HD For Indies

Time for an update on Silicon Imaging, with two big things going on:

1.) A new partnership with Iridas to use .look files all the way from acquisition through post

2.) There will be a seminar on the camera and its workflow at Abel Cine Tech LA this Friday, Nov. 3rd

(article updated Tuesday mid-day, scroll to bottom if you've already read this when first posted)

OK, so first up, the Iridas partnership. Iridas makes a variety of software tools that deal with non-destructive manipulation of an image's color, for either previewing purposes (LUTs) or color correction purposes (color correction, color grading, call it what you will). Here's the press release, but the gist of it is this:

-when you working on set with the Silicon Imaging camera, you can load a .look file (created in SpeedGrade, for instance) to preview the look of a filmout, or preview a look treatment/color correction that you like. Perhaps even both at the same time if you have it all in a single .look file.

-this means you can previsualize your shots better

-BUT since this is a non-destructive LUT, unlike other workflows where you have to "bake in" the color correciton, here it is just metadata that gets recorded with the shot - essentially you'll be storing your uncorrected shot with the instructions to color correct it side by side in the file.

-even better, since this camera is recording in Bayer pattern RAW, you'll have the maximum amount of information to play with.

-this is a SIGNIFICANT advantage over typical workflows, where in setting white point and other factors you're ditching data that you might want later, THEN applying a destructive LUT, THEN recording to a lossy compression format that may subsample the image and ditch a lot of color resolution (HDCAM, you hearing me on this one?). While the SI camera does record to a lossy format (wavelet based RAW, using Cineform's RAW codec), it is pretty efficient, and does NOT subsample (shrink the image horizontally) and it does record 4:2:2 or even 4:4:4, instead of 3:1:1.

So there is a double advantage here from an image quality standpoint - Cineform RAW recording, and recording color correction metadata with the shot that will ride with it all the way through post to final color grading.

While you can do preview LUTs using the Viper, for instance (I saw a demo of this at the DGA Digital Day), with some setups you need a LUTher box, Cinetal, or other expensive piece of hardware to do this. Not so here.

One challenge of the Silicon Imaging camera is that it is essentially a stripped down WinXP box with a sensor and lens on it. So far this has meant a fairly large package size. BUT...as long as you have a computer right there, why not use it? That kind of flexibility is what allows for this kind of LUT utilization - for them, it isn't a matter of custom silicon, just modifying some code to run on the computer system they already have there. And since the viewfinder is just a computer monitor as far as the computer is concerned, running a LUT is no big deal.

I got an email from Jason Rodriguez of Silicon Imaging telling me about this, and as he describes it "our camera is now a complete "blank slate" for you to make whatever color adjustments you want, load that into the camera, and have complete color management from the camera head through post."

More from Jason:

As of right now I'm not sure if there's any other available camera with technology like this. But basically speaking, our camera systems can now take IRIDAS .look files and use them as the native colorimetry of the camera. Shoot with the IRIDAS .look file, and manage it as non-destructive meta-data all the way through post. As I'm sure you're all aware, with other cameras you're typically either constrained to the confines of the on-board matrix can do and colorimetry of the camera camera, or you can use the color technology using the IRIDAS toolset, but you have to preview the look on a monitor that can use .look files, like a Cinetal, LUTher, or something else of that nature. Now it's like having something like a Cinetal or LUTher in the camera, and the metadata travels using codec-level color management through post using our CineForm RAW technology. And because we're using IRIDAS tools, and 3D LUT technology, we can take that color information, and import it into some very high-end systems during DI and color post.

....

Ever wondered about making the output of the camera look like the ending film-print (or at least approximating it)? Well, you can now . . . separate ViewLUT's allow you to see something different on the monitor (such as what the end print might look like-no CRT/LCD is going to be a film print, but we can get close), while you record something else to disk. So you can have a calibration LUT for the monitor, and a record LUT for the main data going to disk.

Speedgrade On-set has some amazing tools to create stuff like virtual film-stocks, etc. If you don't like the way the camera looks, make it look like *anything* else you want . . . the 3D LUT technology in the camera can model any non-linear color-correction that IRIDAS and Speegrade can deliver.

We're going to be packaging a bunch of generic looks with the camera to-do stuff like bleach bypasses, wide-dyanmic range stuff, low-con looks, etc.


This is an unprecedented level of flexibility at this price point, and with this little amount of gear. You could literally be messing with looks and LUTs on a laptop on set, saving the look, loading it into the camera, and previewing the final look right there - quite the confidence booster. Then that look is recorded as metadata along with the shot (if I'm understanding this correctly), and can be accessed later. I've asked some questions about workflow and I'll update this article as I get them.

