FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 4, 2001
In-Sync, Inc. wins Astrolabium Award at IECF for
Commercial Production
The International
Electronic Cinema Festival (IECF), recently announced that
Carlos Haney of Enlightened Images, Scott Hello
of Box Rocket Films and John Johns, Vision Engineer with In-Sync, Inc.,
won the Astrolabium Award for Commercial Advertisements in
the 13th IECF festival with “Corpus
Christi Medical”, a
series of HD commercials for Corpus
Christi Medical Center.
The International Electronic Cinema Festival was started as the world's only HDTV programs' competition in Montreux, Switzerland in 1987. The purpose of the IECF is to promote and explore the creative synergy between the television and cinema afforded by the use of digital high definition television and computer imagery, and it extends its scope to new forms of expression such as interactive digital programs.
Click images for HD resolution
 | While his parents await results from the doctor, a three-year-old boy finds his own space in a busy ER. It was shot full telephoto with the extender engaged. The scene was moodily lit as if we were shooting high-speed (500+ ASA) Kodak film. The highlight was controlled in camera setup, and the shadows were allowed to go to black. |
The package consisted of four thirty second image pieces for Corpus Christi Medical Center, a family of three hospitals in Corpus Christi, Texas. The original production called for principal photography on 35mm negative. By using many film production techniques, we were able to duplicate and surpass the highly stylized look of the current American commercial production market. This process gave our clients the high quality look they were accustomed to and the added convenience and cost savings associated with electronic/digital production techniques.
Click images for HD resolution
| This is an ECU of the-three-year old boy in his own little world, under the gurney, in the ER. Who says videotape can't look as beautiful as film? With the right lighting, casting and vision engineer, anything is possible. A fine-tuning in post does not hurt either. |
Click images for HD resolution
Techniques used in this production included constructing a 5-point gamma curve in the camera itself. This allowed us to capture a wider dynamic range than is typically associated with electronic picture gathering. However, we were able to rate our camera between 800 and 1200 ASA while maintaining a noise level (grain) comparable to a 200 ASA film stock. Our adjustments gave us a contrast ratio equivalent to today’s negatives.
An HDW700 camcorder from PennsmithHD was chosen over 24p cameras simply because they gather more information. Shooting in the native HD1080i format gave us many advantages over 24p. Accessories for 24p are also much more limited than the standard 1080i. Slo-mo was used extensively in some of the spots and down converting to CCIR601/NTSC was much more flexible than if 24p had been used. PennsmithHD has long been known for its film style accessories in HD and SD production.
Vision engineer John Johns spent the day before tweaking the camera and modifying software to achieve the unique look for the production. "We had the dueling goals of maintaining the high contrast range of film while simultaneously allowing certain elements to blow out," says Johns. It's not that things blow out in a scene. It's how you let them transition from detail to no detail."
Click images for HD resolution
| A mother's smile expresses relief, joy, and admiration for the doctor who restored health to her young son. The lighting is simple: a Kino-Flo, 2 tweenies, and a 1200w HMI for a daylight looking hot spot/highlight. |
Photography took place in several locations in Corpus Christi over a 2 1/2-day period. Shooting with a high speed (sensitive) camera minimized the number of lighting instruments needed allowing DP Scott Hello to concentrate resources on artistic endeavors versus base lighting.
Off-line took place in an Avid suite in Corpus Christi with Enlightened Images Director/Editor, Carlos Haney. After a couple of days of tweaking, a CMX EDL was created for the four spots.
"It was my first foray into HD and I was a bit hesitant because there was not much existing film-style footage to get an opinion," says Haney. "All I had seen was some uncorrected footage down converted to Betacam SP and I was not overly impressed. Basically I went on the strength of my DoP Scot Hello and engineer John Johns. I leaned on them heavily and they delivered some stunning images. In the end it not only surpassed my expectation, it fulfilled the aesthetic and economic requirements of the project."
"A new twist to the crew is the vision engineer," added Haney. "John isn't just a guy with scopes keeping your video 'TV legal'. He's a vital component to getting that pristine image we were seeking. From pre-production to post, John was with Scott and me every step of the way. He is the "go to" guy for great Hi-Def."
The HDCAM was down converted to Betacam SP each evening. This allowed editing to begin immediately. "We usually have to wait for the film to be processed and at least for a one-light transfer to take place before we can move forward," commented Haney. "With only a few days before our initial air-date, another benefit of digital production was realized for our client. The Betacam SP footage gave our client a better idea of how the spots were going to look since the footage was better than video assist footage and even better than a typical one-light transfer."
