The Official Bulletin - Quarter 2, 2019

“The work our members have
done with video walls and
green screen technology lends
itself to what is needed”
Michael F. Miller, Jr., International Vice President
and Department Director for Motion Picture and TV Production
speed on all the technologies they must operate. For example,
we’ve been training members in using Watchout multi-display
software And our members are developing new software tools
to integrate with game engine programs for video playback
that gives the Producers and DPs the level of production flexibility
they’ve never had before.”
Miller emphasized that volumetric capture is far from the
only advance in technology and automation in the motion picture
field. Digitization has transformed every area of film and
video production, from camera to sound, from computer graphics
and animation to editing, from set design to the projection
of films in theaters. “The shift to ultra-high definition video,
reductions in camera size coupled with greater flexibility, and
the need to process far more video and audio data have had
a huge impact,” he said. “There have also been tremendous
gains in lighting technology, particularly involving LED, and in
power requirements. Our members are operating lighting consoles
that hadn’t even been contemplated seven to ten years
ago and using tablets to control them.”
Chris O’Donnell, Business Manager of Local 481, noted
that the newest lighting technologies have now come to film
and television production after years of use in the theatrical
and live event world. “It’s finding increasing application not
only on production stages with rigged lighting, but on practical
locations as well,” he said. “This technology requires an experienced
Lighting Programmer on set and increasingly a Set
Lighting Department that knows and understands digital and
automated lighting, their capabilities, and overall use. These
advancements add a great deal of flexibility in color mixing,
dimming, and lighting f/x and this will affect how other departments
interface with this emerging technology.
“One Local 481 Lighting Programmer told me that if LED
fixtures continue to be used in the film and TV markets at such
a great rate, gel manufactures could be out of business soon
or need to diversify,” O’Donnell said. “On a stage, the Programmer
works with the Art Department’s drawings and the Gaffer’s
notes, and using Vectorworks or Auto cad, creates an
accurate scale light plot which will be used to rig and prep the
lights on stage. Depending on the size and complexity of the
design, this process can require weeks of prep.
“On set, once the light is placed, powered, and focused,
the lamp operator is now free to move on to the next task leaving
the fine tuning of the light to the Gaffer and the Programmer,”
O’Donnell added. “The process of troubleshooting a light
now goes way beyond, ‘Is there power and does the lamp
work?’ Additionally, lights on set are increasingly controlled
wirelessly, which has made RF management a growing priority
on a film and TV production location as well (a known requirement
on large music and sports events for years). One Lighting
Programmer suggested that soon productions may need a
dedicated person managing frequencies for the lighting, camera,
sound, and video assist and playback departments.”
“When it comes to motion picture and television, we don’t
lose jurisdiction due to technological changes,” Miller said.
“What’s key is emphasizing the continued importance of training,
so our members can expand their skills and we continue
to be the best workforce — indeed, the only world-class workforce
— in the entertainment industry.”
SECOND QUARTER 2019 23