Emerging standards are making the best of existing pixels. Understand the principles of HDR, learn how to build workflows to simplify production, and deliver the highest quality HDR pictures possible.
Floating-point notation and gamma are both techniques that trade precision for dynamic range. However they differ fundamentally. Gamma is a non-linear function whereas floating point remains linear. Any mathematical manipulations carried out on floating-point encoded data will be correct whereas manipulations of gamma-encoded luma cannot be. Gamma was intended to linearize a cathode ray tube whereas floating point encoding was designed from the outset for mathematical manipulation.
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Possibly one of the last features to wrap before the global pandemic effectively shut down production was Fatman, a dark action comedy directed by Eshom and Ian Nelms and starring Mel Gibson as the kind of Santa Claus who would probably exist in 2020 if one existed at all.
Most people are aware that the amount of detail in a photograph is dependent on a few things. Assuming focus is right, it’s easy to assume it’s a combination of how well the lens was made and the number of pixels on the sensor, give or take the quality of all those things. Now we’re starting to hit issues with what we might almost think of as the size of light.
Some films languish in preproduction hell for years. For cinematographer Simon Rowling, though, only a matter of days elapsed between first discussing Legacy of Lies and flying out to begin location scouting. The production, which stars Scott Adkins as a CIA agent in pursuit of Russian kidnappers, was written and directed by Adrian Bol and photographed mainly in Ukraine.
With the recent advances in artificial intelligence, post-production rotoscope tools are now so good that some DOPs are asking if we still need to use green screen at all, or at least, in quite the same way. Suddenly, it seems any background, no matter how complex, can be replaced in seconds on the editor’s timeline, allowing DOPs to shoot complex compositing assignments faster and more economically. For broadcasters, the benefits of an AI-powered rotoscoping tool are substantial as producers can repurpose a treasure trove of existing footage packed away in libraries and potentially reduce the need for new production or costly reshoots.
Television production these days is tricky enough without adding virtual elements like augmented reality (AR) graphics, but that’s exactly what Taipei-based production company Getop did for the live telecast of the 2020 Golden Melody Awards (GMA). The highly rated annual televised awards ceremony - considered the “Asian Grammys” by many - celebrates top musical talent from across southeast Asia.
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The requirement for a wide dynamic range to be provided economically is usually met by what is loosely called gamma, which is a non-linear transfer function having numerous drawbacks. However, there is an alternative form of what might loosely be called gamma, which is floating point.