International. After recording the first real 4K HDR test in the 2015 Coppa Italia final between Juventus and Lazio, Sony and DBW Communication have achieved another important technological first, this time in the context of opera music. Gioacchino Rossini's masterpiece, the opera buffa "The Barber of Seville", will be the first opera in the world to be recorded in the 4K high dynamic range (HDR) format.
The production took place last July at the Teatro Regio in Turin, one of the largest and most historic operas in Italy and one of the most important in the world. Sony PMW-F55 cameras were used to record in live mode, located at eight shooting points and equipped with Prime 4K lenses, the same ones used by director Jacques Audiard in his most recent film "Dheepan", which won the Palme d'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival.
Always up to date with the latest technologies for the audiovisual sector, DBW Communication has also recently purchased four new Sony HDC-4300 system cameras with the first native 4K 2/3" (3 chips) image sensors. DBW can now count on a 4K machine inventory of 14 units, which can be used in live mode thanks to the 4K CA-4000 system adapter with fiber transmission and the BPU-4000 baseband processor unit. DBW has also acquired two Sony PWS-4400 servers, the flagship product of the new generation of 4K/HD live production solutions, which offer the possibility of recording images in HFR and HDR.
With wider dynamic range reproduction of brightness levels, HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology intensifies contrast and accentuates images to the subtlest tones, from detailed shadows and blacks to the brightest whites and colors. HDR images, therefore, offer viewers the opportunity to enjoy more vivid tones, attention to detail and penetrating points of light with unprecedented depth and definition.
For opera in particular, HDR technology allows content producers to work with the full potential in terms of linguistic and aesthetic functions, thus improving all aspects of the scene, such as lighting, scenography and costumes. Recording an opera in HDR involves giving viewers the opportunity to experience total immersion in what they are watching, as if they were part of the scene. Sony is developing HDR content support for its entire product portfolio to give viewers the opportunity to experience full immersion with any content.
