Weathering the HD transition - High Def

Post, Dec, 2002 by Claudia Kieuzle

The HDTV forecast for 2003 is bright. Costs are falling, awareness is rising, and investment is holding steady. Watch for the possibility of mild trepidation to dampen an otherwise picture-perfect new day. But, expect this suspicion to pass over quickly once the fog engulfing HD lifts.

CONRAD W. DENKE CEO The Victory Studios www.victorystudios.com Seattle/LA

STRENGTHS: HD doesn't disappoint. When people shoot with it for the first time, they're often amazed by its economy, flexibility and quality. While HD was off to a slow start, we're now seeing a geometric progression in its adoption. Every new convert converts someone else. As the HD medium gains momentum, the field of people with solid HD experience is growing, and this expertise benefits the industry.

WEAKNESSES: There are many misperceptions about HD. If people are operating under erroneous assumptions, they can't make sensible decisions about the best way to use it. Recently, our Los Angeles facility was posting a half-hour HDTV sitcom pilot that had been shot on 24p HD for ABC primetime. There was a scene that the director wanted to shoot very dark. But when they got to post, they were dismayed because it was so dark you couldn't really see the unique props. They decided the shot was unusable. But, as I pointed out to them, HD has tremendous depth, and there's a lot of picture information that can be pulled up from the darkness. So, we lightened it up. The props were now visible and they put the scene back into the show.

If you're shooting 35mm film and your scene is too dark, when you try to bring it up, all you get is noise. That's not the case with HD. As people gain experience with HD, they can make better decisions.

OPPORTUNITIES: HD is enabling people to get their foot in the door at a much higher level. Film is too expensive and DV lacks a film look, but HD is affordable with near-film quality. Recently, we edited an 18-minute short for a group of film students from USC. It's a musical. That's noteworthy because musicals tend to be very expensive because big dance numbers require many takes, which really add up when you're rolling 35mm. By shooting in HD, the kids from USC were able to produce a really fantastic musical.

THREATS: The biggest threat to HD is that it's perceived as a threat -- to people's jobs and the status quo in Hollywood. There's a concern that unions, the FCC, or those with a "studio mentality" might try to rigidly or narrowly define how HD can be used rather than letting the market fully explore HD.

Victory Studios has many HD services, including telecine, multi-format editorial, graphics, and Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound capabilities.

SMOKEY FORESTER Distribution Manager Science Bulletins American Museum of Natural History http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org New York

STRENGTHS: With its high resolution and clarity, the HD image is compelling. When you enter a public space with a large screen HD display, it's hard not to look at it. It's ideal for documenting scientific events for posterity and for public education because the picture quality is so rich.

HD video allowed our museum audiences to watch gazelles in a migratory area in Mongolia without braving inclement weather or distracting the animals. This is one of the HD video segments our 12-person production crew produced in HDCam (1080/60i) for Science Bulletins, a service that makes HD video featurettes available to subscribing museums to present in a loop on large screens and plasma monitors as an informative attraction in their exhibit halls and visitor centers.

WEAKNESSES: Broadcasters haven't embraced HDTV, and it hasn't been presented to the public in a way that fosters a better understanding or stronger demand. Even in consumer electronics stores, retailers often show content that's not HD, such as video playing off DVD players, but they call it "HD", which adds to the confusion.

OPPORTUNITIES: I just came back from a conference called The Association of Science and Technology Centers (ATSC), which is an association of natural history museums and science centers, and there was tremendous interest in HD technology. Panasonic demonstrated HD equipment.

There are also tremendous opportunities for capturing beautiful, rare footage in HD, even in exotic places because it's a very portable, rugged and increasingly affordable medium.

THREATS: Misinformation. People are hearing that 24p HD is a better format than 1080/60i, but it's more expensive to buy or rent. The added cost and complexity act as a deterrent to those who'd be perfectly happy shooting 1080/60i if they weren't made to view it as the inferior HD format.

If I were shooting a feature film, and wanted a film look, I would certainly shoot 24p HD. But, for documentaries or broadcast, 1080/60i is better suited because it doesn't have 24p HD's flicker. Eventually, the industry will migrate to 1080/60p and -- without interlacing artifacts -- this will produce an even smoother, higher resolution picture.

The American Museum of Natural History distributes its original HD features to subscribing museums and science centers.