Although Sony has been pushing its disk-based recording system XDCAM HD as a workhorse for broadcast work, few producers have so far adopted it. That may change with the introduction of a higher-spec model due for release this spring.

The PDW-700 XDCAM HD 422 camcorder features a 2/3 inch chipset compared with the existing XDCAM HD model's half-inch CCDs, to record full 1920 x 1080 4:2:2.

What's more, Sony is outfitting all its XDCAM HD range with new 50GB dual-layer disk media which doubles the storage and recording capacities of the original single layer version making it ideal for applications that require long continuous recording.

“A camera like this might finally twist people's arms to go tapeless,” suggests Video Europe general manager Matt Marner who plans to purchase multiple units. “One thing that has put people off moving to file-based systems has been the image quality available from half-inch sensors. That barrier is removed with this release which should deliver quality on a par with HDCAM. That, combined with greatly increased record capacity, should prove very attractive to a wide range of producers.”

Movietube Lens Adapter System
The Movietube from Germany's Kinomatik allows fixed lens camcorders like the Z1 to achieve the same depth of field, imaging characteristics, and viewing angle as 35mm film. Its lens adapter is compatible with Panasonic's DVX100 and HVX200, as well as Sony's Z1U and FX1.

“We've had increased demand for this product in recent months from cinematographers who haven't the budget to shoot 16mm or full scale HD,” says Danny Howarth, facility manager, Provision. “It's a great product that can put 35mm lenses in front of a standard HDV camera to achieve incredible depth of field and a far better picture.”

The system accepts all film lenses in Arri PL or Panavision mount, as well as 35mm still lenses from Canon, Minolta or Leica or Nikon - optics which many camera operators may own, thus saving themselves the cost of hiring a box of primes.

Analogue to digital conversion
Despite the HD revolution, hundreds of thousands of legacy analogue users still exist - and so does their content. As a “missing link” solution, Shining Technology's Beetle bridges the analogue-digital divide by offering a simple and efficient mechanism for working with content digitally even when captured on Betacams.

The small Beetle DV 1850 device will convert and store analogue video to a hard drive in DV, DVCPro50 and MPEG-2 formats and could also export edited digital video to an analogue VTR or display. The catch? It's still being tested but could be launched in April at NAB.

“Even though our industry is undergoing a massive shift to HD, we can't forget that a significant sector of the market still uses analogue equipment,” notes Shining marketing manager Chris Wang. “By bridging the gap to help these users convert their content to digital formats rather than losing it altogether, we're making their HD transformation a bit easier.”

Solid state camcorders
Producers reticent about shooting HD with a tapeless workflow may have their concerns alleviated by Sony's new entry-level HD camcorder which records full 1920 x 1080 HD onto memory-based cards.

“The biggest restriction to the take-up of solid-state production until now has been limited record times,” says Mitcorp business development manager Dennis Lennie. “The PMW-EX1 enables operators to shoot up to 70 minutes of HD at 25Mbps or 50 minutes at 35Mbps per 16GB ExpressCard.” That's equivalent to a single HDV tape recorded by a Z1 - the staple format for factual productions.

Mitcorp has already sold 50 of the£4,000 (approx price) EX1s, including units to Special Treats Productions to shoot behind-the-scenes material for forthcoming James Bond film Quantum of Solace and for Raw Cut's Sky One documentary Road Wars.

Film-maker Phil Grabsky, who owns Seventh Art Productions, has his eye on the EX1. “The workflow needs to be thought through, but if you think that 15 years ago people weren't comfortable with email, 10 years ago with an Avid or five years ago with an iPod the concept of disk or solid-state based recording will soon be very familiar.”

Interchangeable Lens HDV
Sony's next generation of HDV technology, the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E, feature interchangeable lens systems allowing a far greater choice of lens for producers working in this format.

“These are ideal for budget independent productions, corporate video or videographers,” notes John Preston of dealer H Preston which purchased 100 of each model. “A lot of customers have wanted to upgrade but have felt unable to do so until now. Now they can have their choice of HD, prime, stills and wide-angle lenses.

“The S270E is also the first shoulder-mounted HD camera available at a reasonable price,” he adds. “Some operators prefer not to use tripods in order to be as unobtrusive as possible and they can now stabilise shudder.”

The S270E uses larger tapes for more than four hours of continuous recording - practical for filming live events. “You no longer have to swap tapes at crucial moments,” Preston says.

Additionally, both camcorders feature hybrid solid-state recording of HDV1080i, DVCAM, or DV to a compact flash card while simultaneously recording to tape.

“That offers a great introduction to file-based workflows without any of the worry some users have about shooting without tape,” adds Mitcorp's Lennie.

BBC Trust backs£81m tapeless move

Broadcast 

The BBC Trust has approved funding of£81m to kickstart the corporation's move into multiplatform production and tapeless workflow.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc-trust-backs81m-tapeless-move/706181.article

The Trust has greenlit the first phase of the Digital Media Initiative (DMI), the corporation-wide overhaul of infrastructure and work processes intended to enable collaborative multi-platform production.

In an email sent to all BBC staff, future media and technology director Ashley Highfield said moving from work conducted predominantly on tape to shooting content on HD cameras straight onto memory cards would open up a “world of possibilities”. The plan is to make archived content available on the desktop of any member of BBC staff in any BBC office in any part of the world.

“It is the single most important initiative we are working on,” Highfield said. “Without DMI, we simply can't deliver many of our planned exciting new on-demand services.”

A five-year, staggered roll-out of new technology will start this autumn in conjunction with technology partner Siemens. It will begin with the natural history unit, children's and sport.

BBC news, radio production and Glasgow's Pacific Quay have begun a digital overhaul and will be linked into DMI later.

“We will begin with those genres that are driving toward multi-platform and those starting to bank HD content,” said BBC Vision Studios technology controller Jon Attard.

“In phase two, DMI will extend to other genres and regional sites. Key technical challenges to meet the needs of Media City at Salford and external post-production and production suppliers will be assessed.”

A third phase will take the project to completion in 2012. The results of phase one will be presented to the Trust for its approval for funding of further phases of the project. All aspects of production will be unified by a common search tool which will allow richer and speedier access to content for internal producers and eventually to members of the public.

Lime overhauls post unit for Hollyoaks HD

Broadcast

Lime Pictures is upgrading its in-house post facilities to accommodate the HD production of Hollyoaks later this year.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/lime-overhauls-post-unit-for-hollyoaks-hd/585196.article

The Channel 4 series, which runs five episodes a week, is currently being simulcast on C4 HD.

The Liverpool producer's new HD facilities, which will be operational by June, centre on a 102TB storage area network (SAN) supplied by Data Direct Networks.

This will accommodate the 650GB of material per episode that an HD production requires. All post will be in HD, although the choice of editing system has not been finalised. Currently, Lightworks systems are used.

“We'll be acquiring four times more data than SD,” said PSC manager John Robertson. “It's a major investment and overhaul of our facilities but we'll be maintaining the same tapeless workflow.

“Moving data around won't be a problem once it's on the SAN. What's more of an issue is having enough time in the day to perform back-up and archiving of the sheer volume of data.”

Lime Pictures is something of a tapeless production pioneer. Since 2001 the producer has been recording the bulk of its studio footage direct to hard disk although location material is still captured on tape.

The new production set-up will see location-based material recorded to the optical disk-based Sony XDCAM HD to speed up the transfer of rushes into the SAN. The Hollyoaks studio cameras will be Sony HDC1500s.

Data management software is provided by Quantum StorNext with a Quantum i2000 tape library used to back up and retrieve content.