User Reports etc.

George Walkley
Service Manager
Z Systems
Minnetonka, MN

I just wanted to write to you and let you know that I've been enjoying the benefits of your charts and the assistance I offer to our clients. Many have come to realize that the bland out of the box look of any of these HD cameras need some special attention. The cameras that I've tweaked and created profiles for are being used on Discovery and other channels all from clients right here in the Minneapolis area. Thanks again for the tools that you provide for us tweakers in the world

Jeffrey T. Happ
HD/SD Cinematographer and Engineer
Pasadena, CA

World Poker Tour
Las Vegas, NV
It was a real pleasure meeting you and everyone @ the DSC booth during the recent NAB in Las Vegas... gosh, was it almost 6 months ago..? Ouch! Also many thanks for the picture of DC and yours truly on your website.

Been a great year so far. I LOVE my chart! ... so wishing I had your 'Fiddleheads BF' chart on the flip side but then it wasn't available when I ordered was it? I put it to use right away. I've just flown with it for the 5th or 6th time.

My chart also now has a hard anvil case for when it travels with other production gear. That will happen next week, going to Las Vegas again. Right after that, my/your chart goes back on the truck off to poker at the Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, Ontario around the end of October.

Season 5 of World Poker Tour is well underway. Last month in Atlantic City, I was working the most recent installment when I got hold of a fellow co-worker to breakout his camera to shoot a couple of snaps of my chart working. (It's so hard for me to disengage from engineering to break out my own damn camera!)

Yours truly retrieving the chart ... Most of the time I get so busy, that the camera crew returns it to me. Together, we make sure the 7 cameras are back-focused. (whew) They love it too! The gent next to me is a local hire from the Atlantic City area. My call sheet had no info on him. He's a good guy, I've worked with him before.
I want to thank our tape operator from the show, Scott Halver for taking these pictures.

Best regards to everyone at DSC.

Jeffrey T. Happ

Crew shown is as follows: Back Row left to right - DP Lawrence Schweich, 1st AC Jeremiah Jones, Camera Operator Bradford Whitaker - Front Row: Camera Operator Adam Walderman, Camera Operator Anka Malatynska, Lead Actor John Lehr, 1st AC Ana Saldana, Not Pictured 1st AC Tiffany Auge - Bottom Front: Digital Imaging Tech Joseph T. McDonnell III with his ChromaDumonde Chart

Joseph T. McDonnell III
HD Cinematographer
TV Series, "10 Items or Less"
New Orleans, LO

Hi Dave,

Here's something for your website. A new TBS series I worked on called "10 Items Or Less". We used a DSC ChromaDuMonde Chart on the Pilot Episode to help get the show off to a great start. It helped tremendously with camera matching on set. The show is shot with three Sony PDW-530WS XDCAM cameras and recorded in Sony's IMX50 format at 24p, composed for 16x9.

Thank you DSC for a wonderful tool.

It was a wonderful experience working on the pilot episode with such a talented director Nancy Hower, DP and fantastic camera dept. Also my thanks to Grip Paul Lambiase, Best Boy Brian Gilbert and Gaffer Justin Duval who helped me constantly with setups and keeping video village happy!

Joseph T. McDonnell III - Cinematography/High Definition
IATSE 600 - New Orleans, La - Los Angeles, Ca - 818-675-1501

B. Sean Fairburn, SOC
HD Cinematographer
rolemodel@earthlink.net
Ponchatoula, LA

Having had the opportunity to use the DSC Labs CamAlign charts on every HD project I have ever done, I would say that I can't do a job without them.

I take my images very seriously, and "tuning or tweaking" the camera is always necessary to create and maintain consistent performance.

DSC Labs' charts give me that consistency. I regularly use the Gray Scale and Color Bar chart now with the Cavity Black.

It's a great reference device for not just me in the field but all the way through post and to film out.

I liked DSC Labs charts' durability so much I had them build 2 complete sets for a feature in Mexico.

David was also gracious enough to create a custom Back Focus chart that has a pattern specifically designed to help me see what I need to see for critical focus using the Peaking knob on the HD camera. If you get nothing else from DSC, you must get a Back Focus chart.

Just because I'm shooting HD doesn't always mean I'm shooting a 16x9 aspect ratio, so with the 1.85 framing lines inside the 90% safe area I can use it as a frame and focus chart as well as a color reference tool. 1.77, 1.85, 2.35, are now available, and on all my charts.

As a High Definition DP, there is too much that can go wrong for me to take chances in the field. "It's better to insure success rather than hope for it". That's why I use DSC Labs' charts.