Click images for HD resolution
| This Spot contains one single shot. It is a tracking shot with a slight creeping zoom out to reveal not only the baby, but his peacefully exhausted parents as well. We covered the "action" with several pleasing angles and put together a beautiful spot. However, the tranquillity and simplicity of the idea behind the commercial was best served with one single shot. |
Initially this production was to be shot in film. Film stock and processing alone would have run up a tab of more and $15,000.00. We used $420.00 worth of HDCAM tape. This allowed us to keep our production standards very high with quality talent in all departments and keep within our client's budget.
Chief Creative Officer and agency producer Mike Reyes of ˇidea!Worldwide had resorted to stock footage in the past when the budget did not exist for creating the high quality images his clients expect. "I will never use stock footage again. With the quickness of HD production and its ability to resolve high quality images with a minimal amount of light I get so much more material to work with," remarked Reyes. "Scott's eyes were not burdened by the typical baggage associated with film production. He was able to react to the situations we put him in with more spontaneity and fluidity. The whole process just seemed much quicker to me."
There were a few surprise benefits of the HD production process. Reyes noted that having and actual HD monitor on the set was a huge benefit. "The detail we could see and the no compromise playback just added to the excitement not only for me but more importantly my client. Also, HD gave us the ability to go wide and deep. Stills pulled from the raw footage are being used in a variety of print pieces," added Reyes. "I think the resolution and look we get is comparable to 4x5. That saves us thousands of dollars in photo shoots. It also ensures a consistency between media like never before."
Even thought the off-line was not color corrected, its quality was superior to what we usually get when dealing with one-light film transfers. No one was afraid to show the off-line to the hospital board. The quality was already there.
Once off-line editing was completed and approved our tapes and a list of selects were taken to Video Post and Transfer in Dallas where colorist Steve Franko provided film-style correction in VP&T's Spirit Datacine Room. This was a very important part of the process. Commercial clients and agencies expect the tools and the talent that the transfer houses bring to a project. Steve brings a lot to the table. Clients know him and his abilities and Steve has an excellent eye and contributes a lot to creating current styles.
"We use the Pandora Pogle MegaDEF color corrector," says Franko. "The Pogle's ability to correct upstream of spatial processing gives us more range than standard color correction than the DaVinci."
Having a vision engineer on site during the production gave a consistency to the footage that is not attainable with film. Vision Engineer John Johns also was able to create and maintain the exceptional capturing latitude of the HDCAM. Film stocks, emulsions, and lab settings are all variables that are typically corrected in the transfer. The consistency of the HD footage allowed the time in transfer to be used for creative purposes rather than bringing the footage to a common benchmark.
Tim Werner provided final high definition editing in HD Vision's linear edit bay in Irving, Texas.
"The footage was very consistent regarding pedestal, white levels, and chroma saturation. Once overall color correction settings were made, only minor gamma changes from scene to scene," says Werner. "There were a few instances where the footage was brought up on two cross point locations on the Snell and Wilcox HD 1024 switcher. This gave us the ability to use soft wipes allowing for two color correction settings in a scene when Director/DP Scott Hello wanted to highlight an object, or selectively enhance an image. The HD 1024 has 7 color correctors. This permits a lot of creative flexibility regarding subtle enhancements to a scene that help to tell a better story."
Click image for HD resolution
"The project was mastered to Sony HDCAM 1080i. Utilizing the 1080i
format allowed us maximum flexibility and tools that are simply not available in
24p. HDCAM also allows for preread editing. Preread
enabled special effects to be added and graphics to scenes in a very expedient
manner," continued Werner.
"All these implicit effects, combined with the clarity of well-shot high
definition video footage, resulted in a visually stunning collection of images.
And that produced really great looking spots for Corpus Christi Medical. Once
advertisers and their clients get the opportunity to see the spectacular results
of shooting and editing in HD for themselves, we'll begin to see more and more
commercials produced in high definition."
Not everything in high definition is cheaper, but the production process as a whole has a lot very compelling arguments.
Past winners if the Astrolabium Award from IECF include Proctor &
Gamble Noxzema Leo Burnett Company, USA and BMW Z3 Roadster.
In-Sync congratulates Director Carlos
Haney, Director of Photography Scott Hello,
Vision Engineer John Johns and all of
the other contributors for becoming finalists
from more than 70 high quality entries in the 13th IECF festival CHIBA2001.
Thanks go to Steve Woerner, CEO, and Mary Jo Currey, Director of Marketing at CCMC
for having the faith and confidence in us.
For more information on upgrading your production to High Definition call John Johns at In-Sync, Inc. 972-723-5454 or visit www.in-sync-inc.com.