BBC tests the power of 3D to explore natural history

Broadcast 

BBC natural history series Hidden Kingdom is to be produced in 3D as part of the broadcaster’s two-year examination of stereoscopic technology.  http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/bbc-tests-the-power-of-3d-to-explore-natural-history/5047991.article

 Co-produced by the BBC’s Natural History Unit and German broadcaster RTL, Hidden Kingdom, which is already in production, takes a microscopic look at nature in the Amazon rainforest, African Savannah and Mojave Desert.

It will be produced as a 3 x 60-minute series along with a 50-minute 3D single. According to BBC head of 3D Kim Shillinglaw: “There are a number of challenging issues capturing 2D and 3D simultaneously in a natural history environment that we wanted to look at - namely that you cannot plan for every aspect of wildlife movement.”

She added: “The production is developing bespoke camera solutions that will break new ground to capture the behaviour of very small creatures in macro photography.”

The BBC’s wider 3D trial included Last Night Of The Proms in September. It is also in production on sitcom Mr Stink, with the adaptation of David Walliams’ children’s book slated for simultaneous transmission at Christmas on BBC1, and in 3D on the broadcaster’s HD channel.

The BBC is also examining the possibility of distributing Mr Stink on iPlayer.

“We are seeing whether we can make it available as a download,” said Shillinglaw. "It’s interesting to try to push what we can do with 3D on iPlayer as we look ahead to a more connected TV world.”

Gangster mini-series features Matrix-style 3D bullet-time

3D Focus

http://423digital.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/gangster-mini-series-features-matrix-style-3d-bullet-time-3d-focus/

A mini-series charting the lives of gangsters in the prohibition era of 1930s America is the latest in a new wave of dramatic 3DTV productions in the works.

Legends of the Prohibition 3D is a proposed 4×30 minute docu-drama about mob icons Al Capone, Bugsy Moran and Mickey Finn and iconic investigator Elliot Ness.

Not surprisingly perhaps its production team are based in Chicago. Vincent Shade, an assistant director on 3net documentary Fields of Valor: The Civil War 3D, founded Vase Production earlier this year and has partnered with fellow Chicago production outfit Eyeromp Films [www.eyerompfilms.com] headed by Philip O’Neil to develop the project.

A seven minute pilot – viewable at www.vaseproductions.com – was recently premiered at the 3D Film Festival in Hollywood with a view of drumming up funding for the show.

It includes a VFX sequence about half way through reminiscent of Matrix-style bullet time and remarkable for being produced on an apparently small budget. You can watch the sequence by skipping to 3 minutes and 28 seconds on the website video.

“While the outlets for 3D content producers has not changed from the 2-3 large channels [3Net, ESPN 3D, Sky 3D] which can acquire, commission and pay ‘adult’ money, producers should be thinking about dramatic shows and mini-series for VOD, for Blu-ray release and for future-proofing,” said Torsten Hoffmann, who runs distributor 3D Content Hub [www.3dcontenthub.com]. “There are also as many as 40 other channels in others parts of the world looking for original 3D content.”

“3D Fiction has been coming from the theatrical side for a long time and is moving slowly into TV,” said Hoffmann. “With the release of Life of Pi and The Great Gatsby, we may see more producers realising the creative merits of shooting drama in the format.”

The pilot was shot in two days using the CC3D Gen 2 rig supplied by Chicago rental house Daufenbach Camera.

Sky tests 4K at The Emirates

Broadcast

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/sky-tests-4k-at-the-emirates/5047650.article

BSkyB has begun testing the technical aspects of ultra-high-definition broadcasts as momentum builds in the industry for a 4K production standard.

The broadcaster conducted its first significant 4K test using cameras from Sony and Canon at The Emirates during Arsenal’s Champions League tie with Olympiakos last week.

Sky director of operations Darren Long said: “We’re constantly working with manufacturers to test new products so that we have a good understanding of their capabilities once they become available. “It’s too early for us to talk about whether or not 4K may form part of our future roadmap, but we are keen to learn more about its potential ahead of next-generation TV sets coming to market.”

One implication for broadcasters would be the need to build and supply set-top boxes that are capable of receiving the compression scheme HEVC (Higher Efficiency Video Codec), which makes ultra-high-definition possible.

The Emirates tests paired two Sony F65 cameras in a picture stitching application alongside a Canon C500 4K camera. Long said the pictures looked “stunning” but he wanted to see 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) images captured at higher frame rates.

“The key to us is to ensure quality and when showing footballers running, it was clear that there was too much camera blur; we feel 120 frames a second is the right speed. We’re liaising with standards bodies and working with manufacturers to understand the camera’s capabilities and to improve the technology.”

The entire infrastructure for live production would also have to be upgraded to support 4K, and outside broadcasters are already gearing up for this.

Brian Clark, commercial and technical projects director at NEP Visions, which facilitates Premier League productions for Sky Sports, said: “4K is very much on our radar.

