State of the Edit Report: What’s Ahead for 2008
The second annual State of the Edit Report asked edit
system manufacturers who are exhibiting at NAB to comment on where editing
is today, and where post production is headed in general.
When this question was put to Giles Baker, group product
manager for editing workflows at Adobe Systems, he said, “There are
two major trends coming at us over the next couple of years. The first
is the evolution of tapeless acquisition and editing. We see this as
a great opportunity to build more efficient workflows throughout post
production, as people are rapidly moving away from tape for either production
or archiving.”
The second new trend is the introduction of affordable
megapixel cameras like the Red One.
The
introduction of affordable megapixel cameras like the Red One is a new
trend. “The idea of being able to shoot 35mm quality images on a camera
costing less than $20K is really exciting,” Baker said. “Since our Premiere
Pro application has an open SDK [software development kit] any developer
can build extensions to the editing workflow. Companies like CineForm
have already created an intermediate wavelet codec that allows for very
high-resolution editing.”
Baker sees this workflow evolution also extending to delivery.
“At Adobe we are developing tools for encoding and streaming
video, and with the Flash-based Adobe Media Player we have one of the
widest means of distribution of Web video available today. One of the
great strengths of Adobe Media Player is that it can use all the metadata
gathered throughout a production. This makes us a rich set of data available
that can make everything more productive.”
SMOKE AND FLAME
New developments in online finishing are paramount for
Bruno Sargeant, TV industry manager at Autodesk Media and Entertainment.
“These days the online editor is being asked to do more
than ever before,” he said. “That includes effects creation, color correction
and compositing and this is the road we are going down with Smoke now
that many capabilities from our Flame effects system have been integrated
into it. In addition, to be successful the online system has to be able
to handle all the new formats coming at us so we can create a complete
end-to-end data pipeline.”
To achieve this level of power, Autodesk has chosen Linux
as their platform of choice.
“It is more open to customization,” Sargeant said. “I
was talking to a film company that uses multiple operating systems and
found only 20 percent of their IT resources had to be devoted to Linux
while 80 percent went to all the others. But the important thing is
that to the operator, what is under the hood should not be something
they have to be concerned with. In the competitive world of online editing,
having a reliable, multifunctional tool is all that counts. And that
is what Autodesk is trying to provide.”
HUNGRY FOR HORSEPOWER
Steve Wise, director of product marketing for desktop
and enterprise solutions at Thomson Grass Valley is aiming to stay one-step
ahead.
“Now that we have given Edius support for P2, XDCAM EX
and Rev Pro, our goal is to stay ahead of the advent of new formats,”
said Wise. “We were also the first to be able to edit AVCHD natively,
and now that Blu-ray has won the HD disc wars, we are looking to be
able to author in its format as soon as we can, perhaps with third party
partners.”
Wise said this year’s NAB will provide be a valuable opportunity
to show the flexibility of Edius software.
“The plethora of digital broadcasts and standards has
surprised many people,” he said. “But there is a broad understanding
that because everything is now predominantly ones and zeros, transcoding
features high on everyone’s shopping list.”
Keeping up with a changing industry can test an NLE’s
operational competence.
“Lack of bandwidth is something that everyone thought
would be solved by increasing processor speed,” Wise said, “but in actual
fact it has not. JPEG2000, AVCHD and AVC-Intra are all hungry for PC
horsepower, so while we can edit these formats natively, there is still
a need for intermediate codecs when editing on lower-spec PCs.”
TIME TO UPGRADE
“With the advent of HD production and broadcasting, high
definition has become the dominating factor in post,” said Boris Yamnitsky,
founder and president of Boris FX, “which means everyone is looking
to upgrade their equipment. This includes developing support for the
latest HD formats like XDCAM and P2 while maintaining the expected level
of performance in a workflow requiring mixed formats.”
This could create chaos on the timeline, but Media 100
was the first to be able to mix and match codecs in the same project.
“For all practical purposes, that means that our customers
have to be ready for new formats while still handling legacy material
as they are bridging the HD/SD gap,” Yamnitsky said. “We have to pay
close attention to the interchange capability of different post-production
systems as the options from different manufacturers all have to play
in the same game.”
This collaborative workflow concept requires post systems
to emphasize their cross platform interactive functionalities.
“Our Boris Native Plug-ins work in the native interface
of third-party host applications,” he said. “In addition, our Custom
Plug-ins like Red and Blue allow editors to apply effects directly to
clips in the host’s timeline. This greatly increases productivity without
requiring an extensive new learning curve.”
EDITING 3D
Mark
Horton, marketing manager for post production at Quantel said the most
interesting trend in editing these days is the extent to which it has
become commoditized.
“People don’t need an extensive engineering background
for offline editing with so many inexpensive software NLE systems available
today,” Horton said.
However, Quantel sees a new challenge that top post pros
are going to have to face when it comes to finishing.
“The interest in stereoscopic 3D production is a hot topic,”
Horton said, “and 3D requires the kind of high-end systems that we just
happen to make, such as our new Sid, which is designed specifically
for stereo 3D post.”
Editing
3D also requires adopting a new grammar in the language of post, including
considerations of how the 3D effect changes from shot to shot.
“This can influence the way a whole scene will look in
3D, which may be considerably different from the mono version and edit
systems designed to post it need to be able to master in both configurations,”
Horton said. “Since organizations such as the NBA and TV broadcasters
like the BBC are already conducting test presentations of 3D. We think
this will become a major opportunity for the most powerful of post-production
systems.”
