Kodak Technology and Innovation at the 2010 Annual SMPTE Conference

Every year the Motion Picture Industry gathers together at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) annual conference to share the latest technical developments in the entertainment marketplace.  In keeping with Kodak’s long-standing commitment to innovation in the entertainment industry, we presented three papers this year. They reflect Kodak’s ongoing investment in both film and digital technologies – representing a number of new advances that are highly synergistic with rapidly evolving digital workflows. 

In “Enhanced Image Recording Capability: Novel Light Management Technologies Applied to Camera Origination Color Negative Film Design”, Merrick Distant, Drake Michno and Sharon Johnston describe the set of technologies that enabled the improvements in the Kodak VISION3 family of films.   By the use of advanced dye layering technology and optimized sub-micron emulsion technology, they were able to achieve significant improvements in both signal –to-noise ratio in low exposures while expanding dynamic range.  These improvements allow film-makers to operate effectively in low light levels and capture scene content from the brightest highlights to the deepest shadows.  This is particularly useful in combination with the powerful digital intermediate toolset.

As managing director of Cinesite, Kodak's visual effects subsidiary, it's very gratifying for me when my team is recognised by the industry for their tremendous creativity, artistry and technical skills.

While we are known primarily for our feature film visual effects, Cinesite has had notable success for high-end television work, particularly over recent years. 

Every year about this time, spring is ushered in by a gathering of the broadcast industry in Los Vegas, Nevada, otherwise known as NAB. This annual conference of the National Association of Broadcasters showcases new technologies in support of all aspects of the broadcast industry. I’ve attended the conference many times in the past and it is quite an impressive showing of all kinds of high tech equipment, hardware, software and especially new digital cameras. What strikes me always about all this stuff – probably because I’m a Kodak guy – is that the vast majority is dedicated to a single cause…trying to replace motion picture film!

For as many years as I can recall, the floor of NAB is jam-packed with an incredibly diverse number of offerings from various manufactures of digital technologies like motion capture devices and digital image manipulation technologies – all developed specifically with the goal of emulating the look and efficiencies derived from the eloquent and mature medium of motion picture film.

In recent months, there has been a perception that there has been a massive shift to digital, and that’s not true. In the US and Canada, between all the major networks (including HBO and the other channels) we have about 40 shows on film. 24 is still on film, and there was a thought that the original CSI: Las Vegas was going to go digital, but as they got going with the series, digital just didn’t work out for their needs. So CSI: Las Vegas is still shooting film.

At the moment, one hour dramas on US TV are still very much 3-perf 35mm. Castle; Grey’s Anatomy; Private Practice; Desperate Housewives; Brothers & Sisters; Lost; The Mentalist; Fringe; Mad Men; and Two and a Half Men are all returning shows shot on 3-perf 35mm. HBO is shooting loads of 35mm 3-perf at the moment. New series shot on the same format include: ; Hung; Boardwalk Empire; How to Make it in America; Wonderful Maladies; Treme; and others.