High Definition Cinematography, 3rd Edition

High Definition Cinematography, 3rd Edition

by Paul Wheeler
Released March 2009
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136054495

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Book description

High-definition is now ubiquitous in video production and High Definition Cinematography, Third Edition provides the explanations, definitions, and workflows that today's cinematographers and camera operators need to make the transition. Paul Wheeler will explain the high-definition process, suggest the best methods for filming, and help you choose the right camera and equipment for your crew with this comprehensive book. You'll also learn the different formats and when best to use them, how to create specific looks for different venues, and learn how to operate a wide variety of popular cameras.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Halftitle
  3. Dedication
  4. Title
  5. Copyright
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. About the Author
  9. Introduction
  10. Acknowledgements
  11. Part 1 High Definition: A Quick Overview
    1. Chapter 1: Why Shoot on HD?
      1. 1.1 What Do We Mean by High Definition (HD)?
        1. 1.1.1 The Knowledge Base
        2. 1.1.2 What Does It Mean to the Producer – Saving Money!
        3. 1.1.3 What Does It Mean to the Director?
        4. 1.1.4 What Does It Mean for the Director of Photography?
        5. 1.1.5 What Does It Mean to the Other Crafts?
        6. 1.1.6 Editing and Post-Production
      2. 1.2 Context
  12. Part 2 Production Decisions
    1. Chapter 2: Which Formats to Shoot On?
      1. 2.1 Progressive or Interlace?
      2. 2.2 How Many Pixels Do You Need?
      3. 2.3 Recording Formats
      4. 2.4 HDV – Can You Get Away With It?
    2. Chapter 3: Picture Quality
      1. 3.1 What Does HD Look Like?
      2. 3.2 HD Images Compared with 35 mm
      3. 3.3 Anamorphic 35 mm
      4. 3.4 Comparisons with Super 16 mm
      5. 3.5 Comparison with Digi Beta
    3. Chapter 4: Display Quality
      1. 4.1 HD Shown on Television
      2. 4.2 HD Written to Film and Projected Mechanically
      3. 4.3 HD Shown on a State-of-the-art Digital Projector
      4. 4.4 Digital Projectors
    4. Chapter 5: High Definition Projection
      1. 5.1 Introduction
      2. 5.2 Examples of Venues
        1. 5.2.1 The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
          1. 5.2.1.1 The venue
          2. 5.2.1.2 The digital projectors
          3. 5.2.1.3 Digital handling
          4. 5.2.1.4 What does it all get used for?
        2. 5.2.2 The National Film and Television School (NFTS)
          1. 5.2.2.1 The venues
          2. 5.2.2.2 The projectors
          3. 5.2.2.3 Digital handling
          4. 5.2.2.4 What do they get used for?
        3. 5.2.3 The Odeon Leicester Square, London
          1. 5.2.3.1 The venue
          2. 5.2.3.2 The digital projector
          3. 5.2.3.3 Digital handling
          4. 5.2.3.4 What does it all get used for?
      3. 5.3 How HD Cinema Projectors Work
      4. 5.4 Adding Color
        1. 5.4.1 Single-chip Projectors
        2. 5.4.2 Three-chip Projectors
    5. Chapter 6: Delivery Requirements
      1. 6.1 For Delivery on Film
      2. 6.2 Higher Resolution in Post-Production
      3. 6.3 Multiformat Delivery Requirements
      4. 6.4 HD Projection
      5. 6.5 Encryption
      6. 6.6 Broadcast Delivery
      7. 6.7 Convertibility
        1. 6.7.1 Picture
        2. 6.7.2 Sound
        3. 6.7.3 Time Code
    6. Chapter 7: Sales Potential
      1. 7.1 Multiple Standard Sales
      2. 7.2 Multiple Venue Sales
      3. 7.3 Additional Sales to HD Users
      4. 7.4 Future Proofing
    7. Chapter 8: Cost Implications
      1. 8.1 Savings
      2. 8.1.1 Origination Costs – Different Formats
        1. 8.1.1.1 Stock savings – film to HDCAM
        2. 8.1.1.2 Insurance savings
      3. 8.1.2 Savings in Print Costs
      4. 8.1.3 Shooting for Anamorphic Release
      5. 8.2 Added Costs
        1. 8.2.1 Camera Kit Rental
        2. 8.2.2 Editing Costs
        3. 8.2.3 Writing Out to Film
      6. 8.3 A Cost Comparison Example – Oklahoma!
        1. 8.3.1 Stock and Processing Savings
        2. 8.3.2 Camera Rental
        3. 8.3.3 Additional Costs
          1. 8.3.3.1 Overall savings
        4. 8.3.4 Competitive Pricing
    8. Chapter 9: Crewing
      1. 9.1 Should the DP Operate?
