Color suite
Encyclopedia
Color suite also called a Color bay or a Telecine suite or Color correction bay. Color suite is the control room
for color grading
video
in a post production environment. The video source could be from: a telecine
, a Video tape recorder
(VTR), a motion picture film scanner
, virtual telecine
or a Direct to Disk Recording
(DDR) or the older system called a film chain
. A high end broadcast
color suite may use a Da Vinci Systems
or Pandora Int.'s color corrector. If a VTR is the source for the video the room is often called a tape to tape suite. Many suites are designed to operate as a telecine suite or a tape to tape suite by changing the configuration of the suite. The operator of the suite is usually called a Colorist. If a telecine is the source this is called a Film to Tape operation. A color suite may use one video standard or be able to change configuration to a number of standards like: high-definition video
, NTSC
, or PAL
or a DI
workflow. Color suites are sometime placed in digital cinema
movie theaters with a video projector
for color correction to that display format
.
The suite room will also have video equipment in the Production control room for monitoring the video signal like: Video monitor
, Waveform monitor
and vectorscope
.
The suite may have an either a Non-linear editing system
(NLE) or Linear editing system to control the source and record device. This may be internal to the color grading device, as in a Pandora's poggle or Da Vinci's 2k or external, as in Da Vinci's TLC (telecine controller).
A vision mixer
may also be in the suite for monitoring different video sources or for simple or special effect
s in the video. A character generator
is sometime used also for titling and subtitle
.
The suite may have equipment to read, log and insert into the video Kodak's Keykode
. Keykode is bar coding that is placed at regular intervals on negative films to aid in identifying and counting of film frames. Evertz http://www.evertz.com/products/production#Production, Aaton
http://www.aaton.com/products/post/keylink/features.php and ARRI
are three types of readers for telecine use.
The suite may or may not have audio post production
equipment. This would be to monitor and if needed sync up the program audio to the video source if the sound was not on the film
. An audio mixing console
and other audio equipment
such as effects devices may also be in the suite. The audio may be from the film soundtrack. The term MOS
is used, on a slate
, when a scene is filmed without sync sound or any sound. A clapperboard slate is used at the start and sometime at the end of scene to mark particular takes recorded during a production.
Other equipment that may be used in the suite are: digital still store\Frame grabber
to store references frames, noise reducer
to reduce film grain/dirt and video noise
; video router
and audio router
.
The telecine, VTRs and some of the larger equipment are often placed in a central apparatus room
or machine room and are interconnected through Cable tray
s or raised floor
to the color suite by patch panel
s, Coaxial cable
s, Computer network
and Multicore cable
s.
Some of the Color suites are at video post production facilities that rent them by the hour for the transfer of TV commercials, documentaries
and movies.
These color suites would have a client area behind the colorist. With the client
present this would be called a supervised session.
Control room
A control room is a room serving as an operations centre where a facility or service can be monitored and controlled. Examples include:*in television production, the master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations, television networks...
for color grading
Color grading
Color grading or colour painting, is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. The photo-chemical process is also referred to as color timing and is typically performed at a photographic...
video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
in a post production environment. The video source could be from: a telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
, a Video tape recorder
Video tape recorder
A video tape recorder is a tape recorder that can record video material, usually on a magnetic tape. VTRs originated as individual tape reels, serving as a replacement for motion picture film stock and making recording for television applications cheaper and quicker. An improved form included the...
(VTR), a motion picture film scanner
Motion picture film scanner
A motion picture film scanner is a device used in digital filmmaking to scan original film for storage as high-resolution digital intermediate files.A film scanner scans original film stock: negative or positive print or reversal/IP...
, virtual telecine
Virtual telecine
A virtual telecine is a piece of video equipment that can play back data files in real time. The colorist-video operator controls the virtual telecine like a normal telecine, although without controls like focus and framing. The data files can be from a Spirit DataCine, motion picture film scanner...
or a Direct to Disk Recording
Direct to Disk Recording
Direct-to-disk recording refers to methods by which analog signals and digital signals such as digital audio and digital video are digitally recorded to optical disc recording technologies such as DVDs, and CD optical discs...
(DDR) or the older system called a film chain
Film chain
A film chain or film island is a television - Professional video camera with one or more projectors aligned into the photographic lens of the camera. With two or more projectors a system of front-surface mirrors that can pop-up are used in a multiplexer. These mirrors switch different projectors...