Mel Gargus
Senior Video Engineer / Tech Manager
A & E and CBC
Edmonton, Canada

I was recently in Doha (Qatar) working the Asian Games and the DSC chart was a hit with all the video engineers here. Some European engineers had never seen a chart like yours before and were very interested. The opera "Filumena" (Picture Sent earlier this year) has now won the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association (AMPIA) AWARD ! I used my DSC chart to attain a FILM LOOK from SONY Video Cameras. Production wanted a "film" look and I was able to attain this with my DSC chart.

I used my chart on the Figure skating production for the host broadcaster during the Torino Olympics and again when the Edmonton Oilers made a run for the Stanley Cup. Summer brought the World Cup Soccer in Munich and I also did some custom line ups to a SONY memory stick on a XD CAM for an Edmonton DOP. I recently used my chart for a NBC production called "Elite" Curling which was recorded in Whistler BC. I'm currently using the chart in Doha and getting exposure for DSC on the world stage once again!

Kind Regards, Mel Gargus

Dana Liman
President
Liman Video Rental Co.
New York, New York

We use DSC's test charts to ensure the highest level of image quality that our customers expect from us. All the charts DSC has made for us have been magnificent!!!

Roger Macie
President
Macie Video Service
Dedham, Massachusetts

Our company services field cameras for nearly a thousand network shooters across the US. DSC's Ambi/Combi has contributed greatly to our business success over the past decade. It enables us to improve the quality of our clients' video images, match cameras, and achieve film and other special looks for them.

During three years of testing, we used Ambi/Combi to develop the "Macie Uniform Standard", our unique procedure for camera set-ups. It enables us to match and improve the look of nearly every camera we set-up, and has a true 100% client satisfaction rate. The Ambi/Combi has allowed us to set the standard for network news and magazine shows in the US.

Dateline is an important account for us, and NBC's Susan Franks ranks optimizing the show's visual quality as a top priority. "We want good looking pictures for Dateline and we want the show to have a cohesive quality, and consistent 'look'. High production value is our mandate. When a freelancer buys a new camera I always recommend they call Roger and have him set it up, thereby ensuring me that a: the camera is in good condition and it will run well, and b: when I send the shooter into the field, matching pictures with another crew will not be an issue."

"Roger is a genius, and a real pro. I trust him implicitly and my policy, if someone has had a camera problem, is that they must send their rig to Roger and have him look at it before they work for Dateline again. It's for all of our protection."

"When there is breaking news, I can have any two or three crews on a story, and if their cameras are set up by Roger, I know the pictures will be "Dateline standard". I know that we will save time and manpower in the field because we won't, necessarily, need an engineer to tweak the pictures. On a breaking news story we can't always take the time to play with the pictures, and it's precisely in this situation that we need to be insured against any problems that need fixing in post because the air date is almost immediate. Macie servicing saves us time in post and manpower in the field."

Jay Ballard
Senior Video Engineer
American Broadcasting Corporation
New York, NY

I have been using Ambi/Combi since the early 90s, and have found it to be a time saving tool in camera preparation and service. Because grayscale, flare and colorimetry are combined, only one chart is needed for general alignment. Ambi/Combi is a time-saver and offers consistent and accurate results.

I have been affiliated for many years with major US networks based in New York, where Ambi/Combi is used in daily alignment of studio cameras. Initially, we began using Ambi/Combi in the laboratory, where earlier illuminators had greater shading errors than any of the lens/camera combinations under evaluation. This non-uniformity could result in the cameras being misadjusted. When demonstrated in studio operations, the Ambi/Combi System was embraced by some of the most critical users and placed into service on major network programs.

Rob Sim
President
Sim Video
Toronto, Ontario

We've been using DSC test materials for 10 years - and we love 'em. We've looked at everything else for our Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver facilities - but nothing compares. DSC charts are the standard of the broadcast industry.

David Hart
Senior Service Engineer
Sony Corporation of America
Burbank, California

My engineering team has been using DSC's Combi-1 test transparency since 1994. We service and repair a variety of Sony cameras at Sony's Western Regional Service Center. Many of our clients are high-end shooters for TV news, news magazines and documentaries - working in Los Angeles, Burbank and Hollywood. Amongst many user applications, we use Combi-1 to align HD cameras for shooting space shuttle takeoffs and landings.

