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Th. r.nodion Sodoly o/ Gn0110f<91:opi>M .., f..,titJ ir>l957 byo !1Joupof """'~ Mon•eol onJ on-, ........... Sina men over 800~ 0111! ,.,.., in osso<ioted ocwpoti«ls hovr ;o;.~ lilt · olion. o.rm=:,.. ,_,tli,r.tm oM rideo ccmmWJity in oil ten prO'I'itKts. o"' o1m conms to bo to ptomoto onJ foster dJo ,..,. o/ cintmo~o!llrr ond lilt ;,,.,., of tbe (Oill1f!iorr &m on/ video
-:;:e,.,. "" Msemioolion oM exchooge of ttcbniaJI il!/oc~-0111! ..Jo.WN lo odWJll(f lilt lnow/""f" onJ stvM of"" rnernl...s wiillia lilt inJvslty. As on • lion dtJicllff<l mlurthffltig rec~~ we I'IJGimoin Wff1«t witl> • ...,.... .. gtO<ipS .. Cilll ~ bot btm oo fl'$ticol oc """' ol/iliolion. esc EXECUTIVI PrrsiJMt: Joon Hutton Gt
.X•hf'SiJaot I.JJnca Corlsoo r,.,.. ... , fh1;p fomshaw "' Seaetwy: JoM lldosko <K Membeilllip: Jim Melcor csc 1\Jb/ic telations: Rid!ord Hocgtl fiiXofion: Jolm Linclsoy II«N.dirrg Seatlor): (,..lney Grohom /llemberslrop ioquiried 16-%6· 5013 CORPORATE SPONSORS A<1n Tedmol>gy Group lrx. Agio Anloo/Bouor Appled llooro00 Alri (onodo Ud. Ooeq~ Oairmnt Camero Dl( loi>ocolories Dav;d J. Woods Ptododions In<. deluxe toronto hrj; ltlolo Rim C.nodo Inc Gree((cwn Hd> Jodi lq....,.lll<ohn HOiwood (omee" \ Imago Geor/ Gnolssl lmox Corporalion Kil~ Molion Pldureslld. Kilo flo Kodak C.nodolnc. leeRllrB lornt lol>hom Sales ' .... ~. Max~l <Onodo Medoli;,..PIA MPI Produmoos M!rs<o Mol;le Ugh~ Ud. llolionol R1111 lootd (loroniOI O.Lt (onodo Osrom S~YOrio l1d.lllit ,._ r.OO'risiooCanodo r.romounl Ptod0<10ns Support ill<. Precision Camero IS l'roclurion lorvkes Ouonl~ Inc. Rosco laboro1ories The lllooo Silop SimYrdto lobo Post & Grom Sony of Conodo ud. llrood Uahtino Conodo w.ru .. (....Jo The Plo&r<er's liMe Yrdtos<opo lid. w..,.., Woll;om f. Wlmolld. esc OFFICE C.nodlon SodoiY of Onemol,..ph.> Adrninktrotor. Wn Sorond!uk 231 (orfaw A><. S.>1o 603 bonto, Onlario M4M 2SS Tel416-466·5013 ""' 416-266·3996 Edit«: DoooW Aogus f41or·ir>OW.t Joaa K- csc
(S( MEWS is o pubic•ion oldie Conodioo Sodtly of OoemCIIogr~on. (I( NEWS is printed ia T01onlo oDd IS pA.Iistled ten ~meso yeot Subsc:riplions ore na~oble for S7S.OO por yeor in C.nodo ond S9S.OII per yoor oulsidt tho <ouolry.
Cooodion Plrblicolions Moil hodud ~" lgr-1111 Mo. 4m23.
Electronic Cinematography 'Film is the Yofdstick'
Technically Speaking Innovative Lighting
Kim Derko Split Screen Personality
Domino Oigitol Film System
Film Clips Gemini and ASC Nominations
Action/ CSC Calendar
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5
6
10
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Cover Photo: Teren1e Gorender (Wilh thanks to Camero Systems & lighting Int.)
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'Film is the Yardstick,' Says Sony
TORONTO- A new CBC-TV series now In producllon is the first in Canada to be shot entirely on Digital Betaca m cameras, which Tedmical Producer Jake Werner said was "the only piece rnlsslng from the la.tgest digital video production - the world"- th~t CBC-10ronto Broadc Ce tre.
Tlle comedy ~rlcs, DNitl Wom1111 Kent 73 Ca~. began ~hooting Feb. llat t h~ RrQadcast Centre and will begin air~~~~~~ lo_ tile fall. It Is written and directed • ~ illukleman, who also sta as 111 ~rlllJ news director, an produc:'l!d,IW "'*" Meyboom.
DOP joan Hutton esc, who shot th ~-omedy series Married Life tor Fi~eman and Meyboom, said the Ita dheld (ameras-the new Sony 0 ¥-700 models-"pve the series the docu ntary fed we're looking foT, and ~e Digital Betacams really approach the loolr. of film.
"It's uetllon ol 1amJn8 ~ parameters o 1 we sbool;; and so far It has been impressive/ added llu tton, awa rd -winning documentary film cinematographer.
Sim Video of Toronto, Canada's largest Betacarn rental facili ty, supplied the Sony cameras, which enable first-generation 4:2:2 component digital images to be used in post-production. The series will be recorded on digital tape, onlined on Digital Betacam, with offline editing on a non-linear system.
