Understanding HD
Your comprehensive guide to
High Definition on a budget
Part Three
Understanding HD with Avid 29
6
Chapter 6
Digital Film
Digital film Understanding HD with Avid 30
In years gone by, many TV dramas, documentaries and So a television image and a film negative carry very
‘soaps’ were produced on film. Today, not only is that is different information. While 10 bits (linear) is usually plenty
becoming increasingly rare as HD and digital technology to smoothly resolve all the contrast levels in TV, a film
shows many benefits in these areas, but the movies
negative needs about 13 bits (linear). However as we can
themselves are going digital. Shoots and cinemas may still
use film but all the processes between increasingly are detect small brightness differences in darker areas and
digital. A number of movies have been shot on digital only larger ones in bright areas, assigning more digital
cameras, including blockbusters such as Sin City and the levels to low light, and fewer to the highlights is a more
later Star Wars episodes, and the installation of digital efficient way to use the available digital levels. This is what
cinemas is gathering pace. Digital film has many crossovers the ‘log’ sampling does.
with television as well as its own standards and terminology.
See also: Quantizing (Video formats, colour space and sampling)
10-bit log
Widely used for digitising film material, this usually refers
2K
to 10-bit sampling of an image, that describes 210 or 1024 This is a picture format generally used with images
discrete numbers or brightness levels which have scanned from 35mm motion picture film, as well as a
logarithmic scaling – rather than the linear scale that is slightly different format for cinema exhibition. For the
always used in television. This highlights a major difference production side, it refers to 1536 lines each with 2048
in the way that film and television material is shot. In film, pixels and describes a 4 x 3 aspect ratio picture. The
the camera negative is designed to pick up as much detail sampling is 4:4:4 RGB with 10-bit log accuracy to carry the
as possible over a very wide brightness range of up to 11 full sharpness and contrast detail of 35mm negatives. This
stops – equivalent to a contrast ratio of over 2000:1 and is not a television format but 35mm film is commonly
capturing all detail from bright sunlit objects to down in scanned to this resolution for use as ‘digital film’ for effects
the shadows. This gives latitude for later adjustments and work and, increasingly, to input to DI for grading, cutting
grading before selecting the much more limited contrast and mastering.
range used for the release print that gives a punchy For publishing in television, a 16:9 (1080 x 1920), and a
presentation at the cinema. 4 x 3 aspect ratio window can be selected from the 2K
In television it is always possible to see exactly what the material for HD and SD distribution. The format is also
images look like and so any adjustments and selections suitable to support high quality transfers back to film or
are be made live while the camera is shooting. What you for direct D-cinema exhibition. Just as with film, not all
record is, essentially, what viewers see and this may be the original image is shown on the screen. For digital
8 stops – a contrast range of 256:1 – but it looks great projection 2K refers to a size or 2048 x 1080 lines, giving
at home. a wide aspect ratio display.
Digital film Understanding HD with Avid 31
4K D-cinema and E-cinema
This is a digital film production image format of 3072 D-cinema or Digital Cinema may involve the whole scene-
lines by 4096 pixels – four times the area of 2K. With each to-screen production chain but it is usually refers to the
image producing about 32MB of data it requires a distribution and exhibition of cinema material, movies, by
powerful workstation to play and process 4K footage in digital means. There are no hard-and-fast rules about what
real time. Also the storage requirement is massive. constitutes D or E-cinema but some say D-cinema, images
Despite the current technical challenges, a small but should be 2K size or bigger. Smaller HD or SD formats
increasing number prefer to work at 4K partly as it is seen then fall into the E-cinema category. Nonetheless
as more future proof than 2K. Also some effects shots that audiences have been generally impressed with the results
have to be seamlessly re-inserted back into a 2K movie from HD projections.
may be created at 4K. As the onward march of technology
Digital presentations lack film weave, scratches, sparkles
makes 4K easier and less costly to use, so it will become
etc., to deliver a new standard of technical excellence to
more widely used as a digital film mastering format
the cinema screen and, unlike film, quality is maintained
alongside 2K.
