Tag Archives: DIT

Look Studio

FutureWorks Adds Look Studio Color-Testing Hub

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Indian post production and rental studio FutureWorks Media has launched Look Studio. Housed within FutureWorks’ color facility, Look Studio is a creative hub where solutions are tested, integrated and perfected before being deployed on location.

With over a decade of development in imaging, FutureWorks supports cinematographers and directors in realizing their visions through the company’s color and post services. The company united its color services and camera rental division to streamline its ability to deliver color-balanced dallies to editorials through its DIT services, including on-set monitoring of both HDR and SDR simultaneously.

Look Studio builds on this effort, further evolving FutureWorks into a full-service imaging studio, where color, cameras, lenses and VFX play mutually pivotal roles.

The studio features a 35-foot by 20-foot overall production space and a 14-foot-high, full-ceiling grid. Using live grading carts and data management setups connected to the facility’s main color-grading suites, cinematographers can test cameras and lenses and build looks and LUTs alongside FutureWorks colorists. They can also review their captured tests on DCI projection and HDR and SDR broadcast monitors right inside the Baselight color grading suites, which are also equipped with Colorfront Transkoder. This facility ensures thorough testing of the entire color workflow, covering capture, data, conform, grade and mastering and QC.

Filmmakers have access to Foundry’s Nuke and Katana; Autodesk’s Maya and Arnold; and SideFX Houdini. They can also test just about all the cameras in FutureWorks’ rental catalog, including ARRI Alexa 35, ARRI Alexa SXT-W, ARRI Alexa Mini, ARRI Alexa LF, ARRI Alexa Mini LF, Red Helium 8K, Red V-Raptor 8K VV, Red V-Raptor XL 8K VV, Red Monstro 8K VV, Sony Venice 6K (with high-speed option) and the Sony Venice Rialto extension system.

“Our commitment to investing in the training and deployment of colorists alongside cinematographers, along with trained imaging technicians on location, has yielded positive results for FutureWorks,” says co-founder Gaurav Gupta. “We’re continually pushing the boundaries of imaging, providing comprehensive solutions that seamlessly blend technical excellence with creative freedom.”

Scoop

FutureWorks Uses Next-Gen Color Workflow on Netflix’s Scoop

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Mumbai, India’s FutureWorks created a new pipeline for Netflix India courtroom drama Scoop, taking imaging data all the way from the set to the edit suite. As well as creating a new workflow that boosts efficiency while ensuring quality visuals, FutureWorks also covered the entire picture post process and rental services on Scoop – including dallies, the online, grade, VFX and finish.

Produced by Matchbox Shots, the Hindi-language series was directed by Hansal Mehta, with Pratham Mehta serving as director of photography and Michele Ricossa as lead colorist. The show follows a prominent crime journalist implicated in the murder of a rival reporter.

ScoopFutureWorks began to develop this workflow following its live color grading work on the 2022 film Jersey. Based on the challenges experienced on Jersey and taking advantage of the lull in productions during the pandemic, the studio started to evolve its DIT process to enable the team to work more efficiently. This is particularly important on-set. The aim was to empower the colorist to work with the DP and director while they’re still on set, so that any issues could be flagged before reaching the edit suite.

“We needed a process that would support everybody,” says Rahul Purav, head of color at FutureWorks. “So, we started to think about extending the imaging process beyond just color. We focused on creating an on-set monitoring process, as well as QC.”

“With Rahul, we managed the workflow of the DIT setup prior to the shooting,” explains Ricossa. “I was on set the first two or three days of the shoot to check with the DP and the DIT team on how to work on the dailies and if the look was working as intended. After that, I had a short session at FutureWorks to review some of the footage on the HDR setup. A few weeks later I went on-set one more time to a different location to check if everything was holding up properly look wise. Then, I reviewed the dailies on the private cloud streaming service, giving minor notes to the DP and to the DIT team. Everything went smoothly.”

Ricossa graded Scoop using FilmLight’s colorspace T-log/E-gamut. Only VFX shots were converted in ACES to facilitate the VFX workflow. “The look of the show, and the grade of individual clips later on, was shared with the VFX team thanks to the Baselight’s BLG system. When possible, we had a few back and forths between the DI and the VFX to fix issues and get the best out of it,” explains Ricossa. “The most challenging part of the show was to match some of the stock footage. Baselight’s tools and color management system helped a lot to achieve the grade I had in mind.”

In FutureWorks’ workflow, everything is done remotely. During shooting, the systems record and monitor video signals wirelessly. This means that there’s no distraction or interruption for the cinematographer, but when required, they can talk to FutureWorks’ on-set DIT who has a studio-grade monitor under their control. This helps the directorial team to verify that everything they’re shooting is correct, while they’re still on-set. This includes color, but also extends to other areas like lenses, focus, and exposure levels.

Transcoding is monitored throughout the process to highlight any areas of concern. If there are issues, such as reflections or unwanted props in the shot, these can be dealt with at the time of shooting or flagged for fixing by the VFX team. Everything is captured as an Movie file with embedded metadata so that all of the data from the shoot ends up with editorial. “It’s like there’s a third eye watching you and helping you while you’re shooting and editing,” says Rahul. “As a colorist, I think it’s imperative that everybody in the chain is aware of what’s happening on the shoot, right from the beginning to the very end. This makes communication much more efficient, as notes from the cinematographer can be embedded into the metadata of the particular shot, which is very helpful later on in the process.”

This new process was absolutely key for the shoot on Scoop, which lasted for 100 days. A team of four people tested the system first, with FutureWorks having since streamlined the crew to three — one experienced DIT technician for on-set QC and another two for data management. All team members are very experienced and have trained for a long time so that they can integrate with each other on the shoot, ensuring that all the necessary data is captured and transcoded.

“When you take that experience on location, it’s an asset to the cinematographer, the director, and the production as a whole,” explains Purav. “Throughout the shoot on Scoop, the director and cinematographer continually came over to verify shots on the imaging cart, demonstrating that our new pipeline is already proving to be useful for the directorial team.”

The revamped pipeline — which had to meet the specifications required by Netflix productions — includes Livegrade Studio, Codex and Silverstack for transcoding, and FilmLight Daylight for rendering dailies. One of the key challenges in implementing the new workflow was understanding the protocols of each camera. If certain protocols didn’t work with the new system, the team had to find different ways to sync the data. FutureWorks also collaborated closely with manufacturers and vendors, including Sony and Codex, to troubleshoot any problems.

“While we had a few teething problems initially, we were able to work them out within a couple of days, and it was smooth sailing from that point on,” says Purav.

Since its successful debut on Scoop, FutureWorks has rolled out the new imaging process on several other projects.

 

Time in Pixels

AJA and Time in Pixels Partner for Color Accuracy

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Everyone working in post knows how important it is to the color workflow to be able to access accurate information about the color and exposure of source footage. That makes video scopes essential to grading suites and digital imaging technician (DIT) carts. Time in Pixels founder Tom Huczek developed Nobe OmniScope, a software-based suite of scopes that helps pros analyze a broad range of video sources and imagery with standard post production tools. An AJA Developer Partner, Time in Pixels worked closely with AJA to offer Nobe OmniScope support for AJA desktop and mobile products like Kona 4 and Io XT in addition to AJA U-Tap and T-Tap Pro. Kona 5 and Io X3 integrations are planned to support future customer demand.

Specializing in building tools for filmmakers, colorists and post pros who work on high-profile cinematic, commercial and episodic projects, Time in Pixels launched Nobe OmniScope in 2021. Huczek and team initially designed the software — which supports industry-standard post apps like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and Photoshop; Apple Final Cut Pro; and Assimilate Scratch; among others — with colorists in mind.

After the tool was launched, Time in Pixels saw demand from others, including DITs, live and virtual production pros, and monitor calibration specialists. Color scientists have also leveraged the technology to verify some of their theories or to experiment with formulas.