. A high end broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
color suite may use a Da Vinci Systems
Da Vinci Systems
da Vinci Systems is a main manufacturer of high-end post-production color grading and film restoration systems for feature films, video production and broadcast post-production facilities...
or Pandora Int.'s color corrector. If a VTR is the source for the video the room is often called a tape to tape suite. Many suites are designed to operate as a telecine suite or a tape to tape suite by changing the configuration of the suite. The operator of the suite is usually called a Colorist. If a telecine is the source this is called a Film to Tape operation. A color suite may use one video standard or be able to change configuration to a number of standards like: high-definition video
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
, NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
, or PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
or a DI
Digital intermediate
Digital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
workflow. Color suites are sometime placed in digital cinema
Digital cinema
Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute and project motion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector...
movie theaters with a video projector
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
for color correction to that display format
Image resolution
Image resolution is an umbrella term that describes the detail an image holds. The term applies to raster digital images, film images, and other types of images. Higher resolution means more image detail....
.
The suite room will also have video equipment in the Production control room for monitoring the video signal like: Video monitor
Video monitor
A video monitor also called a broadcast monitor, broadcast reference monitor or just reference monitor, is a display device similar to a television set, used to monitor the output of a video-generating device, such as playout from a video server, IRD, video camera, VCR, or DVD player. It may or...
, Waveform monitor
Waveform monitor
A waveform monitor is a special type of oscilloscope used in television production applications. It is typically used to measure and display the level, or voltage, of a video signal with respect to time....
and vectorscope
Vectorscope
A vectorscope is a special type of oscilloscope used in both audio and video applications. Whereas an oscilloscope or waveform monitor normally displays a plot of signal vs. time, a vectorscope displays an X-Y plot of two signals, which can reveal details about the relationship between these two...
.
Non-linear editing system
In video, a non-linear editing system is a video editing or audio editing digital audio workstation system which can perform random access non-destructive editing on the source material...
(NLE) or Linear editing system to control the source and record device. This may be internal to the color grading device, as in a Pandora's poggle or Da Vinci's 2k or external, as in Da Vinci's TLC (telecine controller).
A vision mixer
Vision mixer
A vision mixer is a device used to select between several different video sources and in some cases Compositing video sources together to create special effects...
may also be in the suite for monitoring different video sources or for simple or special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s in the video. A character generator
Character generator
A character generator, often abbreviated as CG, is a device or software that produces static or animated text for keying into a video stream. Modern character generators are computer-based, and can generate graphics as well as text...
is sometime used also for titling and subtitle
Subtitle (titling)
In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. In library cataloging the subtitle does not include an...
.
The suite may have equipment to read, log and insert into the video Kodak's Keykode
Keykode
KeyKode is an Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification...
. Keykode is bar coding that is placed at regular intervals on negative films to aid in identifying and counting of film frames. Evertz http://www.evertz.com/products/production#Production, Aaton
Aaton
Aaton is a motion picture equipment manufacturer, based in Grenoble, France. Aaton was founded by Eclair engineer Jean-Pierre Beauviala, whose efforts have been primarily focused on making quiet, portable motion picture hardware suitable for impromptu field use, as for documentaries...
http://www.aaton.com/products/post/keylink/features.php and ARRI
Arri
-History:Arri was founded in Munich, Germany as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik in 1917, named after founders August Arnold and Robert Richter. They produce professional motion picture equipment, digital and film cameras and cinematic lighting equipment...
are three types of readers for telecine use.
The suite may or may not have audio post production
Audio post production
Audio post production is the general term for all stages of production happening between the actual recording in a studio and the completion of a master recording. It involves, sound design, sound editing, audio mixing, and the addition of effects.-Film:...
equipment. This would be to monitor and if needed sync up the program audio to the video source if the sound was not on the film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
. An audio mixing console
Mixing console
In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
and other audio equipment
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
such as effects devices may also be in the suite. The audio may be from the film soundtrack. The term MOS
MOS (film)
MOS is a standard filmmaking jargon abbreviation, used in production reports to indicate an associated film segment has no synchronous audio track...
is used, on a slate
Clapperboard
A clapperboard is a device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in the synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark particular scenes and takes recorded during a production...
, when a scene is filmed without sync sound or any sound. A clapperboard slate is used at the start and sometime at the end of scene to mark particular takes recorded during a production.
Other equipment that may be used in the suite are: digital still store\Frame grabber
Frame grabber
A frame grabber is an electronic device that captures individual, digital still frames from an analog video signal or a digital video stream. It is usually employed as a component of a computer vision system, in which video frames are captured in digital form and then displayed, stored or...
to store references frames, noise reducer
Noise reduction
Noise reduction is the process of removing noise from a signal.All recording devices, both analogue or digital, have traits which make them susceptible to noise...
to reduce film grain/dirt and video noise
Signal-to-noise ratio
Signal-to-noise ratio is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power. A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise...
; video router
Video router
A Video router or Matrix are used for transporting video signals from sources or inputs to output destinations.- Inputs and outputs :...
and audio router
Audio router
- Inputs and Outputs :The number of inputs and outputs varies dramatically. The way routers are described is normally number of inputs by number of outputs e.g. 2x1, 256x256.- Signals :...
.
