As Mediatech Africa 2013* fast approaches, it is hard to believe that in the two
years since the last edition of this advanced technology trade show, so much
could have changed.
The 2011 edition of Mediatech Africa was all about asset management, cloud
computing and digital terrestrial television. Since then there has been an
amazing shift in technology and new developments in electronic component
design have provided the industry with more punch, using less power. The much
hyped stereoscopic 3D “craze’ is all but dead while the battle for big, bigger,
biggest has just begun with the 4K revolution.
In the television environment, we live in a world where progress is defined by
ever-rising numbers, from the few dozen lines of early mechanical TV, through
405, 625 and 1080 line formats. The number of the day now appears to be
4000. In television terms the “4K’ resolution of 3840 pixels x 2160 pixels is not
far off the DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) consortium’s established standard
resolution of 4096 x 2160 and never before has television and cinema been
drawn so close together – as we will no doubt see evident at Mediatech Africa.
Broadcasting in Ultra-HD 4K may not happen for a while yet as TV sets are
prohibitively expensive at US$15k for an 84-inch model (a screen of that
magnitude is advised to fully appreciate the 4K resolution) so for the
foreseeable future at least HD is here to stay. To me the full advantage of the
upscaling in pixels, from a production aspect, is that originating at a resolution
higher than we distribute, will certainly make our own lives easier by providing a
lot of “wiggle’ room for focus, framing, stabilisation and visual effects.
Camcorders
Since 2011, developments in camera technology like Sony’s F5 and F55 CineAlta
4K HD camcorders have upped the game in both television and cinema
production. Cleverly designed to be upgradeable via firmware updates, Sony
has opened the doors to unprecedented versatility.
RED cameras are now capable of creating frames significantly exceeding Ultra HD
resolution that aren’t too noisy. RED was among the first to propose, and
certainly the first to popularise, the idea of debayering images and doing critical
basic corrections outside the camera. While this was of course sold to us as a
workflow innovation, what it actually meant was that there was an enormous
amount of electronics that they didn’t have to design, manufacture and power. I
certainly see RED dominating the market in the years to come, especially with
the development of their much talked about Dragon, a 6K sensor with over 10x
the number of pixels compared to 1080p HD.
Chasing the “unseen’
Over the past few years we have seen enormous investment into technology to
appease our (almost) insatiable need to “see’ what we can’t actually see with
the naked eye, like animal behaviour at night for example. There are a few
newly developed “near’ IR (infra-red) camera options other than industrial type
SD IR cameras becoming available that allow the user to film in extremely low
light conditions. Good examples can be seen in the BBC’s Africa series.
Sometimes things are a little too quick for our brains to process so we need to
slow them down using high-speed cameras.
Redefining what’s possible when it comes to high-speed imaging, the recently
launched Phantom Flex4K now offers amazing acquisition of up to 1 000 fps at a
very big 4096 x 2160 resolution.
But it’s often the little things that often create more impact. When Videomaker
announced that the award winner for Best of Show of NAB 2013 was Blackmagic
Design for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, the impact of the possibility of
producing low cost, cinema style HD imagery rippled through the industry.
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is truly a game-changer. Cameras that fit
in your pocket have changed a lot in recent years – for example the option to
change out lenses, shoot 3D, access Wi-Fi or operate Android apps – all with
quality HD video. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera has a Super 16 sensor
and captures 13 stops of dynamic range for a completely different story. For
some, the Micro Four Thirds mount will make adjustments difficult, but the open
file format for recording in CinemaDNG won’t, and at its low price this tiny pocket
camera is set open the doors for many an up-and-coming cinematographer and
is bound to create a storm at Mediatech Africa.
Up in the “cloud’
Some technology simply goes unnoticed yet impacts the industry more than we
realise. At Mediatech Africa 2011 “the cloud’ was only a buzz phrase and South
Africa was just entering the frame.
Something to definitely look out for this year is cloud-based software solutions
like Adobe Creative Cloud. This type of innovation has made software more
affordable, upgradeable and useable. Add to that Adobe Anywhere and you
have a modern, collaborative workflow platform that empowers users of Adobe
professional video solutions to work together, using centralised media across
virtually any network. It’s definitely the way to go, upgrades are easy and it’s
light on the pocket.
Illuminating products
Light has always an issue when filming. We have seen transformation in this
sector with LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology changing the way we work
with it over the past two years. Drawing less power and cooler operating
temperatures have made it possible to light even the smallest nook without
burning the place down. Little LED lights are always nice to have on set and LED
panels have a handful of configurations including spot and flood versions. As far
as handy goes, LED lights are cool enough to handle, simple to operate and can
provide the ability to change colour temperature and be dimmed. And then
someone comes in and throws a curve ball and introduces plasma lighting.
This technology has been in development for some time and the quality of light
seems to be excellent. A strong characteristic of plasma light is that it is
extremely diffused, and that means it’s easy to look at, something that your
talent might appreciate. Another key characteristic is the flatness of the panels,
enabling more freedom in placement.
The tiny pockets of plasma that provide the lighting element have a strong
colour rendering index at 90 and are very bright at 2 000 lumens, and won’t get
hot to the touch. Pricing is very similar to LED lights. It is an interesting new
development especially since the recent news that researchers, led by Dr Celia
Sanchez Ramos at Madrid’s Complutense University, reports recently that LED
lights produce high levels of radiation in the blue band of light. This type of
radiation can damage parts of the retina which cannot repair itself. Researchers
are predicting an epidemic soon because of the large amounts of people
watching LED TVs, and using computers and handheld devices with LED
technology.
What can you do about it? The researchers suggest closing your eyes often to
soften the effects of the blue light radiation. They also suggest by wearing eye
protection and eating foods rich in vitamin A such as spinach and peppers. So
take a deep breath and close your eyes right now…
See you at Mediatech Africa 2013!
*Mediatech Africa runs from 17 to 19 July at Johannesburg’s Coca-Cola Dome
(www.mediatech.co.za).
