sundance 2006 - Zoael

31derful Flavors
BY MICHAEL SILBERGLEID
HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU
TALKED to an equipment dealer
or rental facility that asked
you what you needed? Probably a lot.
They all want to fill your needs,
whether it be for film-based or electronic-based
production or post.
But when is the last time you were
asked what you do?
What you do is the more important
question.
Here’s an example. “I need a 24p
production package for a micro budget
film.” But what do you do? “I’m a news
photographer.”
News photogs work in a 60i world of
everyday television. While 24p gear
might physically look the same with
similar menus, 24p is a different world.
This guy knows video not digital cinematography
and there is a big difference
in how one shoots and the lenses
one can use).
And why does he want 24p anyway?
Does he think that frame rate
alone will give this project a film look
or was he told that 24p is what he
needs? 24p is just a flavor. One of the
best film outs I have ever seen for a
feature was from 60i video—I would
have sworn the project was shot on
35mm film.
Video has made moviemaking
more affordable. Although, depending
on what you’re shooting and how
you’re shooting, film can be cheaper
than video.
So why shoot video? It’s cheaper on
the front-end (even with seemingly
endless reshoots), so you can get
started with less money.
With video, a major chunk of the
budget will be spent on the back-end
during post. You don’t need full financing
to get started.
That being said, I know a ton of
filmmakers who are still waiting to
cut their masterpieces, even though
they wrapped production months or
years ago. Sadly, some projects never
make it to post.
So you want to shoot video. OK,
what flavor?
If budget dictates the answer, then
it’s probably DV. But how would you
answer this question: “We’ve got some
money in the budget, should we shoot
with HDCAM, DVCPROHD, Viper,
HDCAM SR, XDCAM HD, Infinity...?”
All of these formats are (or will be)
fine for acquisition. They’ll all allow
for on-set visualization of images so
you’ll have a better idea of what you’ll
have to work with in post. So how do
you pick one or two flavors from 31
wonderful flavors?
For some reason, producers and
directors think that this is a front-end
decision.
Here’s what I’ve discovered in life. If
your project has an actual editor
whose only job is to craft the film
together from the work of others, your
answer is with them. Have a post production
supervisor? That person is
now your best friend (another best
friend is the colorist).
Will HDCAM SR’s 4:4:4 make post
easier? Will Viper give you the ability
to get that “look” in post? How much
color correction will you do and will
you have enough color information to
do what you need to do? Keys? Is
DTS Reaches Out To
Independent Filmmakers
BY KRISTIN THOMSON
Long established with major
Hollywood studios as a provider
of high-quality digital surround
sound for film, DTS has expanded its
efforts to reach and educate independent
filmmakers about DTS
Digital Sound as a viable option for
their projects, and to promote the
accessibility and affordability of DTS
Digital Stereo, which provides an
optical/analog sound option for independent
features.
In 1993, Steven Spielberg’s
Jurassic Park introduced the crisp,
clean sound of DTS Digital Sound,
changing forever the way audiences
experience sound in a movie theater.
DTS’s uncompromising digital
process has set the standard of quality
for cinema sound by providing
premier-quality, discrete, multichannel
audio for motion pictures.
Designed to deliver precisely replicated
studio master recordings, the
DTS system stores the digital soundtrack
on a CD-ROM, affording a data
capacity, reliability, and quality that
cannot be matched by digital systems
which store the soundtrack
directly on the motion picture film.
The soundtrack is then synchronized
with the film via a proprietary timecode
that is unique to the DTS system,
and results in playback that is
unaffected by film print deterioration
or degradation—the soundtrack
is perfect whether played for the
first time or the thousandth.
The DTS commitment to quality
and performance begins in post-production
when a film soundtrack is
mixed in DTS Digital Sound. In addition
to providing digital mixing and
recording equipment worldwide, DTS
provides a studio engineer / consultant
to assist with equipment set-up.
The consultant is also present at the
print mastering session to assure correct
monitoring levels, and to ensure
the film mixers hear an accurate representation
of DTS playback.
Additionally, DTS offers a variety of
rates and plans to meet the needs of
independent filmmakers.
Because the DTS soundtrack is on a
93
CD-ROM, as opposed to the actual
film, last minute changes can be made
up to a few days before release without
incurring the high cost of remaking
film prints. Another advantage of having
a soundtrack separate from the
film is that additional film prints need
not be made to accommodate foreign
languages or subtitles.
“DTS is committed to understanding
an artist’s vision, and to providing
the creative tools to unlock the power
and emotion of their story,” said Don
Bird, Senior Vice President, Cinema
Division at DTS. “We offer the flexibility
and accessibility to meet the needs
of any filmmaker.
“We want filmmakers working in
every format—be it 16mm, 35mm, or
70mm—to call upon DTS to meet all of
their multi-channel sound needs,” Don
continued. “We’re especially excited
about the work we’re doing with 16mm
films—we’re able to deliver a digital
soundtrack in up to six discrete channels
of stereo, which is a great
improvement over the mono sound
that has historically confined 16mm.
The Video Guru Explains It All
your project for the big screen or the
little screen?
So many filmmakers who use video
think the only difference between a
DV-based image and the other formats
is just a better picture. The real
difference is what you have to work
with in post... where the money is
really spent.
What’s your favorite flavor? More
importantly, why? If your answer is
format-based and not project based, it
may be time to try some other flavors.
Michael Silbergleid is the technical
editor for Film Festival Reporter.
He is also the editor of Television
Broadcast magazine and The Video
Guru website
(www.TheVideoGuru.com) and coeditor
of The Guide To Digital
Television.
The Video Guru is a trademark
of The SilverKnight Group,
Incorporated.
DTS also provides a 4:1 compression
rate, versus the 12:1 compression rate
of other film soundtracks.”
Alaskan filmmaker Sean Morris is
one director who knows the value of
DTS for 16mm film. According to
Sean, “New advances in film stocks
have hugely improved the quality of
the 16mm film image, but the medium’s
limitation has always been its
poor sound quality. DTS has fixed
this problem with an amazing and
innovative advance that allows us
independent filmmakers to have the
exact same sound quality in our
16mm films that multi-million dollar
features have in theirs.” Morris’ film
Kusah Hakwaan won several
Festival awards after being encoded
in DTS Digital Stereo.
DTS is continuing to work closely
with independent filmmakers to
license material for future projects. In
2006, the company has several new
projects that showcase independent
talent in the U.S., and is actively copromoting
the independent filmmakers
that they are supporting.