•rttc pictu res from the Digital Lletacam have far exceeded our expectations," said Werner. "The picture quality is more like film than video. The control over the image we have with lhis ca mera makes conventional
filters and colour correction unnecessary:"
Meanwhile, el~whcre in the world of vid<o ...
o rimttry, resolution, and highlight handling when compared to the transferred 525-line telecine digital output. It does not lay claim, however, to producing the legendary ' film
The Search for 'Film Look ' look,' which remains bound up with -"'fWrty-five millimetre motion- those secondary imaging characteris~e film h the yardstick for quality tics exclusive to 35rnm and 16mm imag lsltlon ln':l!Jgh-end tclevi- film such as 24 frames/sec, shuttered sion J_>rograrn l.!;'d conuaerdal Pfvu'u"'...t capture, and fi lm grain. lion.• 'fhe DVW-700 offers high-quality,
So begin f techniCAl jiaper by first-generation 4:2:2 I O-bit image Sony exea.tlves l.allft'nef' }. Thorpe capture with a battery-operated, highand Aklo Tak~uchl pre1ented at the ly compact, and mobile integrated SMPT£ Technk:al Conference and camcorder. This Image quali ty has a World Media. Expo In Las Angeles on 'look' of Its own-one that is anticiOct. 13, 19H, U13 !eproduced In .the paled to extend creative options for january, 191116, l:i5Ue of tile Sa.tPn: those seeking a distinct imagery for journal. special program content and televi-
Thc p1p1r Is too ~ JO reprint in sion commercials. Electronic and film full In tbe ~~bu&. tbe intrc>- cinematography will be Important ductlon an4! are ~ lnlir· ics in an era of exp<ul.ding;!;£~1 estlng view of thel&"DF.~n& 4et* 01r .lkCii<NiiC' d of en -film veaunlded. ment, educatiOn, al).4 1Dfoa11at1<>n
"Tlle ~=lor a viable eledlbnlc ~mmln& anpiellf:U n clnema11081aj'lhy alternative was lnlfl. I:!Pmercla'l and ~I pro.ducatal almlllt 20 yPn .1110· but ftoun- ;:dCialr dered ~II. s~piflc:lllt technologlaq Bf#tteen P.ll"-~jtr, 'ItlofP.! (vlce~sta~ of dlat wne, • the article con- p e. t of Br~st t!iunc~VS til'lbe~~. , thctiOJ&k: tqwg~ng Son COrp., ~onn>alc, NJ.) and ami record ng n~ hUe !k<ucl (vice- ~CIIIIIt Gf'Bioa ast advanced at an unp tcci ~ oduct CO., Sony , nagawa-during the pa~t decade. ""· japa )~ted their condu-technical breakthrough~ have finally sion: produced an all-digital, one-piece "Following a convoluted and fitful camcorder, Incorporating advanced 20-year hi~tory, the question might CCD imagers, full high-speed DSP still be asked: what is electronic cinecamera processing, and a robust l<}·bit matography and what does it mean to 4:2:2 miniature VTR. Electronic cine- traditional film cinematography? matography Is an important new real- l'erhaps the on ly sensible answer to ity. the first part of the question is that EC
.,.he DVW-700 digital camcorder is an electronic ul-qulsltion system ranks with 35mm motion- picture film that might be readily emhrac•d by a in the primary imaging characteristics film product ion crew, provided it o f sensitivity, dynamic range, col- meets basic criteria to which they are
CSCNfWS 3
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accustomed. EC allows capture of a
look different from the rum look, but a look of special value to cenain prolects nevertheless. l11e EC system <hnrrld produce a first-generation digital 4:2:2 recording having an overall quality at least as good as that from
the output of a 525-llnc lelcclne transferring a h igh-qua li ty 35mm film origination, at least In terms of the primary imaging capture characteristics.
• As to what EC means to film cin
ematography, the answer Is >urely th~t it should be sulficicntly diHercnt in th~ imagery it produc~~ to warrant its consideration as a creative ultcrna· live to film. The decision of wh ich form of cinematography is applicable
to a given project, whether It be entertainment program production, documentary, wildlife and natural history, or television commercial production, should be determined solcly
by Issues or script/storyboard, desired imagery, special effects, and the creative aspi ra tions of the program d irector and cinematographer.
"The a rriva l of the al l-d igital, component, one-piece camcorder is the culmination of a long quest to
achieve a versatile production tool that might ind<'Cd auract the atten· lion of program producers, directors, directors of photography, and cinematographers. It is believed th~t the many projects now being performed by the DVW-700 will demonstrate a ~lgnlflcant fulfi lment of expectations.
'I he unique image capture capabilities described in this 1:oaper, when com· bined with the wonderful creativit)' of the experienced film cinematographer, should reveal a powerful new tool for expanding creative versatility.
"What is unquestionable is the role played by the long hi>tory of 3Smm fil m imaging in establishing the high-perfonmoncc goa ls and specific design criteria for the world's first all-digital component video camcorder.•
(For USSIO, a copy of the January/96 issue of the SMPTF.
Journal may be requested by writing: The SMI'TE Journal, 595 West Hartsdale Ave., White Plains, N.Y. 10607) .