A typical Nobe OmniScope setup in a facility or on a DIT cart includes a color grading workstation equipped with a computer, a high-quality monitor and a color grading panel; the software; and an audio and video I/O card or box. While the software supports a range of I/O tools, Time in Pixels often points users to AJA’s I/O devices. “We’re confident that it’s going to work as promised for our customers, with high color accuracy and low latency, so we know they’ll be happy with it,” says Huczek, especially when it comes to HDR and virtual production workflows.

“I think we’ll continue to see new and interesting advancements in XR, virtual production, HDR and more, and we’re tailoring our road map accordingly,” concludes Huczek.

 

DP Mandy Walker on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis: Shooting, LUTs, More

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By Iain Blair

Aussie cinematographer Mandy Walker, ACS, ASC, who collaborated with Baz Luhrmann on his sprawling epic Australia, teamed up with the director once more on Elvis. An epic in its own right, Elvis conjures up the life and times — and rise and fall — of this rock ‘n’ roll icon. Starring Austin Butler as the poor white kid from Tupelo, the film is told from the point of view of Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). And as Oscar season starts up, it’s been getting a lot of buzz. And for her part on the film, Walker has become the first woman to take home the AACTA’s Best Cinematography award for Feature Film in Australia, and she has been nominated for an Oscar in the same category.

Mandy Walker

I spoke to Walker, whose credits also include Mulan and Hidden Figures, about the challenges of shooting Elvis, the cinematography and working with the DIT, DI and VFX.

This is an epic story. How did you approach the look of the movie with all the different eras stretching from the ‘50s to the ‘70s?
We basically divided the story into two parts and used different lenses to tell the story. For the first part, when Elvis is growing up in Tupelo, I shot spherical in what we called “black-and-white” color that’s a desaturated look with pushed blacks. Then, once he got to Las Vegas, we used anamorphic lenses — old glass from that period, with more aberrations. We also had different LUTs for each period.

When Elvis is 10 and running to the Pentecostal tent, we shot it with the black-and-white color look. It was a very considered color palette that we’d researched from the period. Then, by the time Elvis got to Hollywood, it was more Kodachrome-looking, and I had more depth of field, more color in the lighting and more contrast. Then in Vegas, there were bright, garish colors, very ‘70s, with lots of flares.

This is your fourth collaboration with Baz. How did it work on this?
Baz is very good at explaining the story he’s making and the whole emotional journey. Then it’s a matter of me interpreting all that visually. And as he’d been working on this for 10 years, he’d done so much research, and the visuals are so important in this.

Fair to say that initially the camera seems to be constantly moving – right from the carnival Ferris wheel scene at the start?
Yes, we wanted it to fly. But later, when it all settles down and the drama gets heavy, the camera moves far more slowly so you focus on the situation. When Elvis is with his mother, it’s slower. Then later, in his Vegas hotel room when he can’t sleep, the mood is darker, and the camera reflects that.

How long was the prep?
We had a lot of prep on this movie — 16 weeks — and we went through everything meticulously. We were just about to start shooting when we had to shut down for four months when Tom Hanks got COVID, so we had even more time to do tons of testing on cameras, lenses and so on. Baz loves to test and experiment, and we also worked closely with all the other departments – not just costume and art direction, but all the VFX. Really, post is part of prep now on a film like this.

Did you do lots of shot lists and storyboards?
Yes, but not for everything. It was more about making the connections between scenes and sequences. For instance, for the bit when young Elvis runs from the gas station to the juke joint to the tent — that was all storyboarded, as it was all a build.

We also built the Beale Street set and Graceland exterior and interior, all on stages and backlots. That way, we could design all the camera moves and transitions and rehearse stuff physically on the sets before we even shot. Pretty much everything was shot on the biggest stages they had at Village Roadshow in Australia, and we also shot on three backlots for the carnival and Beale Street stuff.

Was there any talk about shooting in some of the real locations in the US?
Yes, early on, but we all soon realized we couldn’t, as it’s all changed so much now. Memphis doesn’t look anything like it used to when Elvis was there, and the same with Vegas. That’s why we had to recreate it all from scratch. There is a bit of archival footage of ‘70s Vegas in there, but that was it.

Mandy Walker on-set

How did you make all your camera and lens choices?
We decided to shoot on the ARRI Alexa 65, and Baz and I decided to go that way very early on. It’s an epic story, so why not shoot on an epic format? Then, when Baz was in LA around August 2019, we met up with [optical engineer] Dan Sasaki at Panavision and went through all these different lens iterations — some on 35mm and some on a 65mm camera — until we got to the right ones that were specially built for us.

I heard you also used a special Petzval lens?
Yes, mainly for all the flashback sequences and drug episodes. It’s based on an old projector lens from the 1800s and has a focal length of up to 160mm. Dan made anamorphic and spherical versions of it for us. It was perfect for helping to create that feeling of disorientation we wanted in those scenes because the focus is on the center of the frame and the edges are softer and fuzzier. It gives you this great vortex effect.

Did you work with a colorist in prep on any LUTs?
I did all of that with my DIT, Sam Winzar, and we began very early on in prep and testing. Baz and I would look at colors and lighting, and then we’d refine them when we got to our location or set. We put together a lot of references for the LUTs so all the transitions would be very smooth from one period to another, and we always knew where we were in time. Those LUTs translated into dailies. Sam and I would go into dailies every night, and if we had four or five cameras running, we’d tweak them a bit to make sure they were all balanced. Then Kim Bjørge, our dailies colorist, also ended up becoming our DI colorist.

Isn’t that very unusual?
Very. It was a big step up for him, but he’d been working on the film the whole time and knew it inside out. It worked out really well.

I assume there was a lot of bluescreen and set extension work, especially for the big concert scenes?
There was a lot, as we built all the stages and auditoriums for the concerts and shows. We didn’t use any real theaters, and the film’s full of big sequences, like the famous ’68 Comeback Special set piece. That was huge, as it was the high stage and backstage area and about a third of the audience. All of that was built, along with the whole studio and control room. So we used bluescreen for the rest of the audience and extending the auditorium.

It was the same for the hayride, the early concert sequence. We had about a third of the audience and built the whole stage and backstage again. We used a lot of set extensions for stuff like Beale Street. We built four blocks, but just one level. So the second story and the rest of the street were all added in post. Everything was very carefully planned out, and we did a lot of tests in prep so we all knew exactly what was in frame and what would be added later in post.

The Russwood Park concert is another good example. We shot all of that on a black stage. I put up stadium lights, and that sequence was all extended as well. All the split-screen stuff was planned too. The VFX team worked closely with us and did a great job of integrating with our in-camera work. I was quite involved in integrating all the VFX and post work with them, and we had a lot of VFX companies, like MPC and Luma, working on it. (Other VFX companies included Method, Slate, Mr. X, Rising Sun Pictures and Cumulus VFX).

We did it at The Post Lounge in Brisbane, and they also handled all our dailies and processing. I did all the sessions remotely since I was in LA on the Warner lot in the DI suite — I could see all the images from The Post Lounge in real time, and that’s how we did it.

We did quite a lot of work, especially adding some LiveGrain to match the older film stocks and for when we intercut with archival footage and for stuff like all the 8mm home footage sequences. VFX also added a lot of artifacts to those scenes. But I do have to say, the finished film you see is very close to how our dailies looked. It really did turn out the way we first pictured it, and I’m very proud of the way it looks.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

Digital Orchard Promotes Jo Barker to Colorist

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UK-based Digital Orchard, a capture-to-post digital company offering end-to-end workflow and color management, has grown its grading team with the addition of Jo Barker.

Having previously worked with Digital Orchard as a DIT and dailies colorist on numerous films and TV series — including Bridgerton, Suspicion, Belfast and A Discovery of Witches — Barker will develop the skills she has perfected on-set and in dailies color and transfer them to the role of full-time colorist. She will be based on-site at the company’s post facility, which is located in Chalfont St. Giles, near both Leavesden and Pinewood studios.