“Manufacturers are moving 4K forward and we speak to companies to see how the timescales could be accelerated. In the next three years, I believe there will be live multi-camera acquisition.”

Other broadcasters expressing interest in the format include Brazil’s TV Globo, France Télévisions and Sky Deutschland.Meanwhile, the BBC and NHK conducted tests of live 8K (Super Hi-Vision) transmissions during the London 2012 Olympics.

Sky tests 4K at The Emirates

Broadcast

BSkyB has begun testing the technical aspects of ultra-high-definition broadcasts as momentum builds in the industry for a 4K production standard.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/techfacils/sky-tests-4k-at-the-emirates/5047650.article

The broadcaster conducted its first significant 4K test using cameras from Sony and Canon at The Emirates during Arsenal’s Champions League tie with Olympiakos last week.

Sky director of operations Darren Long said: “We’re constantly working with manufacturers to test new products so that we have a good understanding of their capabilities once they become available.

“It’s too early for us to talk about whether or not 4K may form part of our future roadmap, but we are keen to learn more about its potential ahead of next-generation TV sets coming to market.”

One implication for broadcasters would be the need to build and supply set-top boxes that are capable of receiving the compression scheme HEVC (Higher Efficiency Video Codec), which makes ultra-high-definition possible.

The Emirates tests paired two Sony F65 cameras in a picture stitching application alongside a Canon C500 4K camera.

Long said the pictures looked “stunning” but he wanted to see 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) images captured at higher frame rates.

“The key to us is to ensure quality and when showing footballers running, it was clear that there was too much camera blur; we feel 120 frames a second is the right speed. We’re liaising with standards bodies and working with manufacturers to understand the camera’s capabilities and to improve the technology.”

The entire infrastructure for live production would also have to be upgraded to support 4K, and outside broadcasters are already gearing up for this.

Brian Clark, commercial and technical projects director at NEP Visions, which facilitates Premier League productions for Sky Sports, said: “4K is very much on our radar.

“Manufacturers are moving 4K forward and we speak to companies to see how the timescales could be accelerated.

“In the next three years, I believe there will be live multi-camera acquisition.”

Other broadcasters expressing interest in the format include Brazil’s TV Globo, France Télévisions and Sky Deutschland.

Meanwhile, the BBC and NHK conducted tests of live 8K (Super Hi-Vision) transmissions during the London 2012 Olympics.

4K begins to hit radar screens of OB companies

Sports Video Group
There are contrasting views on the imminence of a 4K live production model from the outside broadcasters running the UK’s largest fleets. 
http://svgeurope.org/blog/top-stories/4k-begins-to-hit-radar-screens-of-ob-companies/

Grass Valley ‘4K and Format Agnostic by 2014’

Sports Video Group
Grass Valley aims to have cameras and production equipment capable of at least 4K resolution production by 2014. However, the company says it remains grounded in the priorities of today’s broadcasters and that 4K broadcasting is not one of them. http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2012/09/grass-valley-4k-and-format-agnostic-by-2014/

Mr Stink is BBC’s first 3D drama

TVB Europe

http://www.tvbeurope.com/mr-stink-is-bbc-s-first-3d-drama/

It’s the move that 3D watchers have been waiting for. Finally it seems there are commissions for 3D TV programming beyond sports, live music and signature wildlife shows. TVBEuropehas learned that both BSkyB and the BBC have 3D drama in the works.

Mr Stink, a drama comedy starring Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville and adapted from David Walliams’ children’s book, will start shooting in 2D HD and in 3D from next month for broadcast on BBC One this Christmas. It will be made in house at the BBC and greenlit by BBC One controller Danny Cohen. The move would be in line with the BBC’s experimental examination of 3D production which has taken in genres including live sports (Wimbledon 3D in 2011 and 2012), live music (recently The Last Night of the Proms) the finale of 2011’s Strictly Come Dancing and an hour long episode of documentary series Planet Dinosaur. A comedy series however would represent a departure from the norm. There has been reluctance among broadcasters to shoot episodic programming in 3D in part because of concerns about the additional cost and knock-on impact to the typically tight shooting schedule.

Meanwhile Sky is understood to be filming at least three of its latest series of 10×15-minute Little Crackers films in 3D, again for a Christmas airing. In 2010 Meera Syal’s Little Cracker for Sky became the UK’s first ever scripted TV comedy broadcast in 3D. The broadcaster is already shooting its largest non-sport series, Masterclass with veteran Sir Michael Parkinson, in 3D. The six-part series simulcasting on Sky Arts 1 in November and Sky 3D, features classical pianist Lang Lang, war photographer Don McCullin, jazz artist Jamie Cullum, principal dancer Carlos Acosta, author Michael Murpurgo and portrait artist Jonathan Yeo. Sky 3D director John Cassy has made a point of broadening the scope of 3D to appeal beyond that of the predominantly male audience for live sports. – Adrian Pennington