TECHNICALLY BY LANCE CARLSON
I lww bee11 promisillS tilt etlitor to help ron tribute to tl1e teclmiall co11tmt o{ the CSC News, so tl1e {ollowill.~ piece (rom my ow11 experie11ce is 11 protot)1H' of wlwt I lwpe will become 11 r~gultiT column-1k lmically Speakiug-wlittC/1 by various member cinemalogrnplu•rs. We would likr J'Otl to share with ,., an innovative solution, ~-ours or somtiQm~ flse's; to n tee/mimi challenge yo11 llaw {aero. You tloll't ""'"'to IN a writrr or <pend a lot of /llllf asouizing Ol'ef II key/JOOrd; jUSt SC/111 )'OIIr mrmory for illlm-stlug solutions to spt•cla/ problems rmri plume liT {ax Editor Doll A11gus at (416) 964-0386 wit/1 11
sltort outline or a {rw tlllle> 1111d, after 11
quick ttlepllO/Ie interview if nrcessnry, lr~· 'll tum t'Our arrormt into an opus. I tlli11k tllis corlld become a popular adcli· tion to tire magaz;ne.
Umming Scared: Ligllting a /Joy in a Cflina SIIOfJ
f.ven with Steadicams and truck· loads of lights (on conunercials and many features, for example), I have always been a bit bothered by running shots in which there Is obvious overcranking o r in which actors are slowed down in o rder to extend the shot and give the editor more than a few seconds of believable material to cut. These shots lack what I consider a believable energy level. The chal· lenge I faced was shooting a 10-yearold boy runni ng for hi s life in a dark· ened gallery of the ltoya I Ontario Museum. We didn't h:1ve Steadicams and a truckload of lights, in part because budget problems arc not a new phenomenon. The film stock wa~ 724 7 at I 00 ASA, which also did· n't give us the luxury of today's high · speed stocks.
We were shooting a drama tic short- the story of an adventurous 10-year-old boy who hides out in the ROM after closing time. His curiosity evolved into full fright as shadows and noises and his active Imagination began to convince him that he was being pursued by so met hlng very big
and very ominous. Hence the necessity of a full-out running shot through the Chinese GaUery, with a variety of swords, axes and scary helmeted faces in the background. What I hoped to accomplish was a seric> o f 15· to 20· second shots repeatable In at least two different frame size>, which were believable and cuttable and with enough exposure so that they were abo vl'ible.
Flm, our tracking mcchanl~m was the o ld reliable wheelchair (thousands of good tracking shots have been made from wheelchairs). The particular spin here was that in some of the shots we wanted the boy run· ning towards us, so the chair (with me In It, of course) had to be propelled backwards. The >trong-armed A.D. da lmed the abil ity to do this, so my life was in h is hands. And crashes into priceless displays were not acceptable either. Rehearsals started slowly and built up to a workable speed. The next challenge was light· ing 11. A sungun on the camera would have resulted in a basic exposure on the boy but would have been too comtant for realism. My 10 assorted I K quartz lights and lnklcs would have enabled me to create several pools of light for him to run through, but not much accent or set lighting on the background.
Simple Solution I devised a simple, almost primi·
live solution, a variation of which I would still consider today In a similar >ituatlon. I instructed the gaffer to hang a space blanket with pebble sur· face from a grip arm on a Mole Richardson stand, the one with castors which ''an roll relatively smooth ly across a floor. A I K quartz light clamped to the leg of the stand was bounced off the blanket, which was allowed to flap around a bit to create fluctuations in the light. The resulted In a key/fill light wh ich was off-camera and was con trollable to a degree by
maintaining distance from the boy, who was able to run full ' J>Ced. The variations in light becatue the blanket was allowed to flop around a bit creatl'<i an effect which was low-key, soft-edged and unpredlctaiJlc. If photography is pai nting with light, th is may have been a Little like running full tilt through the museum with a half can o f paint without getting any on the expensive displays.
Tile real challenge was the choreography o f keeping the mobile light approximately abr·east or the camera and strategically placed cable pullers reeling In the AC. Not to mention kccplng the gaffer or wheelchair dri· ver from crashing into <>ach other or any priceless exhibits. 111e balance of my lighting package was then utilized to add slashes of light and shadow to J the background and even some kick· ·l! light o n the boy at a couple of spots. j! The cfncicncy of this setup enabled us } to actually repeat the selling in sever· · · al galleries within the overnight l
rector with
lighting challe"9ts call for innovative soluttoes.
more than enough material which was useable, believable a nd also matched the exdtement level he was trying to achieve. Audio was, of course, recorded du ring separate rehearsa ls without the horde of crew and equipment tagging along. e
CSCNfWS s
An interview with Kim Derko
By Don Angus
t oronto filmmaker Kim Dcrko sa)"> she rinds herself in a ~trangc place. She I< both "cincmntograrher and
director, with eloquent cred its in each. She lives >Uccessfully in a world of artistic cro5owver, with a method in
her creativity that revolve\, like it or -1 not, cuound being a woman. j " I think I will continue to be ~ both," she told esc New>, "but 1 realJl " ly have made up my mind that! much l prefer doing cinematography to being
FIRST LOVI: Fdmmahr Kim Derko says she preftfs <inemalagraphy lo dirediog.
6 CSCNfWS
a director at this point. I guess I've
ll<'Cn doing cinematography longer <mel feel more comfortable doing that. And I can have a lot more fun.
" I feel very challeng<'<l by every joh, but I have a lot to learn as far as dramatic directing goes. Music videos and cornmerclals arc mostly where
I've done the crossover thing, and I've kind of carved out a niche for my>clf there that will hopefully enable me to ~hoot more feature films, which I>
really what I want to do.
"So it's kind o f a strange place to find myself."
Part of the strangenc~~,
Ed rno n ton-born Derko, 34, explained, Is that "people arc much more willing to S('e me In the role of director than they arc to sec me in the role or cinematographer. I think they see director as a totally viable, natural position for wom~n at thi s point In 1996." Perhaps women cinematographers are considered to be viable, too, she conceded, but "somehow there just seem to
be fewer women." At the Toronto Women In Film
Awards last yea r, she said, joan llullon esc and <he were the on ly ci nematographers, and ~he calculated that you could count women dire<:tors of photography in all of Canada on your fi ngers.