      2. 9.2 Do You Need a Focus Puller?
      3. 9.3 Do You Need a Loader?
      4. 9.4 Naming the Camera Assistants
      5. 9.5 Do You Need a Clapperboard?
      6. 9.6 Do You Need a Dolly Grip?
      7. 9.7 Sound
      8. 9.8 Electricians
      9. 9.9 A New Member of the Crew – the Data Wrangler or Downloader
  13. Part 3 The Technology
    1. Chapter 10: Digital Imaging
      1. 10.1 The History of Digits
      2. 10.2 Digital Tonal Range
      3. 10.3 Linear and Logarithmic Sampling
      4. 10.4 Image Resolution: Why So Many Pixels?
      5. 10.5 Required Resolution for HD
      6. 10.6 Data Quantity
    2. Chapter 11: Scanning the Image
      1. 11.1 A Little of the History of Television
      2. 11.2 Interlace Scanning
      3. 11.3 Progressive Scanning
      4. 11.4 Traditional Cinema Flicker
      5. 11.5 How are Images Captured by the Two Scanning Formats?
      6. 11.6 Printing Out to Film
    3. Chapter 12: Line Standards and Definition
      1. 12.1 Line Summation
      2. 12.2 Apparent Picture Quality
      3. 12.3 1080 Versus 720 in Television
      4. 12.4 Conclusions
      5. 12.5 Is HD Worth the Trouble?
    4. Chapter 13: Three-chip Technology
      1. 13.1 Additive Color Imagery
      2. 13.2 The Three-chip Camera’s Beam Splitter
      3. 13.3 The Image Sensors
      4. 13.4 The Sensor Chip
    5. Chapter 14: Single-chip Technology
      1. 14.1 What is Available?
      2. 14.2 CCD Sensors
      3. 14.3 CMOS Sensors
      4. 14.4 CCDs versus CMOS Chips
      5. 14.5 Color Filtering in Single Sensors
      6. 14.6 Bayer Pattern Filtering
      7. 14.7 Sequential Filtering
      8. 14.8 Comparative Resolution
      9. 14.9 Using Sequential Pattern Filtering
    6. Chapter 15: Data Files – A Simplified Guide
      1. 15.1 RAW Data Files, etc.
      2. 15.2 4:4:4, 4:2:2 and All That
      3. 15.3 Look-up Tables (LUTs)
      4. 15.4 De-Bayering an Image
    7. Chapter 16: The Video Tape Recorder (VTR)
      1. 16.1 The HDCAM Format
      2. 16.2 Helical Scan Recording
      3. 16.3 Mechanical Considerations
      4. 16.4 The Drum Lacing Mechanism
      5. 16.5 Operational Considerations
      6. 16.6 A Jammed Mechanism
  14. Part 4 High Definition Cinematography
    1. Chapter 17: Lighting and Exposing for HD
      1. 17.1 An HD Camera’s Equivalent ASA Speed, or ISO Rating
      2. 17.2 Tonal Range
      3. 17.3 Lighting Ratios
      4. 17.4 Lighting to a Monitor
      5. 17.5 Highlights and Shadows
      6. 17.6 Exposure
        1. 17.6.1 Using a Monitor
        2. 17.6.2 Using a Meter
        3. 17.6.3 Auto Exposure
        4. 17.6.4 Exposing Using a Waveform Monitor
    2. Chapter 18: Setting the Color Balance
      1. 18.1 White Balance
      2. 18.2 What is White Balance?
      3. 18.3 Neutral Density (ND) Filters
      4. 18.4 A Warning!
      5. 18.5 Setting the White Balance Using a White Card
      6. 18.6 Setting the White Balance Using a Colored Card
      7. 18.7 Setting the White Balance Under Fluorescent Lighting
      8. 18.8 The Outer Filter Wheel on a Sony HDW Camera
      9. 18.9 Black Balance
    3. Chapter 19: Camera Checks Before Shooting
      1. 19.1 The Camera Body
        1. 19.1.1 Menus
      2. 19.2 Lenses
      3. 19.3 Electronic Checks
        1. 19.3.1 Dead Pixels
        2. 19.3.2 Ringing – Or Whatever the Manufacturer Calls It
      4. 19.4 Temperature
      5. 19.5 Matching Cameras
      6. 19.6 Matching Lenses
      7. 19.7 Lens Vignetting
      8. 19.8 What Does It All Mean?
