Jacob Fenn and Professor Thomas Russell, Media Arts

The current age brings with it a wealth of adaptations and evolutions in film-making, most stemming from new digital methods which slowly supplant the time-honored celluloid. I chose to focus in my research at the changing world of digital imaging acquisition and one of its primary shortcomings. Dynamic range, or the ability to capture a wide gamut of lights and darks, has long been a telling sign of digital photography. Film is generally cited as having a much larger dynamic range. My purpose in doing this research was to discover what methods, if any, the industry is implementing to widen the latitude, or dynamic range, of current digital video cameras.

It is interesting to research a topic which evolves so rapidly due to the pressing nature of technological advancement. Significant changes have appeared since the inception of this idea, and cameras even exist now which implement the very notion I had proposed. Oakley has produced a camera called the EPIC, whose HDRx (HDR meaning High Dynamic Range) boasts an incredible 18 stops of dynamic range. This is unprecedented in the world of digital cinematography.

I traveled to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) convention to present my ideas to many of the industries leaders in these technologies. What I most found is that many people had not considered the idea and seemed taken back when they considered its implications. Truthfully, this shocked me. I did encounter one presentation there which used still digital cameras to capture images at different exposures, combine them, and produce video at a low frame rate. This is similar to my idea, but rather than create an HDR video camera, it is using the old techniques familiar to still photography and creating video from it. My search was not in vain, however. I was able to encounter there ideas very similar to what I had proposed. The Phantom is a camera capable of capturing at a very high frame rate. The idea I found at NAB was to use this camera to take images at varying exposures which, when combined, could still easily maintain the standard rate of 24 frames per second. This, of course, would introduce other issues of motion artifacting, and shutter speeds would have to be high to maintain a consistent image (which in turn would produce an uncomfortable motion aesthetic) but the idea was similar to my thoughts. Unfortunately the knowledgeable members of the research team behind the Phantom were not available at NAB and those there representing Phantom cameras were more involved in marketing and did not grasp the idea.

I was able to speak with a number of people involved in the industry, and their responses were very mixed. Some had previously considered ideas like mine, and those conversations were quite rewarding. I was told by one that he didn’t see any point in incorporating the idea and that it was a waste of time. This was surprising because, as I mentioned, the limited ability to capture a wide dynamic range is a well-known limitation of digital cameras. Despite some negative feedback, time has proven the validity of the idea. As mentioned above, there is a camera which implements a technology nearly identical to what I had proposed. The Epic’s HDRx is still a new and somewhat guarded technology, but the process, simply described, is this: The camera captures a general image at a normal exposure, and then a much faster shutter for retaining the highlights by restricting the amount of light allowed into the camera. These two images can be combined in the camera itself, or manipulated and merged later on for more precise blending of the two exposures.

I was also able to spend a portion of the summer on set with the person responsible for understanding the digital technologies behind creation of the film—the digital imaging technician. I spoke with him frequently about my project and learned a great deal from watching him work. This, along with application of the principles discussed in my proposal on incorporating the ideas from the world of still photography, dramatically increased my understanding of the digital post process and how an HDR post-production pipeline could fit into the current industry processes.

More than anything, doing this research proved to me that keeping up with emerging technologies in this field is a challenging, but enjoyable business. I was able to make several friends in the industry and get a good handle on where things stand in the world of digital cinematography. I found that many prominent people in the field are lacking in a technical knowledge or knowhow in this new and intimidating world of digital production. This, more than anything, was the real-world benefit of my research. It boosted my confidence enormously in my understanding of current technologies and showed me the large need which exists right now for people competent in digital workflows. I was able to incorporate much of the knowledge gained in this research into a conversation with the Visual Effects Supervisor of Walden Media where I was able to see the process in detail on their latest film (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and discuss and understand the technology with him in person for several hours. While not an example of a direct application of dynamic range technologies, my understanding gained from this research enabled me to have the conversation.

This rapidly-evolving field is an exciting one to be involved in, and I thank all those involved in the ORCA grants, including my faculty mentor, for this opportunity to explore more in-depth into an area I love. The experience was a very positive one.