Having studied cinematography at the Czech film school FAMU, Barker started her career in post production scanning film for features and then creating dailies for major films and TV series. While doing this, she learned grading skills from top colorists and began grading herself. She next found her place as a DIT, combining her lab, color and camera knowledge and supporting DPs.

Through her time on-set and in post, Barker has demonstrated her adaptability and collaborative work ethic, making use of all the skills, technology and creativity of digital and film-based workflows. The transition to the role of colorist is a natural next step in her career. Barker will be working on Blackmagic Resolve.

“I’m excited to be making the move from set to being in-house at Digital Orchard. Since I joined them five years ago, they’ve been incredibly supportive in my progression to live-grade DIT, working with some brilliant DPs to help them achieve the early look of their projects,” explains Barker. “I found myself constantly wanting to take the look further than is possible with the limitations on-set, so I hope now to continue this collaboration and make new relationships in the grading suite.”

“We are delighted to welcome Jo to our post team,” says Sam Margaritis, managing director of Digital Orchard. “She has been an integral part of Digital Orchard for a long time and we are very proud of her progression from on-set DIT to dailies colorist and now to final colorist. We are excited to see what the future holds for her.”

 

 

 

 

CineDev’s Clip-Based Metadata Management App for On-Set, Post

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CineDev, a software development company specializing in production workflows, has released Altera, a clip-based metadata management application for camera footage used on-set and in post production. Created with data wranglers and digital imaging technicians (DIT) in mind, Altera helps to streamline the editing or creation of metadata archive files such as ALE and EDL with tools to accelerate the process and minimize mistakes.

As production times reduce and the demand for media content increases, on-set production teams are increasingly looking at ways to streamline processes for quicker turnaround times. Editing metadata on-set and in film labs typically involve a manual process of editing spreadsheets that can lead to human errors that trickle throughout the production pipeline. Altera has been production tested over the past year during its beta phase on productions such as Wrath of Man, House of Gucci, Cyrano, Morbius, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Batgirl and The Marvels.

“We rely on Altera daily for every production,” says Gastone Ferrante, digital workflow supervisor on Cyrano (2021). “Our data managers have replaced a clunky workflow that involved three different tools to edit CSVs, ALEs and CDLs and greatly simplified the process with Altera. Working with Altera has saved us time and given us peace of mind by eradicating user errors for a truly trouble-free experience; we couldn’t have done it without Altera.”

“Our close collaboration with the industry during the development of Altera has helped us solve the metadata challenges production teams face when working on-set,” says Andrea Michelon, co-founder at CineDev. “The release of Altera gives data managers and DITs the ability to dramatically reduce the time it takes to accurately edit clip-based metadata. The ease and flexibility of Altera’s licensing makes working with metadata on-set more efficient and accessible to all.”

Features available in Altera include:

  • Import/Export: Import metadata from a wide variety of formats to transform and adapt the metadata for any need. Merge and export to multiple different formats in one go.
  • Smart Bins: Filter and group metadata attributes dynamically based on user-defined rules and keywords with Altera’s powerful smart bins. Work with an up-to-date list of clips that match the specified metadata attributes.
  • Database: Import reference lookups to take advantage of built-in tools in Altera such as Check and Compare. Supports a variety of file formats from a simple CSV to more elaborate formats such as MHL, CCC or AMF. Filter and clean up file data to optimize databases for efficiency.
  • Check and Compare: Verify data against any imported metadata or database with Check and Compare tools. Easily pinpoint mismatches in data to fix anomalies.
  • Merge and Append: Merge data from columns within multiple files or combine multiple files together. Altera uses smart checks to avoid possible conflicts when merging data.
  • Reports: Create and export reports in PDF or HTML formats. Easily customize layouts to suit your production needs.

 

 

 

DITs and On-Set Storage

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By Beth Marchant

In the world of on-set data management, having a talented DIT on set is an essential part of any successful production. The DIT’s roaming cart or more permanent setup in video village is a critical point in the pipeline, where dailies are screened and readied for the edit and additional post.

It can take an arsenal of solid state and spinning hard drives, computer hardware and monitors, cables and ports to grab all the camera and other data being generated on today’s sets, then swiftly copy, transcode, and share it with multiple post and archival departments. Depending on the camera and post workflow, how a DIT does all of this can vary widely from project to project.

On-Set Storage

B Kelley

Here, DITs B Kelley and Carmen Del Toro share their top tips for data-minding on set.

B Kelley
B Kelley — a data-based DIT, underwater camera operator, Phantom technician and former child actor who directs their own short films — is used to the pressure. “No matter what side they are coming from on set, they see the DIT as the bottleneck,” says Kelley, who often works in commercial production. “You have all this prep and production going into the DIT, who then sends it all out to post.” You learn quickly, says Kelley, to be flexible and change up your questions depending on the crew member or department. “If you’re talking to the DP, you can say, ‘OK, here are our storage needs and here are our speed needs, so that I can keep up with you and you aren’t slowed down by me.’”

Convincing production to invest in decent hard drives that will keep the bottleneck from happening and live up to expectations, however, is always a challenge. Most production companies don’t spend much time or money thinking about optimal storage workflows. “When I show up on a job and I’m told, ‘Oh, the production company has its own hard drives,’ this usually gets an eye roll. What that often means is they have awful hard drives that they spent next to nothing on.”

On-Set Storage

B Kelley’s DIT setup

But Kelley has also been pleasantly surprised, like the time they arrived on set to find a fleet of OWC ThunderBlade RAIDs ready to put into action. “They were very, very fast. It just makes sense to have a lot of very fast, reliable hard drives that you can send out with the crew on productions. I always recommend these drives to the commercial production companies I work with. They will pay for themselves after three jobs.”

Kelley says OWC drives, like those 16TB ThunderBlades, are a rare solid option in what once was a more crowded market. “We used to have a lot more to choose from, but it seems that in general, the industry has eliminated the middle-ground HDD spinning disc hard drives. G-RAID, which used to be the standard, was bought by Western Digital, who changed their usability.”

For smaller storage needs that still need speed, Kelley’s go-to is the SanDisk Extreme Pro portable bus-powered SSD. “They are a reliable and affordable option for shuttle and transcoding drives,” Kelley says.

B Kelley

In addition to Red cameras and the Sony Venice, “all flavors” of the ARRI Alexa reign supreme on Kelley’s commercial shoots, especially the Mini and the large-format Mini LF. Kelley prefers the intraframe compression of ProRes to prepare files quickly and painlessly for the edit. “On set, the Mac is king, and as a DIT, I always try to push people toward ProRes,” Kelley says. “There are some cases, however, when you really need that extra latitude, and Raw is more relevant. But most of the time, shooting Raw doesn’t really make sense from a time and money standpoint, given what you’re actually shooting.” On Sony Venice shoots, Kelley says X-OCN, Sony’s version of Raw, is the default codec.

Although Kelley says some of the best DITs working today are those doing on-set color grading on feature films, a data-centric approach is well-suited to commercial and live-event production shoots. “At the higher level, DITs are most sought-after for their color abilities,” Kelley says. “I take more of a storage workflow design approach, so I am very much geared toward the total workflow. I would much rather deal with a seven-camera shoot than live-grade a three-camera shoot.”

B Kelley’s cart

For the Billboard Women in Music Awards, Kelley managed input from 27 cameras at once. “That was an insane, wild night. There were performances, and there were awards given. I ended up going back to the Billboard offices and co-opting 10 of their computers.”

For three years running Kelley has also worked on the Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival at Jones Beach in New York. “We used somewhere between 250 cards in a three-day span,” Kelley says. “In the last year I did the festival, I had four computers running off of a server to try and keep up. That was an intense experience and such a great workflow. I had six editors sitting in the trailer with me taking what I was downloading live and cutting it together. It was a challenge but also a complete thrill. I loved it.”

