Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1516067
www.postmagazine.com 19 POST JAN/FEB 2024 OUTLOOK O O OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK VIRTUAL PRODUCTION BY ADRIAN JEAKINS DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING BROMPTON TECHNOLOGY WWW.BROMPTONTECH.COM irtual production is now an estab- lished technique, but in terms of product development for the space, the industry is still very much in its infancy. Brompton-driven LED screens are often described as the most solid and reliable part of the VP chain, but that doesn't take away from the fact that most of the equipment being used for virtual production was originally designed with other applications in mind, and that products specifically designed for the application have the potential to o"er a lot of value. LED screens have historically been designed as displays for direct view, with little importance placed on the screen's ability to provide illumination. In VP set- ups, however, a key benefit is the illumi- nation provided by the LED screen, which helps the actors and foreground scenic elements blend into the virtual environ- ment. Conventional LED screens are not very good at imitating the kind of light produced by natural sources. This light has smooth spectral characteristics, unlike that produced by LED panels, which consists of three spectral spikes — one for red, green and blue. This means that when objects or people are illuminated by this light, some colors don't look correct – referred to as poor color rendering. While this can be mitigated by the addition of broad-spectrum conventional lighting, the e"ect can't be completely removed. This is also not ideal from a creative workflow perspective — starting from a baseline that looks wrong and having to fix it is far less optimal than starting from something that looks correct and then crafting the look to your creative vision. Unfortunately, one of the things most obviously a"ected by these color shifts is skin tones, which get shifted unnaturally towards red! Adding a broadband (e"ectively white) emitter to each pixel of the LED panels allows pale colors to be produced with much smoother spectra, which improves color rendering enormously. The LED packages are challenging to manufacture, and maintaining optimal characteristics — for example, consistent viewing angles — is an area of active de- velopment. The computation complexity of deriving the drive signal for this fourth emitter, while maintaining per-pixel cali- bration and color accuracy, is very high, requiring extremely-powerful, next-gen panel receiver cards, like the Brompton G1, to deliver. Adding on controls to allow the spectrum to be adjusted to match the camera response, or for creative rea- sons, furthers the burden on the control system, but creates the flexibility needed to get the most out of the system. The first LED panels with four emitters will be available in early 2024 — a first genera- tion of products specifically designed to solve problems in virtual production. The power of next-generation receiver cards will allow for solutions and performance improvements in many areas, with color rendering improve- ments being an important start. IMPROVEMENTS COMING IN LED DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY V BY BEN BLOMFIELD MANAGING DIRECTOR, UK & EMEA TMT INSIGHTS HTTPS://TMTINSIGHTS.COM he last three years have wit- nessed transformative changes to the broadcast and media landscape, particularly in the re-imagination of digital supply chains and cloud optimi- zation. These shifts significantly impact the operational teams responsible for asset-level content management. Organizations are then forced to re-ex- amine the often-underestimated impact of transformative change on the people who are not only behind the technology, but the teams who must engage day-to- day with the technology. As investment continues in the tooling required to support the demands of today's media landscape, businesses are eager to realize benefits across their supply chain. However, complete trans- formation cannot be fully realized within a silo. Businesses are at a critical place where they are being forced to recog- nize the impact that the technological transformation has had across the entire organization. There is no one-size-fits- all when it comes to change. Successful digital transformation requires a com- prehensive and collaborative approach, encompassing change management governance, upskilling, user-centric de- sign and collaborative partnerships. In 2024, we will continue to see or- ganizations have no option but to dive into the change management required to fully realize the workflow synergies across their tech stack. While processes evolve over time and are eventually cod- ified and engrained in how teams work, today's workflows are not linear and require dynamic and holistic design to ensure systems are interacting with each other e¤ciently, achieving economy of scale, and seeing time and cost savings. As the industry dives into this next chapter, the key will be to work with subject-matter experts who can align with a company's vision while also being unafraid to challenge the status quo. One of TMT Insights' core capabilities is complementing an M&E organization's resources, while o"ering our domain expertise, combined with advanced technology solutions, like our Polaris operational management platform, to help ensure they are able to remove as many "speed bumps" as possible within their transformational journey. REIMAGINING DIGITAL SUPPLY CHAINS & CLOUD OPTIMIZATION T WORKFLOW