Just got back from NAB last night. A lot of fun, but exhausting... probably walked over 20 miles in three days on the show floor, drank too much free beer and got very little sleep (it is vegas, after all).
I think it's safe to say that 3D is dead, as it was almost non-existent on the show floor. I can only remember two booths with any 3D - GoPro had a couple of displays running 3D content from their dual rig, and there was one booth showing glasses-free 3D displays. I've heard a lot of people suggesting that'll be the thing that finally makes 3D popular in the home, but it's really not that great - and if you're not at the right angle it's actually uncomfortable to watch.
4k was the big trend, it was everywhere from cameras to displays and post equipment.
AJA's new camera was pretty impressive, as was the new Blackmagic. It'll be interesting to see how they compare as they appear to both be based on the same sensor. Aja's always had a better reputation for quality in their post hardware than blackmagic has, so I wouldn't be surprised if their camera continues the tradition.
Clearly Arri has started a trend - first there was Alexa, then Amira, now there's Ursa and Cion; if you're bringing a new 'cinema' camera to market and still using model numbers instead of a sexy name you're clearly just not hip enough for kids today.
After handling the GH4 I'm pretty well sold on that being my next camera rather than the BM pocket. The new Sony A7 is really nice - full frame sensor at an optimal resolution for 4k capture, and insanely high ISOs - even at 407,000 ISO the noise wasn't so bad as to make it unusable. The display isn't as nice as the GH4 though, and I didn't like their tilt setup compared to the panasonic's hinged display. And at twice the price I'm not really interested - it doesn't do 4k on board, and the hdmi output is only 8bit vs. 10bit on the GH4.
It was interesting that GoPro had a presence that was smaller only than Sony or Panasonic - and not that much smaller. The difference was booths everywhere had accessories and equipment specifically designed for GoPro. It's amazing how far they've come from something that started in a surfer's garage a few years ago.
Atmos' new lineup was one of the things I was most impressed by. The upgraded displays on the new Ninja & Samurai recorders were great, and the inexpensive Ninja Star makes it easy to add prores recording to any hdmi-equipped camera. It should make a great upgrade for people using GoPros for more serious work; I plan to pick one up for that as well as to take advantage of the 10bit 422 output from the GH4 for HD stuff.
The Shogun had to be the most impressive though. A calibrated 7" 1920x1080 IPS capacitive touchscreen, with a full set of monitoring tools, and the ability to do up to 4k prores recording, plus XLR via a breakout cable, all for "under $2k" (they didn't mention exact pricing). That paired with a GH4 or the A7 (although it only has 8bit output) should make a really nice combo.
I saw a demo of Resolve 11 that was really interesting - as I suspected when they announced 10 they're clearly heading in the direction of it becoming a start-to-finish post production solution rather than just a color tool. The new editing capabilities look to be on par with fcp or premier, although probably not quite as fully featured in terms of things like media management, metadata, or multicam editing. For most common editing tasks I think it'll do though, and I'd expect those remaining features to be addressed in the next version. Considering the lite version includes all this functionality for free it may well turn out to be a great editing option even for really low budget work.
Everybody and their brother was making cages and support rig systems, LED lights, and gimbals.
The support systems are all about the same, differentiated primarily by the color of their anodized bits. Tilta's stuff impressed me the most in terms of build quality and finish. The big trend across the line here was wood - handgrips, top handles, etc. Some were doing leather grips as well. I guess when everyone's stuff is the same you have to do something to try to make your's look special... I fully expect we'll be seeing gold plating and rhinestones in a year.
In LEDs there seems to be an across-the-board improvement in color rendition, with most of the new lights claiming CRIs in the 90-97 range. There were several companies showing edge-lit panels which are much better if you want a soft source. They're also much thinner and lighter than comparably-sized grids (cheaper as well), although output is down slightly at the same size.
I saw a lot more hard LED lighting sources as well - fresnels and PARs with a single source rather than a cluster of LEDs and very high output.
The other interesting light development (related to the above) was the emergence of more lights based on remote-phosphor technology - Cineo & Hive were the best I saw there. In a normal LED phosphors are applied directly to the diode; the combination of phosphors determine the color of the light. Because so little phosphor is applied to each bulb it's difficult to maintain consistent color across large batches of bulbs. In remote-phosphor lights the LEDs are a very pure blue, and the phosphor is put on a panel in front of a group of them to create a single light source. Since the panel is so large compared to a single tiny diode it's much easier to achieve consistent colors - and in some lights it's possible to swap out phosphor panels to switch between daylight and incandescent temperatures, or really any color you want. These lights tend to be very high output for their size and power draw, but they are still fairly expensive compared to traditional LED panels. I have a feeling that as these become more common and the prices drop they'll end up being the standard technology for most lighting purposes.
