Technology made a dramatic turn towards the future in the early 1920's when Scottish inventor John Logie Baird pioneered the development of the first picture scanning device, known as television. It would take Baird ten years, 1930 before the first Baird Televisor emerged as a consumer product, sought after by lovers of rolling film.

In 1967 the first color broadcasting to television was delivered in the United Kingdom, followed by satellite transmission in 1989 from BSkyB. We now face the 21st Century with HD technology of rolling film to plasma screens developed by Sony to deliver striking clarity and brilliance of image to film production.

Smith Glover, Producer of Profeta Pictures, Hollywood spoke candidly about the latest method of film production through Hi-Definition technology... film production which now caters to the Stars throughout the movie industry.

Smith said, "I don't know how familiar you are with "Hi-Def" so I will start with the basics. Hi-Definition refers to the amount of pixels that make up one picture frame. Hi-Def has many more "lines of resolution" than normal Standard-Definition. Therefore- HD has more information per frame, and more color, contrast, and light is shown.

When Digital is broadcast, it is done so in interlace format. For instance, while film is projected by spinning 24 frames of pictures in front of a light in one second, your TV image is presented entirely differently. It is shown as interlaced fields, one projected onto the screen a split second ahead of the other. I don't know why, but this interlace system is why video looks so odd compared to film- more "real." Also, Video is normally shown at 30 frames per second, which also adds to the "real" affect-- It has to do with how our eyes process information.

24p means that video is projected like film- the "p" means "progressive." 24 Progressive Frames are shown per second, just like film. When you combine the hi-resolution of digital with the ability to project with progressive frames- you have a product that looks better. While HD is not as cinematic as film- it looks very good. Hi-Def is especially affective with natural light indoors and with bright light out doors- it just captures a mood with the former and the brightness of the latter.

At the moment, if you are going to ultimately blow your movie up to film and project it with film, HD may not be cheaper, because of the heavy cost of blowing up digital stock to film stock. But, if you are going to project with a Hi-Definition projector, then Hi-Def is cheaper to use. Also, since HD tapes are WAY cheaper then Film stock, you can do more takes if you want.

Hi-Definition is a new technology, in that we are just beginning to learn how to use it in the editing room. Not many companies are Hi-Def compatible. And those that are, well, using HD is a continual process of learning and troubleshooting.

The equipment is always being updated. Apple have just launched a Hi-Def version of "Final Cut" that allows editors to cut in HD. To explain: In order to transfer an Hi-Definition tape from the tape into the computer, you generally have to compress the information. What this means is, you take the information from the many tapes of footage, the information being all "Ones" and "Zeroes", as is all digital information, and use a codec to take that information and compress it down.

Although a G5 Mac can manipulate information in its uncompressed (or "natural" state), we have so much of it that we have to compress it down, as mentioned above. This is called offline-ing or lo-resing the tape. Lo-resing is like freeze-drying food: you take the water out so that it takes up less space. As a result, the information doesn't look as good (it is at a lower resolution), but is easier to edit.

When all the editing is done, then you take the finished film and Hi-Rez it, which means take just the little amount of footage used in the final cut of the film and uncompress it-- Imagine being able to just add water back to freeze-dried food, and you get the exact same thing you had before. Then you lay the film off, which means taking the footage from the computer and putting it on one single tape.”

The latest statistics offer: Many consumers who have bought H-Definition plasma screens are yet to be able to receive HD transmission. These plasma screens are, for the most, used as playback devices for DVDs. Yet, it is only a matter of time-- just as it was only a matter of time, from the moment John Logie Baird delivered the first Baird Televisor to the world of sweeping technology.

Submitted By:
Pamela Faye
Arts Editor & Marketer
Rolling Seas Promotions Pty Ltd
Mark Baker
Managing Director
PO Box 262
Fulham Gardens
Adelaide 5024
SA Australia
Ph: 61 0438 757 138
http://www.rollingseas.com.au
rspromotions.optusnet.com.au