GEAR | RENTAL ROUND TABLE
Now, more than ever, we’re seeing production and post-production worlds merge. What does this mean for your business? AP: We’re definitely investigating LED volume, because our cameras and lenses are physically connected to the system; they provide crucial data back to the Unreal Engine, so it knows what the camera is looking at and how it can accommodate the background that it is projecting. The Mandalorian kicked off a whole new conversation in this area, but it’s still in its infancy, because you really have to design your whole production around volume. You can’t just throw a volume in for certain scenes, because it doesn’t work like a traditional green screen. There are a lot of limitations. If you’re using water or dust, or it’s an action scene and you’ve got squibs and stunt wires, it’s almost impossible to have an LED screen as it’s inevitably going to get damaged. What’s interesting for us, though, is that the light coming off the screens isn’t very good. Yes, the reflections are real, so if you have an actor in a silver helmet, it looks like they’re in the environment, because that’s what they’re reflecting and you’re not getting green spill. But if you were projecting a face, the skin tone can sometimes look jaundiced, because the white balance isn’t correct. You can dial that in, but it’s just a screen projecting an image; it’s not designed to be a light source. At Arri, colour science is a huge part of what we do and where we came from, and that information goes into our lights, as well as into our sensors and lenses. So, when you compare an LED screen to an Arri Skypanel, it’s really like looking at night and day. Furthermore, you need lights to help augment the world itself, since LED screens don’t cast shadows. You could replace a panel with a source to create a shadow, but it has to be perfect and it’s very difficult to trick the human eye. RW: As experts in NDI [video over IP technology from Newtek] and remote access, we have been very lucky to have been asked to be involved in a great many ‘firsts’ since February. My favourite was assisting Springwatch in keeping the show on the road using Gallery Sienna’s NDI solutions. With our assistance and the BBC’s determination, we managed to produce both Springwatch and Autumnwatch
remotely, in a way no one would have thought possible before the pandemic.
we have. These cameras have the ability to be connected and controlled remotely, making them a good choice for talent to set up on their own, with control being left to remote operators. RW: Over the last four or five years, we’ve been talking to our customers about moving hot kit out from their expensive Soho machine rooms to our data centres and accessing it all remotely. So, when the pandemic hit, we had all the answers our customers needed. Thank goodness we had done all the research in advance and could help instantly. SW: It’s clear to us that the pandemic has moved the needle. Technologies that were coming of age have now been accelerated, so widespread use of video streaming and workflows that interconnect different locations are going to continue to be a large part of modern filmmaking, and we are continuing to devise and refine the technologies that enable this. At the same time, we believe that investing in the latest and most robust on-set technologies via our core services of DIT, video assist and transmission shall remain a huge part of our business and one of the ways in which our background as on-set technicians helps us to meet the demands of the industry and anticipate trends of the future. We see all sorts of benefits to the remote workflow, with things such as remote recce now becoming the norm. This is helping to cut down flights. The fact that people are so used to the concept of video conferencing now means they expect to be able to see real-time pictures from anywhere. MG: With many producers working from home, the main difference has been communication methods. Where we would normally have face-to-face meetings with clients, we quickly had to revert to carrying these out on Zoom to ensure regular communication throughout the production process. We have worked closely with all of our clients to accommodate extended prep and de-rig schedules and supply any additional equipment they require to maintain safety on set. Almost all of the productions we have supplied equipment for have requested extra monitoring solutions, and we have been supplying more VAXIS systems for additional wireless feeds.
SW: Certainly, the technological processes behind production and post are starting to unify. We recently deployed a transmission service normally reserved for set to facilitate the 4K HDR remote colour grading of The Life Ahead . The colour artist was based in Italy and the DOP was based in the UK. Can you predict any camera, lens and lighting trends for 2021? Are large format and LED still king? AP: Arri is releasing a Super 35 4K camera. That’s not a scoop – it has already been announced. I predict it’ll be a big hit for TV drama, especially for all the Netflix and Amazon projects as it’s got that 4K requirement. I suspect anamorphic lenses are likely to make a resurgence when that camera comes out too, because there are a lot of anamorphics that fit the Super 35 sensor that don’t fit the LF. Saying that, large format is definitely here to stay. It’s that halfway-house format that gives cinematographers a new look; it changes their field of view, their magnification, their frame and it does actually create a new image, especially when you go anamorphic LF, which has never really been a thing until recently. It’s like giving a painter a new colour; it’s a new artistic tool for cinematographers to play around with. As for LED, that’s the norm now and I don’t think there’s going to be any big changes in lighting anytime soon. JB: Large format cameras and lenses have been very popular with the top-end feature films. We are also seeing that trend trickle down to short form now that availability is less restricted and there are more full-frame lens options in the market. If next year ends up being as busy as it looks likely to be, I expect a shortage of premium equipment on the market. It is going to be interesting to see if the past year, which has been a write-off for many, forges an investment to fill that need. SEBASTIAN KHANLO: Large format is definitely still king, and I think we’re going to see it migrate more and more from just the high-end productions. Another development we’re seeing is around portability and resolution, with more small cameras, like the Red Komodo, offering resolution above 4K. There’s also the introduction of more capable mirrorless cameras, with features such as 5.9K/8K resolution, internal or external Raw recording and support for time code, like
Virtual production is the buzzword. LED volume stages will be the major trend
12 DEF I N I T ION | JANUARY 202 1
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