Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1522417
STORAGE www.postmagazine.com 29 POST MAY/JUNE 2024 onsumer demand for high-quality content is increasing, and this is driving technological change across the M&E industry. New camera technology and developing filmmaking techniques, such as virtual production and volumetric video, are enabling content creators to produce incredibly engaging, exceptional content, which is helping the industry to meet consumer demand. However, while these technological advancements are allowing filmmakers to produce bet- ter-quality video, they are also driving up file sizes, which creates operational challenges for media companies. Storing large files, whether tempo- rarily during the production process, or permanently in archive facilities, can be extremely problematic for media com- panies, particularly if the existing storage infrastructure lacks capacity. To put it simply: the larger the file, the more space is required to store it, and the greater the cost. Additionally, network infrastructures may struggle to cope with the demands of transferring large files. This can result in slower transfer speeds and potential bottlenecks and delays in the post pro- duction process. Although advancements in compression and encoding technology are enabling media companies to handle larger files than in the past, will these developments continue to keep pace with ever growing file sizes? How evolving filmmaking techniques impact file sizes Capture technology is improving all the time and this is allowing filmmakers to shoot in ever-higher resolutions, from 4K right up to 12K. To the layperson, this may seem like overkill given that the average consumer device supports 4K at the most, so the content will likely be viewed at lower resolution. It comes down to creative capabilities — many content creators prefer to shoot in the highest possible resolution because higher resolution video provides editors with more flexibility and opportunity for creativity during post production. As a side benefit, shooting in higher resolu- tion today means the content will be that much more ready for the future. However, there is a trade-off, and that is larger video files: the higher the resolu- tion, the bigger the file. The use of virtual production has rap- idly accelerated over the last five years, with the technology now being used across many different types of produc- tions, from movies to television shows. This innovative filmmaking technique uses game-engine technology to blend digital technologies, such as facial recog- nition, CGI, motion capture and AR, with traditional filmmaking techniques. Virtual production studios tend to have massive, high-resolution LED screens, so it's hard- ly surprising that virtual production sets generally use larger files. Then we have next-gen techniques, such as volumetric video, also gaining momentum thanks to the recent introduc- tion of the Apple Vision Pro. Volumetric video captures the subject from all angles so that a three-dimensional image can be created and viewed from any angle. This video technique will reportedly be used at this year's Paris Games to create live 3D footage of athletes. While volumetric video is not yet mainstream, it is certainly a growing industry. The use of volumetric capture will likely increase over time as consumer demand for immersive media grows. The challenge comes because capturing high-resolution video of a sub- ject from every conceivable angle requires a lot of cameras, and as you would ex- pect, produces copious amounts of large video files. Technology advancements paving the way for even larger files While compressing files to make them smaller and more manageable is noth- ing new, compression technology has improved immensely since the days when significant loss of quality was an unavoidable consequence of the com- pression process. These days, improved compression algorithms and advanced encoding and decoding techniques allow file sizes to be significantly reduced, crucially with minimal loss of quality. The HEVC/H.265 (High-Efficiency Video Coding) codec uses advanced com- pression algorithms to compress data up to 50 percent more efficiently than its forerunner AVC/H.264 (Advanced Video Coding), the leading standard in use across the industry. And while still in the early stages of roll-out, VVC/H.266 (Versatile Video Coding) can reduce file sizes even more than HEVC/H.265, as well as reduce bit-rate requirements by half, all while maintaining image quality. Compression technology enables media companies to manage much larger file sizes than would have been possible previously. When files are efficiently compressed, less strain is placed on storage systems, slow transfer speeds are avoided and quality is not compromised. The question is: If file sizes keep on growing, will compression technology be able to keep up? The M&E industry is continually evolving, so it's reasonable to assume that just as video files will keep on growing, compression technology, too, will also advance and improve. While the future is unpredict- able, it is safe to assume that if media companies continually leverage the latest compression technology, they'll be able to effectively manage the complexities of larger file sizes. This will be the key to unlocking the full potential of next-gen- eration filmmaking techniques. COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY: SETTING THE STAGE FOR MASSIVE VIDEO FILES BY GEOFF GORDON VP OF GLOBAL MARKETING MAINCONCEPT WWW.MAINCONCEPT- ,COM LOOKING AHEAD TO HEVC/H.265 & VVC/H.266 C