Kelley says that when downloading footage, every DIT should run a common software calculation called a checksum that compares material on your original media to the copies for other departments. “Obviously, you scrub through the footage and make sure everything’s good, but you always should be using some sort of software that uses this checksum so that not only are you protected, but you can point to the checksum in the report and say, bit-by-bit and software-verified, that everything was there,” Kelley says.

“It’s worth taking the extra amount of time to get the checksum rather than trying to deliver a faster file. This is why I find it crazy when they push off the storage and downloads onto a less experienced person,” who might mistakenly think speed is the only objective when prepping and delivering files.

Although the pandemic pushed clients to embrace more remote streaming in all aspects of production, Kelley says clients’ actual storage workflows haven’t changed much in the past two years. “What has changed, because of more remote streaming, is the number of people on set,” the DIT says. “Before, too many people on set would really slow us down. But having them on a stream connected to one person, who’s the voice of the client, is a much more seamless workflow. I really do hope this has changed for good.”

Other projects that Kelley has worked on include L’Oreal/Younger, Patrón Tequila and Red Carpet Makeup.

On-Set Storage

Carmen Del Toro

Carmen Del Toro
For Carmen Del Toro, aka “Data Lady,” creating optimal conditions for every piece of data-minding hardware on set should be the primary goal. “It is so important that the negative is in a stable environment,” she says. “I like to use anything that’s nonvolatile, like NVMe SSD memory storage and solid state drives, when the production has the budget. The more time you spend downloading data, the more all the components heat up, and there is a larger risk of failure. But if you have fast storage, transfers happen quicker, and the devices — computer, media, drives, readers, hubs, etc. — are not in extreme-heat situations for a prolonged time.”

Her friend Dane Brehm, a DIT at Cintegral, first introduced her to NVMe storage. “Dane is a mad, happy genius about everything storage and has this great motto: ‘Fast drives save lives.’ I think this is so true,” she says. “Just yesterday, I sent a list to the Apple TV+ show I’m starting next week in LA, a sci-fi/fantasy shot on greenscreen for preteens. They asked me, ‘How much time do you need after wrap?’” That’s when she knows she needs to push for buying faster cards and drives up front. “If it’s up to them, they would buy [cards with] 165Mb transfer speeds with a regular USB 3.0. So when we show up, we work for 12 or 14 hours, and then a DIT like me or the loader gets to stay to offload that last card that they’re shooting.” Slow, unreliable cards and drives make everything drag on. “On set they’re saying things like, “OK, one more, just keep rolling. Let’s let it go. Let’s reset. Reset. Reset.” What could have been a 250-gig offload becomes a 700-gig offload.”

Starz’s Shining Vale

At that point, adds Del Toro, it’s not just the DIT or the loader left standing around. “It’s the teamster. It’s the set medic, the PAs, the second AD. Everybody who’s waiting for that data sheet at the end of the night. By the time you get home, you’ve been out for 17 hours. I have the varicose veins to prove it! I push for productions to get out of that space because they think they’re saving money, but they could easily put that overtime money into faster hard drives. If they say, ‘I thought you guys liked overtime,’ I always say, ‘Well, I like life better!’”

When she can’t “do what I need to do in a half hour or less” after wrap, Del Toro gets creative. “I try to do crazy things, like individual camera offloads. It costs a little bit more money because I get two readers, and I am supposed to be reading two different cards to the same drive. I have an A camera drive and a B camera drive, and I send to two drives on my breaks.”

Carmen Del Toro on set of I Know What You Did Last Summer

Should the production company ask her for advice on which drives to buy, “I try to push OWC because I think their products are reliable,” she says. “They have a good warranty. If they fail, OWC is pretty good at replacing them quickly. If they say they are too expensive and ask for another option, I suggest Glyph drives, which are more affordable. This is the thing about hard drives. No two are alike, and there could be a snafu somewhere. A cable could be soldered wrong, for example, or it suddenly stops connecting.”

Del Toro has been using Glyph tools , which transfer at about 900Mb/s, on a number of recent episodic shows shot with the Sony Venice. “The camera’s readers only go up to like 600MB/s or something,” she says. “The drive will still be faster, or it will pair up. There’s no lag or loss.” Del Toro’s cart workstation is based on a modified Apple Mac Pro “trash can” Xeon CPU. She recently added a 55-inch OLED monitor that she hopes her grip colleagues can help securely mount to her cart.

After running cables through extreme conditions on location for Netflix’s Narcos for three years, Del Toro says she now prefers to work on a sound stage. “I loved working amid the chaos of shows like that,” she says, “but now I find working in the studio so much better. I’ve run 200-foot lines through the Atacama Desert, buried them in the sand, then had a timer on to go and unbury them with ice because I didn’t want the cords to melt. I’ve worked in caves where, when I opened my rack, everything was calcified. Also in countries where there’s no RF control, and the video image suddenly disappears. I had to be the person saying, ‘We’ve got to do it like we did in 1985. Only the guy looking through the camera can see. So don’t fuck it up!’

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Del Toro, like Kelley, has several parallel talents beyond her current role as a union IATSE Local 600 DIT. An art history major turned assistant editor, she spent her early career in post before transitioning to production in 2010. “When the HD camera came out, somebody in the post house where I worked needed to figure out how to convert HD to SD and use AJA Kona cards,” she says. “I read a lot of manuals, and then I got introduced to the Avid Symphony Nitris. There was a company that did what they call dead-end color correction for reality TV shows. They would color on the Nitris and then print out to tape.”

She was hooked, and now she does live color grading on nearly every project. She’s also a self-taught and FAA-certified drone pilot. “That’s a dream of mine, to just do color work — and fly my drone all the time,” she says.

Recent projects for Del Toro include I Know What You Did Last Summer, Them and Shining Vale.

Beth Marchant, a former staff and contributing editor of StudioDaily.com, writes about entertainment technology and craft for The Los Angeles Times and IndieWire. Follow her on Twitter@bethmarchant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SymplyFirst Storage Tools

SymplyFirst Storage Tools Range From Ingest to Archive

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Shared storage company Symply has launched SymplyFirst, a new product family designed to tackle the most common media workflow problems. The range addresses personal RAID protected storage, backup/archive, cloud archive/transfer and connectivity challenges experienced in a variety of media pipelines, including on-set production, post, VFX, independent filmmaking, in-house creative, photography and more.

SymplyFirst Storage Tools“We’re calling this product line SymplyFirst because it really is the first step in creating a democratized, open storage solution that’s easily accessible but extensible,” says Alex Grossman, founder/CPO of Symply. “It’s also designed to be affordable so users upgrading from smaller systems have a jumping-off point into the wider world of media storage.”

According to Symply VP Nick Warburton, “The SymplyFirst product family was designed to cover the entire workflow process from ingest to archive, providing productivity-enhancing ease of use throughout.”

Symply has developed five LTO products to answer specific industry needs, such as on-set archiving of rushes or studio-based content offloading.

SymplyPro — Essential to every media workflow is the ability to offload content from cameras or other sources and safely store that data. SymplyPro LTO and SymplyPro DIT are Thunderbolt 3-connected desktop and rack-optimized solutions that incorporate LTO-9 technology, the latest in tape storage technology, with up to 18TB native storage per tape and over 400Mbps read/write to quickly move content and ensure it is stored securely.

SymplyPro DIT is a full-featured archive and transfer system with multi-access technology that combines camera card readers for Red, Atomos and Blackmagic along with removable 2.5-inch SSD and LTO tape for fast, all-in-one DIT storage operations.

SymplyFirst Storage ToolsSymplyPro LTO systems are available in multiple configurations, including a cableless, all-metal enclosure that allows for fast removal and insertion of tape drives for transport or upgrade.

SymplyAtom — The SymplyAtom (Advanced Tape Operations and Management) software included with the SymplyPro LTO makes operation and maintenance easy. These systems are also certified for use with popular backup and archive utilities for macOS and Windows, including YoYotta, Hedge Canister and Archiware P5.