regardless of the number of replays. Digital movies are
distributed by disks or over networks rather than on 35mm
CineAlta film that costs around $1000-2000 per copy which lasts only
about 200 passes through the projector. Copying and
Sony’s name for its family of products that bridge distribution of film prints cost an estimated $800 million
cinematography and HDTV and includes HDCAM-based per year, spent by studios.
camcorders and studio VTRs as well as extending to whole
E-cinema is currently further developed than D-cinema and
production and post production systems. The more recent
already has proven viable in a support role to the main
HDCAM SR series offers a more refined cine package with
features. It allows low cost production of local advertising
higher recording data rates and direct access to the
and promotions as well as the flexibility to easily add any
original RGB images, rather than the ‘gamma corrected’
other TV-based content.
images used for television.
Among the necessary technologies, the recent rapid
See also: 24PsF
development of high-resolution, large screen digital
projectors has made digital cinema exhibition possible.
Dark chip These are based on three technologies: D-ILA, DLP
and SXRD.
See DLP Cinema
D-cinema standards have recently been recommended by
Digital Cinema Initiatives.
See also: DCI, DLP, D-ILA, SXRD
Digital film Understanding HD with Avid 32
DCI Digital Intermediate (DI)
Digital Cinema Initiatives was set up in 2002 by a group of Digital Intermediate is a digital alternative to the traditional
major Hollywood studios to establish an open digital photochemical process that accepts original camera
cinema set of standards that ensures a uniform high level negative (OCN) and produces the internegatives that make
of technical performance, reliability and quality control. the release prints of a movie. This has always included many
The standard was completed in 2005 and is being stages of colour grading to match up all the shots seen in
implemented by various suppliers. Among a host of detail the final release print. DI is increasingly accepted as the
including security, its recommendations include 2K and 4K preferable and path as, depending on the system used, it
image formats and JPEG 2000 compression. can be instant, interactive, presented on a big screen, can
have audio and allows any grading changes right up to the
outputting the internegative film from the graded and edited
www www.dcimovies.com digital internegative. This way the grades are made on the
edited material, complete with all effects shots, rather than
looking at isolated individual shots. It is also possible to
Digital Cinematography output fully graded whole reels, rather than applying further
final when making the release prints.
Digital Cinematography refers to the use of electronic
cameras in shooting material for movies. A number of DI starts with scanning the 35mm film. This is usually made at
cameras have been designed specifically for this as 2K size using 10-bit log RGB (4:4:4) sampling to carry all the
alternatives to 35mm, including Viper (Thomson), CineAlta sharpness and contrast detail from highlights to deep
range (Sony) and DVCPRO HD (Panasonic). These produce shadows, from the film into the digits. The contrast latitude is
HD formats, can run at 24P, capture a wider contrast range needed to allow headroom for onward grading. If using
than TV cameras and do not use TV’s gamma correction footage from a digital cinematography camera, the scanning
curves. Origin (Dalsa) and D20 (ARRI) provide larger operation, which can be quite costly, is not needed.
D-cinema sized images: Origin offers up to 4K and D20 3018
x 2200 active pixels. The D20 also offers frame rates from 1-60
fps. These cameras are designed as an alternative to 35mm
movie cameras however any video camera could be used.
Digital film Understanding HD with Avid 33
D-ILA DLP
Direct-Drive Image Light Amplifier. A technology that Digital Light Processing: Texas Instruments Inc digital
uses a liquid crystal reflective CMOS chip for light projection technology that involves the application of
modulation in a digital projector. In a drive for higher digital micromirror devices (DMD) for television, including
resolutions, the latest developments by JVC have HD, as well as cinema (see DLP cinema below). DMD chips
produced a 2K (2,048 x 1,536) array, which is said to have an array of minute mirrors which can be angled by +/-
meet the SMPTE DC 28.8 recommendation for 2000 lines 10 degrees so as to reflect projection lamp light through
of resolution for digital cinema. the projection lens, or not. Since mirror response time is
fast (~10 microseconds), rapidly varying the time of
The 1.3-inch diagonal, 3.1 million-pixel chip is addressed
through-the-lens reflection allows greyscales to be
digitally by the source signal. The tiny 13.5-micron pitch
perceived. For video, each video field is subdivided into
between pixels is intended to help eliminate stripe noise
time intervals, or bit times. So, for 8-bit video, 256 grey
to produce bright, clear, high-contrast images. This is an
levels are produced and, with suitable pre-processing,
efficient reflective structure, bouncing more than 93
digital images are directly projected.
percent (aperture) of the used light off the pixels.
