Although cinematographers have been using film since the early 1900s, digital cameras are becoming more commonplace in the entertainment industry, especially with the advancements of high definition camera and playback technologies. With Arri, Cannon, Dalsa, JVC, Panasonic, and Sony competing to achieve the best high definition delivery through television, film, sports, and news, HD video is beginning to pick up speed. According to strategic market manager Mark Chiolis, the apparent shift to film to high definition is due to price drops. Nowadays, post-production houses are working with HD format on more projects. The Romeo post house works with roughly 25 television shows, including ABC's "Alias" and NBC's "ER."
Some television shows, such as 'Titus', illustrate the highs and lows of 24p technology. Digital images, whether in photographs or motion picture, are limited in terms of depth and isolating images. With film, it is easy to isolate images by manipulating a long telephoto lens, whereas it's virtually and visually unattainable through digital imagery. Film also has wider latitude, or the acceptance of the lightest areas to the darkest areas of the frame. A third difference is detail in a given frame. When comparing pixel count by converted measures, film has about 3 to 12 million pixels, whereas an HD frame has 2 million pixels using a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Due to HD compression, less detail in images are perceived. Director of Photography Bobby Byrne argues that although high definition cameras proce
ss sharp images, they aren't sharp enough to satisfy a veteran cinematographer's needs. He essentially had to use the HD monitor getting the direct feed as a viewfinder in order to set shots. Another disadvantage to HD is when shooting on sets, it is more difficult to control individual light units. However, once filmmakers can precisely control the scattering of light particles, the images will become more dramatic and give the viewer the desired 'filmic' look.The number of HDTV viewers is expected to be 45 million by 2008. New cameras such as Oakley's RED ONE Camera are able to handle 4k compression resolutions. Although many people thought that George Lucas' Star Wars Episode II (which was shot entirely in HD) would ruin film, the artistic medium continues to be used today. HD might have it's disadvantages, but it outweighs film when it comes to image clarity, stock cost, instant computerized playback and editing, high quality audio recording and long camera runs.
The Genesis Digital Camera system is a new addition to the high definition revolution. It is designed with an "electronic intermediate" in mind, utilizing a unique gamma and colorimetry that enables seamless intercutting with most 35mm film emulsions. It can run up to 50 frames per second, which gives the user more flexibility in recording speed. It's a 12.4 megapixel camera that emulates the same depth as 35 millimeter, a remarkable step in merging digital with film technologies!
Like the Genesis, the Red One camera system takes advantage of Super 35 mm sized digital processing. It's also equipped with 12 megapixels, and can shoot up to 60 frames per second. A new advancement is selective focus, which before could only be found on film cameras. While closely working with Apple, Red technology is
able to dish out 4k/2540p/1080p/720p/480p resolutions, with the options available. One of the largest advantages to shooting film and television in HD is that shots can be edited immediately after being recorded, giving the cinematographer and director exactly what they want before moving on to the next shot.Part of the advantages to both film and high definition mediums are that they will continue to coexist despite their competition. According to Toronto based cinematographer John Holosko, they aren't mutually exclusive.
It's an evolution of technology", said John Gault, Panavision's senior vice president of advanced digital imaging. "It's not going to go backwards that I can imagine."