SymplySpark — This a quiet, personal, transportable, media-optimized RAID solution. It has fast Thunderbolt 3 connectivity and is available in capacities up to 144TB. The system is compact and light, and the design allows for tool-free user serviceability of drives, fans and power supplies. SymplySpark is suited for both on-set and edit bay use and comes packaged in an impact-resistant, flight-friendly carry case.

SymplyNebula — The nature of media workflows requires significant data egress, which can easily drive up costs associated with cloud usage. SymplyNebula offers industry-standard S3 compatibility with data centers throughout the US and Europe with no egress charges. The service is fast and available for a single, per-terabyte price. The company says SymplyNebula enables easy movement of content to and from AWS EC2 for a variety of media processing and compute functions.

SymplyADDR — A series of affordable, high-performance PCIe expansion systems designed to take up less space on the desktop, SymplyADDR offers quieter operation and requires less time to add or remove cards.

To complement the SymplyFirst product family, Symply has also created SymplyLock, a simple Thunderbolt cable lock that works with all SymplyFirst products and any Apple-certified Thunderbolt cable, preventing accidental disconnection of a Thunderbolt device. This is important for remote, on-set and fast-paced editing environments. SymplyLock is built from high-quality aluminum and features a versatile design that accommodates multiple cable styles.

SymplyFirst products are available now at the following prices:

– $4,599 for SymplyPro LTO (Thunderbolt-connected tape drive)

– $3,299 for SymplyLTO (SAS-connected tape drive)

– $4,199 for SymplySpark (Thunderbolt-connected eight-bay storage)

– $4.99 per month for SymplyNebula

 

 

 

DIT Chat: Tyler Isaacson on Workflow, Best Practices

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Over the years, Tyler Isaacson worked his way up the production ladder, first from PA to camera PA. Then, to broaden his production skills, he was trained by DIT Sam Kretchmar, one of the first DITs in Local 600 when the classification was created. He’s now been working as a DIT for seven years, with a focus on quick-turnaround commercials for brands such as Tide, Snickers, Ford, Progressive, Nintendo and Starbucks.

Ford Mustang Mach-E

In a recent chat, Isaacson talked about the intensity and demands of a daily shoot.

What do you consider to be your most significant issue when preparing for a shoot?
Setting up the right workflow with hardware and software tools that will get the best results, quickly. Once I know the location and how the shoot is set up, I organize my cart for maximum efficiency. I use modular components that I can easily combine in different arrangements. I build out my cart with everything on a Yaeger Junior. cart for stage jobs, or I split it up and pare down to a vertical Magliner cart for tight locations. 

In both situations, I use two core components — a video distribution/live grading kit and my transcoding workstation. I then add monitors (typically 17-inch and 25-inch Sony OLEDs), scopes, battery back-up, wireless receivers and other components the shoot requires.

What software are you using?
Right now, I’m primarily using Assimilate’s DIT Pack that combines Live Looks for on-set live grading and Scratch Dailies for transcoding. The seamless software integration streamlines my workflow for a huge boost in time savings. Because the software runs on both Windows and macOS, it gives me flexibility in my work and in building my DIT cart for different projects. Working this way is miles beyond just applying a CDL as a starting point. Not only do I have more control over the live image with curves, especially hue-hue and hue-sat curves, but being able to apply those exact same curves in Scratch Dailies and then being able to edit them is another time savings.

I also use Hedge for archiving media with checksum. Lattice is a handy app for converting LUTs between applications and viewing the LUT curves, which can be useful when evaluating an imported LUT.

How have you built your dailies cart?
I’m working on a custom Windows 10 PC that I have built into a Pelican 1510 rolling case. With a 14-core Xeon CPU, Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti GPU and 8TB of SSD RAID, the speed for rendering dailies is incredibly fast. For my external RAIDs, I like SanDisk USB C SSDs. They offer great value for the performance. I also use external Glyph 4TB USB C RAID drives for high-performance shuttles

What do you enjoy most about working as a DIT?
My job is the most rewarding when I’m able to collaborate with the DPs to achieve their vision. Having the powerful color tools and curves editor available live not only helps me and the DP set looks faster, but it gives us more creative latitude too. A DP may not get a chance to sit in on the final grade, so achieving a look in the dailies is often the only chance the DPs get to review their work. 

How do you like to work with the DP and other departments?
Since I’m working directly for the DP, this is where most of the collaboration happens. Sometimes the gaffer and I will sort out a flickering light without bothering the DP, but for creative decisions, it’s important to follow the chain of command.

The relationship with post and production is important too. In commercials, we are usually making transcoded dailies as we work, so coordinating with post before a shoot ensures we generate the correct files for them. A big part of the DIT’s job is making sure all the deliverables for a project — source camera files, sound, transcoded dailies, LUT files, reference stills — are well-organized and quickly completed.

How are you handling the live grading?
While I have used a Mac for live grading, I also wanted reliable software that could run on other operating systems. Since I was familiar with the Scratch Dailies UI, Live Looks fit into my workflow. I can quickly pull up old grades and match grades to dailies as I work. Having a look “memory,” in addition to previously saved grades, makes it easy for me to bounce between grades while working on a particular shot. Also, exporting looks into Scratch is saving me time on my dailies grade

My hardware is built around Live Looks and FSI BoxIO, which pulls live images from it and all the embedded metadata. I built all the gear into a small-form-factor 8020 rack for portability. It contains a 16×16 AJA Kumo router and two FSI BoxIO units to live-grade up to four cameras.

What specific aspects do you like about your tools?
Bottom line, it’s the speed, reliability and flexibility. Being able to manage resolutions, frame rates and color spaces individually by timeline (or reel) is hugely helpful, especially when dealing with multiple cameras and formats. Instead of just setting scaling “entire image to fit,” I can actually see and adjust how Scratch is managing the scaling on a per-timeline basis. I’m able to easily handle footage for the same project from a wide range of cameras, even phones, as well as different formats and resolutions on the same camera. It’s also easy to generate multiple export formats at different resolutions from the same material.

What are some of your best practices that you can share?
Because the DIT is solely responsible for all of the footage from a shoot, I think one of the best practices is to approach a job with a calm and organized mindset. If I allow myself to get stressed out or overwhelmed on a shoot, that’s when I’m most likely to make a mistake.

When there’s a hiccup on set — corrupt media, accidental reformat, camera issues, etc. — I always take a step back, assess and move forward with a level head.

I also like to use manual systems for rechecking my work. I make manual media reports, not because there aren’t great software tools that can automate this for me, but because it forces me to recheck card transfers one by one.

I also like to line up all of the original camera clips and transcoded dailies from a day on overlapping timelines to ensure they are frame-accurate. Ideally, I will compare every transcode to the source clip before I reshoot a card. Whenever I do catch a mistake while doing one of these manual reviews, it reinforces my confidence in the system overall.

What tips do you have for someone starting out?
Find mentors if at all possible. I was fortunate in my career to have people who were willing to take the time to teach me when I was just starting out. Not only Sam for the formal DIT training, but also countless assistants who answered my questions and showed me how a set is run.

Being tech-savvy is a must. I had a lot of experience with editing software and building computers, which helped me pick up DIT-specific tools faster. It’s important to understand how cameras work and how the files are encoded, as well as color theory and an understanding of how people perceive images. I had formal photography training that was very helpful for this. There are a lot of resources online, but there’s also a lot of misunderstanding that has spawned misinformation, so it’s important to read lots of sources. Read about logarithmic encoding, color spaces, bit depth, bayer patterns, 4:4:4 4:2:2 4:2:0, latitude, dynamic range, display gamma … and keep going from there. As for working on set and how digital cinema cameras work, nothing beats hands-on experience. Get on set any way you can, or get a job at a rental house, and be respectful of the work. You don’t want to get in anyone’s way, so wait for the right times to ask lots of questions and watch the ACs carefully. Being curious, helpful and kind will go very far.

