American Cinematographer - December 2003 - 112

real-world

production

application.

color-timed

utilizing

a

Spectre and Spirit

DiGennaro used the CineControl's prede¬

DataCine. It is Thomson's claim that

the Directors Friend, and HD

uncompressed 4:4:4 footage captured
on the Viper and
imported into a Spectre is indistinguish¬
able from motion-picture film telecined
on a Spirit into the Spectre. At the time
QIK2JDG was shot, there were very few
CineReel prototypes available, and the
production had to download the back-up
reel each night and return it to set the
next day for reuse. Footage was then
stored on the Spectre's hard drives while
awaiting completion of editing before the
raw HD footage was accessed for online

cessor,

Reels (now called CineReels) to record
all of the footage for the short project.
With each hero take

captured, the desig¬
operator would
review the footage to make sure there
were no problems before the production
moved on. DiGennaro jokingly called this
"checking the gate" and attests that "it
didn't take any longer than a good gate
check. The system is very smart in being
able to quickly inform you if there is a
problem with a capture. Like most
nonlinear editing systems out there, if
there are dropped frames or a glitch in
the capture, they can let you know imme¬
diately that there was a problem. Our
video-assist operator didn't have to actu¬
ally look at the whole take; he merely
checked that it was properly recorded,
nated

video-assist

and then we'd

move

on."

The production also employed a
back-up HD reel to which each take
would be sent after the setup was done.
Although CineControl offers the ability to
delete the previous take recorded into
the system, DiGennaro explains why he
didn't take advantage of this space¬
saving option: "The first time we came
upon an entirely unusable take, we
decided we'd delete it from the system,
and suddenly, we were all struck by how

bizarre situations that created.
First, our sound mixer was recording to
his own DAT system and he, of course,
had already recorded the take. If we
deleted the footage from the system, his
take would have no corresponding
footage, and he wasn't comfortable
rewinding and re-recording over that
take. Additionally, the script supervisor
had already logged the take in her books,
and we were all a bit perplexed about
how to handle the deleted footage. Add
many

to that the idea that sometimes the best

editorial moments

takes, and

keep

come

from non-circle

eventually decided to
take, just as though it had
we

every
been shot on film, and move on."

Each night, after photography was
completed, the back-up CineReel was
transported to Company 3, where it was
planned that the production would be
106 December 2003

from FilmStream mode

purposes.

However, that paradigm proved to
be unworkable. Editorial and,

especially,
special-effects composite shots were
taking much longer than expected, and
the cost of valuable Spectre drive space
was weighing heavily on both the
production and Company 3. Ultimately,
Mark Chiolis from Thomson-Grass Valley
had the footage transferred to Sony DTF2 (Data Tape Format), a digital tape that
is capable of holding the uncompressed
4:4:4 HD information (although transfer¬
ring data to and from the DTF-2 happens
in about 1/6 real time). Final color timing
and onlining of the project were done at
Technique with an Arrilaser output to
35mm negative.
"In general, digital storage is kind
of flimsy and fragile," opines DiGennaro.
"If you're storing digital information on a
disk drive, especially if you're working in
a

feature-film environment and have

an

light. If information is stored in a purely
digital format, then some method of
decoding that digital information must
also be archived. Will the current indus¬

try-standard DPX format even exist in 10
years, let alone 100?
As DiGennaro points out, "Even if
the final project is archived on 35mm
negative and stored in a proper vault for
a hundred years, no one is going to
output all of the outtakes and alternate
footage onto film. That information will
be lost forever. I recently saw a docu¬
mentary about the making of The
Wizard of Oz, and they were able to
utilize footage from outtakes and addi¬
tional material to shed new light on that
historic production. Those options will
never

be available unless all of the mate¬

rial for

a

given production is properly

archived."

Although the CineControl system
a purely digital
production environment, it can be incor¬
porated into an analog film production as
is devised to work best in

a

"video-assist

be

steroids." It

on

can

also

incorporated into

a shoot with a
recording HDCAM
tapes and feeding dual HD-SDI outputs
to the CineControl as back-up. However

CineAlta that is also

one

chooses to

use

DVS CineControl and

CineReels, there is little argument that
the system is
wonderful step
For

DVS
fax

quite versatile and
in the right direction.

a

information, contact

more

Digital Video, Inc. at (818) 846-3600,
(818)

846-

3648,

Web

site:

www.dvsus.com.

incredible amount of

footage to store,
you're either going to be spending a
great deal of money on that hard-drive
real estate, or you're going to be offload¬
ing it onto cheap disk drives that might
compromise quality or integrity of that
material. Until really reliable, inexpen¬
sive quality drive space becomes
economically viable, these systems
won't become truly user-friendly."
Another potential drawback to an
entirely digital system is the question of
archival storage. If properly preserved,
material shot on 35mm motion-picture
film

can

last for decades and remain

readable to the human eye.

motion-picture image, all

To see a
need is

you

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high brightness, color and contrast char¬

able LCD monitors.

acteristics,

even

when used in direct

sunlight. Currently, 6.4-, 10.4- and 15inch panels are available, and 18- and
21-inch versions will

soon

follow.

Basic LCD

panels are modified to
precise specifications, resulting in
enhanced backlighting management,
and an advanced optical lens eliminates
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IMP'S innovative control electronics to
American Cinematographer - December 2003

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