Pure Mission: NAB Highlights New Hardware, Tools for Video Creatives posted: 21/04/2018 by Andy Marken
"Did I ever tell you to eat up, go to bed, wash your ears, do your homework? No, I respected your privacy and I taught you self-reliance." -- Professor Henry Jones, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Paramount, 1989
There are two parts of NAB - showcasing the tools for telling great video stories and, in recent years, addressing the challenge of figuring out how to distribute/monetize those stories. Since the pre- through post-production equipment, products, tools and services are where all the magic takes place by shooters, audio and video editors, colorists and other skilled specialists; well look at what was most exciting/promising here first. Later, well look at the wild changes taking place in delivering the content to the consumers screen(s).
The best thing about this years NAB was the fun stuff got more fun, the cool gear was cooler, and the smart production software was smarter-and, the solutions are becoming easier, more reliable, easier to use and more economic.
We dont think anyone had the nerve to talk about anything less than 4K; and they quickly added that HDR is available if you want it. More than a few gave attendees a peek at tomorrows 8K, 12K and 16K content for when we can figure out how to stream it properly.
And, with the recent release of Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One film, VR (virtual reality) received an increased amount of attention. Its becoming apparent that the nascent immersive experience is getting better and better.
There are still plenty of folks in the industry that say AR will become the winner, but we ran into Bob ODonnell, president of TECHnalysis Research, at the show and he disagreed.
We just completed a consumer study, he noted, and full immersion VR - not the 360 viewing many call VR - is driving the most interest and excitement among consumers by a factor of 3:1.
People know its still the early days for the technology, ODonnell added, but those who have tried it were satisfied with the experience and feel the products will get easier to use and the visual experience is rapidly getting better.
Before NAB, we had a chance to peek at some advanced work and projects being done by some great pioneering shooters; and the stuff that will be released later this year and beyond will convince even the most skeptical out there.
At the show, we caught up with Phil Holland; who was demonstrating a bleeding-edge production system that included an advanced Asus motherboard, Nvidia GPU card and OWC SSDs designed to handle 12K, 16K and VR without choking.
He said VR is ready to come out of its cocoon and break the barrier between us and the content.
Holland noted people like Andrew MacDonald at Cream, Nick Bicanic, and people well discuss later are refining new technologies and techniques that will make early VR experiences a thing of the past.
VR and 360 video need to get to place where we have 4K through 8K resolution per eye so it becomes truly immersive, he said. The key will be new display technology that will increase the pixel count and avoid the screen door effect experienced today.
The future of immersive visual experiences as well as practical workflow solutions, Holland emphasized, all point to larger capacity storage needs as well as faster storage to pull from particularly if you are editing native high resolution raw footage from digital cinema cameras or looking to explore uncompressed workflows. Low latency, fast RAID arrays deliver the performance we need working with heavier materials.
Right On!
But the fun part of NAB was about what people can use now!
Take Blackmagic.
I sometimes wonder if Grant Petty (CEO) and Dan May (president) arent hellbent on making Australia the center of the content production world.
Everymans 4K - Dan May, president of Blackmagic, proudly shows off the companys new $1295 Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.
The refreshed Pocket Cinema Camera 4K packs a full-size, dual native ISO Micro Four Thirds sensor and can internally record 4K HDR RAW at 4,096 x 2,160 and 60 fps in 12-bit RAW or 10-bit ProRes.
It does all that and more for only $1,295--half the price of Panasonics GH5.
The carbon-fiber housing makes it light and easy to handle/use with a bigger grip and large array of physical dials/buttons.
For maximum field of view, it uses the full sensor width; and for better low-light performance (an issue in earlier models), has dual native ISO with a top setting of 25,600.
The 5-inch touchscreen seems brighter than the original and makes it easy to frame shots, check focus, adjust menu settings and add metadata.
Added Versatility - The new Pocket Cinema Camera 4K includes a USB-C connection that will enable filmmakers to connect high-speed, rugged storage like OWCs Thunderbolt 3 Envoy Pro EX for fast, reliable content storage that can quickly be moved
Theres a lot to like about the camera (beyond the price), like recording ProRes and RAW on standard SD, UHS-II or CFast 2.0 cards; but we were more interested in the USB-C expansion port.
The port lets you connect lightweight, fast Thunderbolt 3 SSD storage so you can record hours of 4K content to a 1 or 2TB drive without stopping to swap cards. When youre tired of holding the camera or done with the shoot, you can connect the drive to your computer and begin editing.
A real time saver!
But the Aussies werent a one-camera showoff. They have gear for the indie as well as the TV studio and film production lot.
When Petty said we just really enjoy making new products, he was probably only half-kidding.
They showed off a crazy array of cool production/post gear as well accessories for almost every task you can imagine.
Big Updates - Blackmagic unveiled some major upgrades with DaVinci Resolve 15, including VFX integration.
Blackmagic just ke