Assimilate’s DIT Pack for Camera-to-Post Workflows

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Assimilate has introduced its DIT Pack, a new product bundle that includes its advanced Scratch dailies software and Live Looks for live-grading single and multicam setups. The DIT Pack is designed for modern production workflows that require extensive previz on set to increase creative control and to streamline post workflows after the shoot.

The DIT Pack allows a seamless workflow that combines advanced live grading with dailies transcoding. Thanks to live streaming, it pushes everything out to remote and studio clients while capturing all camera metadata that will be used in VFX/post pipelines along the way. It’s available immediately on macOS and Windows.

The workflow starts with Live Looks for live-grading content from any number of cameras in real time. It’s also possible to add advanced effects like greenscreen background replacement and texture. When saving a grade, all the metadata — either input by the user or delivered via the live SDI signal from all cameras — will also be saved in the form of a readable text doc and an XML that is suited for further pipeline scripting in VFX/post. All grades and metadata are stored in an easy-to-approach folder structure that can simply be delivered to VFX/post.

In Scratch, all camera material is loaded, and the looks and metadata are matched and merged from the Live Looks folder structure, along with automated syncing of audio. All these tasks are automated and require almost no user interaction. Scratch will output in many formats as required by VFX/post:

– Offline DNX or Apple ProRes material, including all metadata for offline editing
– High-quality EXR VFX plates, including frame-based lens information and camera metadata
– Lightweight H.264/H.265 rushes for online review

The flexibility of Scratch allows the user to either consolidate all look and metadata files into a folder per day or copy the look and metadata next to each source media file, thereby easily linking in any other DI software. Producers and post supervisors receive an extensive clip report listing all relevant production information, and assistant editors get an ALE that contains all clip metadata, including dynamic CDL information to use in the target NLE.

At the live-grading stage, Live Looks provides a local web interface for clients on or near the set to browse grades, before-and-after snapshots and metadata via Wi-Fi during the shoot. At the same time, Live Looks allows streaming of all camera feeds through either an RTMP stream or via NDI directly into Zoom, Skype, SetStream.io or any other NDI-compatible software. At the dailies stage, Scratch separately outputs through RTMP and NDI for in-depth remote QC of all footage. After transcoding, Scratch allows for automatically publishing footage to the Assimilate Dailies Online web portal or to the COPRA dailies platform via direct script integration.

Assimilate’s DIT Pack is available at $1,399 for a permanent license, $799 annually or $99 monthly.

 

 

Atomos Intros Neon 17-Inch and 24-Inch HDR Monitor/Recorders

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Atomos has introduced the Neon 17-inch and Neon 24-inch HDR monitor/recorders for production and post. They will start shipping in November. Atomos says the 17-inch is ideal for focus pullers, gaffer wardrobe and as a production monitor for mobile laptop edit systems. The 24-inch is suited for the video village, DITs and cinematographers, providing an accurate and affordable monitor for an NLE and grading application outputs via industry-standard video I/O devices.

Atomos is considering adding Neon 31-inch and 55-inch models as it assesses feedback from users on how those sizes would fit in to the changing workflows for on-set virtual and remote productions.

According to Atomos, Neon 17-inch and Neon 24-inch offer accurate and consistent SDR/HDR monitoring and provide recording functionality for easy shot review or render-free output delivery to Apple ProRes or Avid DNx at up to 4K DCI 60p. Suited for in studio, in the edit or for remote workflows, all screens are factory-calibrated or can easily be user-calibrated with the optional USB calibration cable and X-Rite i1Display Pro Plus.

Neon 17-inch uses an FHD 1920×1080 panel with 10-bit display processing, 4K to HD scaling and option for 1-to-1 display pixel mapping. Neon 24-inch uses a 4K DCI resolution panel with true 10-bit fidelity and HD/2K to 4K UHD/DCI up-scaling that avoids interpolation methods. Both displays incorporate Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) backlight technology, offering deep blacks at 1,000-nit, full-screen HDR peak brightness. The combination of display uniformity, a super-wide viewing angle of 180 degrees H/V and a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 provide detail across both the shadows and highlights.  

The AtomHDR engine provides the ability to accurately manage input and display Gamma/Gamut. Selectable monitor modes allow users to work in either SDR or HDR settings that match both camera acquisition settings or defined delivery standards, including Rec. 709, Rec. 2100 HLG or ST 2084 PQ. Neon provides native accurate color with DCI-P3 coverage and wide color gamuts, such as BT.2020. These are accurately processed by the AtomHDR engine to deliver consistent representations. Built-in transforms allow users to convert Log to HDR EOTFs for display on the Neon or downstream to client monitors or to use 3D LUTs for SDR to monitor with a specified show look or exposure print-down.

The foundation of the Neon platform is a modular approach that ensures the I/O of the monitor is both easy to maintain, replace and ultimately upgrade without having to take the panel out of commission. The Master Control Unit (MCU) is the brain of the Neon, with support for HDMI 2.0 for both in and loop out, which provides support for video input at 4096×2160 4K DCI at up to 60p. 

The MCU firmware is easily upgradable and allows the upload and storage of up to eight 3D LUTs in its internal memory, or post pros can use a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD to store an unlimited library that can easily be uploaded to the Neon via the AtomOS app on iOS.

The MCU offers a second level of connectivity via the Xpansion port, and Neon includes the AtomX SDI module, which provides two 12G-SDI links. The configurable ports allow for input of up to 4K 60p video with backward-compatible support for single or dual-link 1.5G/3G/6G- SDI, or the ability to toggle between A and B cameras.  File naming is also supported for both Red and ARRI cameras, allowing for easy offboard proxy recording with accurate timecode and matched file names.

Built into Neon is LE Bluetooth, providing the ability for remote operation via AtomRemote OS from Apple iOS devices running Version 12 or above.    

 

Rebel Fleet uses shutdown to train digital imaging pros

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During the COVID-19 lockdown, digital imaging workflow specialists at Aukland, New Zealand’s The Rebel Fleet took the opportunity to train a new group in the art and science of digital imaging.

The Rebel Fleet provides all the services involved with on-set and near-set technology, monitoring, video playback, technical appraisal, backup, color grading and distributing the moving images that come off set each day. As digital cinema has grown, so have the challenges of keeping that data safe and of a high quality at lightning speed. The company specializes in these workflows.

Lockdown color pallete

“It’s a relatively new department in film. As such, not many people know about what we do, so there often is a lack of skilled digital imaging technicians, dailies managers and video operators here in New Zealand,” says The Rebel Fleet GM Michael Urban. “With all the work potentially coming up and the borders closed to many, we had to look at ways to be proactive in training the people we have here in New Zealand to meet the future needs of the industry.”

Throughout lockdown, the team created a module-based online learning curriculum specific to dailies, DIT, video and color roles. The aim was to structure skills and responsibilities and provide research, learning material and practical training to participants.

“The idea is that each of our almost 20 trainees feel empowered to teach as well as to learn, so each trainee is assigned a research topic and made a subject matter expert in one small thing. From there they present their research at one of our weekly meetings and really own the topic they have been researching,” says Isaac Spedding, who heads The Rebel Fleet’s training and development.

Because the industry relies heavily on practical learning and networking, The Rebel Fleet runs weekly “Senate” meetings, where specialists and trainees meet in the evening to learn about one aspect of the digital imaging and film industry. Senates have included topics such as creating a base color grade and advanced QTake operations, and there have been guest speakers talking about modern post workflows.

Once the lockdown in New Zealand was over, The Rebel Fleet turned attention to giving trainees practical, on-set experience. With feature film footage requiring a high level of privacy and often hidden behind an NDA, such shoots are not practical for teaching people about high-level production issues. So The Rebel Fleet decided to film content specifically for in-house training. The company created unique production days on which trainees take the reins to the whole process and get mentored by specialists. The Rebel Fleet and production partner Metro Film have run three practical production shoots so far with three different themes, the first being camera testing.

The second training shoot, for a short film called Bracken Road, included 35 crew and trainees with director Harriett Maire. It had three setups, an aerial unit and a full crew aimed at replicating feature film-quality workflows.

