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46 Post • December 2009 www.postmagazine.com POST MAGAZINE (ISSN 0891-5628) is published monthly by Post,LLC, a COP Communications company, 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, California 91204. Subscription rates: $63 for one year in the United States & Possessions; $94 for one year in Canada and Mexico; all other countries $133 for one year. For air-expedited service, include an additional $75 per order annually. Single copies (prepaid only): $16 in the United States; $32 in Canada and Mexico; $47 all other countries. Back issues, if available, are $32 for the U.S. & Possessions; $63 for Canada and Mexico; $94 for all other countries. Include $8.00 per order plus $3 per additional copy for U.S. postage and handling. If shipping outside the U.S., include an addition- al $14 per order plus $5 per additional copy. Periodicals postage paid at Glendale CA 91205 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to POST, P.O. Box 3551, Northbrook, IL 60065-3551. Canadian G.S.T. num- ber: R-124213133RT001. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40017597. Printed in the U.S.A. ©Copyright 2009 POST, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including by photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the inter- nal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by is granted by POST, LLC for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr. Danvers, MA 01923 phone: 978-750-8400 fax 978-750-4470; call for copy- ing beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to Permissions Dept. POST, LLC 620 West Elk Avenue, Glendale, California 91204. films undergoing restoration. "We have FilmLight's Baselight system, which keeps getting better and better ; it definitely keeps up with our needs." WEAKNESSES: "What we run up against all the time are the limitations dictated by budget con- straints. The first thing to suffer is resolution: We pre- fer to do ever ything in at least 4K but, with some budgets, we have to do 2K. And we have a limited amount of time to work on the project." OPPORTUNITIES: "There are two big opportuni- ties for DI right now.The first is in the field of restora- tion. We're able to use DI tools to help features that have deteriorated to the point of being lost. We can implement those tools to bring back frames and por- tions of images, making them look as good as or bet- ter than when the film was first released. "The second oppor tunity is with digital cinema. Because of DI and the kind of pictures we're able to produce, there's a new oppor tunity in digital cinema distribution and display to have your project really shine. With digital cinema's 4K projection you can replicate images better than ever before, consistent from venue to venue, and have the last screening look as good as the first with no added dir t, scratches, jit- ter and weave." THREATS: "The mis-use of the tools, especially in the case of restoration, can be a threat. Because of DI's capabilities, you're able to twist images in ways not thought of. You must be cautious not to detour into an electronic look that wasn't possible in a pho- tochemical world. "There's also the threat of having outdated data files: You may archive a project on an operating sys- tem and format that won't be in existence five year s from now. All your wor k will go down the drain and get lost. That's why some people are star ting to automatically re-archive their data files ever y five years. At MPI, we also go out to film sep- arations for archiving. Film is still the best archiving medium out there." OUTLOOK 2010: "I think we'll see a greater accep- tance of DI by directors of photography.This past year we've seen a lot more acceptance of the process by them, and I believe that will just bloom." [ cont. from 28 ] D I S W O T footage was shot. Some are more involved than others, but in general I see that as the big plus. "Projects that are shot and delivered in digital give you more options because you are not so worried about film costs like developing and transferring dailies. You can just let the camera roll and do what you want to do as opposed to having to stop and start.That is a huge strength as far as creativity is concerned. "Also, while the back end processes don't change that much, the strength of going digital delivery is that you have less opportunity for screw ups.You give them the files and off they go." WEAKNESSES: "There are way too many for- mats. Ever ybody hoped that by going into HD and digital, we'd finally be able to narrow stuff down, but instead of two formats we've gone to, what, 10? It changes everyday. So trying to keep up with how you are getting stuff in and out with whatever the format de jour is can be seen as a weakness." OPPORTUNITIES: "It goes back to greater cre- ativity and not worrying about films' related costs. I get 10 times more stuff to go through, so I have an even better selection of images to make a better final prod- uct. And some people might see it as a negative be- cause there is so much more footage to go through, but at the same time you don't have to be limited to 'this is good enough' or 'I wish they'd shot that differ- ently.' Now you can shoot until you get it right. "Also, down the road there will be an opportunity for different kinds of businesses. A transcoding/file for- mat business. I have seen a couple of places doing that right now, but it's going to become bigger." THREATS: "The biggest threat I see to digital for- mats in general is archiving. What do you do with it when you are done? You have tremendous amounts of footage starting off, sometimes in excess of 3 or 4 or more terabytes. What do you do after the fact? Drives fail, and fail way too often, and there are only a couple of options at this point. At some point, this footage is going to disappear; it will be like film that never made it to a vault.The nice thing about film is you could put it back up, retransfer it and go on, but once the 1s and 0s go away and there is nothing there." OUTLOOK 2010: "The process of getting stuff in and out going to be easier with Avid and Red. It's getting easier and more instantaneous. Red is working hard to make their stuff more accessible on the Avid side and the easier it gets and becomes a non-issue, people are going to be more accepting of it. I think it's a great for- mat and people should be using it." [ cont. from 22 ] S H O O T I N G D I G I T A L S W O T presentation media. Computers, cameras, phones, televisions, movie theaters, bill- boards, picture frames, digital 'books,' watches, point- of-purchase displays and devices we can't imagine will be hungry for content, and depend on innovation. It won't happen overnight. There will be an increasingly uneven balance between the 2D and the 3D. "Economic disparity may be the first manifesta- tion of imbalance, with marketers and enter tainers focusing on more affluent markets first, as they adopt earliest. Stereo material can generally be viewed on 2D screens without issue, and with only small losses of functionality in the near term. 2D sets however, cannot display 3D material. This transition period will last years, and may be an Achilles' Heel of sor ts for television unless providers learn to retrofit older technology for the future. "Ultimately the biggest threat created by this new dimension and its technologies is to the old ways of creating content, and to the old content itself. Con- ver ting 2D into 3D is currently expensive, slow and sometimes impossible with today's pipelines. New techniques will have to be created — and are being developed — to make this process more viable. "Taste judgments will become highly controver- sial, and purists will ensure the survival of traditional media in spite of the 'new and improved' formats. Recalling the arguments around colorization, this may be war! OUTLOOK 2010: "Studios are hoping 3D will be the attraction they need to lure viewers out of their living rooms and back into theaters. In those living rooms lies another reason to be cautious. Many households have recently spent thousands to up- grade from old-school TVs to larger high definition flat screen sets, with multichannel sound systems and plenty of content to watch on them. Persuading those consumers to shell out more cash for a new 3D-ca- pable set will take years." [ cont. from 40 ] 3 D S T E R E O S W O T