DRAMA | WI LD B I LL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
SONY X-OCN WHY IT WON
In the Definition Tech Innovation Awards 2019, Sony won for codecs with X-OCN, which is the main codec used on the Venice camera. Raw recording – when treated and graded properly – makes the best images, but it also comes with some hefty logistical issues. The main ones being file size, cost and time. With Sony’s X-OCN codec, a lot of these issues have changed. X-OCN (eXtended tonal range Original Camera Negative) uses the 16-bit precision, but it moderates the bit rates. This, in turn, means you get much smaller file sizes than typical camera Raw, giving you fantastic tonal expression, longer record times, faster file transfers and hopefully saving you money in post-production. One TB of 4K X-OCN at 24fps can record up to 168 minutes, compared with 130 minutes for 1TB of Sony Raw. Like Raw, X-OCN doesn’t bake in your exposure index, colour space, LUTs, gamma etc. It captures these parameters as monitoring settings and is totally non-destructive, meaning you have amazing control and much better flexibility in post-production. There are two flavours of X-OCN: the first being standard (ST) and the second, light (LT). X-OCN ST has 40% longer recording time and approximately 30% shorter file transfer time than Sony Raw. The advantages for X-OCN LT are greater still, with 136% longer recording time and roughly 59% shorter file transfer.
GFM’s GF-8 crane is unique because it can be broken down in to different lengths with ease
Similarly, a GFM GF-8 crane was used in episode four to capture a murder scene that was discovered in the woods. The crane is unique, because it can be broken down into different lengths with ease; and this offered a versatility that enabled Irvine and the crew to crane down on the actors betwixt the trees in ample time. “It’s making that decision: what kit is going to serve us best? Don’t obstruct the filming process by coming up with an idea that is impossible to realise at the time. Think about what will work.” Irvine, however, prefers to shoot handheld and he painted this image of Ben Chads and himself going rogue, camera in tow, as they trekked through the wilderness – all this talk of forests and woodlands has distracted us from the fact that Wild Bill was set in Lincolnshire, not the Amazon. He says, “I’m not the sort of person to put an easy rig on, so with some of the action or more heightened and emotional scenes, Ben and I would just put the cameras straight on to our shoulders and dive in there to get the essence of the scene.” He explains that this would not have been possible without the trusting relationship between the director John Hardwick, first AD Alex Streeter and himself: “We blocked the scenes and, in the past, I’ve had directors ask ‘right, what
uniform and the sun was shining directly into my lens.” Irvine continues: “My TV Logic F-7H monitor was indicating that I was so far off one way in the highlights and so far off the other way in the shadows. Usually, I would protect the highlights and hope that the low lights would look after themselves, but it was so contrasty that I thought: this camera is either going to deliver in its dynamic range or it isn’t – and actually, it looks so filmic. The lenses had a lovely roll off in the whites and, when I sat down with the DIT, I thought, ‘this is amazing, I’ve got the detail’. “It’s just the reality of filming,” he adds. “You have to assess what you can achieve and when you’re shooting in the winter with a lot of exteriors, you have to think about how you’re going to get the most out of the day.” This philosophy applied to how Irvine moved the camera, partly because of the winter shoot but also because of the surroundings. “So much of the series was set around farmyards, on the edges of fields and in forests, that we didn’t have time to lay track. I would always look at where we needed to protect the integrity of movement, but occasionally Steadicam was necessary to capture the day,” he explains.
ABOVE Sebastian Leske, European product manager of News & Cinematography at Sony, with his Definition Tech Innovation Award
32 AUGUST 20 1 9 DEF I N I T ION
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