HPA Tech Retreat: A Look into Next Generation Cinema Tech

HPA Tech Retreat: A Look into Next Generation Cinema Tech By Debra Kaufman

February 12, 2015

What Next Generation Cinema technologies and techniques mean for filmmakers was the focus of the six mini-panels that made up a single session at the HPA Tech Retreat in Indian Wells on Wednesday. Topics addressed included Extended Color Gamut; Pairing the Mathematics of Motion and Frame Rate with Artistic Vision; Laser Projection and Higher Dynamic Range; Next-Generation Cinema Technology Test Material; Beyond the Screen; and Suspending Disbelief: When and How to Use New Tools and Techniques.

Extended Color Gamut

Matt Cowan of Entertainment Technology Consultants and Jan Fr hlich of Stuttgart Media University looked at extended color gamut. Cowan showed slides comparing P3, Rec 709 and 2020 color spaces. Color patches showed the increased saturation of 2020 color space, in particular with cyan and magenta.

Fr hlich showed footage from a carnival scene shot in Stuttgart and timed for 2020 color gamut, noting that very few people have seen such footage. Does this help me to tell a story? he asked. Even if it's more saturated than reality, it somehow tells the story. I personally think 2020 is an interesting addition to the palette.

Motion and Frame Rate

Cinematographer Bill Bennett, ASC and Tessive's Tony Davis examined how to pair motion and frame rate with artistic vision. Bennett primarily shoots TV commercials, mostly automotive, and Davis noted how motion blur is important in how the footage works frame-to-frame.

Any canvas should start clean, said Davis. For the time dimension, three things define that canvas: frame rate; how real-world action is captured by the camera and represented in a single frame; and how the projector converts each frame back into the continuous signal it represents.

He described judder (acquisition aliasing that happens in the camera), strobing (which is reconstruction aliasing, and happens at the projector) and blurry motion (which is low frame rate).

The camera shutter function is the key to fixing judder, he said. If we soften the shutter function, it gives much more control. Once you go to a soft shutter, you have an infinite variety, which is a new palette you can work with.

A new method of controlling the shutter function - without additional hardware - would be to acquire at high-frame rate (120fps or higher), 360-degree shutter; the Tessive Time Filter software does this, taking ACES, ARRI Raw and other inputs.

The higher the frame rate input, the smoother the function can be, he said. But it works pretty well at 120fps.

Laser Projection and Higher Dynamic Range

RealD's Pete Lud looked at laser projection and higher dynamic range. Current display technologies cannot emulate the range of light in the real world, he said. He noted that there is no clear industry definition of HDR, although perhaps 18 to 20 f-stops is there.

High Dynamic Range requires brighter highlights and blacker blacks. How do we achieve that? Lud stated that a laser-illuminated projector could triple the brightness and improve brightness efficacy, saving energy. Changes to the motion picture screen can also help. Current screen manufacturing still relies on spraying chemical elements on a vinyl screen; a new manufacturing process deposits a very thin coat of aluminum on PCP.

You end up with a surface that can be engineered for specific gain, reflectivity and total integrated scatter, with 91 percent efficacy, unlike current conventional screens with 52 percent reflective efficacy, he said.

On-screen blacks depend on a variety of issues including the projection lens; auditorium ambient light level; and auditorium contrast, said Lud . One unexpected issue is the reflection from the auditorium seats, walls and people back on the screen.

Adding up all the factors, a typical theater measures a contrast of 354:1. Improvements and a future system can bring that up to 700:1 contrast. But true 1,000,000:1 is really hard, said Lud . You need a bright projector, really dark content and an empty theater.

Cinema Tech Test Material

Entertainment Technology Consultants' Garrett Smith and cinematographer/author Dave Stump, ASC - both on the AMPAS Working Group - focused on next-generation cinema technology test material.

As the creative palette of storytelling expands, the Academy Science and Technology Council decided to create test materials to investigate the parameters of HFR, HDR, High Density Brightness and wider shutter angles. Titled The Affair, the scripted technical exploration was directed by Howard Lukk with Stump as cinematographer, and most branches of the Academy were involved.

A motion control rig precisely repeated the same camera moves at all frame rates. The dolly pace was set to stress 24p judder. We shot on a single ARRI Alexa at 2K in 24, 30, 48, 60, 72 and 120fps, and at a variety of shutter angles, said Stump. We also shot the same frame rates and angles on two Sony F65 4K cameras using a 3ality 3D rig with a custom IRND filter on one camera to achieve two different exposures 6 stops apart.

We plan to create more test materials, but we want to hear what all of you have learned from the material, said Smith. We want to foster community interaction. Speak up and reach us through the Academy.

Beyond the Screen

Frank Tees of Moving Image Technologies addressed technologies that help drive theater attendance, specifically immersive seating options including motion, vibration, ticklers/pokers, wind, water and bass extension. He noted passive seating technologies that offer varying levels of vibration via bolt-on or built-in transducers, and active seating technologies that enable the filmmaker to express creative intent.

That complements today's current and emerging immersive technology, he said. It&#

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