International. Lightstorm Entertainment used a wide variety of the company's products, such as the Teranex AV converter, the Smart Videohub 40x40 12G matrix and the ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio mixer, in its recent project during the production of the sequels to the movie "Avatar".
Lightstorm Entertainment, by James Cameron, is recognized for its advanced film techniques since its inception and is always at the forefront of new technologies. With titles to its credit that include "Terminator," "The Abyss" and "Titanic," the company has never allowed technological limitations to prevent the ability to tell extraordinary stories.
With the release of "Avatar" in 2009, the company proved once again that there were no restrictions on the art of cinema. The results were astounding, and the audience agreed. The feature film grossed more than $2 billion worldwide, and announced the possibility of multiple sequels.
However, just as Na'vi's story will continue with the sequels, so will the technology behind the camera. An essential element is the possibility of evaluating the content that is recorded, instead of having to wait for the post-production stage. "We monitor the signals coming from the cameras instantly, as close to the cinema experience as possible. This way, we can make real-time decisions on set," said Geoff Burdick, vice president of production services and technologies for Lightstorm Entertainment. "This saves a lot of time during filming and benefits Weta Digital, our visual effects provider. In addition, it helps simplify post-production and mastering processes."
This required having to visualize the signals live from 3D camera systems simultaneously. "In the past, we watched and played back the material in 3D HD at 24 f/s," Burdick added. "Now, we capture it in 4K 3D and send them at different resolutions and frame rates." These include 3D at 24 or 48 f/s in 2K and 4K, and at 24 f/s in HD.
Blackmagic Design offered a unique and comprehensive set of products, which allowed to create different solutions throughout the project. "It was quite a challenge for our technical team to develop a signal system that would enable this work dynamic," Burdick continued. "Not many companies have incorporated this kind of compatibility into their products. Fortunately, Blackmagic Design took matters into its own hands."
The key to this dynamic was to create an impeccable method of viewing and reproducing the contents, despite the impressive amount of information needed. "When incorporating new formats and techniques, it is essential that we do not cause delay or disruption in any department," Burdick explained.
Having the possibility to review multiple resolutions and frame rates in real time allowed the team to be aware of different problems that previously went unnoticed, and were only detected in post-production. "This is very important as we start shooting in higher resolutions, frame rates and dynamic range, with lenses that process details we're not used to seeing and with projector technology capable of showing all this and more to those demanding viewers."
Although Blackmagic Design has played a pivotal role in many stages, one of its simplest products has become the workhorse in production. "The Teranex AV, while appearing to be run-of-the-mill equipment, did much of the heavy lifting for us," the Lightstorm team said. The Teranex line of devices gave us the possibility to use a hybrid WORKING DYNAMIC HD at 24 and 48 f/s on set. "Without this equipment, it would not have been possible to carry out the real-time conversions and image transformations that our process requires. We were able to see what was possible to do very quickly thanks to the fact that we had the opportunity to mix and match key pieces of equipment and have support for uncommon formats across the device across the entire product line throughout the research and development and production process."
In short, how did this affect production? No way, which was the goal from the beginning. "At the end of the process, these technologies were invisible to the creative team on set."