But I really like this idea - a lot of time when you're shooting planning on pushing it hard in post (like a bleach bypass or other aggressive color correction), you're kind of winging it - you don't know exactly how it will turn out. The ability to preview and tweak it with the effect applied live is a HUGE advantage. The only possible negative connotation will be the risk of spending too much time tweaking on set with everyone standing around, rather than "OK, that's close enough for us to mess with it in post, let's keep moving." But that's a set management decision, not a problem with the technology.

Early on, they took some guff about being based on a standard (albeit small form factor) WinXP based computer. BUT...because the camera IS based on a computer, it is MUCH easier for them to implement these kinds of advances and changes, as compared to typical cameras that have fixed silicon and it is a major challenge to retrofit these kinds of solutions. There have been grumbles about running WindowsXP in a camera, fear of crashes of blue screens of death; or concerns about the size/weight/form factor/power draw of the camera, but the flip side is this kind of super easy upgradeability.

Questions unanswered in my mind at this time:

-can you run a LUT'd view to a DVI/HDMI flat panel?
-what's the full workflow? Shoot, copy files, Premiere Pro, then how to get it to Speedgrade for final color?
-can you edit the embedded .look files in Speedgrade to tweak it further, or do you have to correct "on top of" that embedded look (I should hope not, that you can tweak the embedded)
-what else can read those looks besides Speedgrade if anything?
-what if you want to edit with Final Cut Pro or Avid?
-what if you want to grade with another tool?
-in either of the two above situations, can that metadata be preserved/translated/used in a meaningful, non-painful way?
-phrased another way - to use this really cool feature/benefit, are you locked into a Premiere Pro and Speedgrade workflow? Does seem that way

Cineform (the partner with the codec technology) has been talking about having a Mac codec due this....fall...hey, that'd be now....I've emailed, will update as I get new info.

OH - and they will also be releasing a camera block only product at a lower price point, around $12,000 or so if I recall correctly. This would enable you to use the tiny, palm sized camera block, with a lens attached, with a gigabit ethernet cable running back to a desktop (or maybe even a laptop with external storage?) for uncompressed or compressed recording. A TINY form factor, with remote control no less!

OK, next up - Abel Cine Silicon Imaging Demo THIS FRIDAY in LA - MUST RSVP

Again, this from Jason, bold my emphasis:

SEMINAR:     The Silicon Imaging - Cineform Workflow.

DATE: Friday November 3, 2006

LOCATION:
ABEL CINE TECH / LA
801 South Main St.
Burbank, CA 91506
(888) 700-4416
(818) 972-9078
(818) 972-2673 fax
Parking on Premises

Refreshments and snacks will be served throughout the afternoon. Admission is free but space is limited.

RSVP: Steve Nordhauser
steve@siliconimaging.com
(518) 279-9098
or Alison Russel
alison@siliconimaging.com
(518)374-3367

David Faires, DP and David Taylor of Cineform will cover the following topics:
Footage
Introduction to Cineform and Cineform RAW
Introduction to SI-2K Cameras
Production and Post Workflow
HANDS ON and Q&A

This material will be covered in two sessions, and you may attend whichever you prefer. First session from 10am - 12pm, second session 1:30pm - 3:30pm. Please indicate your preference when RSVPing. There will be hands-on time between sessions and after 3:30pm.

Please RSVP early, as space will be limited to ensure that everyone has the best experience possible.

The Silicon Imaging camera takes an entirely new approach to camera design.  The workflow from beginning to end has been the foremost design consideration in this new line of cameras.  Cineform RAW® native to the camera and 3D LUTs will change the way you work.   Come see how this makes your artistic creation much easier and more intuitive.

For more information, visit:
http://www.siliconimaging.com/DigitalCinema/
http://cineform.com
and of course our hosts at:
http://abelcine.com

-----

I won't be able to attend, if anybody can attend and take good notes (and pictures!), I'll be happy to post on here.

-mike

UPDATED 11:15am CST Tuesday, Oct 31st


OK, getting some A's back from my Q's from Jason Rodriguez:

Q: Can you edit the embedded .look files in Speedgrade to tweak it further, or do you have to correct "on top of" that embedded look (I should hope not, that you can tweak the embedded)?

A: Yes, you can edit the .look files at any time to change the "look" of the file.  You can also swap-out looks in post using the CineForm tools, so if you don't like the LUT, change it.  Finally, double-correction is a major "no-no", I would never want to-do that, so we are building in ways to avoid that, the easiest being to simply turn-off the LUT and re-appy the LUT in-context of whatever you're using for post-correction/DI (like Speedgrade DI, Discreet, Nucoda, etc., whatever can take a 3D LUT file)

CORRECTION David Newman, CTO of Cineform, wrote in to correct that statement:

A correction, the traditional no-no of double LUTting doesn't apply so much to this workflow. Cascaded integer LUTs, or a LUT then integer color correction would introduce banding. Note so here. The output of the 3D LUT is 32-bit float, that then can be color corrected, or LUT'd again with other floating point operation with no banding issues. This is the flexibility we are after. If you shoot with LUT there are likely to values greater 1.0 (highlight that can be restored through CC) it is great to keep the original LUT and just perform the corrections you need.


