THE STATE OF D-CINEMA: CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO

Transcription

1 THE STATE OF D-CINEMA: CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO Presented by MICHAEL CIONI CEO, LIGHT IRON michaelcioni.tumblr.com 2012 Light Iron, L.L.C. Prepared for HPA TECH RETREAT February 2012

2 3 concepts to consider: 1 2 3

3 1 Creative Information Technology Integration 200 As time goes on and information technology continues to rise, it takes over nearly ever part of the television and motion picture processes...one-by-one

4 2 But what are the implications of fast moving Information Technology saturation? HERE TODAY......GONE TODAY This struggle to keep up can ultimately lead people to begin favoring complacency

5 3 NIKE CEO, Phil Knight How do we keep reinventing ourselves and avoid the dangers of complacency? you must see the world through the eyes of a child

6 Seeing the world through the eyes of a child is a sure way to stay technologically fresh and nimble. Ultimately, consistent reevaluation means we don t have to follow the status quo.

7 Borrowing from each of those 3 concepts, we can draw a comprehensive conclusion: 1 IT INTEGRATION 2 + COMPLACENCY + 3 STATUS QUO Complacency with the status quo is the challenge of todays IT media ecosystem

8 2012 TECH RETREAT CHALLENGE: Ask yourself: What can you do this year to challenge the status quo? as SERVICE PROVIDERS as VENDORS

9 Recent CHANGES in the STATUS QUO present a contrasting picture when compared to the typical trends of past (film and tape) business models -no longer "who" you know, rather "what" you know *film changed slowly, making it a known variable with known brands. With files, people will leave a known brand to work with a unknown expert -rental houses know more about post than some post houses *rental institutions no longer just clean and service gear, rather invest in new post-savy staff, build workflows for jobs and provide free training -"who you are" is not translating as well to the client as it used to *this is good for vendors, but the downside is the price point plummets and buyers seek value in tools with shorter lifespans -"black boxes" & secret sauces are no longer unique selling points *sharing information now goes further with client loyalty than proprietary knowledge/tools - rockstar pasts are less appealing *clients are now becoming their own experts: openly challenging the people that used to be the stand-alone expert

10 WHAT EXACTLY IS STATUS QUO? the existing state of affairs vested interest in protecting the status quo Reformative industry evolution As vested interest go up, the potential for advancement is cancelled out. Progress is stalled and evolution is slowed.

11 CLASSES OF VESTED INTERESTS There are 2 common ways in which vested interests in maintaining the status quo can be classified: ECONOMIC Keep making what you ve always made vs. spending the R&D required to build a better product or service INTELLECTUAL Obsolescence: not sure about brand x so they downplay it

12 CLASSES OF VESTED INTERESTS Another typical response to these classes which was commonly stated by attendees at this year s Tech Retreat was: ECONOMIC It can t be done. INTELLECTUAL It s always been done this way.

13 The STATUS QUO of WORKFLOWS Workflow is a fairly misunderstood term and (most importantly) is not often synonymous with reliability. The first problem with workflow is that there are two distinct principles in which companies choose to design them: 1 AGNOSTIC 2 SPECIFIC

14 The STATUS QUO of WORKFLOWS Process in which source AGNOSTIC APPROACH system components are filtered through a homogenized and often legacy-derived process in order to result in a single, dedicated output.

15 The STATUS QUO of WORKFLOWS Process in which source system components UNIQUE APPROACH flow through a custom post process that is unique to each camera resulting in a more format-specific and optimized end output.

16 Because of these two workflow camps, there are number of workflows that are commonly mis-directed. A MIS-DIRECTED WORKFLOW: is a workflow determined prior to knowing all the system components AN IDEAL WORKFLOW IS NOT: designed by 7 different department heads determined prior to knowledge of all key components meant to be the same for every project

17 Below are examples of just a few types of commonly used SYSTEM COMPONENTS... CAMERA FILE TYPE NLE EFFECTS STORAGE CONFORM COLOR DIST The above is NOT a workflow

18 After consulting department heads, the SYSTEM COMPONENTS are decided upon. CAMERA FILE TYPE NLE EFFECTS STORAGE CONFORM COLOR DIST The result is still NOT a workflow, rather a map as to which creatively-driven components are preferred by each department.