How docs one keep that In per~IJe(.tive·?
Political Imprint "I thin~ cinematographers are
artists, • Derko defined, "and I think
every person who Is an arth t leaves an impri nt tha t could be pol itica l. Certainly, being women in traditional
ly male dominated fields is a political
issue, but that for me is not the driving force which makes me want to be a cinematographer.
"I'm not going to put a big banner on my work to say that I've done shows for the National Film Board that were about child custody, for example, and that it wa:. an allwomen crew. I think those documentaries worked well because the IX'Ople who \'\'ere being interviewed were
women who felt more comfortable in
that situation. I think that's smart crewing up, but you ca n't have women shooting only documcl,tarics about child custody either."
Derko, ~chooled at the Emily Carr College of Art and Dc>ign in Vancouver and the NfB in Montreal, said her career from focus-puller to shooti ng Independent Canad ian drama, short fil ms and commercials
UH HUH HUH: Among Kim Derko's many commercial credits was this one on !Ms Impersonators for a piua spot.
AVANT GARDE: Riding dally, Kim Derko coplutes a "day man• for a dance fllm.
CSCNEWS 7
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Briti ... h ( "olumhi.1. ( .m.ula. \ 3( JL~
l'h :o hll~1 2'1S-.122~ ~ " 1 W~ I 2'JS-2112 I
has been a gradual path to wards her
goal of doing more feature film work.
"In the meanthnc, I've dug out this
niche in commercial and mu~ic video
work where it's acceptable for a cine
matographer to be the director. That
ha< been, in a very practical sense, a
place where I t·an fit in t·omfortably
without having to do a huge political
job convinCing everybody that I'm as good as ....
"Then you get the odd fll m call,
like: "Hi, we're looking for someone to
shoot a show, and we'd really like a
woman to do lt.' When I hear that,
the first thing I say is: 'Have you seen anything I've done?"'
What Derko has done is impressive_
Her 27-minute Book u{ Knive>
played at the To ronto International
Film l'estival la; t year, her third entry
since 1988. She has been behind the
lens for a string of other fe1tival fea
ture> and sh ort>, including judith
Ooyle'< Wasa.~a and th e half-hour
drama Cmcuo directed by Ramiro
l'uena. Among her many other shoot
ing credits are the 35mm feature U11der
My Sk/11 for Bootleg Fil ms (screened on
Tite Movie Network) and the one
hour drama E1101~~~~ is EnOII!ill for Isis Productions.
Th~ \WII-reccived Book o{ Knives
links seven psychiatric case<> dating
from 1905 to tell the story of a mod
ern-day woman who has murdered
her pla>tic surgeon. The To ron to Star's
Sid Adilman call ed it "a riveting short
drama about women's madnC'Ss treat
ed over the years by bnotallzlng medicill technology."
Women and Technology It was the combination of women
<~nd tec hnology that compelled L>erko
to make the film. "All of th• sewn
cases deal in some way with motion
picture technology or imaging tech
nology. r researched real ca~cs that
were ei ther don11n•nt~'d on film o r somehow involved new-at-the-time
medical imaging technologies. What
really got me Into this wa) that the
very flr~t motion picture documenta
tion of patients In North America was
in a Roston hospital in 1905." 'I he hospital had 400 epileptic
patients, Derko related, and one of the
doctors decided to try to document
cas<>s of epileptic fits on lilm. He h ired a cameraman, l>ut he couldn't film patients In the hospital because it was too dark. "So the doctor agrees reluctantly to take 400 people outside to the yard on a sunny day and remove their clothes. They all stand there and a~ soon as one of them has a fit, the cameraman runs over and catches them. In o ne day, he fi lmed 21 cases of epilepsy. And the doctor immedi· ately became the leading expert on epilepsy in America/'
Each of the seven case h istories is d ramatiscd in /look 0( Knives, with "a lot of I ice nee to link them together, and we go from one decade to the next with the ~amc actress (Tracy Wright) thrOIJ8hOut the hundred years of technology-lobotomy, dec· troshock thNapy, plastic surgery ....
•we tried to shoot everything with something Inherently 'tylistically traditional from the period that we were doing. So we were playing with black· and-while film SIOCk, really pushing the limits of It a nd trying to fake the h;md·cr<m kc<.l look. When we came to the '70s )JCriod, we were trying to shoot what I would describe now as really badly. We were looking at Lou Grant on TV. OK, let's usc some fog fil. ters, let's usc hlgh-spc<'d film, let's have It a bit magenta, let's have some uncorrected fluorescent lights in here.
•we were 1rying to imitate different historical cinematic attributes. It was fun, but not something that I would be able to necessarily do if I was working for someone else. That's where directing give' me it hig rope to hang myself with a~ a ~hoot er."'
This ,;old, Dcrko paused to reflect on her senllmcnts about cinematographers as artists.
