Kodak Highlights Breakthroughs In Film And Hybrid Technologies At NAB Confab

14-Apr-04

Kodak is showcasing an array of dramatic breakthroughs in film and postproduction technologies at the annual National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference. The company is demonstrating the Kodak Look Manager System and Kodak Display Manager System, their advanced family of color negative films, and innovative post-production tools designed to provide more creative freedom and control for visual storytelling. ""Film is the overwhelming medium of choice for the vast majority of narrative content produced for television because it offers a dream-like quality that simply cannot be matched by electronic images,"" says Robert Mayson, General Manager and Vice President of Image Capture for the Kodak Entertainment Imaging Division. ""We have made significant advancements in film and hybrid technologies that enable filmmakers to create more compelling stories that endure as valuable assets."" Mayson notes that modern and traditional tools pioneered throughout the years can utilize the advanced technology that Kodak is featuring at the NAB conference. ""Pundits predicted the end of film when Ampex introduced the first video camera some 50 years ago,"" he says. ""More than 70 video standards have subsequently been introduced, and each of them has been made obsolete with hardware improvements. Film can still be used with any generation of cameras, telecines or other equipment."" The company is demonstrating the Kodak Look Manager System. The system allows cinematographers to create, pre-visualize, communicate, and manage film looks from preproduction all the way through postproduction, explains Chris Wheeler, Worldwide Product Manager of Hybrid Products for the Kodak Division. The software-based system enables cinematographers to determine the best method in creating desired looks for film-originated projects. The look designed for any scene can be locked into an exportable file, which can be easily shared with other system users around the world to produce the desired look in a collaborative environment while viewing consistent images that maintain the creative intent. Individual film frames can also be printed and used as a visual reference. Once a look is set, the system will deliver uniform results on many display devices, including computer monitors, standard and high-definition video, and film and digital projectors.""We are harnessing Kodak's unique and incomparable expertise in film, digital, and hybrid motion imaging science and color technologies to give cinematographers extraordinary creative control,"" says Wheeler. ""The system is currently being tested, and we plan to make it available to the marketplace this summer."" Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., is also demonstrating the Kodak Display Manager System with its Lustre V2.0 system on both a monitor and a digital projector in its suite at the conference. The Kodak Display Manager System consists of a calibration tool and proprietary software that automatically adjusts images displayed on a computer monitor to simulate the film look. The Kodak Display Manager System and Kodak color science technology are also being shown in the Kodak booth.The Kodak exhibit also features a diverse range of scenes produced with the new KODAK VISION2 Color Negative Films displayed on high-definition television monitors. The new generation of films leverages advances in emulsion technology to render finer grain images with a wider range of latitude for recording nuances in both shadows and highlights. They also feature enhanced color and contrast, as well as efficiencies for both optical and digital postproduction. The new palette includes color negative films optimized for exposure indexes of 100, 200, and 500 in tungsten light, and a specialized 500-speed film designed to record a more subdued range of contrast and color saturation. The new films are available in all popular formats, including 35 mm, Super 16, 16 mm, and Super 8. Part of the demonstration includes a test produced by NFL FILMS that compares Super 16 film and digital images displayed on HD monitors. The demonstration includes side-by-side comparisons that run the gamut of production situations captured with film and high-definition, NTSC and PAL format video cameras. The test scenarios include interior and exterior dramas, nature and action sequences. ""This exhibit provides convincing evidence that content produced in Super 16 format will satisfy the highest expectations for future HD display,"" says Maryann Mendel, Product Manager for the Kodak Entertainment Imaging division. ""Advances in films, cameras and postproduction technologies are fueling a renaissance in the use of Super 16 mm film. Budget-conscious filmmakers are opting for the creative flexibility and affordability of the format."" Additionally, research technology from Kodak will demonstrate images processed with a proprietary Kodak algorithm. This algorithm enhances film images while maintaining sharp, crisp edges. ""This is just another exploratory research tool for future-proofing film images,"" notes Mendel.The KODAK Telecine Calibration System (TCS) 1002-V is also featured in the exhibit. This system is designed to transfer highlights, shadows, contrast, and color as the cinematographer intended during original photography when the negative is scanned and converted to digital files in the telecine. Mendel explains that the advanced Kodak technology employed by the TCS provides a repeatable way for cinematographers and colorists to communicate, and ensures nuances recorded on the negative are retained during telecine transfer. New features such as exposure control, scene illuminant, fine color adjustment and remote user interface have been added to the system. The KODAK TCS System also incorporates Kodak's proprietary color management software. ""Recent customer feedback indicates a shift at the telecine stage from spending less time amending the technical transfer to focusing more time on creating the `look,'"" says Mendel. ""Stop by the booth to see what many customers have to say about the advantages the KODAK TCS offers.""""We have been listening to our customers and have developed these exciting new film, digital and hybrid technologies that gives them the creative flexibility they want, while enabling to work with a truly archival medium,"" says Mayson. ""We believe the advances we are making will further broaden the quality gap between film and digital image capture, and improve the postproduction process for television. Our commitment to the future of film is open-ended.""For more information, visit www.kodak.com/go/motion.

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