Their AIM is true: cinematographers take advantage of LaserPacific's new digital color-calibration system

Post, June, 2007

HOLLYWOOD -- Daryn Okada, ASC, explored a new frontier during the recent production of Harold & Kumar 2. The cinematographer pioneered use of an innovative system designed by LaserPacific, here, to calibrate all digital viewing devices to emulate nuances in film looks that he created in collaboration with co-authors/directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg.

The Accuratelmage, or AIM, system extends from the viewing of dailies through editing, preview screenings, digital intermediate (DI) timing and preparation of release prints in film and digital formats, as well as home video distribution.

"It's important for everyone who is involved in making creative decisions to be looking at the images the way that we intended for them to be seen," Okada emphasizes.

Subtleties in darkness and brightness, and tones of contrast and colors have the same meanings for audiences as the words and music. They can affect perceptions of time and place, as well as the emotional flow of stories. Okada notes that with the evolution of hybrid workflows, various individuals involved in the creative process see images with different viewing devices that affect the renderings of colors.

Okada heard that LaserPacific Media Corporation (www.laserpacific.com) was developing a process for calibrating digital viewing devices while he was preparing to begin production on the follow up to Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle for New Line Cinema. After checking out the AIM system, he decided to take it to Louisiana with him for a trial run. Basically, this involved Okada taking digital stills of set-ups and manipulating selected images with a personal computer to emulate the film looks he wanted. Those images served as a visual reference for the dailies timer at LaserPacific.

"The subtleties of the film look really came through on our digital dailies," Okada says. "Viewing dailies with the producers, directors and my crew was a communal experience that energized everyone, and gave us an accurate picture of our intentions."

Harold & Kumar 2 was in early post production at press time.

BOLDEN!

Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, also learned of LaserPacific's new AIM process while he was beginning preproduction planning for an unusually ambitious biographical film project in early '07. The story focuses on Buddy Bolden, who pioneered the jazz music movement in New Orleans during the 1890s. Bolden's music inspired Louis Armstrong and other popular jazz artists who followed in his wake.

Zsigmond teamed up on this independent film project with first-time director Dan Pritzker, who also co-authored the scripts for the two films they planned to shoot simultaneously. The working title is Bolden!. As homage to the period, one film will be released in black & white and the other one with a muted color palette. Both films were in simultaneous production on sets in Wilmington, NC, at press time.

Still photographer Peter Sorel is following Zsigmond's directions while documenting every set-up with digital still images. After production each day, Sorel assists Zsigmond in using Adobe Photoshop to manipulate selected still images to indicate the cinematographer's intentions for the look of every scene. The B & W and desaturated color images provide visual references for the dailies timer at LaserPacific.

LaserPacific introduced the AIM process in early May. The color-calibrated workflow system connects and integrates all devices used to display film images in digital formats from production through distribution.

THE SYSTEM

LaserPacific's Glenn Kennel, VP/GM of motion picture services, says that the system was developed in response to suggestions made by many cinematographers and other filmmakers. "Digital technologies used during post production have enhanced creative options for fine-tuning looks," he says. "The problem is that various collaborators are viewing images with a range of devices in different color space at each stage of post production. That makes it very difficult for them to share a common vision."

Kennel explains that the AIM system is designed to calibrate all devices used for viewing dailies, editing, HD previews, digital intermediate (DI) timing and film and video projection to ensure that they faithfully emulate "looks" created by the cinematographers in collaboration with their directors during production and timing.

The AIM system incorporates proprietary Kodak color science and LaserPacific technology (Kodak owns LaserPacific), and uses the Color Decision List (CDL) recommended by the American Society of Cinematographers' Technology Committee. The system includes an AIM DailiesPlayer and digital projector. The picture data files are encrypted for security, and a proprietary lookup table (LUT) automatically adjusts the projected images to mimic print film projection. During digital timing sessions, cinematographers can make adjustments in color balance by using standard printer light controls. These instructions are exported to the CDL, which is used as a starting point for digital previews and DI timing.