Combi-1's true reference vector color values provide a de facto standard for making our clients' images accurate and consistent, either to SMPTE or the user's preference. The chart is a time and cost saver, too - our engineers do a color alignment in under 10 minutes. We have satisfied customers and excellent repeat business. The big challenge is trying to explain the benefits of color alignment to new clients. Many shooters aren't aware of what their cameras can do. They're surprised at how much better their cameras look than everyone else's after we've aligned them.

Steve Lucas
Quality Control Manager
Burbank, California

We need charts that are accurate, readily available and ruggedly constructed - and CamAligns fit the bill. We use CamAligns to service HD and SD cameras. Necessary tests - gain, gamma, flare comps, black level, colorimetry, detail level and white shading - are completed quickly and precisely with the charts.

You'll be amazed what a great DP can do with a camera. Read on

Thanks, Michael Caporale, for this letter
and ChromaDuMonde User Report

To - Dave - DSC Labs

Dave, thanks again for all your help with the ChromaDuMonde chart. It has been, and will continue to be, a critical component in our system approach to designing camera set-up files for the Panasonic SDX900 and VariCam as well as the cornerstone of teaching colorimetry in the HD Expo workshops.

In the past month I have been working on the creation of set-up files for the SDX900 camera. These set-up files will be posted to the Panasonic web site for downloading as text files that can then be transferred from a user’s computer to an SD card for uploading to an SDX900 camera. They will be available at no cost to the users.

The files will also be included with reference illustrations in the new SDX900 manual being written for Panasonic by Robert Goodman.

The purpose of the files is to allow users to program their cameras for different “looks”, to simplify the process for beginners, to create starting points for more experienced users to begin experimenting with and ultimately to encourage users to explore their color menus

To that end we have divided the files into three categories.

There are 6 comprehensive files that will program every function of the camera for “easy set-up”. The comprehensive set-ups are scoped “normal” to match the ChromaDuMonde’s 28-chip chart and set up the camera for various ENG, Digital Cinema and Advertising production “styles” of working.

24 paint (color/detail) files will change the response (the look) of the camera without affecting any of the other set-up information currently in use by the camera ( the “style” of shooting). These files were also created using the ChromaDuMonde chart, but only a few were set to match the targets on a vectorscope. Most were created to provide an extreme variety of looks that users will recognize from the many current films, television and commercials that use telecine for creating different “looks”. By using the chart, I was able to work quickly, manipulating the color menus more critically to achieve these variant results.

The last group of 3 set-ups will allow users to maintain a given “look” by retaining the paint settings currently used by the camera while allowing them to change from one style of shooting to another.

Attached are the three frame grabs from the Leader 5700 scope that illustrate a typical set-up, scoped “normal”. They include a shot of the ChromaDuMonde chart with the camera’s color menu overlay that created it, a shot of the vectorscope with all the color plots sitting exactly on the crosshairs of the target and a shot of a tabletop set, illustrating the use of that specific set up.

In the near future, I intend to create set-up files for VariCam using your chart and I expect these files will also be made available in the same way as the SDX files are, over the internet.

Having migrated to digital video from film production, I know first hand that digital production requires learning different techniques to master the form. Most film-makers will not be familiar with your charts, or the benefits that can be derived from using them for “scoping” color. When used in the manner that you recommend, I know of no better way to set-up color.

Sincerely.
Michael Caporale
director of photography
24P Digital Cinema, LLC

Our thanks to Greg Foad for this

Sony F900 User Report

After missing the DSC Booth at NAB, and hearing about their new ChromaDuMonde chart, I had to go take a look and see. I really wanted to check out if it would give a better representation of what the multi matrix on my F900 was doing.

A bit of background first. I primarily shoot with an F900. When I decide to use matrix correction, my standard to date has been the DSC CamAlign chart. It facilitates adjustment of the six vectors on a standard vectorscope into an ITU-709 color space. By using a combination of user matrix and multi matrix, the six vectors can be brought in very nicely to their targets on the vectorscope.

Greg setting up ChromaDuMonde 28 on CamStand

What the ChromaDuMonde adds is the ability to see how the color space between the six targets gets affected by the other 10 points of adjustment from the multi matrix.

	Theoretical HD display of ChromaDuMonde with camera aligned for accurate reproduction. NOTE - while most users prefer and chose accurate reproduction as their goal, others use it as the best starting point to produce the particular "look" they like.
	This shows the F900 factory setup with Matrix OFF. (straight out of the box)
	Here is the F900 with Matrix Preset ITU-709 ON.
	This shows the F900 with Preset 709 ON, with User matrix and Multimatrix as well.