Q: The article mentions previewing on the viewfinder - can that LUT'd preview run on the DVI display as well? I recall there is a DVI (or is it HDMI?) output on the camera - can you view LUT'd stuff on that as well?

A: Yes, our interface actually support separate view LUT's in additition to dual independent display interfaces. What this means is that you can have one LUT be used for the record file, and another LUT used for monitoring, say to calibrate the monitor to a 2383 or 2393 Vision Premiere Print stock . . . you wouldn't necessarily want the footage itself to look like the print film, but with this method you can have a separate LUT that allows for different visualizations of what the footage could look like in certain mediums, and compensate for the monitoring system used, but apply a more universal LUT to the recorded footage. The opposite is true as well. You could make a nice, contrasty "finished" LUT for the recording, but monitor with a LUT that allows you to see the entire dynamic range of the footage in a very flat log-curve style.

Q: So this metadata that gets recorded with the shot - you'd then edit in Premiere Pro...what's the workflow to get that into
Speedgrade for color correction then? Would Speedgrade be reading the Cineform RAW shots, with that metadata included? That you could then tweak those .look looks further in Speedgrade?

A: You can, but you're not locked to using Speedgrade for color-correction and conform. We think Speedgrade DI is a great solution for file-based conforming. For instance, David Fincher has chosen it for grading the first all-digital feature film (no tape), Zodiac. But because we do the color-management at the codec level, you have the option of using high-end tools, or using After Effects or Premiere Pro with Color Finesse-it's a pretty open platform. You just turn off the LUT and re-apply the 3D LUT in the program (that's so you don't end up applying the same LUT twice to the footage).

In it's simplest form, the modified "look" of the file is what you see when you open the file and play it back in Windows Media Player, or Final Cut, or Premiere Pro, and it's WYSIWYG with Speedgrade On-Set interface. But because the .look file is metadata in a floating point format, there is information in the over-white values and clipped blacks ( but only if your "look" is higher in contrast and you haven't clipped in the camera). You can reverse a "look" losslessly, or what we term "non-destructive metadata". The RAW information is there all the time and is managed by the codec. The only time the information is "baked" into the file (clipping anything that is over-white and under-black) is when you transcode to another codec.

Q: If not, what is the workflow? And what other systems can read .look files?

A: .look files are just XML files with some settings for the IRIDAS platform and a large 64-point 3D LUT inside. The 3D LUT can be read in a number of different platforms. Currently I know that the CineTal monitors have direct support for IRIDAS .look files. Also Speedgrade On-Set can export a .look file in a variety of formats such as 1D LUT's for Blackmagic, and 3D LUT's for Thomson's LUTher and Truelight (so that means 3D LUT information is transferable to Shake, etc.). So at the same time you create a .look file for the camera, you can then export a couple other 3D LUT formats for your Discreet box, your DI suite, etc. Since the LUTher format is completely open (easy to read), it's got quite a large penetration in the market. Point is, the 3D LUT makes the "look" very mobile between platforms.

Our large 64-point 3D LUT support ensures that you get the maximum color accuracy in the gamut-mapping that the 3D LUT will be doing to the footage. Basically it's like having a live LUTher or other dedicated gamut-mapping device (i.e., high-end expensive) right inside the camera.


UNANSWERED (AS YET) FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS:

-for AE it is just a file import I presume - but how do turn off the LUT though? How do you get access to it?

-you mention FCP - how do you transcode the footage? How do you have the choice to burn in or not that LUT? What tools do you use to access the controls and transcode? Similarly, what's the Avid route?

...but in any case, these are really good answers, this all sounds very good. My biggest question is the transcode stuff - how to move the files to Avid or Final Cut Pro, yet still maintain that metadata. The transferability of the .look files is very promising.

-you mention double LUTing being a no-no, but I could see uses for it, or at least a compound LUT: if I wanted a preview LUT for what the filmout could look like, but then on top of (or underneath) that, I might also want the color grade LUT - so I might want a 3D LUT for filmout previewing, but also the bleach bypass LUT. Just previewing one or the other without both doesn't give a full sense of what you'd be getting. This is getting niggly, but it is important I think.

I'll continue updating this as more info comes in, so keep checking back and scrolling to the bottom.

UPDATE 12:30pm CST same day:

David Newman from Cineform got back to me, said that due to some high profile client requests on the WinXP side, the Mac version of Cineform (specificall Cineform RAW for the SI camera) has been pushed back a month or two but is still coming. No new problems, just other priorities to be addressed first. On top of that, Apple is thin on engineering resources to help 3rd parties, so it is coming, but not here yet. David said they realize Mac support depends on Cineform, so they are workin' it hard.

-mike