Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/16039
HDSLRs Expanding Role DIGITAL JUNGLE Hollywood’s Digital Jungle (www.digijun- Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Grinder converts HDSLR video to edit- friendly formats for smooth playback and faster rendering. and is set to begin color grading for Rehab,a thriller produced and co-written by David Caruso and shot by CSI: Miami DP Ken Glassing on the 7D. “We live in exciting times for digital film- makers,” says Smith. “Arri has just released their Alexa digital camera to critical ac- claim, Red is about to release their 5K Epic and, in the meantime, the HDSLR revolu- tion continues unabated. Content creators have more choices than ever, and we see a continuing trend where feature produc- tions,TV shows and commercials will use a mixture of digital cameras to get the shots they need.” gle.com) has a reputation as a “guide for budding filmmakers,” says president/owner Dennis Ho, helping them through prepro, production and post on various formats. “Depending on the camera, there are a lot of variables to consider,” he notes.“You have to be objective in assessing the camera and how it affects post production.” On the “pro’s” side of HDSLRs, Canon’s 5D and 7D camcorders, Ho points to their low pricing as factors in “democratizing the industry” and “getting filmmakers into the game.” He also hails their ability to “capital- ize on film-type lenses, manipulate depth of field for a nice film look” and the 5D’s large image sensor which is bigger than that of the Red One. On the “con’s” side is the cameras’ H.264 compression codec and its limited color in- formation.“It shoots a rather flat picture, and there’s not a lot of color range to manipu- late the picture after the fact,” says Ho. He also sees the rolling shutter, which “creates artifacts and distorts fast-moving images,” as a big drawback. Given these factors, Ho suggests that HDSLR users “come talk to our DI techs about lighting considerations and camera set-up. Pre-production planning regarding manipulation of shutter angle, ISO, frame rate along with lens selection is key because there are a lot of ‘gotchas.’” Ho suggests that producers with chal- lenged budgets can convert H.264 to ProRes HQ in Final Cut Pro before delivering source material to Digital Jungle for post finishing. “Of course, we are happy to provide this conversion service for our clients if neces- sary,” he says.“We have many tools and pre- fer to use the full fire power of Quantel Pablo and Da Vinci for our projects. Our job is to help the filmmaker achieve his or her goals irrespective of the camera they use.” At the moment, Red-originated projects still far outnumber those on HDSLRs at Dig- ital Jungle, Ho reports. So far the company has seen mostly independent short films shot on HDSLRs. “The bottom line for us is that we’re agnos- tic about the camera system used,” he says. “Our job is to deal with the capabilities and limitations of cameras whether they’re Panavi- sion Genesis,Thomson Viper, Sony F900s, Reds or Canon 5Ds and 7Ds.” 24 Post • September 2010 www.postmagazine.com