The telecine, VTRs and some of the larger equipment are often placed in a central apparatus room
Central Apparatus Room
In broadcast facilities, a central apparatus room , central machine room, or central equipment room , or central technical area , or rack room is where shared equipment common to all technical areas is located. Some broadcast facilities have several of these rooms...
or machine room and are interconnected through Cable tray
Cable tray
In the electrical wiring of buildings, a cable tray system is used to support insulated electric cables used for power distribution and communication. Cable trays are used as an alternative to open wiring or electrical conduit systems, and are commonly used for cable management in commercial and...
s or raised floor
Raised floor
A raised floor or access floor are types of floor that provide an elevated structural floor above a solid substrate to create a hidden void for the passage of mechanical and electrical services...
to the color suite by patch panel
Patch panel
A patch panel or patch bay is a panel, typically rackmounted, that houses cable connections. One typically shorter patch cable will plug into the front side, whereas the back holds the connection of a much longer and more permanent cable...
s, Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
s, Computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
and Multicore cable
Multicore cable
An audio multicore cable is a cable which contains from 4 to 64 individual audio cables inside a common outer jacket. Audio multicore cables are widely used whenever multiple audio signals, for example from a number of microphones, need to be conveyed between common locations...
s.
Some of the Color suites are at video post production facilities that rent them by the hour for the transfer of TV commercials, documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and movies.
These color suites would have a client area behind the colorist. With the client
Customer
A customer is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the products of an individual or organization, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing or renting goods or services...
present this would be called a supervised session.
See also
- 3D LUT3D LUTIn the film industry, 3D LUTs are used to calculate preview colors for a monitor or digital projector of how an image will be reproduced on the final film print. A 3D LUT is a 3D lattice of output color values. Each axis is one of the 3 input color components and the input color thus defines a...
- CintelCintelCintel International Ltd is a British company, based in Ware, Hertfordshire,SG12 0AE, which specialises in the design and manufacture of professional post-production equipment, for transcribing film into video or data formats...
telecine equipment. - Color motion picture film
- Da Vinci SystemsDa Vinci Systemsda Vinci Systems is a main manufacturer of high-end post-production color grading and film restoration systems for feature films, video production and broadcast post-production facilities...
and Pandora Int.'s color gradingColor gradingColor grading or colour painting, is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. The photo-chemical process is also referred to as color timing and is typically performed at a photographic...
and video editingVideo editingThe term video editing can refer to:* Linear video editing, using video tape* Non-linear editing system , using computers with video editing software* Offline editing* Online editing...
systems. - Digital intermediateDigital intermediateDigital intermediate is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. It often replaces or augments the photochemical timing process and is usually the final creative adjustment to a movie...
- Display resolutionDisplay resolutionThe display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
- FaroudjaFaroudjaFaroudja Labs was a San Francisco based IP and research company founded by Yves Faroudja.Faroudja specialized in video processing algorithms and products...
, inventors of reverse telecine technologies - Film recorderFilm recorderA Film Recorder is a graphical output device for transferring digital images to photographic film.All film recorders typically work in the same manner. The image is fed from a host computer as a raster stream over a digital interface...
- Film restoration
- Film-outFilm-outFilm-out is the process in the computer graphics, video production and filmmaking disciplines of transferring images or animation from videotape or digital files to a traditional film print...
- Gamma correctionGamma correctionGamma correction, gamma nonlinearity, gamma encoding, or often simply gamma, is the name of a nonlinear operation used to code and decode luminance or tristimulus values in video or still image systems...
- Hard disk recorderHard disk recorderA hard disk recorder is a type of direct to disk recording system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to more traditional reel-to-reel tape or cassette multitrack systems, and provide editing...
- HDTV blurHDTV blurHDTV blur is a common term used to describe a number of different artifacts on modern consumer high-definition television sets.The following factors are generally the primary or secondary causes of HDTV blur; in some cases more than one of these factors may be in play at the studio or receiver end...
Factors causing HDTV Blur - Image scannerImage scannerIn computing, an image scanner—often abbreviated to just scanner—is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop scanner where the document is placed on a glass...
- Telecine (piracy)Telecine (piracy)The term telecine refers both to a film-to-tape transferring machine, as well as the process by which film is transferred to tape...
, a pirated copy of a film created with a telecine. - Telerecording (UK)
- TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
External links and references
- Technicolor’s Post production Facility, Technicolor, October 31, 2006
- Nice Shoes Adds Fourth Telecine Suite, creativemac.digitalmedianet.com, November 01, 2004
- UCLA Film and Television Archive UCLA, visited 1-15-08
- Telecine Suite 01 flickr, visited 1-25-08
- Film Into Video Merging Technologies, book
- POSTWORKS OPENS FIFTH TELECINE SUITE, digitalmedianet.com, May 23, 2006
- Film Sound Terminology