SVGE Sit-Down: MD Steve Knee outlines how Cloudbass arrived in UK OB premier league

Sports Video Group
With SIS Live’s exit the roll call of British outside broadcast suppliers would appear to have been reduced to four, each with a 20-25% share. But this is an inaccurate picture...

http://svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/svge-sit-down-md-steve-knee-outlines-how-cloudbass-arrived-in-the-premier-league-of-uk-ob/

Gearhouse verdict on Hitachi SK-UHD4000

Broadcastbridge

Hitachi is one of several camera manufacturers unleashing 4K cameras with 2/3-inch B4 mounts and Gearhouse Broadcast made waves on its release at IBC2014 by announcing it would take the first 50 off the production line. Since then Gearhouse tested the camera to see how well the cameras worked in existing workflows and shares its findings with thebroadcastbridge.

https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/1011/gearhouse-verdict-on-hitachi-sk-uhd4000

SVGE Sit-Down: MD David Meynell on why SIS Live is now betting on connectivity

Sports Video Group
SIS Live is reinventing itself as a connectivity provider to UK live events and plans to double the number of stadia connected with its fibre network to 100 by 2016. 
http://svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/svge-sit-down-david-meynell-on-why-sis-live-is-now-betting-on-connectivity/

OBS TV to take on UK outside broadcast market with new 30-camera truck

Sports Video Group
OBS TV, the UK division of Irish outside broadcast and facility group Observe, is building a new 30-camera channel truck after a year of establishing its place in the marketplace.
http://svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/obs-tv-to-take-on-uk-outside-broadcast-market-with-new-30-camera-truck/

DOTS lands Hollywood studio for long term archive

BroadcastBridge

A rival to the Piql Preservation System for long term archiving of motion pictures has reportedly succeeded in getting one major studio to allocate budget for its use in 2015. Developed by Group 47, DOTS (Digital Optical Technology System) stores digital data onto metal alloy tape and is claimed to be archival for 100 years. It is non-magnetic, chemically inert, immune from electromagnetic fields including electromagnetic pulse and can be stored at room temperature.

https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/978/dots-lands-hollywood-studio-for-long-term-archive

3xScreen Media: Live Streaming Is No Longer Optional for Major Events

StreamingMedia

From the Vans x Crossfire Halloween Massacre to Ted Baker's fashion shows, the London-based streaming services provider is coming up with innovative ways to deliver live events online and compete with broadcast.

http://www.StreamingMediaGlobal.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/3xScreen-Media-Live-Streaming-Is-No-Longer-Optional-for-Major-Events-100496.aspx

Pioneering a new visual grammar in virtual reality

TVB Europe  p24
http://issuu.com/newbayeurope/docs/tvbe_november_2014_digital_edition/0

Zero tolerance comms for Riedel and F1.

TVB Europe P17

http://issuu.com/newbayeurope/docs/tvbe_november_2014_digital_edition/1 http:/

Film preservation for 500 years on film

Broadcastbridge

A new solution could have solved the riddle by storing digital files on film for up to 500 years Piql is the result of five years and €20 million R&D, supported by the EU and the Norwegian government.

https://www.thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/940/film-preservation-for-500-years-on-film

Video Platform Nideo Targets B2B

Streaming Media 

UK-based start up claims its platform, based on Microsoft Azure, offers analytics and tracking capabilities that are better suited to B2B video than YouTube, Vimeo, or Brightcove.

http://www.StreamingMediaGlobal.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Video-Platform-Nideo-Targets-B2B-100422.aspx

Bridging the ratings gap

Broadcast 

The absence of a shared multi-platform TV ratings measure breeds agency concern and tech innovation p20
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk//launch.aspx?eid=776b74fa-cd02-44cf-a137-12f29affe183

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/digital-edition-broadcast-tech/5079714.article#.VFzzTcZT94M.twitter

Can LTE Broadcast Solve the Spectrum Conundrum?