“The on-set environment is an ever-evolving beast, with many different moving parts that all need to work symbiotically. The equipment is just one of those beasts, with new and improving cameras and rigs plus different workflows and pipelines on a shoot-by-shoot basis,” says Rebel Fleet co-owner/senior colorist Pete Harrow. “With our training, we are emulating this in the most realistic way possible, with the best cameras available at present and some complex pipelines. We are also deliberately throwing in some technical issues and real-world problems to make the training days simulate some of the worst days on set.”

Bracken Road’s list of intentional technical issues included multiple cameras, the wrong white balance, dead pixels, sound rolling late and actors staring into the camera.

On the third shoot, called Lockdown, trainees were responsible for delivering a rich and beautiful short film. With a crew of over 40, including 15 trainees, the shoot replicated a high-end production pipeline with an estimated rental value of $22,000 on the floor. Two DIT carts and two QTake rigs were set up in parallel to allow as many people as possible time on the carts. Metro Film provided two fully kitted-out Alexa Mini packages, staff and all things camera. Fat Lighting provided a truck with RGBW LED lighting, including Skypanels. The crew was fully catered by Carwyn’s Catering and Craft Services. And industry veterans provided their valuable time and support.

The training shoots are valuable not just for relative novices but for those who are already working in the industry. Making the transition onto an international feature is a big leap when there are almost no stepping-stone productions in New Zealand on which to hone the craft. The training shoots aim to offer those stepping stones to get more people into more higher-paying roles and allow the industry to accept more locally crewed, high-end projects.

“As one of the department heads, I crewed the camera and lighting departments with experienced people, but in more senior roles than they usually occupy. For example, Bayley, our B camera operator, usually works as a focus puller, and her focus puller stepped up from her usual role as 2AC,” says DP Alex Campbell. “I can really see the advantages in this training program and think the visual quality that we delivered as a team bears that out.”

With productions starting up in September, it will be difficult to continue doing practical shoots like Lockdown without more industry support. Nevertheless, The Rebel Fleet has demonstrated a proven structure for training people into jobs that deviate from the traditional. The Rebel Fleet’s model enables a testing ground for ADs, camera operators, directors, actors, editors and post.

“When I was first approached by Isaac, I couldn’t quite believe the opportunity I was being offered. To be given a chance to create a piece of work with access to such a huge amount of expertise and resources? That’s the absolute dream,” says director Maire. “I’ve learned a lot about digital workflows on set that I didn’t have a true understanding of beforehand. Being a part of this process has helped my holistic knowledge and appreciation of what it takes to run a smooth set. That’s a really valuable understanding to have as a director.”

Main Image: Color grading tests for Lockdown.

Quick Chat: The Rebel Fleet’s Michael Urban talks on-set workflows

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When shooting major motion pictures and episodic television with multiple crews in multiple locations, production teams need a workflow that gives them fast access and complete control of the footage across the entire production, from the first day of the shoot to the last day of post. This is Wellington, New Zealand-based The Rebel Fleet’s reason for being.

What exactly do they do? Well we reached out to managing director Michael Urban to find out.

Can you talk more about what you do and what types of workflows you supply?
The Rebel Fleet supplies complete workflow solutions, from on-set Qtake video assist and DIT to dailies, QC, archive and delivery to post. By managing the entire workflow, we can provide consistency and certainty around the color pipeline, monitor calibration, crew expertise and communication, and production can rely on one team to take care of that part of the workflow.

We have worked closely with Moxion many times and use its Immediates workflow, which enables automated uploads direct from video assist into its secure dailies platform. Anyone with access to the project can view rushes and metadata from set moments after the video is shot. This also enables different shooting units to automatically and securely share media. Two units shooting in different countries can see what each other has shot, including all camera and scene/take metadata. This is then available and catalogued directly into the video assist system. We have a lot of experience working alongside camera and VFX on-set as well as delivering to post, making sure we are delivering exactly what’s needed in the right formats.

You recently worked on a film that was shot in New Zealand and China, and you sent crews to China. Can you talk about that workflow a bit and name the film?
I can’t name the film yet, but I can tell you that it’s in the adventure genre and is coming out in the second half of 2020. The main pieces of software are Colorfront On-Set Dailies for processing all the media and Yoyotta for downloading and verifying media. We also use Avid for some edit prep before handing over to editorial.

How did you work with the DP and director? Can you talk about those relationships on this particular film?
On this shoot the DP and director had rushes screenings each night to go over the main unit and second unit rushes and make sure the dailies grade was exactly what they wanted. This was the last finesse before handing over dailies to editorial, so it had to be right. As rushes were being signed off, we would send them off to the background render engine, which would create four different outputs in multiple resolutions and framing. This meant that moments after the last camera mag was signed off, the media was ready for Avid prep and delivery. Our data team worked hard to automate as many processes as possible so there would be no long nights sorting reports and sheets. That work happened as we went throughout the day instead of leaving a multitude of tasks for the end of the day.

How do your workflows vary from project to project?
Every shoot is approached with a clean slate, and we work with the producers, DP and post to make sure we create a workflow that suits the logistical, budgetary and technical needs of that shoot. We have a tool kit that we rely on and use it to select the correct components required. We are always looking for ways to innovate and provide more value for the bottom line.

You mentioned using Colorfront tools, what does that offer you? And what about storage? Seems like working on location means you need a solid way to back up.
Colorfront On-Set Dailies takes care of QC, grade, sound sync and metadata. All of our shared storage is built around Quantum Xcellis, plus the Quantum QXS hybrid storage systems for online and nearline. We create the right SAN for the job depending on the amount of storage and clients required for that shoot.

Can you name projects you’ve worked on in the past as well as some recent work?
Warner Bros.’ The Meg, DreamWorks’ Ghost in the Shell, Sonar’s The Shannara Chronicles, STX Entertainment’s Adrift, Netflix’s The New Legends of Monkey and The Letter for the King and Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island.

Behind the Title: Mission’s head of digital imaging, Pablo Garcia Soriano

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NAME: Pablo Garcia Soriano (@pablo.garcia.soriano)

COMPANY: UK-based Mission (@missiondigital)

CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR COMPANY?
Mission is a provider of DIT and digital lab services based in London, with additional offices in Cardiff, Rome, Prague and Madrid. We process and manage media and metadata, producing rich deliverables with as much captured metadata as possible — delivering consistency and creating efficiencies in VFX and post production.

WHAT’S YOUR JOB TITLE?
Head of Digital Imaging

WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL?
I work with cinematographers to preserve their vision from the point of capture until the final deliverable. This means supporting productions through camera tests, pre-production and look design. I also work with manufacturers, which often means I get an early look at new products.

Mission

WHAT WOULD SURPRISE PEOPLE THE MOST ABOUT WHAT FALLS UNDER THAT TITLE?
It sounds like a very technical job, but it’s so much more than engineering — it’s creative engineering. It’s problem solving and making technical complexities seem easy to a creative person.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB?
I love working with cinematographers to help them achieve their vision and make sure it is preserved through post. I also enjoy being able to experiment with the latest technology and have an influence on products. Recently, I’ve been involved with growing Mission’s international presence with our Madrid office, which is particularly close to my heart.

WHAT’S YOUR LEAST FAVORITE?
Sometimes I get to spend hours in a dark room with a probe calibrating monitors. It’s dull but necessary!

WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME OF THE DAY?
In the early to mid-morning after two coffees. Also at the end of the day when the office is quieter.

IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE THIS JOB, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING INSTEAD?
Gardening… or motor racing.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION?
I feel like it chose me. I’m an architect by training, but was a working musician until around the age of 28 when I stepped down from the stage and started as a freelancer doing music promos. I was doing a bit of everything on those, director, editor, finishing, etc. Then I was asked to be the assistant editor on two films by a colleague whom I was sharing and office with.

