LUCASFILM LTD. ADOPTS SONY'S NEW 4:4:4 HIGH-DEFINITION RECORDING SYSTEM FOR STAR WARS: EPISODE III
Plus8Digital to Lease Latest Additions to Sony's CineAlta Family
Fujinon HD Cinematography Lenses Selected by Lucasfilm
LAS VEGAS (NAB, Booth #SU-4015), April 6, 2003 - Sony's new 4:4:4 RGB high-definition (HD) camera and new high-data rate HDCAM SR ™ recording system (without pre-filtering or sub-sampling) will make their inaugural debut in the forthcoming Star Wars: Episode III.
The latest additions to Sony's CineAlta ™ family - which include the HDC-F950 HD camera with full-bandwidth uncompressed digital 10-bit 4:4:4 RGB outputs, HDCAM SR portable and studio recorders (the SRW-1 and SRW-5000, respectively) and specially formulated BCT-SR series videocassettes capable of recording full-resolution HD digital RGB component video - will be utilized in Episode III, just as Sony's previous generation of HDCAM ® equipment formed the technical backbone of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.
Plus8Digital, the digital motion picture technology rental company with offices in Burbank, Calif., Vancouver and New York City, will supply the HDC-F950 camera and HDCAM SR equipment to Lucasfilm. Fujinon will supply all of the lenses for the principal photography.
Production on the latest installment in the Star Wars saga is expected to begin in June at Fox Studios Australia. Episode III is due to be released theatrically in summer 2005.
The image quality of the HDC-F950 system permits the highest caliber digital imaging of principal photography for feature motion picture production, said Larry Thorpe, senior vice president for Content Creation Systems at Sony Electronics' Business Solutions and Systems Company.
"Lucasfilm has championed digital motion picture production, producing compelling work that offers dazzling imagery and sets significant industry benchmarks," Thorpe said. "The combination of the HDC-F950 camera and HDCAM SR recording, the latest additions to our comprehensive CineAlta family of content capture and production tools, provides direct benefit for principal photography, the shooting of miniatures and HD blue/green-screen compositing that are central to the Star Wars saga."
"Star Wars: Episode III will break new ground with the help of this new 4:4:4 RGB 24P CineAlta camera and HDCAM SR recording," said Rick McCallum, producer of Star Wars. "Sony continues to help us push the frontiers of digital motion picture production. We first saw the possibility for 4:4:4 RGB recording in the HDCAM platform while shooting miniatures in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, and we judged this to be the new high-performance bar for the entire production of our final Episode III."
Comprehensive Product Line
The HDCAM SR recording format significantly enhances Sony's CineAlta family of digital motion picture capture and production equipment. The centerpiece of this second-generation CineAlta system is the newly introduced HDC-F950 high-definition (HD) camera that captures uncompressed 1920(H) x 1080(V) digital 4:4:4 RGB. The camera also embodies more than a one f-stop extension in exposure latitude, improving its handling of over-exposed picture information.
Building on the features of the HDW-F900 camcorder, it also adds a new "under-cranking" feature at picture capture rates of one to 24 progressive frames-per-second. Responding to the pioneering cinematic work of Lucasfilm and ILM, Sony has developed a PC-based Gamma Editor to facilitate user-friendly control of the camera's tonal reproduction. A new optional high resolution color viewfinder with an innovative grayscale display assists the cinematographer in exposure and lighting decisions.
The HDC-F950 camera is matched with Sony's new line of HDCAM SR recorders. The new SRW-1 battery-operated field recorder and the SRW-5000 studio recorder capture the full detail of the Common Image Format 1920(H) x 1080(V) sampling structure without pre-filtering or sub-sampling. With BCT-SR series digital videocassettes, these form a comprehensive solution for studio and remote digital motion picture production and post-production.
A significant system innovation is facilitated by a 3Gbps fiber optic link from the HDC-F950 camera head to the new HDCU-F950 camera control unit using the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standardized composite fiber/copper cable system. Alternatively, for special remote applications, a single mode fiber connection can greatly extend the cable length when the camera and CCU are separately powered.
The CCU directly interfaces with the digital 4:4:4 RGB video from the HDC-F950 camera to the SRW-1 portable recording system via dual link HD-SDI outputs. The HDC-F950 also can directly interface to the SRW-1 portable recorder (and its associated SRPC-1 processor unit) over the same optical fiber link.
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