Post Magazine

December 2014

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www.postmagazine.com 42 POST DECEMBER 2014 OUTLOOK VFX ANIMATION O OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK xamining the trends in 2015 that will impact post professionals, I decided to start by taking a look back. When I was young, choosing a career in art was considered impractical, if not exceedingly irresponsible. History's painters are infamous for leading pover- ty- and grief-stricken lives. Until the invention of mass production print, the majority of art produced had mainly one purpose — to be appreciat- ed. In the 19th century, the explosion of visual communication led to the creation of art with an objective — to convey information, or sell goods and services. It opened new career paths for artists. When I introduced Cinema 4D into the US market in the 1990s, the major- ity of 3D was being done for VFX. The applications and hardware were out of reach for the average user. But there were new mediums developing and the tools to deliver content were becoming more aff ordable and easier to use. The cutting edge elite did not easily accept these tools. Certainly these ap- plications could not possibly be as pow- erful. But motion graphics was emerging as a new art form, and I recognized early on there was growing demand to incorporate 3D into the medium. Maxon focused on developing seamless inte- grations with the tools motion designers were using. In the 1970s, there were three major TV channels. Station IDs were simple, consistent and rarely updated. MTV in- troduced a new style of on-air branding in the 1980s. Gradually, outside fi rms were hired to push the boundaries of creativity and network IDs were con- stantly refreshed. Hundreds of cable channels emerged. Soon, there will be millions, as the Internet becomes a via- ble broadcast medium. In 2015, artists will continue to be challenged by tight deadlines and budgets, as well as global collaboration. The necessity to attract an increasing- ly-sophisticated and saturated audience will push the boundaries of creativity. The tools will have to be more effi cient and fl exible. New areas for creative expression will emerge and established mediums will continue to grow, especial- ly in the areas of digital signage, augmented reality, interactive stage design, and others. Best of all, parents no longer need to despair when their child chooses a career in art. BY PAUL BABB PRESIDENT/CEO MAXON US NEWBURY PARK, CA WWW.MAXON.NET THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME FOR THE ARTIST E he creative community is focused on achieving the highest quality content — in both HD and 4K — and camera technology is keeping pace. As a camera manufacturer, our task is to not only develop the right technologies that meet today's production requirements, but to also provide the tools that enable the creativity of today's professionals. Ongoing upgrades and product devel- opment have enabled the use of new co- decs, a wider choice of recording options and compatibility with more workfl ow platforms. Today's camera technologies are continually delivering better image quality and higher performance to give professionals more fl exibility. The adoption of 4K is occurring faster than the leap to HD. 4K produc- tion has made incredible progress in a short period of time, both from a Sony perspective and an industry standpoint. Feature fi lms, sports, TV shows and documentaries are shooting with 4K cameras, 4K TVs are selling well, and production companies are successfully delivering 4K content. As the tools have become more refi ned and less expensive, 4K allows another bite of the production apple. It's a matter of image preservation and using the maximum creative canvas available. 4K makes HD look better, there's more post production fl exibility, and assets are "future proofed." Production profession- als are realizing there is a value to shoot- ing 4K now for HD and keeping that "4K negative" on the shelf for later. The 4K workfl ow isn't any harder or less expensive than it is in HD — a change from just a year or two ago. New technologies are making the 4K post process easier, more effi cient and less expensive. For example, using the XAVC codec, 4K at 24p is only 240Mbps, just 20Mbps more than leading third-party codecs in HD. The costs for online and archive storage are also dropping. The question has come up, time and time again: "Why go 4K if I'm still working in an HD world?" In response, a 4K sensor allows an HD production to achieve better contrast in fi ne details and textures. The availability of 16-bit RAW delivers the highest dynamic range and color fi delity, with other creative advan- tages, including more fl exibility in crop- ping, re-framing, and image stabilization. As these creative tools continue to evolve and produce better-looking HD and 4K content, cameras will continue to advance, benefi tting the entire produc- tion industry. BY PETER CRITHARY MARKETING MANAGER, LARGE SENSOR TECHNOLOGIES SONY ELECTRONICS PARK RIDGE, NJ WWW.PRO.SONY.COM DEVELOPING THE RIGHT ACQUISITION TOOLS FOR BOTH PRODUCTION & POST T OUTLOOK ACQUISITION O OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK

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