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Digital Cinema
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Kodak Displays Array of Technologies at NAB Conference
By Myrna Tobisoo
Apr 26, 2006, 15:52
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Kodak is highlighting an array of advances in film and hybrid postproduction technologies here at NAB 2006. The company is showcasing a new high-tech hardware platform for the KODAK VISION2 HD System, which is designed to enhance both creative flexibility and efficiency in television production. Additional demonstrations will include the latest software versions of the KODAK Look Manager (KLMS) and KODAK Display Manager (KDMS) Systems. The exhibit also features an array of film images on HD monitors.
The Kodak exhibit features an array of film images recorded on KODAK VISION2 16 and 35 mm films being displayed on high-definition monitors. A sampling of the images were recorded on the newest emulsion to the KODAK VISION2 family of films. KODAK VISION2 50D 5201/7201 color negative film is optimized to capture high-contrast images in either bright, natural sunlight or artificial 5,500 degrees Kelvin daylight. It can also be used in light with mixed color temperatures. The new emulsion is available in all popular formats.
The KODAK VISION2 HD System was introduced at the 2005 NAB conference. It is designed to enable cinematographers to use one emulsion which can be manipulated in postproduction to emulate the tone and color imaging characteristics of other existing and some discontinued color negative films. The system includes a specially designed, scan-only film that features an extended dynamic range and latitude, and a digital processor. It can now be rated at exposure indexes (E.I.) of 100, 320 or 500, and is available in 16 and 35 mm.
The enhanced HD System hardware platform that is debuting at NAB includes improvements that make the system more versatile and efficient, easier to switch between suites in a facility, and includes new film looks such as black and white and various photo-chemical processes. The system will be available to the marketplace in July, and will support the latest version of the KODAK Look Manager System, which allows custom looks to be created and imported into the system as electronic LUTs (look up tables).
The new hardware platform will also be used to support the latest version of the KODAK Telecine Calibration System (TCS). The TCS is designed to ensure that subtle details in highlights, shadows, contrast and colors are retained when the negative is scanned and converted to digital video during postproduction. Snyder notes this makes is easier for operators to switch between suites and telecines in a facility.
The KODAK Display Manager System V4.0 and Kodak Look Manager System V2.0 are also on display at the Kodak booth at NAB. KLMS is designed to allow cinematographers to pre-visualize and manage film looks from preproduction through postproduction. The software-based system locks the picture data into an exportable file, which can be accessed by other system users to ensure accurate communications in a collaborative environment. Precise calibration ensures that the cinematographer, editor, director and various collaborators working on a project are seeing the same nuances in images on viewing devices. It is available for Windows, IRIX and Mac OS X platforms.
The KODAK Display Manager System automatically calibrates various electronic display devices to accurately represent the look of print film. The system ensures that collaborators working on motion picture film projects are consistently seeing identical images regardless of locale or equipment. KDMS consists of proprietary software and an easy-to-use monitor calibration sensor. Incorporating Kodak color science technology, the system utilizes custom 3-D look up tables (LUTs) allowing CRT, LCD, standard- and high-definition monitors, and digital projectors to emulate the look of images recorded out to Kodak print films.
The exhibit also showcases a postproduction system jointly developed by Kodak and Barco. Scientists at the two companies have collaborated on a Barco digital cinema projector using proprietary color filters from Kodak. The system can be used to more fully and accurately record the range of colors captured in the film negative on the digital master. Images are being projected from a Barco DP-90 Digital Cinema projector onto a 16:9 screen.
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