Post Magazine

December 2018

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www.postmagazine.com 30 POST DECEMBER 2018 OUTLOOK 4K/HDR L ooking forward to 2019, post production professionals will continue to meet the growing demand for 4K and HD HDR finishing. As technological advances have made high resolution, high dynamic range content readily available across film, broadcast and OTT, audiences have grown accustomed to viewing the sharpest, brightest and most vivid and colorful picture quality. Most produc- tions today for episodic series and feature films are shot in 4K, regardless of the resolution requirements of the final deliverables. While 4K requirements initially put a large demand on editing systems, recent evolutions in editing software and the heavier use of graphic subsystems (used by NLE vendors) have streamlined 4K editorial workflows, even on laptops. Where difficulties can arise is with HDR content. HDR WORKFLOWS For HDR workflows, accurate monitor- ing is paramount so that editors can view imagery as it was intended to be seen and confirm their creative choices. Editors can use professional video I/O devices to enable accurate HDR mon- itoring. AJA's video I/O products offer metadata settings controllable in AJA's software Control Panel for their HDMI monitors, with evolving support for HDR in SDI. AJA offers a range of these solutions, including the Kona 5 12G-SDI capture and output PCIe card with HDMI 2.0 for HDR monitoring, and the Thunderbolt 3-enabled Io 4K Plus with similar features. For critical quality con- trol (QC) of HDR assets, tools like AJA's HDR Image Analyzer facilitate realtime QC and provide in-depth reporting to catch errors ahead of time that may affect final delivery. When working with HDR content, ed- itors will often be required to do various trims depending upon the end deliver- able needs. Whether it be for PQ, HLG or SDR, or even all three, editors will need to start effectively scheduling enough time for each trim to deliver on time. For final HDR deliveries, P3 is currently still the dominant color space for HDR de- livery for digital cinema, and tends to be the most common denominator for HDR color spaces, because it's what the ma- jority of HDR displays and projectors are able to reproduce currently. The demand for BT 2020 is also growing for emerging HDR television and will continue to grow over the coming years ESPORTS Beyond 4K and HDR workflows, an emerging vertical that will continue to grow in 2019 is eSports, an area of gaming and broadcast that has seen tremendous international expansion throughout the past 18 months across the US, Europe and Asia. Stadiums are being rented — and in some cases, being specifically built — for eSports tournaments broadcast to record-break- ing audiences around the globe, with a combination of live gameplay footage and multiple camera feeds. To assist with gaming post production work- flows, AJA developed the Kona HDMI, a multi-channel capture card capable of livestreaming and capturing up to four incoming sources including Playstation and HDR camera feeds. 2019 will further see expansion in eSports, as well as new tools developed to streamline the post production process. Virtual sets are increasingly being used for eSports and event produc- tions, including live news broadcasts, for scenarios where creating and designing a virtual environment is more advantageous than building a physical set. AJA has worked with Epic Games to integrate Unreal Engine as a plug- in for the AJA Kona 4 and Corvid 44, enabling post professionals to combine live camera feeds with green screen materials in realtime. This workflow can also be used for visual effects-heavy shows where efficiently combining live footage with CG sets is key for pre-visualization on set and eases the transition into post and finishing. We expect to see more virtual sets used across VFX, eSports, news broadcasts and beyond in the coming year. Additionally, in 2019 we can expect to see the transition to IP-based work- flows continue with products like Kona IP providing a smooth experience for editors moving to IP based systems. SMPTE ST 2110 will continue to gain momentum and the addition of ST 2110-31 with support for compressed workflows will emerge as another op- tion for those moving to IP and needing to conserve bandwidth. It will indeed be an exciting year for creatives across the post production spectrum! BY BRYCE BUTTON DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MARKETING AJA VIDEO SYSTEMS GRASS VALLEY, CA AJA.COM 4K/HDR EDITORIAL WORKFLOWS, CONTINUED GROWTH IN ESPORTS, IP AND BEYOND Io 4K Plus Image Analyzer Kona 5

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