I hope my columns today and tomorrow will be useful enough for you to print out and distribute to your colleagues -- or students, for those of you who are educators. Today I want to give you some insight into how photojournalists are making the transition to shooting high-definition (HD) video. Tomorrow, I will give you a toolbox on the huge shift that will occur in 2008 toward digital television.
Today, we will answer:
- What photojournalists must keep in mind while shooting in HD.
- What HD means for framing, lighting and editing.
- What difference does it make to those who are on-camera?
- What are TV stations doing about file tape that was not shot in HD?
- Will online video players have to shift to HD format?
- How are newsrooms handling the enormous amount of additional data that HD pours into editing systems?
2008 will be a high-definition year for all who shoot video. Whether you are recording video for online sites or for TV news, the march toward HD will kick into a higher gear this year.
I am turning to two old friends whom I e-mailed for some help on this topic:
Richard Adkins, a photojournalist at
WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., and
Manny Sotelo, a photojournalist at
KUSA-TV in Denver and former president of the
National Press Photographers Association. These two teach other professional photojournalists about the change to HD.
Tompkins: What is the first adjustment photojournalists have to make when they start shooting in HD?Richard: The first thing about HD that smacks a photojournalist in the face is the widescreen format. And this is true not only for stations transitioning to HD but for the many TV stations that plan to simply shoot 16x9 standard definition for a while. The wider screen format makes keeping a horizon level just a bit harder, especially with hand-held camera work. Also, the wider screen and the larger TVs on the market allow more landscape for the viewer to browse.
Manny: News operations that don’t consider photojournalists as an important ingredient of the newsroom will miss the HD boat. What I mean by that is newsrooms that depend on reporters being live from car accidents or standing in front of yellow crime scene tape for a majority of their A-block are not going to get viewers tuning in to see it in high definition. If viewers are introduced to people in their community they normally would not meet or are taken to places they normally would not visit … they will want to see it in HD. Stories will need to be more in-depth and longer for the viewer at home to enjoy the HD image.
Richard: Another often overlooked “gotcha” is the ease with which any on-screen writing (such as graffiti, paper work and credit cards) can be easily read. While you may have been able to shoot the obscene or sensitive material in the past, those words will jump off the screen now. I’ve seen obscenities in background graffiti and court papers air when no one noticed it in the edit room. I’ve easily read credit card numbers when someone was shooting “pay at the pump” gas purchases.
Manny: Something I discovered while editing our first HD show was that the pacing of the editing needed to slow down. As I watched photojournalist
Gary Wolfe edit his story about wild horses, I told him he needed to let his pictures and natural sound run longer. He was editing his story as if it were for a newscast and not a one-hour show. Everything was edited tight, and you could not really take in the beautiful images of the horses running free. When he allowed his images and sound to breathe, the story was more memorable and a pleasure to watch.
Tompkins: Previously, photojournalists framed their images using what we call "the rule of thirds." The horizon, the sky, the main points of interests were in the thirds of the screen, not the center. How will shooting in HD change that?
Richard: More information on a larger canvas means you’ve got to draw the viewer’s eyes to the important parts of the screen. I think the “rule of thirds” still applies, but with sub-rules of framing and a mandate to break the rules when needed. The higher clarity of HD allows TV photographers to use more photography techniques to draw the viewer’s attention to details. Take, for instance, a reporter standing in a crowded stadium: Using a large depth of field, everyone will be in focus, and the reporter will blend in and be hard to distinguish from the crowd. Now dial in a bit of neutral density and lessen the depth of field; suddenly, those in front and back of the reporter become fuzzy, but the clarity of the HD picture will allow the reporter to stand out.
Manny: The same rule will apply, in my opinion. But again, the challenge will be to remain disciplined enough to remember that while shooting in 16:9 ratio, the same image will appear in 4:3 for some viewers.