    4. Chapter 20: Lenses
      1. 20.1 How to Choose a Lens
        1. 20.1.1 Resolution
        2. 20.1.2 Contrast
        3. 20.1.3 Perceived Sharpness with Regard to Contrast
        4. 20.1.4 Color Rendition
          1. 20.1.4.1 Overall color bias
          2. 20.1.4.2 Color fringing
          3. 20.1.4.3 What is fringing?
        5. 20.1.5 Breathing
      2. 20.2 Setting the Back Focus
        1. 20.2.1 Zoom Lenses
        2. 20.2.2 Prime Lenses
      3. 20.3 Focusing the Lens Using Back Focus Charts – Beware!
      4. 20.4 Back Focusing Using the Oval Rings Chart
      5. 20.5 Comparative Focal Lengths
      6. 20.6 Depth of Field
      7. 20.7 Calculating Depth of Field
      8. 20.8 Neutral Density (ND) Filters
      9. 20.9 Limiting Apertures
      10. 20.10 Filtration
        1. 20.10.1 Color Correction
        2. 20.10.2 Diffusion
    5. Chapter 21: Monitors and Cabling
      1. 21.1 What Kinds of Monitor are Available?
        1. 21.1.1 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitors
        2. 21.1.2 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitors
        3. 21.1.3 Plasma Screens
      2. 21.2 Lining up Your Monitor
        1. 21.2.1 An SMPTE Line-up
        2. 21.2.2 Lining up Using EBU Bars
        3. 21.2.3 Using an Exposure Meter
      3. 21.3 Cabling your Monitor
        1. 21.3.1 Single Coaxial Cables
        2. 21.3.2 Triple Coaxial Cables
        3. 21.3.3 Termination
        4. 21.3.4 Serial Monitors
      4. 21.4 Best Practice
    6. Chapter 22: Shipping
      1. 22.1 It’s Not ENG!
      2. 22.2 Shipping Lenses
      3. 22.3 Transit Cases
      4. 22.4 Camera Set-up when Shipping
      5. 22.5 Size and Weight
      6. 22.6 Batteries
    7. Chapter 23: Multicamera Shoots
      1. 23.1 Synchronization
      2. 23.2 Time Code on Location
        1. 23.2.1 Lock-it Boxes
        2. 23.2.2 Script Boy
      3. 23.3 Time Code in a Studio
        1. 23.3.1 Genlock
      4. 23.4 Menu Set-ups
        1. 23.4.1 The Sony RMB 150
        2. 23.4.2 Using Memory Sticks
      5. 23.5 Matching Lenses
    8. Chapter 24: Hazardous Conditions
      1. 24.1 Resetting the Trips
      2. 24.2 Water
      3. 24.3 Heat
      4. 24.4 Cold
      5. 24.5 Dust
      6. 24.6 Gamma Rays
    9. Chapter 25: Camera Supports
      1. 25.1 Fluid Heads
      2. 25.2 Geared Heads
      3. 25.3 Remote Heads
      4. 25.4 Under Water
      5. 25.5 In the Air
      6. 25.6 Motion Control Rigs
    10. Chapter 26: How HD Affects Other Crafts
      1. 26.1 Art and Design
      2. 26.2 Costume
      3. 26.3 Make-up and Hair
      4. 26.4 Sound
      5. 26.5 Script Supervision and Continuity
      6. 26.6 The Second Assistant Cameraperson or Ex-Clapper Boy
    11. Chapter 27: Troubleshooting
      1. 27.1 Stating the Obvious
      2. 27.2 Problems and Solutions
  15. Part 5 Examples of Shoots
    1. Chapter 28: Birthdays
      1. 28.1 The Studio Shoot
      2. 28.2 The Location Shoot
      3. 28.3 Exterior Tracking Shots
      4. 28.4 Interior Lighting
      5. 28.5 Adding Gain
      6. 28.6 Hand Holding
      7. 28.7 Editing Birthdays
      8. 28.8 Viewings
    2. Chapter 29: King Lear
      1. 29.1 The Project
      2. 29.2 The Schedule
      3. 29.3 Preparation
      4. 29.4 Rigging and Equipment
      5. 29.5 Camera Equipment
      6. 29.6 The Shoot
      7. 29.7 Practical Matters
      8. 29.8 Monitoring, etc.
    3. Chapter 30: The Optician
      1. 30.1 How It Came About
      2. 30.2 The Shoot
      3. 30.3 How Did It Come Out?
      4. 30.4 Conclusions
  16. Part 6 Cameras
    1. Chapter 31: Cameras in General
      1. 31.1 The Choice of Cameras
      2. 31.2 In This Edition
      3. 31.3 My Disclaimer!