• 1 think they arc compelled to make image.) chat relate to the concepts or the shows they're involved in, whether It's a commercial or a drama. You're still trying to make an image which is totally relevant to the idea of the story or the ad, or whatever. So I think that cinematographers really do '"''ork tow;;ards havtng a kind of understanding of what directing is about, because your work I< totally connected to it.•
Not such a strange place after all.e
Clainnont Camera is on the
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Please call our Toronto or Vancouver offices for a demo. Sim Video -lid. 456 Weftir9!on SU... W!SI T OfoniO, I)'Jiano M5V1E3 Td: (4t6) 919-9958 f3)(:(416)979-7n0
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CSC NEW$ 9
Digital Opticols lor Movies
The Domino digital film system from Quante] Inc.
introduced at Command Post & Transfer and at
. lS
Medallion/PFA Film & Video on March 11. Here, Ernie
Medori, Vice-President, Engineering, at Command Post
Group, describes what Domino can do. BY ERNIE MEDORI
' T irtually all of the sophisticated V tools available for years in the television world are now available in the film realm.
Taking advantage of the latest
Artist ot Domioo 4x4 worltstotion.
advances in digital technology, Quantel has designed a system that lets creative people have almost
10 CSCNEWS
unlimited la titude in achieving film effects that otherwise arc either very expensive or impossible to do. Uomino is a nlm-in, film-out digital system that produces results that are
loss-free and match the quality of the original input material. Clips can be played back at any point of the process, allowing for quick changes to be made.
Here are some examples o f the sorts of things that can be achieved with the Domino system:
Blue Screen and
11 Compositing ~ Live over live
composites using traditiona l techniques have always been d ifficul t. Now the final result ca n be seen in!\tantly and cor
rected as required. Keys can be set to separate subjects from the blue (or other colour) background using either luminance and/or chrominance values. Seamless blending of foreground and b<~ckground
can be <~chicved using the Softness <1nd lllur tools. "llluc spill " can be eliminated entirely.
Glass Painting Using the Stencil, Cut & Paste,
Paint and Graph ics tools, masks can be generated to create areas in the picture as "cut-outs." Again, blendi ng of two or more images is easy using the built-in toolset. Different backgrounds can be tried and changed quickly without the expense of reshooting the scene.
Image Repair Da maged frames can he fixed
q uickly and easily. Scratches, dirt and tearing ca.t be repaired by using the Airbrush tool to copy dean areas of the frame over the problen• patches. Alternatively~ if the damage is severe, adjacent clean frames can be used as material to be laye<.l back into th e problem frame.
Wire Removal Techniques used in Image Repair
can be applied to removing wires or supports in the scene rapidly. Keyframes can he established and the objects can be eliminated by having Domino track and apply corrections as required.
Picture Moving Pictures can he manipulated in
size, position, rotation, persp<"ctivc
and transparency. Control is established by setting keyframes at certain point'i (;ritkal in the nu)tion path. Rehearsal and changes are easy to do, allowing complex movements to be tracked using the Corner Pinning tool.
Colour Correction ami Manipulation
This area also allows for interactive, immediate results. There are two areas where colour can be adjusted. The first is at the input scann~r work· station, where brightness, contrast and component colour correction can be done. This is seen immediately on the high resolution video monitor. The second place that these corrections can be made is <1t the creative workstation- the Domino Bench, alternatively known as the 4x4 workstation. Matching backgrounds to foregrounds or outright colour changes are possible.
Retouching ami Rotoscoping
Paint, Chalk and Airbrush tools allow for complex retouching work by picking from the 16.7-million-colour pa lette or picking a colour d irectly from the image itself. The artist can zoom to very small portions of the image for fine detai l tc)uchups. lllur, Crisp, Wash, Tint and Shade tools can be applied with any of the bn<sh types, as well as Graphics functions (squares, gradua t~d
rectangles, elli pst'S, etc.).
Titles Hundreds of anti-aliased, different
typefaces are available. Basica lly, this is full character generation as used in television work, but at a much higher resolution. Outlines, transparent drop shadows, extrusions or embossing are all availabl~. Using the picture mov· ing facility, titles can be treated as obje<."ts for manipulation. An imated moves, zoomi ng, dissolving and roUs are all easy and interactive with no generation loss.
Special Processing Linear dissolves and fades as well
as non-lin~ar "profiles" are e<(ually easy to set up. The matting and pic· ture moving tools allow for wipes. Other tools available are: lengthening or shorteni ng of clips with smooth results, frame averaging for motion blurring effects, in tegrating and reverse or frame sequence.
Film Grain Insertion ~ecause the system adds virt ually
no noise or other artifacts, a facility has been built in to add "film grain" so that a correct match to other mate· rial can be obtained.
Aspect Ratio Conversion Ruilt-in markers show the artist
what part o f the image will be project·
cd. Conversions can be done betw<'cn Academy, full frame, anamorphic and wide 1.85 ratios. Action areas can be moved and resized if necessary to fit.
525 or 625 Video Input and Output
525 or 625 video can be im ported, resolution increased and either output to film o r back to video if necessary. The "up-res" algorith ms used are a1nong the best ava ilable, making
ordinary video look v~ry good when projected. For best results, component d igital video (Dl, DCr or Digital Betacam) should be used as there are no artifact problems like there a re in NTSC or PAL (analog or D2).
Teclmica/ Description
There are basically three compo· nents to the Domino system:
1. The Stand-alone Film Scanner 2. The ~ench or 4x4 workstation 3. The Stand-alone Film Recorder
The Stand-alone Film Scanner
This unit consists or a modified Oxberry precision pi n-registered film transport, custom optics and filters, and Quantel's digital processing cir·
Domino fUm scanner.
cuitry and d isc store. All 4 perf 3Smm formats are supported.