Tompkins: How important is lighting when you start recording in HD format?Richard: Other photography techniques are also important when shooting in HD, such as lighting. Great lighting really stands out in HD -- and so does poor lighting. I’ve seen many unlit stand-ups and interviews that just make me cringe, and I’m sure the subject in the video isn’t pleased with how they look on TV. Lighting is VERY important. You’ll want to light interviews to eliminate the bad shadows and create the good ones. Backlights are important to make the subject “pop.” Soft lights are great to help counteract the fine details of the picture.
Manny: Lighting for HD will be extremely important. I believe lighting in local news has become a lost art. In some cases, photojournalists are simply relying on available light to shoot their talking heads. Some might not agree with my opinion, but in some cases the photojournalist is just being lazy or is not willing to put much effort into shooting the story. If the photojournalist is not interested in the story, he/she will not drag out the light kit. No matter what format you shoot in, lighting will always enhance the image. This will date me, but I can remember the image of a
RCA TK-76 always looked better if a light was used during an interview, and the same holds true with an image shot in high definition. HD is not meant to shoot in low light levels, and it will become very evident when you bump up the gain. The image, at least to me, appears very grainy and almost looks washed out.
Tompkins: Is it true that on-screen folks should worry about HD? Will every pimple and blemish show up on screen?
Richard: On-air talent shouldn’t be afraid of HD. They should, however, make sure they are being shown in their best light. As I mentioned above, lighting is critical to how someone looks on camera, and so is focal length and framing. As one anchor I work with put it: “… wearing more makeup in HD just makes you look more made-up.” Once the balance between the technical craft and the makeup craft is found, then I think the on-air talent will be pleased with the look.
Manny: They are extremely worried because so much detail is evident in HD. Those who use a lot of makeup to hide blemishes will not be able to get away with it in HD. In my opinion, those who naturally have good-looking skin will look even better in HD. Whoever develops that magical formula for HD makeup will be a very rich individual. Thank goodness we as photojournalists don't have to worry about that.
Tompkins:How do you handle file tape? Since it was shot in the old format, are you now editing it into a wide-screen format? Won't it look awful when you use file tape in your stories?Richard: “File video” or “other source 4:3” video is an issue that everyone is facing. Probably the quickest, easiest and most journalistically prudent way to handle it is to up-convert it to HD, maintaining the 4:3 aspect, and add back “skirts” to the sides. But there are other ways to handle it. I like to use a “picture in picture” technique, placing the old 4:3 on top of itself and stretching out the background to fill the frame. Depending on the use, you may wish to play it back on an old 4:3 TV and shoot that. And with non-linear editing quickly taking over, there are plenty of digital effects that may work with your piece.
Manny: File tape used inside a story, shot in 16:9, will be very noticeable when viewed on a wide-screen TV but won't be as noticeable on a 4:3 TV. We at KUSA-TV add a blue curtain, a blue slab or wallpaper on both sides of the 4:3 image. If we didn't do that the curtain, wallpaper or slabs would be black or white (depending on what the individual station likes) when the image appears on a wide-screen TV.
Here are some examples:
|
4:3 Head shot with wallpaper, demonstrates what people would see on a 16:9 screen.
|
|
|
4:3 head shot, demonstrates with white lines what a 4:3 image looks on a 16:9 screen if you don’t use wallpaper. |
|
|
4:3 cut off, demonstrates what a 16:9 image looks like when it appears in 4:3 |
|
|
16:9 Head shot, demonstrates what the talking head appears like in 16:9.
|
|
Tompkins: Does HD video clog up editing because the video contains so much more data?
Richard: The technical specs behind HD will drive you nuts if you try to understand them! That’s what engineers are for. The technology continues to move faster than most of us can keep up with it. Does it currently take longer to move large HD files around for editing? Sure. But three years ago you’d never have believed the iPod nano was possible. Computer memory is still getting cheaper, chips are getting faster and software is getting better. Editing will be the least of your worries before long. Getting HD through the microwave systems, over the Internet or out on the satellite are other pressing issues.