19 The actual WORKFLOW is revealed AFTER the system components. It is not the components themselves... CAMERA FILE TYPE NLE EFFECTS STORAGE CONFORM COLOR DIST...rather the points in which they FIT TOGETHER WORKFLOW IS THE LIGAMENTS, NOT THE BONES.

20 SO WHO IS NOT LETTING THE STATUS QUO HOLD THEM BACK? POST DATA MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY As post technology has clearly been advancing over the years... CAMERA ACQUISITION TECHNOLOGY...it is camera technology that is taking the lead on the most advanced IT developments

21 SONY F65: An recent example of BREAKING THE STATUS QUO 1. camera shoots at higher datarates (/s) than vendors allow for download 2. camera captures wider gamut than standard in-use display gamuts 3. camera captures more resolution than exhibitors have pixels 4. camera has a larger data footprint than post houses can maintain online 5. camera shoots optimized codec unsupported natively throughout post

22 SONY F65: An recent example of BREAKING THE STATUS QUO While counter-points can be made to these statements, on the whole, (including in the HPA Demo Room) F65 challenging the status quo of post production is true. People either have to re-think how to manage the F65, or they will choose to discredit it.

23 EXAMPLE: STATUS QUO POST SLOWING Due to legacy infrastructures and SONY s fear of incapacitating antiquated F65 users, progress is slowed and cost is increased by including SDI functionality in the PC4 and PC5 download systems. Making tape-integration a weakness in what could be 100% file-based.

24 EXAMPLE: STATUS QUO PUSHING Ask yourself: How invested are you in what you know? If you want to stay RELEVANT, you must be willing to rethink ALL of post production and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

25 EXAMPLE: STATUS QUO PUSHING Peter Jackson & Park Road Post 5K STEREO 3D 48fps 1. When they started shooting, the ability to CAPTURE this format became possible 2. After 6 months of production, the ability to PLAY this format became possible 3. As of February 2012, the ability to VIEW this format is still not possible

26 HOW CAN WE UPSET THE STATUS QUO? Technology doesn t augment the way in which we work IT CHANGES IT.

27 UPSETTING THE STATUS QUO: TRANSITION TRANSFORMATION VS. There is a big difference between Transition and Transformation. Transitions are common while transformations are rare. Transformations are often mis-characterized as transitions until after the transformation is complete.

28 TECHNOLOGICAL GIVEN: developments in camera and post technology are always enhancing the process example of common technologically enhanced transitions: + 2K scans became 4K scans + SD became HD + FW400 became FW800 + DVD became BluRay BUT WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IS DIFFERENT...

29 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING 2020 An exercise in progressive developments, experiments, predictions and transformations that challenge the status quo for the next decade.

30 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING TOTALCODE broadcast-based 24-hour repeating clock TOTALCODE = unlimited characters for an additional unique identifier TOTALCODE is the additive metadata timecode track that brings a unique identifier to every frame captured without the possibility of repeating numbers (for up to 120 years) and without reliance on a unique file-name syntaxes for reconform identification.

31 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING GEOSYNC CLOCKING GEOSYNC CLOCKING is the system in which live-broadcasters have been using to sync multiple sources for nearly 30 years. Single-sourced satellite-fed code enables filmmakers to have perfect sync between multiple devices without the need of jamming or innately flawed timecode drifting.

32 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING TRIPLE-SYSTEM CAPTURE CAMERA SOUND META DATA TRIPLE SYSTEM CAPTURE gives equal credence to camera, sound and metadata elements that make up progressive motion pictures. Metadata collection buckets such as tablets will be consolidated to cloud-based databases in which all members of production have equal and instant access to what ties the entire production together.

33 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING TABLET DAILIES DVDs are weak from the perspective of security, quality, transportability, tracking and sorting. TABLET DAILIES are the replacement with active, dynamic and trackable functionality at higher fidelity and lower cost.