The array, which is created by micomachining technology,
See also D-cinema
is built up over conventional CMOS SRAM address
circuitry. Array sizes for video started with 768 x 576 pixels
www www.jvc.com/prof – 442,368 mirrors, for SD. The later 1280 x 1024 DMD has
been widely seen in HD and D-cinema presentations. Most
agree it is at least as good as projected film. TI expect to
offer an ‘over 2000-pixel wide’ chip in the near future.
While much interest focuses on the DMD chips
themselves, some processing is required to drive the
chips. One aspect is ‘degamma’: the removal of gamma
correction from the signal to suit the linear nature of the
DMD-based display. Typically this involves a LUT (Look
Up Table) to convert one given range of signal values
to another.
See also: Gamma
www www.dlp.com
Digital film Understanding HD with Avid 34
DLP cinema OCN
This refers to the application of Texas Instruments’ DLP Original Camera Negative has very high value and is
technology to the specific area of film exhibition. Here designed to hold a very wide contrast range. It is always
particular care is taken to achieve high contrast ratios and handled with great care and, to avoid damage, as little as
deliver high brightness to large screens. The development possible. The onward path toward making a programme
of ‘Dark chips’ has played an important part by very much involves either scanning the OCN and proceeding along
reducing spurious reflected light from the digital the DI route, or copying to make an interpositive film, and
micromirror devices. This has been achieved by making so on into the photochemical intermediate chain.
the chip’s substrate, and everything except the mirror
faces, non-reflective. In addition, the use of normal
projection lamp power produces up to 12 ft/l light level SXRD
on a 60-foot screen. Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (X-tal is short for crystal) is
See also: D-cinema, DLP digital projector display technology developed by Sony. Its
first claim to fame was that it provided the first viable 4K
(4096 x 2160 pixels) size as incorporated in Sony SXRD
HD RGB projectors. The design of this reflective liquid crystal
microdisplay is also aimed to provide for enhanced
Television usually uses 4:2:2 component video (Y,Cr,Cb).
contrast, speed allowing up to 200 fps and minimises
Slightly higher quality can be achieved through using RGB
image smear, and offering extended service life.
sampled at 4:4:4. Many of the digital cinematography
cameras offer this type of output that can use linear or log
sample scaling. The 1080 x 1920 HDTV image format is
very close to the 2K projected image size, so RGB HD can
be considered as a TV/film crossover format, able to take
advantage of many of the economies and speed of TV
equipment to produce ‘film’ quality results.
ILA
See D-ILA
Understanding HD with Avid 35
7
Chapter 7
Post production
and editing
Post production and editing Understanding HD with Avid 36
Shot selection and editing for film and video are Blue screen
now undertaken using nonlinear editing systems.
Shooting items against a blue background or screen allows
Post production has grown immensely in
them to be cut out and keyed onto other backgrounds.
importance with the advent of highly-capable The blue is normally chosen as being unique in the picture
online digital equipment and nonlinear editing. and not present in the foreground item to be keyed. This
Now it is often cheaper to ‘fix it in post’ rather should enable easy and accurate derivation into a key
than spend extra time on another take on the set. signal used to cut out the object. Consideration may also
be given to the colour spill onto the object’s edges. So, for
example, if the object is set into a forest, maybe a green
screen would be preferred. Modern colour correction and
key processing allow a wider choice of colour and the
AAF possibility of correcting for less-than-perfect shoots.
