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16:9 on the Mind: Steps Toward HD Production

Daniel Gaucher established himself in the production world as one of the original editors for the hit series, Blind Date. Since then, he has crafted a series of successes including 5th Wheel, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Extreme Engineering. His work has aired worldwide on NBC, MTV, Bravo, A&E, UPN, Spike, VH-1, TLC, Discovery, PBS and the National Geographic Channel. He is a professor at Emerson College in Boston.

Currently broadcasters, television producers and educational institutions are undergoing the most significant technical change since Philo Farnsworth patented the �Image Dissector� in 1927. I�m talking about the move to digital television, and HD in particular. With over one billion television sets now in use worldwide, these changes will affect many, many people including yourself and the productions you will undertake.

You are the first generation of HD producers. However, today�s students and young professionals are faced with a constantly moving target. HD technology is still in development, even as the FCC mandated move to digital television is taking place. You want to have some shelf life to your project? Then you better be shooting and editing in HD. Don�t know where to begin? Welcome to the confusion that is HD. Some pioneers have already ventured out; completely producing their shows in HD formats now. Some institutions, like colleges, have massive infrastructure changes and are still in the process of overhauling their entire equipment pools. Without the budgets to support an immediate move to HD, some colleges have had to take intermediary steps.

16:9

The first step towards HD production is learning to recompose your shots for a 16:9 aspect ratio. Many colleges invested heavily in DV technology, and most of these cameras are capable of shooting a 16:9 aspect. What�s the first step towards HD production? Shoot everything, even your current standard definition productions, in 16:9. It�s a lot more difficult than it sounds. Some of the golden rules of composition for 4:3 productions, like headroom, speaking room and the �rule of thirds� are now somewhat obsolete or changed. Looking through the viewfinder a whole new world opens up on either side of your standard framing � big holes than need to be creatively filled to ensure proper composition. At the most basic level, mastering this new picturescape will help you be a better HD producer.

HD Formats

The second step when approaching HD production is to familiarize yourself with the many emerging format options that comprise HD. 16:9 is only a small part of the many other options including variable frame rates (23.97, 24, 25, 30, 50, 59.94), color space and lines of resolution (720, 1080). Toss in the option of interlace versus progressive images and you have many, many choices. Different manufacturers have staked their claim on certain resolutions and targeted the user markets that would benefit from them. Panasonic�s 720p/24 format is very popular with film students, while Sony has continued to push the upper market with its 1080p format. Research what format will deliver the image quality and style you are seeking.

Storage & Media Management

The third step is to familiarize yourself with current and emerging HD cameras that can record your desired format. With the move to tape-based HDV, followed by the current trend of file-based recording, the production industry has made huge leaps in the last five years. Panasonic�s P2 format was a breakthrough allowing users to capture right to solid-state cards or a hard drive. This removed the need to digitize, allowing editors to manage media easily as files. Avid�s compatibility with MXF files (the file type of P2 media) meant that files recorded in this format were immediately available for editing, showing up as standard clips in Avid�s bins. Final Cut users just needed to import the files off the cards/hard-drive; an easy step in media management with no time-code breaks or other digitizing related issues. The P2 format allowed for multiple levels of quality, dictating file sizes and amount of storage space needed. The HVX200 was a workhorse camera, capable of shooting outstanding HD footage at the capture rate of 1GB/minute. Sony has recently answered with their new EX camera series using SXS cards, allowing HD footage to be captured on very affordable solid-state cards, albeit slightly compressed. Both the HVX and the EX series provide a great entry point for producing in HD. Alternately, Sony�s upper line of professional XDCAM cameras captures to optical disc for increased image quality with larger file sizes.

Post-Production

Hand in hand with researching cameras is researching NLE platforms. As professional and prosumer cameras continue to improve yearly, so to have the post-production manufacturers had to be nimble and responsive to these technological changes. Both Avid and Final Cut had some compatibility issues with frame rates and resolutions, but both companies continue to release updates to support the different forms of HD editing. Hardware components like Avid�s Mojo and Nitris, as well as AJA�s Kona cards are aimed at bridging the gap of many different HD formats. Also make sure to consider where you will store the enormous files that result from HD shooting, and the amount of throughput needed to play and manipulate these files in real time on your editing system.

Workflow

So we come full circle back to our original dilemma: how to make the change to HD production. With research, individual producers can decide on a format, camera, storage solution and NLE that fits their needs. Large institutions, like the college I teach at, are addressing changes to over fifty edit suites, fifty graphics stations, and three-dozen HD camera packages, impacting hundreds of students in the process. When you need to plan at this level, new factors such as networked storage and workflow issues arise. What is the easiest, most efficient, foolproof system that will allow hundreds of students to produce and post their HD projects? Some possible solutions may include:

� A streamlined and standardized workflow based on a single HD camera model and/or a single file type. This would help to clearly define a correct workflow and ensure compatibility with all installed post-production software. The danger here lies in choosing a model or format that may be phased out in the rapidly evolving world of HD production.

� Installation of a central media server to store all students� files, removing the need for external hard drives or RAIDs that may be prone to failure or damage. This also allows access to those files from anywhere on the fiber optic lines installed throughout the campus labs, making collaboration between editing labs, graphics labs and sound mix suites easy. The challenge here is in managing the time required to transfer files recorded on cards/hard drives into the central system.

� Proxy editing, where very low resolution copies are made of all the HD files, allowing students to access these low-res files even over the internet. Time code will allow for uprez/relink and color correction in a finishing suite on campus.

� Offline editing, where standard definition copies are made of all HD files, allowing students to work with improved images, but at a much lower throughput demand on the central server. Uprez/relink will happen in an online suite upon completion. � Remote online editing, where high-speed fiber connects limited remote labs to the central media server.

� Improved portable hard drives. With portable drives now holding terabytes of information, becoming more stable, and connecting with faster cables - like eSATA (1.5 to 3.0 Gbit/ s) - portable hard drives may still have a purpose as working drives.

This rapid change to HD is challenging as it overturns established aesthetic techniques and makes last year�s wonder-products outdated. I clearly remember the day that my home theatre was delivered. I set up my eight-foot screen, placed my HD projector on its stand, plugged in my surround sound stereo and fired it up. I realized life would never be the same again. Once you�ve experienced the heart pounding sound, life-like clarity, and amazing scope of HD you�ll understand why every producer is scrambling to make their mark in this new world of 16:9. Think about it.

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Check out this article in the November 2006 print edition of StudentFilmmakers magazine, page 48.

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