Broadcast TECH PRODUCTION THE RISE OF DIGITAL


Perry Mitchell charts the evolution of digital cinematography from its roots in the early 1980s


early 1980s, I wrote an article for a technical broadcast


B


magazine on the subject of elec- tronic cinematography. I argued that it could only be deemed to have arrived when film operators could use their lenses and operat- ing styles on the new cameras. Finally, after nearly 30 years, we may have arrived at my goal. Sony ploughed an HDVS (high definition video system) furrow based upon TV-type technology,


‘This could mean the end of SxS media for future products’


with few takers outside of the industrial world until at the end of the century it made its first HDVS camcorder using the new HDCam tape format. Sony also went on to develop a more sophisticated 10-bit 444 process that mimicked the latitude of film, and this was released in the specialist movie production F23 camera. But it didn’t allow the use of


35mm lenses with narrow depth of field and other associated image qualities, so Sony co-oper- ated with Panavision to create the Panavision Genesis, which could use all the 35mm movie lens stock. A few years later, it released the F35, which was basically an F23 that had a single large sensor and compatibility with the film lenses. At last, a no-compromise


ack in the


digital movie camera, but at approaching $1m, it was at a truly no-compromise price. At the other end of production


budgets, people were tinkering with digital stills cameras that had started to offer movie-making fea- tures. The Canon 5D offered a supposedly full-HD picture with even smaller depth of field than movie cameras. It prompted the question: what if you took this concept and engineered it into a proper movie camera? Panasonic started the ball roll-


ing with the AF101, based upon its 4/3 stills format. Whether goaded by Panasonic or its customers, Sony soon released the F3 based on the very successful PMW-EX3. Canon’s C300, which was unveiled in November, is in the same ball- park but offers an internal recorder that, unlike the others, exceeds the BBC’s 50Mbps data rate threshold for HD content. The enormous hole between


the likes of the Sony F35, and now the F65, and the ‘low-cost’ 35mm replacements has attracted other contenders: Red offers several models that offer some unique solutions to low-cost dig- ital cinematography, while Arri’s Alexa takes Europe’s answer to Panavision into the 21st century. The Compact Flash Association


recently announced the arrival of the new XQD card, which is as fast as Sony’s SxS media. At a price around 25% of the cost of SxS, this could mean the end of SxS media for future products, and the ramifications could be significant for camcorders, such as the XDCam, the EX range and, of course, the F3. ➤ Perry Mitchell is head engineer at Procam


www.broadcastnow.co.uk/technology PLAYOUT A LINK IN THE CHAIN


Ian Whitfield writes about his first eight months in charge of Encompass’s UK operation


T


he role of play-


out has changed dramatically over the past 10


years. Traditionally viewed as the end of a linear set of steps to get programmes to air, it is now a fully integrated component in the complex content supply chain. Although still a major means


of getting TV channels to plat- forms and viewers in order to realise revenue and keep cash flowing through the industry, it must increasingly be seen as one element of a multiplatform, multi-consumer content distri- bution strategy that leverages the investment of talent, time and money in the creation of rich media experiences for viewers and consumers. Encompass Digital Media was


established to help content own- ers, channels, networks and plat- forms exploit this new approach to the management of content. The scale of Encompass means we can leverage our storage and connectivity infrastructure on a global scale between our sites in the UK, US and Asia. It’s like having our own cloud but is secure and available 24/7. In all cases, the philosophy is


similar: simplify the end-to-end chain that is traditionally too complex due to the number of suppliers and technology involved, build in flexibility to cope with changes driven by reg- ulation, technology, fashion or innovation, and put effort into managing content so it can be repurposed for different plat- forms and markets.


The playout facility at Stephen


Street became part of Encompass Digital Media through the acqui- sition of Ascent Media in March last year. Upon my arrival, soon after the deal completed, my first priority was to integrate the facil- ity into the Encompass business and infrastructure; second was to establish the Stephen Street facil- ity as a hub for the EMEA region. In eight months we have made a lot of progress. The efforts of the team in 2011 are now being realised as we have secured two new playout deals within the past month, which gives us an excellent opportunity to add to


‘Playout is now a fully integrated component in the supply chain’


our talent and bring in more people and skills. Establishing Stephen Street as our EMEA hub has been a great opportunity to take a fresh look at everything we do and how we do it. In 2011, we began investing heavily in the facility and that will continue this year, with the introduction of additional client services and the goal of making the facility best in class and fit for the needs of today’s industry. Last year, we also established


partnerships for satellite uplink and are now able to offer clients what they need: a full range of integrated play-out, distribution and digital media services. ➤ Ian Whitfield is head of the UK operation at Encompass Digital Media


January/February 2012 | Broadcast TECH | 15


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