Manny: HD contains an extreme amount of data that is capable of clogging up a server. We at KUSA are currently upgrading our
AVID system so it will be capable of holding all that HD data.
Tompkins: Won't Internet sites like YouTube, and anybody who plays video for that matter, have to change the size of the video box on their Web site to accommodate HD video?Richard: Right now the 4:3 picture is the still the standard, but I think you’ll see everybody transition to the 16:9 wide-screen format. The 4:3 video will either be stretched to fit the wide-screen format or “skirted” with back bars on the side to fill the screen. Once the content is there, the players will surely follow.
Manny: The fascination people have with YouTube will only draw more people to their site if they are able to see images in 16:9 or a wide-screen box, especially if the HD quality is also there.
Tompkins: What is the coolest thing you or your station has done so far in HD? Richard: The answer: Simply getting on the air! It’s amazing from both the technical and photographic sides of the fence that we get on the air every day! My hat is off to the engineers who have had to figure it out and to the photo staff members who make it all come together. Beyond that, last year’s Parade of Sail (Tall Ships) on the North Carolina coast was pretty spectacular in HD. For that matter, I’ll just go with ANY shoot on the coast.
Check out my Sunrise/Sunset piece I did this summer. (It’s a large file so it will take some time to load.)
Richard put together two versions of a video to help explain HD to photojournalists.
Here is a quick-loading version of the video, and here is a larger
HD version of the video.
Richard
also has a Web site with examples of his work and contact information.
Manny: For the last three years we have produced a holiday parade from a set location downtown, and our viewers seem to enjoy that. The coolest thing we've been able to do is produce two shows in HD showing the great places the state of Colorado has to offer.
In 2005, the staff of photojournalists and reporters produced a show titled "The Wildside of Colorado." We were able to take our viewers closer to some of Colorado's beautiful landscapes and wild creatures that roam our mountains and plains. The second show produced in 2006 was called "Colorful Colorado-Xtreme!" There our storytellers captured what the crazy sports people do here in Colorado, such as kayaking down rough waters in mountain canyons, racing mountain bikes and running a marathon with a mule over mountain passes. Both shows were very popular with our viewers, especially those who are fortunate enough to have a high-definition TV set.
Additional Information about HDHDTV can be a big frustration for home consumers who find they can't sync HD cameras and HD TVs. They also find that unless they have a supercharged home computer, trying to edit high-def video can be a slow process. For example, Kodak’s high-definition digital cameras won’t connect to an HDTV unless consumers take the extra step of purchasing the company’s $99 HDTV docking station.
Nokia says that in two years, you may be able to record HD video on a cell phone.
And wait: Just when you are getting worked up about high-def, here comes ULTRA high-def.
The Red Cam is already on the street, and the sensors are as sensitive as a high-end still camera. So it is possible to shoot 60 frames per second of ultra high-end video. Every frame would be easily good enough to print in a newspaper. The Red Cam Web site says:
Typical high-end HD camcorders have 2.1M pixel sensors and record with 3:1:1 color sub-sampled video at up to 30fps. We deliver 12M pixels at up to 60fps and record wide dynamic range and color space 12 bit native RAW. That’s more than 5 times the amount of information available every second and a vastly superior recording quality. Don’t need all that data for your workflow? Dial it back, and keep all the other advantages of the
Mysterium ™ Super 35mm cine sized (24.4×13.7mm) sensor. You get the same breathtaking Depth of Field and selective focus as found in film cameras using equivalent 35mm P/L mount lenses.
. It is a fat file, so be patient. I hope that you will join the conversation. If you have something to add to one of the questions I asked Richard and Manny, please drop us a few lines in the feedback section of this column. Include links to your HD work if there is something we can learn from it.
Don't forget to look for tomorrow's column on digital television.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.
I'm always inspired by John Ford's compositional skill. From the...