There were so many 3-axis gimbal setups on display it was hard to keep track of them. They all work pretty similarly, with the biggest difference seemingly in the software - the more expensive ones tend to do a better job of keeping transitions smooth. The ones I found most interesting were the small ones for GoPros and iPhones. For ~$300 you can get a gimbal on a pistol grip and get shots that would have required a full steadicam to duplicate a few years ago. Put them on a cheap, flimsy crane and they'll give you rock-solid moves, mount them on a car for perfectly stable driving shots, etc. Hell, you could throw one on the end of a painter's pole and hold it out the window of a car and get shots that would have required a dedicated crane car, like rising up and over a motorcycle as it drives towards the camera. GoPro + Ninja Star + 3-axis gimbal = some amazing shots at very high quality for just over $1000.
Probably the most impressive thing I saw wasn't directly related to filmmaking. I walked around a corner and saw a booth with a massive backlit printed vinyl display - probably 20 feet high by 30 feet wide. I literally stopped short because it was so vibrant. Luckily they had some nice padded carpet in the booth, because I'm pretty sure my jaw slammed into the floor when the still image on the vinyl dissolved into moving video (4k source being scaled to 8k). It was a video display like that used on billboards, where you can build whatever size screen you want by seamlessly linking together multiple panels that are about two feet square. Most of those are designed for viewing at a significant distance though, and up close you can see all the individual red/green/blue LEDs. This one used LED clusters that were 1.8mm wide with no visible space between them - you had to be about six feet from the screen before you started to see the clusters, and it appeared to have a full 180 degree viewing angle. I honestly think it was good enough that you could build a theater around these panels and most people wouldn't know it wasn't projected - but it's bright enough that it looks good in even a well-lit room like the exhibit hall. I'm sure they're pretty expensive at this point, but it was a cool glimpse into a future where we could literally do things like full-wall televisions - I'm actually currently looking into the cost & feasibility of using this in conjunction with the interactive app I've developed for trade shows and events.
Anyway, it was a very cool show, glad I went out this year to check things out... three days was barely enough time to see everything. I highly recommend it if you get a chance to go next year!
I think it's safe to say that 3D is dead, as it was almost non-existent on the show floor. I can only remember two booths with any 3D - GoPro had a couple of displays running 3D content from their dual rig, and there was one booth showing glasses-free 3D displays. I've heard a lot of people suggesting that'll be the thing that finally makes 3D popular in the home, but it's really not that great - and if you're not at the right angle it's actually uncomfortable to watch.
4k was the big trend, it was everywhere from cameras to displays and post equipment.
AJA's new camera was pretty impressive, as was the new Blackmagic. It'll be interesting to see how they compare as they appear to both be based on the same sensor. Aja's always had a better reputation for quality in their post hardware than blackmagic has, so I wouldn't be surprised if their camera continues the tradition.
Clearly Arri has started a trend - first there was Alexa, then Amira, now there's Ursa and Cion; if you're bringing a new 'cinema' camera to market and still using model numbers instead of a sexy name you're clearly just not hip enough for kids today.
After handling the GH4 I'm pretty well sold on that being my next camera rather than the BM pocket. The new Sony A7 is really nice - full frame sensor at an optimal resolution for 4k capture, and insanely high ISOs - even at 407,000 ISO the noise wasn't so bad as to make it unusable. The display isn't as nice as the GH4 though, and I didn't like their tilt setup compared to the panasonic's hinged display. And at twice the price I'm not really interested - it doesn't do 4k on board, and the hdmi output is only 8bit vs. 10bit on the GH4.
It was interesting that GoPro had a presence that was smaller only than Sony or Panasonic - and not that much smaller. The difference was booths everywhere had accessories and equipment specifically designed for GoPro. It's amazing how far they've come from something that started in a surfer's garage a few years ago.
Atmos' new lineup was one of the things I was most impressed by. The upgraded displays on the new Ninja & Samurai recorders were great, and the inexpensive Ninja Star makes it easy to add prores recording to any hdmi-equipped camera. It should make a great upgrade for people using GoPros for more serious work; I plan to pick one up for that as well as to take advantage of the 10bit 422 output from the GH4 for HD stuff.