NEED FOR SPEED
“What everyone is moving toward in today’s post production
is speed,” said Michael Bryant, director of product marketing at Sony
Creative Software. “The whole production and consumption cycle has been
compressed. That includes not just moving from capture to editing, but
also from editing to online download delivery. With all the source standards
available today, our VP of technology Dave Hill likes to call this ‘multidef
production’ meaning our Vegas Pro 8 system can handle multiple flavors
of both SD and HD.”
Sony has been a major proponent of the disk-based AVCHD
format, and as Bryant said, Vegas Pro 8 software can even edit it in
the field directly from an AVCHD camcorder’s hard drive.
“In some cases, that camera’s recorder might actually
be faster than the HDD in your laptop,” he said.
But with the expansion of delivery options, today’s NLE
also needs to be able to output in a variety of formats.
“That’s why our Vegas Pro 8 software includes high quality
two-pass VBR MPEG-2 encoding for DVD, broadcast and other delivery media,”
Bryant said. “It’s all related to that need for increased speed that
is driving the post-production industry.
By
Jay Ankeny www.tvtechnology.com
HOME
HOME
Headlines
Deputies
use Taser on sportscaster in jai
l
Jane
Fonda Slips C-Word Past NBC Today Censors
CBS
Lays Off CSTV Staffers
Man
charged in snowmobile crash that killed TV anchor
Former
Tampa Reporter busted for Child Porn
Former
Boise TV anchor arrested for domestic abuse
Former
Meteorologist Wants Jail Sentence Tossed
Davenport
TV station lays off 12, cancels 2 newscasts
Can
Columbus' famously combustible news director be tamed?
GM
apologizes for weatherman's goof
L.A.
mayor's girlfriend demoted by TV station
FCC
urges fine for Comcast
BBC
to integrate news operation
NFL's
new vest policy is out of line
Another
news chopper incident
Ex-forecaster
insists she's not guilty of shoplifting
'Early
Show' bails on flooded studio
Pit
bulls attack TV, radio station workers
Police
review actions of TV crew at office protest
Voice-over
actor tapped as traffic reporter
Family
files civil suit against anchor
Eyewitness
News back on after fire
Broken
Pipe Cripples TV News
Philly
shooter slugged
Photog
arrested
Camerawoman
files claim against Los Angeles
Global
TV cameraman saves toddler
Pittsburgh
station sorry for misplaced news tease
Hopefuls
jam station's traffic-reporter tryout
News
anchor jailed, charged with felony
Man
accused of threatening TV reporter
Another
TV News Copter Goes Down
TV
Station Fires Worker Over Porn Prank
TV
Reporter Found Guilty Of Contempt
TV
Helicopter Pilot Saves Stranded Deer
*Watch
video
Pols
Call For Warning Labels on Analog-Only TV Sets
No
charges in arrest of 'Car Czar' reporter
Former
Channel 7 analyst arrested on child sex charges
Philly
station launches mostly unscripted newscast
Boston
TV's Ansin defends mass firings
Charity's
director sues WFLA-TV reporter
Boston
radio giant fires entire news team
Roanoke
TV station fires meteorologist over MySpace photo
'Borat' duped TV producer
Former TV Reporter Indicted For Cruise Ship Conduct With Boys
KTMD
losing most of news staff
Broadcast
Workers Oppose Dereg
TV
Takes a Page Out of Newspaper Hardships
Students
make 'Point' on TV news
Fox
journalists released in Gaza Strip, ending nearly two week hostage ordeal
Cincy
TV stations settle sideline-camera flap
Death
stuns, angers reporter's family
Bossier
City businessman accused of attacking TV crew
Wife
of kidnapped Fox cameraman makes tearful plea for release
Ex-news
anchor arrest
Popular Weatherman
Passes
Former
TV personality charged with soliciting a child
Voice
of the Razorbacks Dies in Car Accident
Sentence
in crash that kills photog
Cameraman
tossed from tour
TV
station editor beaten up over report about broken privatisation promises
Chopper
4 crashes during search
Once again a near death incident. Glad everyone's safe...but
here's another reason why I've given up helicopters for good.
Cameraman
Claims He Slept With Princess Diana
Now that's what I'm talkin' about. You go get 'em
cameraman!
Broadcasters'
audience size sets new low
The least-watched week in history. Going downnnnn....
Bank
robbery foiled by TV reporter
Fox,
AP Settle Photog Flap
"Miraculous
Recovery" for CBS' Dozier
Holdin'
Globes
New
pandemic fear as cameraman falls ill in bird flu village
Reporter
killed in head-on collision
NBCU
Puts Four Stations Up for Sale
PGA
Announces New Agreements With CBS, NBC
Fire
kills anchorman
Former
TV reporter charged with shoplifting
Anchorwoman
Accepts Proposal on Air
Ex-TV
reporter Barth joins race for seat in Congress
ABC
Cameraman shot dead in Baghdad
Shootout
video cameraman drops out of sight
Spitting
at TV cameraman earns suspension
Pittsburgh
TV Reporter Cited For Trespassing
TV photogs attacked outside court
Break-in
delays W. Va. newscast debut
Viacom lays off 11 at KOVR, KMAX
Colo.
station suspends local news
NFL
won't act on Benson altercation with TV crew
Cameras
Captured a Disaster but Now Focus on Suffering
Cameraman Assaulted