Advanced Authoring Format. This is an industry-driven, However, this will increase post production time and effort.
open standard for the multimedia authoring and post
The accuracy of the key signal derived from blue screen
production industries which is supported by many
shots depends on the accuracy and resolution of colour
companies, including Avid. It is intended to enable content
information. Unlike SD, where the popular Digital Betacam
creators to easily exchange complete digital media –
or DVCPRO 50 records 4:2:2 sampled video using only 2:1
video, audio and metadata – across platforms and
or 3:1 compression, most HD recorders do not offer
between applications. It simplifies project management,
equivalent quality with the 100-140Mb/s camcorders,
saves time and preserves valuable metadata that was often
where restrictions in chrominance bandwidth can limit the
lost in the past during media transfers.
effectiveness of HD key. The notable exception is HDCAM
It is in editing and post production areas that the metadata SR, offering up to 440Mb/s with 10-bit 4:2:2 (4:4:4 possible
load is greatest and individual systems and applications too) sampling with ‘lossless’ compression.
have become isolated by incompatibilities,: so limiting
their interaction, interoperability and usefulness. Use of the
AAF file format allows the passage of full information Content
between AAF-enabled applications. Thus video, audio and Any material completed and ready for delivery to viewers.
metadata, with the decisions about how material has been Content is the product of applying metadata to essence
manipulated (cuts, DVE, colour correction etc.) and (for TV, video and audio).
assembled – a complete, modern-day EDL – can always be
See also: Metadata
available and, where needed accessed. The metadata also
passes on existing, original information such as timecode
or edgecode, ownership, previous editing etc. that helps
with any later archive retrieval and versioning.
See also: EDL, MXF, OMFI
www http://www.panasonic.com
Post production and editing Understanding HD with Avid 37
Chroma Keying CSO
The process of deriving and using a key signal formed Colour Separation Overlay. Another name for chroma
from areas of a particular colour in a picture (often blue, keying.
sometimes green).
See also: Keying
See also: Keying
DS Nitris
Colour correction DS Nitris is Avid Technology’s flagship effects and editing
Historically this is the process of adjusting the colours in a solution for HD and film resolutions. It was launched in
picture so that they match those from other shots or create September 2000 and based on the successful V4 release
a particular look. of DS (Digital Studio) code. The original version had no
hardware acceleration and was entirely software based
Colour correction in HD and SD television has become
with the exception of input/output operations, but the
highly sophisticated. This can include secondary colour
Nitris DNA hardware offers powerful hardware
correction that can be targeted at specific areas of pictures
acceleration, while still benefiting from the continuing
or ranges of colour. So, for example, a blue car in a
development of faster CPUs.
commercial can be changed to red. Depending on
equipment, operation can be real-time and interactive; The system is well supported by nearly all plug-in
enabling fine adjustments to achieve precise results in a manufacturers and is resolution-independent. It also
short time. supports the transparent import of multi-layered effect-
based OMF files from products such as Avid Media
Composer and Digidesign’s ProTools to provide an
Compositing efficient link between off-line and on-line operations.
(a.k.a. Vertical Editing)
The process of adding layers of moving (or still) video to DTF/DTF2
assemble a scene. This involves many tools such as DVE
Name for Sony’s half-inch Digital Tape Format which offers
(sizing and positioning), colour correction and keying. As the
high data storage capacity (up to 200GB) on half-inch tape
operation frequently entails adding many layers, the work is
cartridges. Such stores are often used for storing digital
best suited to nonlinear equipment using uncompressed
video – such as HD – in post production areas, where they
video to avoid generation losses. Techniques are now highly
may be available to clients on a network.
developed and are a key part of modern production for
both film and television – cutting production costs and
bringing new possibilities and new effects.
Post production and editing Understanding HD with Avid 38
EDL Gamma (correction)
Edit Decision List. This is data that describes how material is Gamma describes the difference in the brightness transfer
to be edited, e.g. from offline to online, or a record of what curve characteristics between video source devices, such
happened in the editing process. as the CCDs in cameras, and the response of the display
devices – usually considered to be cathode ray tubes.
