2018 saw the demand for 4K production equipment grow among broadcasters. At the same time, 8K
began to pop up in conversations about “what’s next.” But, with 4K content becoming ubiquitous, there
is increasingly the question of whether it can truly deliver on its promise of generating and maintaining
viewer engagement.
I work in the Video world. I own a Production company. I recently bought a 4K television; a Samsung 65” curved UHD TV. And I love it! But the latest rumor in our business is 8K is coming… but do we need it? Or even want it?
According to Will Greenwald of PC Magazine (pcmag.com), 8K televisions are at least a year away from being available in America. Even then, they will be anything but affordable for the typical consumer. And, more importantly, will there be any programming for them?
Cinematographer Adam Beck is always working. In addition to lensing commercials and shooting professional ice hockey, this year alone he’s shot three indie features – Camp Twilight, Booze and Broads and Blackjack – and just finished his latest, Killer Rose. On each project, Beck chose Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon FF-Primes, to create a distinctive look. “I constantly hear from producers that the visuals look as if our budgets were two to three times the amount they were,” says Beck. “Much of that credit goes to the crew for their hard work and dedication, but the lenses along with the lighting, also played a big part in giving us a look and feel that is associated with higher budget films.
Shooting with Panasonic AU-EVA1 5.7K cinema cameras, Director of Photography Joe Callahan has completed principal photography on a feature-length documentary about wildlife rescue and rehabilitation in India. The documentary, aiming for premium festival berths, profiles the pioneering work of Wildlife SOS, a worldwide organization dedicated to protecting and conserving India’s natural heritage, forest and wildlife wealth.
Panasonic Systems Solutions Company of North America will feature a wide range of 4K visual, 4K professional imaging and audio solutions for houses of worship at the WFX Conference and Expo at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. The EQ1 Series 4K Professional Displays, PT-RZ120U 1-Chip DLP™ SOLID SHINE Laser Projector, AW-UE150 4K 60p Professional PTZ Camera, AW-RP150 Touchscreen Remote Camera Controller, AK-UC4000 4K HDR and HD Slow Motion Camera System and RAMSA Audio Speakers will all be featured at Booth #501 from November 14-15, 2018.
Karate Combat was founded to promote the sport of Karate worldwide by creating the first professional, full-contact league. Held on the 102nd floor Observation Deck of New York City’s One World Trade Center, Karate Combat: One World took place on September 27th and was broadcasted live through Karate Combat’s website, www.Karate.com. The sports event was shot by cinematographer Greg Wilson with the support from TV Tech Managers on VariCam LTs set up for CineLive. Released in early 2018, VariCam LT’s Ver. 6.0 firmware enables broadcast shading and multi-camera control plus tally and return video management to the cinema camera. This allows a production to create a cinematic look with excellent low-light performance for live and near-live productions.
In late 2015, Smock Media, a Venice Beach-based film and VR production company, and the Victims of Communism (VOC), a Washington, D.C.-based human rights organization, came together and started The Witness Project. DP Benjamin Gaskell was brought on to tackle the first episode of the second installment, which would set the tone for the rest of the documentary series. The episode focused on Anastasia Lin, Miss World Canada 2015 and 2016, and her story.
Q What challenges were associated with shooting? Did you have a hard time landing any shots?
A My favorite filming location was on a remote hill that had these beautiful rolling hills of golden wheat. It was quite a logistical challenge to work effectively in the space, and I had a lot of concerns while we were location scouting about making it work. However our skillful producer J.P. Mandarino was instrumental in putting together a plan that made the whole experience a very efficient operation. It was one of those shooting days where the crew had such a good time working in a beautiful location capturing a meaningful story that you could almost feel the disappointment when we called wrap. If only every shooting day was like that! haha! Another moment that stands out to me was towards the end of our first half-day filming together. We ended up shooting past golden hour and deep enough into civil twilight that our overall ambient light levels required me to push the camera to 1600 ISO to get proper exposure. I’ll be honest about the fact that I was nervous about how the grain structure wouldn’t match, however I was pleasantly surprised at how the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K performed. The color rendition and noise pattern of our twilight footage matched up really well with the rest of the project’s look and tone. It’s a nice feeling knowing that you don’t always have compromise the quality of an established look or aesthetic in order to get enough footage in the can at the end of the day. When you work with good crew and the right equipment you can do almost anything.
StarTech takes a look at upcoming 4K video trends including how it's being adopted, what barriers exist, true 4K ecosystem and more.
Learn more about StarTech at: www.startech.com.
Q How is 4K Being Adopted and Proliferated?
A 4K technology opens a world of possibilities for content creation and consumption. 4K UHD augments the viewing experience in applications like entertainment, digital signage, education, sports, surveillance, games and medical applications. Native 4K resolution is significantly better in resolving detail, allowing closer, more immersive viewing and scales down to 2K output with a higher quality picture than if created in 2K. An entire industry has emerged to enable a truly end-to-end 4K ecosystem - from capture, production, initial distribution, and secondary distribution to consumers. Consumer electronics equipment manufacturers, in particular, are embracing this revolutionary display technology and are the driving force behind making 4K mainstream.
Fremont, CA - February 18, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Dubai based satellite channel, Citruss World of Shopping, has implemented a 4K production and live broadcast solution featuring the URSA Broadcast with ATEM Camera Control Panel, and ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switcher.
Sports software engineering leader and National Basketball Association (NBA) team grow relationship with AWS, maximizing its services to bring fans deeper into the game Seattle and Los Angeles – February 15, 2019 – Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), announced that AWS is now the primary cloud computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence provider of Clippers CourtVision, the live, augmented game-watching platform created by the Los…
Pop-up production and post best describe the flavor of services that FrameTrunk offers its clients. The UK-based company works with broadcasters, production companies and corporations to provide tailored solutions and on-site support for everything from ingest to editorial, cloud-based logging, live streaming, contribution and more. As more clients began to express interest in UltraHD, FrameTrunk revamped its live ingest systems with high-density AJA Corvid 88 video and audio I/O cards, which help manage multiple, high resolution input and output streams.
Portland, Ore. – February 12, 2019 – Registration is open for 4K 4Charity Fun Run at the 2019 NAB Show https://4k4charity.com/nab. The official run for NAB Show, the 4K 4Charity raises funds for non-profits focused on closing the gender gap in the media and entertainment and tech industries, and takes place Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30 am in Sunset Park, Las Vegas, NV. Sponsorship inquiries may be directed to Kate Incerto (incertok@amazon.com).
