PANELLISTS
❝ HDR gives more room for storytelling , and empowers content creators with more creative freedom to better capture usable shots even under challenging lighting for productions such as documentaries or live events .❞
22
April 2012 2017
HDR adds more
Chris Shaw returns to Wohler
Industry veteran Chris Shaw ( pictured ) has rejoined Wohler Technologies as regional sales manager for North America . Having previously spent seven years as the company ’ s director of sales from 1999-2006 , Shaw , in his new role , will spearhead a variety of company initiatives . These include introducing Wohler ’ s new product lines , dealer and systems integrator training , as well as relaying vital customer feedback to Wohler ’ s engineering department . Craig Newbury , VP of sale , Wohler Technologies , said : “ Chris has many valued relationships in our industry in North America that make him an ideal resource to help us promote our growing range of IP monitoring products to broadcast professionals .”
Canon ’ s DSLR cameras get an HDR facelift
Atomos is working with UK-based cinematographer James Miller to bring C-Log Picture Profiles for Canon ’ s digital single-lens reflex cameras . By utilising Atomos ’ AtomHDR monitor / recorder , the Canon 5D Mark III and other Canon DSLR cameras are now high dynamic range ( HDR ) -capable . With the expanded dynamic range from the sensor enabled with C-Log , a monitor that enables users to accurately and easily expose for Log in the field is required , said Atomos .
Next Month @ Creation
Broadcast Cameras and Lenses
PANELLISTS
Dr Ahmad Zaki Mohd Salleh
Group GM , Engineering Media Prima
Phan Tien Dung
CTO Vietnam Digital Television
Bernard Anthony
CEO Cambodian Broadcasting Services
High dynamic range ( HDR ) is capable of enhancing the creative palette ; it also acts as a creative tool to help content producers better tell their stories . Josephine Tan reveals more .
creativity to storytelling
Enabled by higher contrast display technologies , high dynamic range ( HDR ) enhances picture quality with greater contrast between shadow areas and highlights , deeper colour saturation and higher perceived sharpness .
Hiroyuki Takahama , assistant general manager , content creation solutions marketing , professional solutions company ( PSAP ), Sony Corporation of Hong Kong Limited , tells APB : “ HDR enables the transmission of cameracaptured dynamic range of luminance levels from the production process all the way to the consumer end without any degradation in the dynamic range .
“ For broadcasters and content producers , the appeal of HDR lies in its potential to produce high value-added content , not just for movies and dramas , but also for documentaries and other genres where reality and details are priorities , especially for live production .”
For instance , Sony supported a broadcaster of Vatican City State , Centro Televisivo Vaticano ( CTV – Vatican Television Centre ), in the broadcasting of the ceremony of the Closing of the Holy Door by his Holiness Pope Francis last December . The live event was delivered to global worshippers in 4K / Ultra HD ( UHD ) HDR .
The core of the technical infrastructure set-up for the broadcast comprised equipment from Sony , including 12 HDC-4300 cameras , an MVS-7000X production switcher and a PWS-4400 replay server system . As part of an endto-end 4K / UHD HDR live system , CTV also utilised a live production workflow — SR Live for HDR — which is a production infrastructure based on Sony ’ s S-Log3 system transfer function for the creation of 4K / UHD HDR and HD SDR ( standard dynamic range ) pictures .
Takahama explains : “ Sony first developed log gamma curves in 2000 for
the CineAlta series of digital motion picture cameras . These curves were designed to eliminate washout and black clipping when shooting while providing flexibility in post-production colour grading . S-Log3 is further developed and it defines a dynamic range of up to 4,000 %, enabling HDR performance and supporting live HDR broadcasts .”
HDR gives more room for storytelling , Takahama adds , and also empowers content creators with more creative freedom to better capture usable shots under challenging lighting conditions for productions such as documentaries or live events .
He continues : “ In Asia-Pacific , we see emerging interest for HDR . Key drivers that would encourage widespread HDR adoption include the availability of HDR-ready broadcast equipment for the end-to-end HDR workflow , which can be incorporated in existing workflows to reduce overall production costs , interoperability , future-proofing and open technical standardisation , among others .”
To provide content producers and cinematographers with a better understanding of the workflows in an HDR ecosystem , Sony , in conjunction with Singapore-based post-production house Mocha Chai Laboratories , conducted an HDR workshop in Singapore in early January this year .
Speaking at the workshop , independent cinematographer Lim Teck
Siang points out some of the key aspects when filming in HDR . He says : “ Besides having a camera that provides good dynamic range , the ability of shooting in RAW while managing the exposure levels are important factors . As HDR requires more attention to detailing and lighting , it places more demand in the production chain , from acquisition all the way to post-production stage .”
Agreeing with Lim , fellow cinematographer Kelvin Chew adds that the most significant change is the “ shift of power ”. He elaborates : “ HDR does not allow us as cinematographers to be pure specialists anymore . Apart from our initial knowledge in digital imaging , cinematographers now have to know a little about post production in order to deliver the best files .
“ Due to the expanded range that HDR offers , it also exposes imperfections easily . Unlike previously where we could fix these imperfections during the post-production stage , filming in HDR goes back to the fundamentals of filmmaking , where we have to pay careful attention to all the image details and layers .”
In driving demand and interest for HDR , TV manufacturers have been integrating this technology into their new TV sets . Video streaming service providers such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are also offering their content in 4K / UHD HDR , which requires consumers to pay a premium for these
❝ HDR gives more room for storytelling , and empowers content creators with more creative freedom to better capture usable shots even under challenging lighting for productions such as documentaries or live events .❞
— Hiroyuki Takahama , Assistant General Manager , Content Creation Solutions
Marketing , Professional Solutions
Company ( PSAP ), Sony Corporation of Hong
Kong Limited