Th e image picku p is a watercooled, 6,000-pixel oversampling CCD device. Each film frame is scanned three times, once each fo r R, G, and 8 by rotating a filter wheel and moving the imager back and forth. Scanning time is approximately 15 seconds per frame continuous. The
CSCNEWS 11
332 Dupont Street, The Annex (entre, Toronto, Ontorio M5R 1V9 Tel: 975·2565 Fox: (416) 975-0895
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output of the imager feeds an over~ampling correlator and analog-todig•tal converter. (The output of CCD device~ Is inhrrently analog.)
l·rom there, various equalizations anti corrections are applied, conditioning the signal for the digital store. This h a fully randnm access device providing up to SO feet (800 frames) of fuU resolution (3,000 x 2.000 pixels otherwise known as '11arg(' canvas" in the <ystcm) rum images. l' rames are presented on the high resolu tion monitor a~ they nrc scanned and onequ~rtcr-srced full resolution review is po;,iblc.
Tile 4x4 Workstation Titb h the creative centre of the
Domino. Tite effects and manipulations dt'SCrlbcd earlier are all applied at this station. Working at "large canvas• (.!,()()() x 2,000 rixels) there is enough storage for two minutes of film clips. This is usually enough time to work wi th mo;t effects and titling jOb>. At "sma ll canv<~s" (1,500 x 1,000 pixels) there 1~, of course, a doubli ng of the :>tora~e time available.
Full·)peed j)layback is available on 1 his station so that creative decisions can be made rapidly and easily. This allows for a degree of experimentation that was unavililable using traditional methods.
When it comes time to archive material or to transfer it to other components In the system, a standard 01 digital tape recorder is used. The high resolution frame h broken down into a series of COil)C,utivc video frames and recorded at the rate of 3 film frames every 2 seconds. These can then he recombined with no loss or degradation whatsoever. This process i~ called Dl6, and the advantages of this approach h that standard video monitor) can be used to view the material and the tape can be "cloned" on to another standard Dt tape recorder.
Another facility Is being able to bring standard 525 or 625 material into the workstation and increasing the resolution. This allows the re-use of televl~lon commercials in tinemas, for example. Material originally prod uced In the component d igital domain will yield the best results in this rcgmu .
Of course, exportation of 52S or 625 material to digital tape from Domino is also possible. You may be thinking of other applications for this feature a~ well.
Materia l produced on externa l computer systems can be imported into Do mino via a SCSI li nk. Th is al lows one to take adv.:u11ngc of Domino's speed in compo~illng and other functions. Going back to the external computer is equally easy.
T11e Stand-.afone Pifm Uecorder
This unit is a Quantel-moclilled Solitaire fi lm recorder with Oxherry camcr:a. The transport is, of course, pin-rcgi ~tered and the optks are >electively chosen. Much work ha> been done to reduce flare in the system lor true black< and whites, making for a large dynamic range and extended re>Oiution.
As In the scanner, this unit also has an Integral disc array allowing for the storage or 50 feet (800 framC$) of Nlarge ('anvas,, pictures. By utilizing the 1>16 Interlace, up to 500 feet of material can be made available for recording.
TI1e operator's workstation has a colour calibrated, high-resolution monitor allowing the material to be reviewed before being r~'Corded hack to fi lm. We use a fine-gr;oin, slowspeed, n ega ti ve film stock (Kodak 5245).
The digital signal from the store undergoes various corrections before going to exposure control circuitry and finally to the cathode ray tube which exposes the film in three J>aS<es (R, (; and 8). It takes about 45 >econds to expose a single frame and mo"c to
the next one. Because the system is calihra tecl in
n closed loop, image geometry, resolution and colorimetry can be prcci<ely controlled and maintained. e
for (urtllrr information, contact Emif Mrtlori or Command Post or Jolm Wnlsl• nr M•dol/icm/Pf"A. Command l'ost & Tmus(er, 179 Jolm St. Toronro (416) 585-9995; Mednllion/I'I'A Film & Vicli'n, Ill Petc•r Sr. Toronto (416) .59:1-0556.
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CSCNEWS 1~
GEMINI NOMINATIONS: THE ENVELOPES, PlEASE .••
TORONTO- The win· ners of this year's Gemini Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television in 'lbronto March 1-3, but the CSC News went to bed too early to be able to give you the scoop this month. We'll have the particulars in April, if you haven't cheated and read a newspaper already.
However, we are happy to bring you the nominees in the three photography categories:
Rest Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series-Alar Kivi lo esc, Choices of' lire Neart: Tire Margmet Sarrger Story; Dick Bush, Tire Mmr in Lire Allie; Manfred Guthe esc, Tire l'ossessiarr of Michael D.; Ron Stannett esc, Louesome Dove: Tire Series ("Last Stand"); Mike McMurray esc, 1ekWar (" Promises to Keep"); Robert Saad, /l(}{ld to Avorrlea ("Th e Return to Gus Pike").
Best Photography in a Comedy, Variety, or Performing Arts Program or Series-Brad Dickson, Brian Orser: Blame It orr lire Blues; Ron Stannett esc, Makirrs Ballet; Paul Sarossy esc, Satie and Suzanne; Niko.s Evdemon esc, Adrieuue Clarksorr Preserrt.s ("The Lust of His Eye"); joan Hutton esc, Married Life ("The \Ncddlng") .
Best Photography in an Information/Documentary l'rogram or Series-liidco
14 CSCNfWS
Saito, Tibetan Book of tire Dl!lul, Part 1: A Way of Life; Lou is de Guise, Tire Natiorrai!CBC Prime Time News ("Behind the Uniforms"); Roger Williams, Forbidden Places ("Silent Witness"); Kent Nason, Tire HumatJ Race ("The IJOmb Under the World"); Gilles Guttadauria, Orr tire Road ("The Clock Doctor").