In the last photo, I started with Matrix Preset 709 and added User matrix. I tried every multi matrix adjustment but it tended to warp the cyan/green and red/magenta from the suggested DSC reference. So for multimatrix I only used 3 main points to help bring it in and left all others at factory (0).

All DSC Colorbars are designed to have slightly higher saturation than typical scene colors. In NTSC, simply increasing the burst, to the outer corner of the yellow box should put the signals in their boxes when a camera is aligned for accurate reproduction.

In HD and SD the RGB levels are combinations of 560 and 280mV. Because there is no burst, Dave is working with scope manufacturers to have them include a setting to give the standard gain factor of x1.875.

For now David recommends exposing for the chart, then expanding gain to place the red and yellow signals (the main components of skin tone) into their boxes before adjusting the other colors.

I found ChromaDuMonde to be a great tool for setting up the color space on my F900. It really did provide what I felt was a very complete set of targets for setting up, and manipulating, matrix settings.

Greg Foad

Sean Fairburn's "Tech Prep Q's for HD Shoot"

Early in the prep of any Job some questions must be addressed that set the course the job will follow.

These are some considerations that must have answers before shooting begins.

1) Where is the show Going once done?
TV, Feature, DVD, Internet, Interactive CD Rom

2) What Frame rate will you shoot?
1080 is not an answer. 23.98Psf, 25Psf, 29.97Psf, or interlace 50i, 59.94i (see they're all 1080)

3) What Aspect Ratio will you compose for?
HD IS 16x9 (1.78), 1.85, 4x3, 16x9 letterboxed to 4x3.

4) What safe area will you use in the viewfinder and through Post?
90%, 95%, 92.5%, 80% or a custom size.

5) Will you record sound on the camera as it is shot and/or record separately?
Sync Sound as its shot vs. manually syncing sound in Post $$$ or both.

6) What timecode method will you use Free Run TOD or Record Run?
Free run TOD is broken code, Record run Hour # = Tape # At Tape # 21 roll TC back to hour "1" keeping tapes in 20 tape blocks.

7) What is the route the footage will take through Post?
Downconverts to Digibeta for AVID offline then Online in HD take Locked master in for audio layback and Color Correction.

8) How do you intend to move the camera?
Dolly, Boom, Ped, Sticks, Geared Head, Fluid Head, SteadiCam, Hand Held.

9) Are you shooting with Primes and Cinestyle Zooms or ENG style Lenses?
Consider all accessories and setup time for both. I use Both whenever possible or practical.

10) How much work do you expect to do in Color Correction?
Getting as close as possible to the intended look will only Help.

11) How will you intend to Monitor the HD in the field/on set? in HD and/or Downconverted and will there be Video Playback?
Size and proper viewing environment must be considered. 9 inch for composition only, 24 inch true tech evaluation in dark.

12) Are you going to hire a DIT or are you going to fly the Plane?
Getting an experienced Technician will help insure success.

Every show is different; this is intended to open up the necessary Dialog with those persons responsible for the successful production of the show. Understanding the ramifications of each decision will help guide you to the decision that's right for your show.

Let me give an example of some choices I tend to usually make.

1) Feature, TV, or Commercial - I do a little of each
2) 23.98Psf
3) 1.85 cut from 90% safe, 16x9 cut from 90% safe , Same respective of #1
4) 90% Safe Area, shoot Frame chart so Post knows what you're framing for.
5) Sound on Camera and separately
6) Record Run Time Code, Tape 1 = Hour 1 TC
7) Downconvert to DVCAM to keep them from considering the option of onlining and color correcting straight off the DigiBetas, but it's up to them.
8) All of the above - I also do lots of Handheld.
9) All of the above - the ENG style lenses are great for Handheld.
10) You never get enough time in Color Correction Do as much as possible in Camera.
11) 24 inch HD on an HD Cart with a special HD Tent www.filmtools.com
Downconvert for Video Playback whenever possible - "Don't use the HD camera"
12) Hire a DIT or learn to fly, I Learned to fly, but I hire DITs whenever possible.

B. Sean Fairburn SOC
Director of Photography
Los Angeles Ca
818 621 3912 c
Local 600
Agent Steve Jacob 323 460 4767

PS Feel free to pass this along to others that may need the info as a check list.

If you have a helpful tip you would like to share, email it to:
"The Pro's Corner" dsc@dsclabs.com

DSC supplies test patterns to virtually every type of organization and individuals demanding the finest picture quality, from camera makers to broadcasters, governments, space agencies, marine biologists, motion picture production, universities, medical institutions, churches, transportation, security, production companies, camera service shops, etc.