After this experience (and due to the changes the music industry was going through), I decided to focus fully on editing several documentaries, short films. I then ended up on a weekly TV show where I was in charge of the final assembly. This is where I started paying attention to continuity and the overall look. I was using Apple Final Cut and Apple Color, which I loved. All of this happened in a very organic way and I was always self-taught.

I didn’t take studying seriously until I met the DP Rafa Roche, AEC, on our first film together around the age of 31. Rafa mentored me, teaching me all about cameras, lenses, filters and filled my brain with curiosity about all the technical stuff (signal, codecs, workflows). From there to now it all has been a bit of a rollercoaster with some moments of real vertigo caused by how fast it all has developed.

Downton Abby

CAN YOU NAME SOME RECENT PROJECTS YOU HAVE WORKED ON?
We work on a lot of features and television in the UK and Europe — recent projects include Cats, Downton Abbey, Cursed and Criminal.

WHAT IS THE PROJECT THAT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF?
In 2018, I was the HDR image supervisor for the World Cup in Moscow. Knowing the popularity of football and working on a project that would be seen by so many people around the world was truly an honor, despite the pressure!

NAME THREE PIECES OF TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT.
A good reference monitor, a good set of speakers and Spotify.

DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK?
Yes, music is a huge part of my life. I have very varied taste. For example, I enjoy Wilco, REM and Black Sabbath.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO DE-STRESS FROM IT ALL?
I like to walk by the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, near where I live.

Whiskey Cavalier DPs weigh in on the show’s look, DITs

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While ABC recently cancelled freshman series Whiskey Cavalier, their on-set workflow is an interesting story to tell. The will-they-won’t-they drama featured FBI agent Will Chase (Scott Foley) and CIA operative Frankie Trowbridge (Lauren Cohan) — his codename is Whiskey Cavalier and hers is Fiery Tribune. The two lead an inter-agency team of spies who travel all over the world, periodically saving the world and each other, all while navigating friendship, romance and office politics.

David “Moxy” Moxness

Like many episodic television shows, Whiskey Cavalier used two cinematographers who alternated episodes so that the directors could work side-by-side with a cinematographer while prepping. David “Moxy” Moxness, CSC, ASC, shot the pilot. Moxness had previously worked on shows like Lethal Weapon, Fringe and Smallville and was just finishing another show when Warner Bros. sent him the pilot script.

“I liked it and took a meeting with director Peter Atencio,” explains Moxness. “We had a great meeting and seemed to be on the same page creatively. For me, it’s so much about collaborating on good shows with great people. Whiskey gave me that feeling.” Sid Sidell, ASC, a friend and colleague of Moxness’, was brought on as the second DP.

While Whiskey Cavalier’s plot has its two main characters traveling all over the world, principal photography took place in Prague. Neither cinematographer had worked there previously, although Moxness had passed through on vacation years before. While prepping and shooting the pilot, Moxness developed the look of the show with director Atencio. “Peter and I had the idea of using the color red when our lead character Will Chase was conflicted emotionally to trigger an emotional response for him,” he explains. “This was a combo platter of set dressing, costumes and lighting. We were very precise about not having the color red in frame other than these times. Also, when the team was on a mission, we kept to a cooler palette while their home base, New York, used warmer tones.”

This didn’t always prove to be straightforward. “You still have to adjust to location surroundings — when scouting for the pilot, I realized Prague still had mostly sodium vapor streetlights, which are not often seen in America anymore,” explains Moxness. “This color was completely opposite to what Peter and I had discussed regarding our nighttime palette, and we had a big car chase over a few nights and in different areas. I knew time and resources would in no way allow us to change or adjust this, and that I would have to work backwards from the existing tones. Peter agreed and we reworked that into our game. For our flashbacks, I shot 35mm 4-perf film with an ARRI IIC hand-cranked camera and Kowa lenses. That was fun! We continued all of these techniques and looks during the series.”

DITs
Mission, a UK-based DIT/digital services provider serving Europe, was brought on to work beside the cinematographers. Mission has an ever-expanding roster of DITs and digital dailies lab operators and works with cinematographers from preproduction onward, safeguarding their color decisions as a project moves from production into post.

Moxness and Sidell hadn’t worked with Mission before, but a colleague of Moxness’ had spoken to him about the experience of working with Mission on a project the year before. This intrigued Moxness, so he was waiting for a chance to work with them.

“When Whiskey chose to shoot in Prague I immediately reached out to Mission’s managing director, Mark Purvis,” explains Moxness. “Mark was enthusiastic about setting us up on Whiskey. After a few conversations to get to know each other, Mark suggested DIT Nick Everett. Nick couldn’t have been a better match for me and our show.”

Interestingly, Sidell had often worked without a DIT before his time on Whiskey Cavalier. He says, “My thoughts on the DP/DIT relationship changed drastically on Whiskey Cavalier. By choice, before Whiskey, I did the majority of my work without a DIT. The opportunity to work alongside Nick Everett and his Mission system changed my view of the creative possibilities of working with a DIT.”

Gear
Whiskey Cavalier was shot with the ARRI Alexa Mini and primarily ARRI Master Prime lenses with a few Angenieux zooms. Both Moxness and Sidell had worked with the Mini numerous times before, finding it ideal for episodic television. The post workflow was simple. On set, Everett used Pomfort’s LiveGrade to set the look desired by the cinematographers. Final color was done at Picture Shop in Los Angeles by senior colorist George Manno.

Moxy (behind camera) and director/EP Peter Atencio (to his right) on the Prague set.

“There are a few inherent factors shooting episodic television that can, and often do, handcuff the DP with regards to maintaining their intended look,” says Moxness. “The shooting pace is very fast, and it is not uncommon for editorial, final color and sometimes even dailies to happen far away from the shooting location. Working with a properly trained and knowledgeable DIT allows the DP to create a desired look and get it into and down the post pipeline to maintain that look. Without a proper solid roadmap, others start to input their subjective vision, which likely doesn’t match that of the DP. When shooting, I feel a strong responsibility to put my thumbprint on the work as I was hired to do. If not, then why was I chosen over others?”

Since successfully working on Whiskey Cavalier in Prague, Mission has set up a local office in Prague, led by Mirek Sochor and dedicated to Mission’s expansion into Central Europe.

And Moxness will be heading back to Prague to shoot Amazon’s The Wheel of Time.

 

Digital services company Mission hires Mirek Sochor

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UK-based Mission, which provides DIT and digital lab/dailies services, has hired Mirek Sochor as manager for Central Europe. Sochor joins Mission from Universal Production Partners (UPP) in Prague where he was the associate producer and supervisor of the film and TV services department. UPP is one of the biggest post facilities in mainland Europe.

Sochor’s recent credits include Crazy Rich Asians, Carnival Row and Genius. Additionally, in 2013 he was named by the Czech Republic’s Minister of Culture as an advising expert in economical and technological aspects in the field of technical development and innovation in cinematography, and in the field of preserving the national film heritage and making it accessible to the public.

At Mission, he will head business and production in Central Europe, spearheading the company’s expansion into Prague and beyond. For the last few months Mission’s DIT Nick Everett has been supporting cinematographers David Moxness, ASC, and Sid Sidell, ASC, on the ABC TV series Whiskey Cavalier. ABC’s Whiskey Cavalier stars Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan.

Mark Purvis, Mission’s managing director, saw the opportunities in Prague and other locations in Central Europe, explaining, “We are strongly committed to providing the same high level of support to productions as we have in the United Kingdom, with a focus on streamlining workflows, adding the best staff in key locations and continually training our technicians to better service our clients.”

Mission continues to grow, with offices in London and Wales and an ever-expanding roster of world-class DITs and digital dailies lab operators. They have recently worked on feature films Yesterday, Mary Queen of Scots and Downton Abbey, TV shows A Discovery of Witches, His Dark Materials and Whiskey Cavalier plus many more. They are a key partner to many cinematographers, working with them from pre-production onwards, safeguarding their color decisions as a project moves from production into post.