Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1491451
40 PRODUCTION SOUND & VIDEO – Spring 2023 actors and save production a lot of money in CGI and extensive post work. However, operating these video walls can present quite a challenge and requires input from multiple departments across the set. This means that a video playback engineer or LED technician needs to be something of a jack of all trades. Getting an image up on the screen and playing it back involves an understanding of cameras, their color sciences, video color spaces, lighting workflows, playback software, nonlinear editing programs, and so much more. The newest setups utilize advanced camera tracking and 3D animation, so even a little understanding of Blender, Unity, and Unreal is helpful. With so many different variables, it's important to understand how different units interact with each other in order to produce different types of images. The video wall workflow starts after a DP has selected the plates for the shoot and relays that selection to the LED wall team. It helps to know how the plates were shot in case they need a corresponding camera LUT applied and to ensure that they are optimized for playback. Every camera has its own unique color science, which in turn requires its own unique LUT. A LUT, or look-up table, is a file containing a mathematical value that is used to create a specific visual look or to work within a specific color space. Often, the effects are not interchangeable between cameras, meaning that an understanding of multiple cameras and their color sciences is required. Otherwise, you might throw an Alexa Day4Nite LUT on some Red footage and find that the LED wall looks like a scene from Mars. Then comes the setting up of the hardware, the LED walls, and the playback server. Setting up the LED walls takes a team, installing, leveling, and networking is tedious but very crucial. The playback server has its deep technical aspects but the main purpose is to provide tools for the DP and DIT to make any visual changes before and during the shooting process. Every show is different and no DP lights their scene the same way but no matter what show it is, I strive to be organized and prepared to make changes and have the tools at my disposal needed to achieve a desired look. In the two years that I've been doing this sort of work, the process has been a continually evolving one. New panels, new playback solutions, and new network integration options are coming out all of the time. Moreover, as productions become more familiar with the capabilities of virtual production, even greater demands are being made of the technology. This creates something of an endless race for playback specialists, as we have to keep up with these innovations as our careers progress. Speaking of my career, there are a few people that I would like to shout out. Seth Fine, Shahrouz "Shawn" Nooshinfar, Storm Flejter, Lucas Solomon, and the rest of the crew at Lightning LED really took my experience to the next level. Seth got me into the union. His beliefs in proper pay and representation by a union really helped me feel validated that my work/skills really mattered. Storm, along with Seth, helped me be an all-around LED technician, not only running playback but setting up the Pickup shots for The Idol on HBO.