IBC Following a busy round of trials, LTE Broadcast networks are being rolled out on both sides of the Atlantic with potentially dramatic ramifications for the future of content distribution. http://www.ibc.org/page.cfm/Action=library/libID=2/listID=4/t=m

My interview with Michael Seresin, DP, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

British Cinematographer

http://issuu.com/open-box/docs/british_cinematographer_64

Reporting under pressure

Digital Studio 

Broadcast journalists are placed under great pressure while working in the field, sometimes in some incredibly remote and inhospitable places, but innovation in satellite and cellular connectivity is making the job of reporting a story in multiple ways to multiple outlets a much easier task.

http://www.digitalproductionme.com/article-8139-reporting-under-pressure/

Broadcast Turns Up the Heat for Online Advertising Monies

IBC Broadcasters are fighting the threat of advertising money being syphoned to the web by converging online advertising technology and techniques with mainstream TV advertising. In doing so, doing they claim to have tapped new revenue streams bolstering TV's future. http://www.ibc.org/page.cfm/action=library/libID=2/libEntryID=259/listID=4

Celebrating Panavision's 60 year history

British Cinematographer p26

http://issuu.com/open-box/docs/british_cinematographer_64

The Future of Cinema from performance capture to VR: special report

British Cinematographer- p38

http://issuu.com/open-box/docs/bc065_issuu

plus interviews with Dion Beebe, Haris Zambarloukos, Simon Duggan on the future of cinematography p38-40 

article here Past, Present & Future of Cinematography (Part 4) - British Cinematographer

Interviews with Jess Hall, Christian Berger, Phedon Papamichail & Roger Deakins on cinematography's future p27-33

- Haris Zambarloukos BSC -

 

Q: In the last 10 years what has been the biggest change for you as a cinematographer?
A: The biggest change I believe has been in the colour correction process. Nine years ago I was able to finish my first film, Enduring Love, in a DI process and since then all but two have been a DI finish. That has dramatically increased the time needed to complete the final process and has created an unavoidable dilemma: do you prefer ultimate control over the finest detail of the look of your images, or the finest possible print? A DI gives you that extra control, but nothing looks more beautiful in a cinema than a photochemically finished print – a black and white one at that.

Q: What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing cinematographers today?
A: It is the same today as it was when the first moving image was created, how to use motion picture art to create a compelling emotional experience for the audience.

Q: What are your thoughts on digital image quality vs. film?
A: I would rather sit down somewhere else... preferably with a drink.

Q: And what developments would you like to see in the future?
A: Cinematography developments have raced ahead of other areas in the film industry, to the point where we might be going backwards. Maybe we should develop appreciation and true understanding of the tools we already have.

Q: What, for you, has been the most significant development in technology or new piece of kit in the last decade?
A: The ability to scan a negative, and the idea that you could colour correct digitally has had the most profound impact on our work in a number of ways. I still love the photochemical process and I think in terms of the texture and the crispness that you still get a better print, in my opinion. But the ability to fine tune a picture at the end is just incredible. We take it for granted now that we go into a DI suite and that is how we colour correct a film. But 10 years ago that wasn’t possible.

Q: What films, or which cinematographer’s work, have you been most impressed with in the last 10 years?
A: I don’t think I’d ever seen anything like Road To Perdition (2002) (top picture) when it came out. That will take some beating. In terms of moving forward, presenting films in a certain way, the work that Wally Pfister did on The Dark Knight (2008) using IMAX and 35mm is really significant, as is all the work Anthony Dodd Mantle BSC has done mixing formats. I just loved Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and I think all of Anthony's work has such an intense energy, I find it breathtaking. I always admire what Rob Hardy BSC and Robbie Ryan BSC are doing.

 

- Mandy Walker ACS -

Q: In the last 10 years what has been the biggest change for you as a cinematographer?
A: It has to be the invention and constant upgrading of the technology of digital capture mediums and the ending of film prints and processing. When we did our pick-ups for Tracks out of Deluxe Sydney it was the last piece of film to be processed there. The camera department is now set up differently with the addition of the DIT and data wranglers. Also, the other significant change is the way images are seen on-set with better quality monitoring. This has changed the way people look at their own work in other departments on set. By seeing that what is on the modern monitors is potentially pretty close to what they will see in the end product.

Q: What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing cinematographers today?
A: To maintain the role of the cinematographer on a movie where VFX are controlling more and more the pre-visualisation, and post production of the images. I always try and set up a collaborative relationship between the with the director and myself with the VFX supervisor, so they understand the visual language that the director and I have decided on. That way, when we are finished shooting, they don't go off on their own tangent and make images that don't fit the visual style of the film. It has happened to me that at the last minute some scenes have been manipulated so much that it looks like another film. Also, those relationships are important during pre-production, and especially if the film has a lot of pre-visualisation and VFX storyboarding. Again, you don't want to be told by them what the shots are. It's an important relationship and you need to be communicative with each other at all steps of production.

