ROUND TABLE
so it cannot unify the true differences between two different LED technologies. It unevenly distributes colours within its entire colour range, so it does not work well for transition effects between colours. And, biggest of all, most people do not find this coordinate system intuitive to know and use. DW: RGB colour spaces can be problematic. Take RGB values intended for Rec709 and send them to a fixture that supports Rec2020 and you’ll get a wildly different result to what you intended. As mentioned above, the colour pipeline flows through at least three different departments, involving a dozen players and countless pieces of kit. When things don’t align perfectly (and they don’t always!), identifying where hang-ups lie can be a difficult and time-consuming challenge. On larger projects, adequate prep and on-camera lighting tests can be performed, solving a lot of the colour pipeline problems before talent steps in front of the camera. The real challenge is to document a pipeline that works for a project from start to finish and to ensure the continuity of these parameters, especially on shoot days when you bring additional cameras, lighting or even crew members. JA: I genuinely believe it starts with honesty and transparency. In a world where many of these elements aren’t standardised yet, there’s an even greater importance around being honest about your technology and the product. For so many reasons, setting lighting fixtures from two different brands to 5600k may not give you the exact same colour. It might be close, and should be very close, but you’re likely to get some variation. Every company bins their LEDs differently. They use a different colour mix, have a slightly different approach to colour science and might handle calibration differently. Factor in how the sensors for cameras also differ from one another and you can see how there’s a lot of room for disparity. I t’s crucial to be mindful of colour management way before the picture gets to post-production. I think tools that help with colour management in prep and production will continue to gain traction until hardline standards form
across the industry. I really do appreciate the work being done by the ACES, ASC and SMPTE and look forward to seeing how their findings and recommendations continue to shape production and make this all less of a friction point in the future. DEF: Many crews now work across traditional stages, locations and virtual environments. How is lighting technology adapting to support that? TK: All the colour technology discussions mentioned above exist due to situations like these. LED engines have started to improve their spectral matching of both white light standards and the saturated colour light created by objects lit by these light energy standards. LED fixtures have started to rely on robust Ethernet-based
control signal transmission instead of low bandwidth DMX lighting control signals. And LED fixtures have started to better match legacy fixtures. DW: Using camera tracking and VP screen/green-screen technology, directors and camera operators get instant composition feedback to aid the actors and camera work. Using these same plate shots or virtual environments, it’s possible to map modern lighting fixtures into the composition so the light, shadows and reflections hitting the props or talent match the virtual environment’s. RG: Recent developments in waterproof LED/IP65 and IP68 lighting fixtures are providing productions with the versatility to shoot across all environments.
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