    2. Chapter 32: The Arriflex D-21
      1. 32.1 The Camera
      2. 32.2 Significant Improvements Over the D-20
      3. 32.3 The Camera Sensor
      4. 32.4 Interface
      5. 32.5 Lenses
      6. 32.6 Recorders
    3. Chapter 33: The Dalsa Origin and Evolution
      1. 33.1 The Dalsa Origin
        1. 33.1.1 The Look-through
        2. 33.1.2 The Sensor
        3. 33.1.3 Interfaces
        4. 33.1.4 Conclusions on the Dalsa Origin
      2. 33.2 Currently Available Recorders
      3. 33.3 The Codex Digital Media Recorder
        1. 33.3.1 The Touch Screen
        2. 33.3.2 Monitoring via the Codex
        3. 33.3.3 Conclusions on the Codex
      4. 33.4 The Dalsa Evolution
    4. Chapter 34: The Panasonic VariCam: AJ-HDC27H
      1. 34.1 The Camera
      2. 34.2 Frame Rates
      3. 34.3 Exposure Times
      4. 34.4 The Chips and the Processor
      5. 34.5 The VTR
      6. 34.6 Time Code
      7. 34.7 An Overview
    5. Chapter 35: The Panavision Genesis
      1. 35.1 The Camera
      2. 35.2 Menus
      3. 35.3 White Balance
      4. 35.4 The Camera Sensor
      5. 35.5 Formats, Outputs and Interface
      6. 35.6 Solid-state Recording
      7. 35.7 Viewing Logarithmic Images
    6. Chapter 36: The RED One
      1. 36.1 A Little Background
      2. 36.2 First Impressions
      3. 36.3 The Camera
      4. 36.4 The Mysterium™ Sensor
      5. 36.5 Shooting Costs
      6. 36.6 RED Marketing
      7. 36.7 Design Philosophy
      8. 36.8 Recording Media
      9. 36.9 Which Drive to Choose?
      10. 36.10 Basic Camera Specification
        1. 36.10.1 The Mysterium™ Sensor
        2. 36.10.2 Image Processing
      11. 36.11 Conclusions
    7. Chapter 37: The Sony HDW F790, F750 and F730 HD Cameras
      1. 37.1 Frame Rates
      2. 37.2 The Camera Body
      3. 37.3 Add-in Boards, etc.
      4. 37.4 Image Control via the Menus
        1. 37.4.1 Multi Matrix
        2. 37.4.2 Auto Tracing White Balance
        3. 37.4.3 Color Temperature Control
        4. 37.4.4 Selectable Gamma Curves
        5. 37.4.5 RGB Gamma Balance
        6. 37.4.6 Variable Black Gamma Range
        7. 37.4.7 Black Stretch
        8. 37.4.8 Adaptive Highlight Control (Auto Knee Mode)
        9. 37.4.9 Knee Saturation Function
        10. 37.4.10 The Triple Skin Tone Detail Control
        11. 37.4.11 Level Depend Detail
      5. 37.5 Metadata Handling
      6. 37.6 The Sony Tele-File System
      7. 37.7 The Optional HDSDI Adapter
      8. 37.8 An Overview
    8. Chapter 38: The Sony HDW F900R
      1. 38.1 The Camera
      2. 38.2 The Chips
      3. 38.3 The Processor
      4. 38.4 Additional Facilities
      5. 38.5 Menus
      6. 38.6 Overall Impressions
    9. Chapter 39: The Sony F23 and F35
      1. 39.1 Some Background
      2. 39.2 Basic Specifications
      3. 39.3 Why Introduce These Cameras?
    10. Chapter 40: The Thomson Viper
      1. 40.1 The Camera Body
      2. 40.2 Outputs from the Camera
      3. 40.3 The Hard Drive Recorder
      4. 40.4 The Beam Splitter
      5. 40.5 The Viper’s CCD Array
      6. 40.6 The Mechanical Shutter
      7. 40.7 Frame Rates
      8. 40.8 Resolution
      9. 40.9 The Camera’s Processor Configuration
      10. 40.10 The Camera Back
      11. 40.11 The Arguments for a Logarithmic Recording Format
      12. 40.12 Lenses for the Viper
      13. 40.13 Monitors for the Viper
      14. 40.14 Camera Accessories
      15. 40.15 Shipping the Viper
      16. 40.16 Conclusions
  17. Part 7 Star Gazing
    1. Chapter 41: Where Do We Go From Here?
      1. 41.1 HD Cameras
        1. 41.1.1 Broadcast Cameras
        2. 41.1.2 Cameras That Really Emulate 35 mm Film
      2. 41.2 Recording Formats
      3. 41.3 Entertaining our Audience
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: High Definition Cinematography, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s): Paul Wheeler
  • Release date: March 2009
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136054495