EDLs were devised before the days of nonlinear editing and
Gamma correction is normally applied early to the source
were never updated to take on board any of the digital
video R, G, B signals as part of the processing in cameras.
enhancements such as DVEs and advanced colour correction
It is imposed here as it makes the video signal more
and keying. Even so, they remain in wide use as a well-
impervious to atmospheric noise during ‘over-the-air’
recognised means of conveying the more basic editing
analogue transmissions. However, the more recent use of
decisions, cuts, dissolves, wipes, slo-mo, etc. Popular formats
other display devices – plasmas, LCDs and DLPs – with
are CMX 3400 and 3600.
very different technologies and gammas means that they
More recently, new initiatives such as AAF and OMF offer the must again adjust gamma to match their transfer
far wider capabilities needed for today’s production needs. characteristics. For example, DLP technology uses Digital
OMF has become a de facto standard for transferring full Micromirror Devices (DMDs) – millions of mirrors that are
decision data between offline and online operations. actually time-modulated. The amount of light they reflect
See also: AAF, OMF onto the screen is a function of a duty cycle for time ‘on’.
Thus, DLP systems program the display gamma for any
given luminance level by adjusting the exposure time for
Essence that level through a Look Up Table (LUT).
Term used to describe essential material which, for Gamma corrected colours or components are annotated
television, is what appears on the screen and comes out with a prime, e.g., R´, G´, B´, and Y´, Cr´, Cb´. As virtually all
of the speakers – video, audio and text. Essence consists mentions in this document involve gamma corrected
of those recorded elements that may be incorporated by signals, the primes have not been included, for simplicity.
means of editing, mixing or effects compositing into a
See also: DLP
finished programme (content).
See also: Content, Metadata
Post production and editing Understanding HD with Avid 39
Grading key signal. Typically, objects are shot against a blue or green
screen and that colour then defines the key signal. In reality
Colour grading, also called colour correction, involves the key colour spills onto the object so de-spill techniques
adjusting the colour of recorded footage. This is highly are applied. The boundary between the object and
skilled work and depends on sensitive and very accurate background is often the subject of much effort. It is rarely
adjustments. Traditionally, television has not had a use for a hard cut (hard key), which tends to look jagged and false,
grading as all cameras are matched to make a TV but a carefully set up dissolve to render a smooth, natural-
programme, but when shooting over several days, with looking edge (shaped or linear key).
isolated (iso) cameras, or simply using footage from a
Further techniques are used to key semi-transparent material
number of sources, grading becomes necessary so that all
such as smoke, fog, and glass. Often this uses a non-additive
shots have the same colour look.
mix technique which apportions foreground and background
Primary grading is applied to whole frames. Secondary according to its luminance.
grading involves adjusting the colour of a specific area of a
The availability of highly developed digital keying techniques
picture. This could be to grade an object or to affect a
has been a large factor in swinging motion picture effects into
specified range of colours – perhaps to change seasons by
the digital domain. Their excellence and efficiency has
modifying the green leaves of spring to look like the hues
changed the way many are made, cutting costs by simplifying
tones of autumn. Defining the area to be changed may
the shoot and avoiding some expensive location work.
well involve using a key (see below)
In digital systems, the key is a full-bandwidth signal (like Y,
luminance), and is often associated with its foreground video
Keying when stored. Disk-based nonlinear systems can store and
A general term for the process of placing an object or replay this video-with-key combination in one operation,
section of picture over another – as in keying text over but it would take two VTRs.
video. This is a video version of matting in film but may See also: Blue Screen, 4:2:2:4, 4:4:4:4
use interactive tools and feature live operation.
Operation splits into two areas, deriving the key signal and
applying it to produce the keyed result. In HD’s high quality,
big picture environment it is essential that keyed results
are accurate and look convincing. Increasing use of
compositing to add scenery, objects and actors to make
footage that the camera never saw, requires excellence in
keying so that the keyed items look ‘photo-real’ – like a
part of the original image.
Keying tools have developed rapidly with the introduction
of digital technology and online nonlinear editing. If working
with electronically generated material, such as graphics or
captions, the key signal is supplied along with the video.
