The Briefing Room

INDIANAPOLIS-Cine-tal Systems’ Cinemage monitor is currently being used as an integral part of a unique dailies processing workflow in the production of television projects. Cinemage is being employed in tandem with Iridas’ SpeedGrade On Set software to apply color looks set by a show’s director of photography to select dailies. The process both speeds post production work and allows a show’s producers to better monitor its progress.
Kyle XY , a show produced in Vancouver, British Columbia and shot in HD using Sony F23 cameras and SRW-1 decks is currently using this system. Dailies processing is handled by a local company, Northwest Imaging and Effects, which transfers select takes to 1080p master tapes for editorial purposes. During the transfer process, Cinemage and SpeedGrade on Set are used to apply LUTs, created by the Director of Photography, reflecting his vision for the show.
“Production creates a look for each scene and as we transfer circle takes from the field tapes to HD select tapes, we use Cinemage to apply those looks,” said Vincent Ohara, Director of Engineering for Northwest Imaging and Effects. “We refer to the process as color timing.”
Northwest Imaging and Effects also prepares DVD screeners and QuickTime files of select dailies for delivery to the show’s production team in Los Angeles. This has proven to be a boon to the approval process as it allows producers, network executives and other stakeholders to see elements in a near finished form at an early stage in the production process.
“It is essential to have an accurate monitor to ensure that the producers are seeing the same look as the people in the field,” explained O’Hara. “If a certain look has been created in the field, the people in L.A. have an opportunity to see it and approve it, avoiding potential conflicts later on.”
Although Northwest Imaging and Effects acquired its Cinemage monitor specifically for use in Kyle XY, it has begun to employ it in other parts of its operations. “Cinemage is an excellent standalone reference monitor,” O’Hara noted. “We use it with our Autodesk products, Smoke and Flame, for commercial projects. It is our trusted monitor for color representation.”
About Cine-tal
Cine-tal Systems develops display, collaboration and image processing solutions for digital cinema and video production and post production. Cine-tal is a privately held company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information, call (317) 576-0091 or visit www.cine-tal.com.