Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/297945
www.postmagazine.com Post • April 2014 31 As another NAB arrives, one key trend certain to be prominent at the show is the issue of manufacturing on-set dailies and managing related data from the point of capture onward. In recent years, as digital acquisi- tion and workflows have taken over the content creation industry, a host of products and methodologies have been offered by manufacturers and facilities across the industry to address this issue, and NAB 2014 will include developments that will no doubt push the concept even further. But along with the technical innovation in this arena has come a series of subtle cultural shifts that have impacted the nature of the post production industry itself. As dailies pro- duction, management, distribution and viewing have moved closer to the point of image capture, the industry has found itself engaged in philosophical, financial and technological soul-searching on several related issues. Are many post pro- duction functions permanently moving out of the facility and closer to the world of production? Are facilities, in fact, finding themselves evolving out of their traditional role by shifting more into software development and product creation? Are some technology manufacturers finding it makes more sense to offer their own service divisions to support the technol- ogy they are developing? Are finishing functions like final color moving closer to up-front functions like setting basic looks for dailies viewing? Furthermore, as Michael Cioni, CEO of Hollywood-based Light Iron, an on-site dailies, data management, and DI facility, suggests, "Post houses are not aligned on all these issues. There are no industry-wide best practices, rules or develop- ment strategies for media management or workflows around the industry. We now know that the post process is respon- sible for work management throughout the process. But if we don't understand it ourselves, it will be hard for the creatives to be at their best." DATA MANAGEMENT SERVICES Indeed, even the nomenclature can be confusing. For example, terminology to describe digital dailies production and distribution in different types of production scenarios ranges widely these days, featuring such phrases as "on-set" to "near-set," "express," "mobile," "portable," "remote," and more, with various companies understandably applying all sorts of brand names to their particular services. Chris Parker, chief technology officer at Bling Digital, an LA-based post facility, suggests the hype over the concept of manufacturing dailies "on-set" is somewhat beside the point. The real point, he says, is that content creators now need to view dailies in all sorts of venues and scenarios, while simul- taneously being assured that their metadata has been cap- tured safely for post use later with as few obstacles as pos- sible. Whatever systems or services companies offer, Parker suggests, they need to focus on enhancing the creative capabilities of filmmakers on-set or on-location, and avoid slowing productions down at all costs. "The jargon clouds the fact that, at the end of the day, it's a dailies service that needs to be delivered," Parker explains. Dailies, workflow service and technology providers discuss trends, news, issues and business concerns. By Michael Goldman Paradig m Shifts On-Set Left: Colorfront, which worked on the film Hercules, now offers cloud-based services. Right: Light Iron's Live Play is an example of a tool developed in-house.