Q: How do you feel digital compares to celluloid imagery and acquisition?
A: I am still using both, and I feel that film is still the best choice for some situations and digital for others. I would be sad if film went away as a choice. On Tracks, both the director, John Curran, and I were adamant that we shot on film as we felt that the many varied landscapes, weather (some harsh and some with subtle beauty), and colours could all be recorded with the best resolution and contrast range possible with negative. We were in isolated in hot dirty locations and we could always grab a camera and quickly shoot, not worrying about cables, monitors, and overheating, etc. Even though after shooting film for 25yrs, I still got a thrill watching the printed film dailies, and nearly every time it would look better than I thought, like those skies with their detail. However, I shot a TV pilot on ARRI Alexa, as the project called for large theatre and hotel lobby locations, where I used minimal lighting and embraced the available light fittings, and night urban scenes. For me that camera worked really well in those low-light situations and had more detail in the shadows than film.

Q: What developments would you like to see in the future?
A: That digital capture does not go down the path of some of the latest television sets, in that the manufacturers think sharper and less motion blur means better images. I'm always using older lenses and trying to not have a super sharp image on digital as it can look like reality TV and not drama. I would like the camera manufacturers to make the images have more colour resolution and handle larger contrast extremes, especially in the highlights. Just because a camera has more than 4K resolution, it doesn't necessarily mean a better image. I'm not after sharper images ­­­– it can become a harsh look on an actor’s skin, showing every wrinkle and pore.

Q: What has been the most significant technological development in the last 10 years?
A: The technology to do on-set looks and grading of your dailies. I find shooting digital can be a positive experience, when you have your LUT on-set and can show the director pretty much how the end result will look. Then you can light to that image and control things in the image that previously one couldn't do until later on in post.

Q: What films, or which cinematographer’s work, have you been most impressed with in the last 10 years?
A: All of the films shot by Roger Deakins. His work is always faithful to translating a particular script to the screen, and to visually expressing the story to an audience. The decisions he makes for camera moves and lighting are never unnecessarily showy and don't take away from the focus of the storytelling. I also love the work of Emmanuel Lubezki. He has taken chances in his work, such as in The Tree Of Life (2011), that are not conventionally technical in their coverage and lighting, but are so perfect in conveying the emotions of the characters and the story. Plus the innovative way he has shot films such as Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events on stage (2004), and Gravity (2013) with his use of the huge LED panels. He is truly a groundbreaker, and one with great taste.

- Dion Beebe ACS ASC -

Q: In the last 10 years what has been the biggest change for you as a cinematographer?
A: It is ten years now since I first picked up a digital camera on the movie Collateral. It was like a mass of cables with a lens attached. An umbilical cord connected it to a huge mothership the size of an industrial freezer. One had to be careful not to touch the menu button unless you had some sort of degree. But the first time I saw palm trees silhouetted against the LA night sky, and freeways captured beneath the sodium glare of streetlights, I realised digital photography was about to change the way we shoot movies.

Q: What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing cinematographers today?
A: Cinematographers have always been required to stay abreast of changing technologies. However, the past 10 years has seen such enormous changes that it is important not just to know what is out there, but to also try and be comfortable with the technology. These are not just changes to cameras but to lighting choices, colour timing tools and visual FX procedures too. Staying current in the industry is certainly one of the challenges we face and also one that keeps what we do exciting.

Q: How do you feel digital compares to celluloid imagery and acquisition?
A: It is important to regard each format as unique. That one captures light via electronic data and the other through a photochemical process clearly demonstrates this distinction. I also believe each has its own unique aesthetic. Film aesthetic is something we immediately recognise and has its origins deep within the films captured on celluloid for over 100 years. Its look lies within the grain, texture and contrast of film and the reaction of light on the negative. On the other hand digital image capture has its own, and still evolving, aesthetic. And with it has evolved a lighting style that is unique to the digital format. If I were to describe this it would be an ambient lighting style. The digital cinematographer must look to build contrast and depth into an existing ambient base light and find a way to integrate it seamlessly. There is a soft, open look that emerges from this that I feel is unique to this format.

Q: What has been the most significant technological development in the last 10 years?
A: The digital sensor.

Q: What developments would you like to see in the future?
A: I'd like to see the continuing development of film negative. Film is a unique storytelling tool. Let's not lose that