34 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING EVOLVING CREATIVE DEMOCRATIZATION Disruptive Innovations affect the independent market to cultivate change Ultimately enabling studio infrastructures to adapt and implement for high-end production (about a 5 yr cycle) Want to know what IT-based studio trends are forming? -Look to the independent markets and the path is revealed. Disruptive Innovations start at the bottom and work their way up and eventually they are adapted by studios where they are pushed forward. The result is a borrowing of independent trends, coupled with custom improvement approximately 5 years after it was originally introduced.

35 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING IMPROVED FIDELITY 16K+ 50MP The next decade will likely see an increase in source resolution as well as increase in wider aspect ratios. 27:9 (for example) is a 3:1 aspect ratio that is easily modifiable from existing screens and presents distinction from the existing 1.78 broadcast standard. Lenses also may see improvements as glass that helps focus pullers at high resolutions will be a favorable opportunity to improve fidelity with new technology.

36 D-CINEMA: TRANSFORMING ATOMIC MULTIPLEXING Combating the idea that we should simply build bigger antennas or faster network connections, telecommunications futurists are exploring the potential for capturing and even transmitting data at the atomic level. The result would potentially transform the earth s atmosphere into a gigantic international antenna.

37 A CHARGE FOR VENDORS: Don t ask what we want......anticipate what we need In the 1990 s, tens of millions of Discmans dominated mobile music with a loyal customer base. But if Apple had relied on consumers to influence a better Discman, the ipod would never have been invented.

38 A CHARGE FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: Stop retrofitting......a start completely new

39 THE STATE OF D-CINEMA: CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO MEANS WE SHOULD GO FROM MEETING THE STATUS QUO TO RAISING THE STATUS QUO

40 A METAPHOR... It s summer. You re driving down a dirt road deep in the country and you have a yearning for fresh strawberries. As you drive, you notice many farms on the sides of the road and are looking for one to stop and visit. Suddenly, you come to a fork in the road with signs for a farm on the left and a farm on the right. You glance at these two signs and have the task of deciding which farm you think would have the freshest strawberries...

41 fresh produce So which direction are you going to go? Fresh Produce

42 A METAPHOR... Easy right? Clearly the farmer who made the sign on the left has all the characteristics of potentially growing the freshest strawberries you ve ever had. So after you re eating your strawberries and driving down the road, you suddently get the urge to go skydiving! You pull up to yet another fork in the road and see these two signs.

43 sky diving lessons So now which direction are you going to go? sky diving lessons

44 A METAPHOR... This exercise gives us a glance into the world of how tiny, seemingly insignificant changes can ultimately mean significant things. By examining each issue closely and listening to a multiple of opinions, one can better reveal camouflaged problems and avoid being burned through making an uneducated choice. The moral of the story is to stop glancing and making assumptions. Use all the resources you have available to identify the significance of every technical decision.

45 Status Quo is not responding to the challenges in-and-around your area of expertise + One time I discussed an ipad dailies solution with a post supervisor (prior to the release of the ipad) who said Who would ever want that? + One time I discussed the TC jamming problems with the CTO of a camera rental company who said That s not worth the effort of changing. + One time I talked about coloring a digital theatrical release without film emulation luts and the lab said it will never look good in a theater. Many of us take comfort in the status quo. But as we are responsible for maintaining the entertainment capital of the world, it is out obligation to push every boundary we can for the sake of deserving audiences.

46 IF WE DON T COLLECTIVELY PUSH BEYOND THE STATUS QUO: + more post houses will go out of business + more master-pieces will be stuck in low-fi resolution and low-fi color + hollywood could eventually be passed by the content creators of another zip code This is the ideal time to become comfortable with being uncomfortable

47 THE STATE OF D-CINEMA: CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO Presented by MICHAEL CIONI CEO, LIGHT IRON michaelcioni.tumblr.com 2012 Light Iron, L.L.C. Prepared for HPA TECH RETREAT February 2012