... AND ASC NOMINATIONS, TOO
Three CSC members were nominated for awards by the American Society of Cinematographers. Up for this year's ASC Award in best cinematography in a TV nl in i·scrics were J)aul Sarossy esc of 'lbronto and Laszlo George esc of Toronto and Vancouver, while john S. Bartley esc of Vancouver was in the running in the episodic series category.
Sarossy was nominated for Soir Bleu, directed by Norman jewison and starring Alan Arkin, which was part of the mtnt-seri es Picture Wintlows produced for the Showtime network in the U.S. Each of the six half-hour dramas told a story inspired by a famous painting, such as the circus setting portrayed in Soir Bleu by American realist Edward Hopper.
George was nominated for the four-hour NBC special Danielle Steel1S Zoya~
filmed on location in Budapest, l.eningrad and Montrea l.
Bartley's nomination, his second by the ASC in two years, came for his work on the episode "731" from the Vancou ver-shot Fox series Tire X-Files. Rob Bowman directed.
WESTERN CREDITS ••. Darlene Choo of lATSE
669 in Vancouver is on the job again. She filed the ASC Award nominations for john S. Bartley and Laszlo George, adding that George and camera operator Attila Szalay were down under in warm and sunny Surry Hills, Australia, shooting another instalment of /1nrt to Nart for the Family Channel, with Ch ristian Nyby Ill directing.
Darlene also reports that Richard Leiterman esc was fi lmi ng the MOW Sire Woke up f'regrrnrrt (AllC) in Vancouver for director james A. Contner .. . . Ron Orieux esc wrapped pri ncipal photography in Vancouver on Underground Ftrt.lrer: Fugitive (rom Justice and jetted to Toronto to shoot the feature Pen l'als for director Elodie Keene . .. . and lli II Wong esc of Toronto flew into Vcmcouver 10 photograph the Alliance proj ~ct
Orrce a Tlrie{, d irected by John Woo (Broken Arrow, Tile Killer, Nard Target). ShoOting was to run to the end of March.
Darlene notes that pictures currently in theatres that boast the camera skills or CSC and/or IATSE 669 m('mhPr:s. i nclurlf": A r.P
Ventura 11, When Nature Ct~lls (Warn~r 6ros.)-opcrators Attila Szalay and Wayne
MacConnell; Big Bully (Warner Bros./Morgan Creek)-operator Stephen Ca mpanelli and assistants Brad Crcasser and Larry Portmann; Happy Gilmore ( U n i versa I)-ope ra tors David Crone and joel Ransom; and Urrforgettable (MGM)-operator Randal Platt esc and assistan ts Tenzin Lhalungpa and Nicholas Watson.
Also from Vancouver, Curtis Petersen esc writes that h is Petersen Group of Companles continues in 1996 to p roduce feature films, music videos, commercials and a TV documentary series from its Vancouver and To ron to offices. Last year, Petersen was DOP on eight features, including Killing Poirrt for the USA Net work. l'al11(irrder for liallmark Entertainment
] and Sabot11ge for Imperial and Meridian Entertainment. He also shot and ~ directed second un it on Tommy Boy lor Paramount.
Rid< Brown of High Tech Eqoipmtnt Brokers beoms happily o1 on enthosioslic tomoot for the Jan. 17 demaoslration af the 13-bit digital Hitachi Z·2000 video camero. High Tech and HliO<hi c .. ndo p<o-tnd an in-depth look at the new camera, with &ghts, props and motlels, at Spot Film and Videa in Toronto.
.., l
Shuglooi Triod has beto OOtniooled for ao Atodenoy Awt~rd lor Best Athie·- · ill C'memalograp~r-d th<re's D esc , ...... , .... The film was shot by 1M Yve (fo Uv•n for clirttiDf Zhaog Yi Mou (RaiSf /he Red Lonllm), ond CSC ouo<iate mem~r P•ter Rosenfeld of Toronto was Steodi<om and l ·<omero operator on the projed for over three months lost year. In these photos, Lu Yue ond Rosenfeld (behind the camera) capture the action, while Chlnose slor Gong U performs her showgirl routine.