Otherwise sophisticated means are available to derive the
Post production and editing Understanding HD with Avid 40
Media Composer MXF
This series of non-linear editing systems has formed the Material eXchange Format is standardised in SMPTE 377M
core part of Avid’s business over recent years. There are and supported by the Pro-MPEG Forum. It is aimed at the
many permutations of hardware platforms, video cards and exchange of programme material between file servers,
breakout boxes on both Apple Mac and PC formats. Seen tape streamers and digital archives. It usually contains one
as the de facto standard in editing for both on-line and complete sequence but this may comprise a sequence of
off-line, Media Composer has tens of thousands of users clips and programme segments.
worldwide and touches the vast majority of mainstream
MXF is derived from the AAF data model, integrates
film and television production.
closely with its files and so bridges the worlds of file-based
See also: AVR and streaming transfers. It helps to move material between
AAF file-based post production and streaming programme
reply over standard networks. This set-up extends the
Metadata reliable essence and metadata pathways so that both
Metadata is data about data. Essence, or video and audio, formats together reach from content creation to playout.
is of little use without rights and editing details. This The MXF body carries content, which can include MPEG,
information also adds long-term value to archives. DV and uncompressed video, and contains an interleaved
Metadata is any information about the essence, for sequence of picture frames, each with audio and data
instance how, when (timecode) and where it was shot, essence, plus frame-based metadata.
who owns the rights, what processes it has been, or should
be, subjected to in post production and editing, and
where it should be sent next. Uses with audio alone www www.pro-mpeg.org
include AES/EBU with metadata to describe sample rate,
also metadata in AC3 helps the management of low
frequencies and creating stereo down-mixes. Non-additive mix
Typically the audio and video essence is preserved as it See Keying
passes along a production chain, but the metadata is
often lost. Avid with OMF and the AAF Association have
both done much to rectify this for the area of editing and
post production.
See also: AAF, Essence, OMF
Post production and editing Understanding HD with Avid 41
OMFI Symphony
Open Media Framework (OMF) or Open Media Framework Avid’s Symphony is a pure editing and finishing tool with
Interchange (OMFI) is a platform-independent file format real-time effects processing which offers advanced primary
intended for transfer of digital media between different and secondary colour correction, captioning and titles.
software applications and equipment. Besides sending the Initially working only at SD, its universal mastering allows
video and audio, the transfers can include metadata about users to generate both 525/50 and 625/50 version of an
the content and what editing and other processes it has edit in real-time from a 24P master.
been through. It is used by Avid products, Final Cut Pro,
Symphony’s real-time uncompressed performance is
Pro Tools and others. It is the basis for the AAF.
extended to HD with Avid Nitris DNA hardware. Symphony
Nitris systems combine Symphony’s full finishing toolset to
Photo real provide real-time uncompressed HD and SD performance
using Avid Nitris DNA hardware.
Term to describe effects-generated material that looks as if
it originated from a camera. This may apply to computer-
generated objects or to items shot on camera and Timecode
composed into the picture. Here, attention to detail such
Timecode is a 24-hour frame-accurate reference of hours,
as shadows and reflections as well as keying are needed
minutes, seconds and frames and fields designed for
to maintain the illusion. Achieving such quality at HD and
television production use. For example 10:32:24:16
film resolutions is all the more demanding as their bigger,
sharper displays make detail, including errors, easier to see. Typically it is recorded with the video and is the first
reference when logging and editing. EDLs run on
See also: Keying
timecode. It is relatively straightforward in the 25/50Hz
frame-rate world but gets a lot more complicated in the
Plug-ins 30/60Hz world where, for historic reasons, the whole
number frame frequencies was offset by a factor of
A generic term for software applications that can be 1000/1001 – hence 29.97 and 59.94Hz. To make up the
added to existing applications to enhance their time to that of a whole 30 or 60Hz rate, one frame is
functionality. Nonlinear video and audio systems are often dropped in every 1000. This ‘drop-frame’ is accounted
expanded with new effects or functionality via plug-ins. for in drop-frame timecode.