Entertainment Technology Put Simply

Simple explanations for complex technology in a fast moving world. E-Tech provides non-technical explanations of emerging Entertainment Technologies.  Think of it as your secret weapon for making the complex, understandable. Each short interactive module tackles a single technical topic and will have you sounding like an expert in minutes.

It’s the perfect resource for producers, directors, editors and cinematographers, techs, and anyone else interested in keeping up with functional technical knowledge in an ever changing industry.

What is video? What is compression? What is encoding? What is data rate? What does it mean to shoot “raw?” What about current tapeless workflow: RED, P2, SxS, and a host of others? E-Tech is your place to find the answers.

E-Tech is brought to you by Createasphere and hosted by Michael Cioni, founder and president of LightIron Digital Post, and Jeff Seckendorf, a lifelong Director of Photography. Michael and Jeff are joined by a range of guests that bring the topics to life.

E-Tech is available in two parts or as a complete program.

• Section one covers video and digital technology
• Section two focuses on post production

The program is continuously being updated and expanded.  In addition, the content is presented by working professionals with no direct connection to any specific product or brand.

E-Tech One

Introduction to E-Tech (2 Min)
E-Tech Introduction – the who, what, why, when, and where of entertainment industry technology. Join Jeff Seckendorf, cinematographer and instructor as he introduces you to what’s coming up in E-Tech.

The Digital State of the Union (7:20 Min)
LightIron Digital’s Michael Cioni looks at the past, present, and future of digital production. From silent films and micro budget features, to high definition television and digital capture for episodic and feature film production, how have historical trends translated into current technology.

The New Ice Age (2:30 Min)
Our modern domestic society was founded on the idea that society’s wealth was controlled by the industrialist sector, those companies that made things, like cars, and airplanes. But over the past few decades, wealth has shifted from the industrialist sector to the Information, Communications, and Entertainment industries. Jeff looks at this idea as it relates to the Entertainment Industry.

What is Video? (2:30 Min)
More than just a way to watch TV, we look at the technology behind video. NTSC vs. PAL, interlaced vs. progressive, plus all the common formats – high def, standard def, DV, HDV, raw, and others.

Michael will also address analog and digital capture, variable frame rates, and the current transition to a form of image capture called “raw.”

Compression (4:40 Min)
Without file compression the world would have a lot more hard drives than it does now. Compression is the stuffing or shrinking of a digital image to fit into a smaller space than it’s original size, and the idea is to do it with as little loss of quality as possible.

In this chapter, Michael discusses many forms of file compression / decompression, or CODEC’s, and how those CODEC’s effect us as we capture moving images in digital formats.

Bit Depth (2:50 Min)
How much color is in your image? Bit Depth, also referred to as Color Depth, defines colors per pixel. Here we’ll look at the differences between 8-bit and 10-bit capture, and how, in many cases, bit depth is a more important factor in image quality than the resolution of an image.

Steaming Data (1:40 Min)
Much like broadcasting a signal to your TV via the airways, data streaming is the process of getting digital information from a server to your computer.

How does bandwidth effect the speed of a download or stream, and how does compression and bit rate fit into the puzzle? Join us as Michael clarifies all of this.

Ideal System (1:10 Min)
Who’s special sauce is the best? How do you decide which video or tapeless digital capture is the best system for your project? We have a simple answer.

All Prep Starts with Deliverables (2:30 Min)
When do you decide what format to shoot? We always start at with the end user. Before you take out a camera, you have to figure out your workflow, thus the idea, ‘All prep starts with deliverables.’ Both Jeff and Michael address this, first from the production side, then from post.

E-Tech Two

Video is the Emulsion (2:45 Min)
When you purchase or rent a video or tapeless digital camera, you also purchase or rent the chips that capture the image. How does this compare to film, where you can pick the film stock you want and simply put it in the camera. There is a new paradigm about the video cameras actually being the emulsion, as Jeff explains.

Raw (3:20 Min)
Is it video, or is it raw? Is it compressed, or uncompressed? Is it processed, or unprocessed? We’ll get to the simple truth about shooting raw images.

LUTS - Look-Up Tables (9:00 Min)
LUTs are a way to represent color when seen on a monitor. Michael gives you the low-down on look-up tables, why you need to understand them, and describes the workflow using LUTs to get from film to digital or from raw to digital.

Editorial Configuration for Prosumer Projects (3:40 Min)
From kitchen-table post through small studios, how can you best optimize your project on a small scale?

Editorial Configuration for Indie Projects (3:30 Min)
Have a little bigger job? Need a little more horsepower in your editorial system? Michael guides you through scaling your project up to the next level.

Indie Editorial Example (2:40 Min)
What are the advantages of a self contained editing system? Using this program, E-Tech, as an example, we take you through the workflow from the camera to your computer.

Editorial Configuration for Studio Projects (1:30 Min)
Using the scaled workflow from the Indie production, Michael talks about adding the computing power needed to edit feature films and episodic television in a non-linear format.

Professional Input and Output Tools (3:00 Min)
What the easiest way to speed up your editorial system? Add hardware. This chapter looks at some of the input and output systems available to non-linear editing platforms that give you big project speed on reasonable budgets.

Visual Effects (4:35 Min)
Can you do visual effects on your desktop system? Traditionally, all this work was done outboard in VFX facilities. But with a scaleable system, many effects can be done on a desktop editor. Here, Michael looks at software, hardware, and the speed of it all.

3D Overview (2:25 Min)
We take a look at the business and production of 3D. Is it a fad, or is it here to stay?