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Ontario MIStRIAl. (Cable Movie) HBO; Prod: Bruce Cohen; Dir: Heywood Gould; DOP: Paul Sarossy esc; Shoot: to March 31; Tel: 463-0381 PEN PALS (MOW) l'ower l'ictures; Prod: julian Marks; Dir: Elodic Keene; DOP: Ron Oricux esc; Shoot: from Feb. 12; Tel: 531-3648 THAT Ow FEUtNG (feature) Universal; Prod: TBA; Dir: Carl Reiner; 001': Steve Mason; Shoot: from April; Tel: 20:!-8660 TRILOGY OF TERROR (MOW) Power Pictures; Prod: julian Marks; Dir: TBA; DOP: TBA; Shoot: from March 18; Tel: 588-5464 1)1E f"REN<:HMAN, a.k.a. BtOODSTONE (Feature) Columbia; Prods: Moshe Diamant, jason Clark; Dir: Ringo lam; DOP: Alexander Gruszynski; Shoot: to April; Tel: (416) 406-0002
xTREM£ M£MUR£S (Feature) CastleRock; Prods: H. Grant, E. Hurley; Dir: Michael Aptcd; DOP: john !\ailey; Shoot: to end April; Tel: (416) 601-1495 t-oNG KISS GooDNIGHT (feature) juno Pix/New Line; Prod: Stephanie Austin; Dii: Renny Harlin; OOP: Guillermo Navarro; Shoot: to mid-May; Tel: (416) 364-3771
Quebec MINt«, Tele-Action; Prods: Claudio Luca, Colin Neal; Oir: Norman Stone; Shoot: TBA; Tel: (514) 524-1118 OVrRAG£ AT TAUNTON F.ttu, Telescene; Prod: Micheline <fdrant;
ir: Morrie Ruvinsky; Shoot: TBA; Tel: (514) 737-5512 ~ACJ(AL$, Films Allegro; Prods: Tom Berrie, Franco Batista; Dir: Christian Duguay; Shoot: to April; Tel: Nil; Fax only: (514) 529-7488 M ARGUERITE VOMNT, Cite-Amerique; Prod: Lorraine Richard;
ir: Charles Biname; Shoot: 2nd block, spring-summer; cl: (514) 278-8880
'(!YSTERIA, Hysteria Prods; Prod: Louise Gendron; Dii: Rene Daulder; Shoot: March IS-April 20; Tel: (514) 273-9447
ritish Columbia Th£ O ureR L IMiTS (Series), Trilogy Entertainment/Atlantis Films; Prod: Brent-Karl Clackson; Dir: various; DOP: Phil Linzey;
hoot: to May 10; Tel: (604) 299-7119 LTBRGEIST (Series) PMP for MGM/lJA; Prod: N. john Smith;
Dir:various; DOP: Brenton Spencer; Shoot: to july; Tel: (604) 291-9009 THE X-F11>es (Series) X-F Productions for Fox; Prod: J.P. Finn; ~ir: various; DOP: john s. Bartley esc; Shoot: to May;
el: (604) 983-5391 NOBODY Lrves FOREVER (MOW) Snowboard Prods for ABC; Prod: Rick Blumenthal; Dir: TBA; DOP: Richard Leiterman esc; Shoot: March-April; Tel: (f,04) 299-6300 THE S£N17NEL (Series) MEC Sentinel I Prods for Paramount;
ods: Michael lacoe, Bob llargrove; Dir: various; DOP: Tony Westman esc/John Connor (alternating); Shoot: to June 4;
el: (604) 983-5361 --------16 CSCNfWS
<1SC GA~E-NDAlR !ihed111 {-Winter/Sprln;?-MeeLg.Hl,Jd-
Even o{ lntefest to CSC M nbers
TORONTO Wednesday, March 6, 7:30 p.m.-The CSC and the Directors Guild of Canada co·hosl presenlalions by Jwo of the Sociely's dislin· guished Directors of Photography. AI the Canadian Film Cenlre, 2489 Bayview Ave. Seating is limited, so please RSVP to Susan Soronchuk al (416) 466·5013.
Monday, March 11, 7 p.m.-command Posl and Medollion/PFA present a lwa·port special preview and demanstrolion of the Ouonlel Domino digitol film system. Port 1 demo at Command Post, 179 John St., Bth·Roor reception; Part 2 lilm·Je.st screening at Medollion·PFA, 111 Peter St., 7th Roor, after which refreshments will be served.
March 21 ·24-. Hot Docs!• The 1996 screen·
ings, galas, industry conference and notional documentary awards of the Canadian Independent Film Caucus. Information: (416) 975·3977.
Saturday, March 3()-The annual CSC Awards Dinner and Gala. At the Dominion Ballroom of the Sheraton Centre Hotel.
Monday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.-Taylor Ogstan, Fuji Photo Film's new rep in Eastern
Canada, presents demos from the world's top OOPs on the newest Fuji film stocks. At deluxe sound, 424 Adelaide St. E.
VANCOUVER March 9·17-(omero Assistants Course.
Wednesday, March 2()-Arri Canada pre· sents its slote·of·the·orl cameros. See insert for time ond location.
CALGARY Monday, March 25-
Arri Canada presents its stale·of-the·art cameros. See insert for time and location. March 25-29-Comera Assistants Workshop.
Canada's Only Coast-To-Coast Full Service Company
Vancouver George MargcUos tel (604) 983-5300
Calgary Paul Roscorlal
Robin LaAamme tel (403) 279-2693
Toronto Bill Whire/
Chris Holmes k tel (4 16) 252-7171
Slnce196Z>
•
Montreal Emmanual Lepine/
Neil Ferguson tel (514) 939-1989
Halifax Scott Brooke
tel (902) 4 50-1284
WILLIAM F. WlllTE LIMITED 35mm & 16mm Cameras & Accessories- Lighting
Grip - Dollies - Generators - Studios
It could well be the most original, profoundly Then perhaps we'll chat about the huge array of
intelligent, incredibly difficult shoot e\•er attempted. Eastman films- the most extensive range of niche films
Which is probably why people get that glazed look out there. We11 explain how the digital world meets film
when you try and describe it. with Cineon Cinesite and how HDTV Telecine lets the
let's just say it's our mission at Kodak to replace that expressiveness of film stay true for tomorrow's TV.
look with one of admiration and envy. So smile smugly And at the risk of sounding immodest, we'll also
and tell them that anything's possible when you know mention that nothing beats the EXR Film System when
what resources are available to you. they're shooting for film display. In the end, they'll
Then give them our number: 1-800-GO.KODAK. We'll know that we're behind them all the way. After all, when
probably sta rt by telling them -
1 everyone's working towards the
about EXR films. Because loading • .::as mal\ same goa l, things tend to get
the best is shooting it right. Putting Ideas In motion_ done. Funny how that happens.