The Shogun had to be the most impressive though. A calibrated 7" 1920x1080 IPS capacitive touchscreen, with a full set of monitoring tools, and the ability to do up to 4k prores recording, plus XLR via a breakout cable, all for "under $2k" (they didn't mention exact pricing). That paired with a GH4 or the A7 (although it only has 8bit output) should make a really nice combo.
I saw a demo of Resolve 11 that was really interesting - as I suspected when they announced 10 they're clearly heading in the direction of it becoming a start-to-finish post production solution rather than just a color tool. The new editing capabilities look to be on par with fcp or premier, although probably not quite as fully featured in terms of things like media management, metadata, or multicam editing. For most common editing tasks I think it'll do though, and I'd expect those remaining features to be addressed in the next version. Considering the lite version includes all this functionality for free it may well turn out to be a great editing option even for really low budget work.
Everybody and their brother was making cages and support rig systems, LED lights, and gimbals.
The support systems are all about the same, differentiated primarily by the color of their anodized bits. Tilta's stuff impressed me the most in terms of build quality and finish. The big trend across the line here was wood - handgrips, top handles, etc. Some were doing leather grips as well. I guess when everyone's stuff is the same you have to do something to try to make your's look special... I fully expect we'll be seeing gold plating and rhinestones in a year.
In LEDs there seems to be an across-the-board improvement in color rendition, with most of the new lights claiming CRIs in the 90-97 range. There were several companies showing edge-lit panels which are much better if you want a soft source. They're also much thinner and lighter than comparably-sized grids (cheaper as well), although output is down slightly at the same size.
I saw a lot more hard LED lighting sources as well - fresnels and PARs with a single source rather than a cluster of LEDs and very high output.
The other interesting light development (related to the above) was the emergence of more lights based on remote-phosphor technology - Cineo & Hive were the best I saw there. In a normal LED phosphors are applied directly to the diode; the combination of phosphors determine the color of the light. Because so little phosphor is applied to each bulb it's difficult to maintain consistent color across large batches of bulbs. In remote-phosphor lights the LEDs are a very pure blue, and the phosphor is put on a panel in front of a group of them to create a single light source. Since the panel is so large compared to a single tiny diode it's much easier to achieve consistent colors - and in some lights it's possible to swap out phosphor panels to switch between daylight and incandescent temperatures, or really any color you want. These lights tend to be very high output for their size and power draw, but they are still fairly expensive compared to traditional LED panels. I have a feeling that as these become more common and the prices drop they'll end up being the standard technology for most lighting purposes.
There were so many 3-axis gimbal setups on display it was hard to keep track of them. They all work pretty similarly, with the biggest difference seemingly in the software - the more expensive ones tend to do a better job of keeping transitions smooth. The ones I found most interesting were the small ones for GoPros and iPhones. For ~$300 you can get a gimbal on a pistol grip and get shots that would have required a full steadicam to duplicate a few years ago. Put them on a cheap, flimsy crane and they'll give you rock-solid moves, mount them on a car for perfectly stable driving shots, etc. Hell, you could throw one on the end of a painter's pole and hold it out the window of a car and get shots that would have required a dedicated crane car, like rising up and over a motorcycle as it drives towards the camera. GoPro + Ninja Star + 3-axis gimbal = some amazing shots at very high quality for just over $1000.
Probably the most impressive thing I saw wasn't directly related to filmmaking. I walked around a corner and saw a booth with a massive backlit printed vinyl display - probably 20 feet high by 30 feet wide. I literally stopped short because it was so vibrant. Luckily they had some nice padded carpet in the booth, because I'm pretty sure my jaw slammed into the floor when the still image on the vinyl dissolved into moving video (4k source being scaled to 8k). It was a video display like that used on billboards, where you can build whatever size screen you want by seamlessly linking together multiple panels that are about two feet square. Most of those are designed for viewing at a significant distance though, and up close you can see all the individual red/green/blue LEDs. This one used LED clusters that were 1.8mm wide with no visible space between them - you had to be about six feet from the screen before you started to see the clusters, and it appeared to have a full 180 degree viewing angle. I honestly think it was good enough that you could build a theater around these panels and most people wouldn't know it wasn't projected - but it's bright enough that it looks good in even a well-lit room like the exhibit hall. I'm sure they're pretty expensive at this point, but it was a cool glimpse into a future where we could literally do things like full-wall televisions - I'm actually currently looking into the cost & feasibility of using this in conjunction with the interactive app I've developed for trade shows and events.
Anyway, it was a very cool show, glad I went out this year to check things out... three days was barely enough time to see everything. I highly recommend it if you get a chance to go next year!
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