Understanding The Future Of Post Production and Color Grading: Part 2

Part 2: Exploring two more pillars of the digital video evolution – Frame Size and Bit Depth

In the initial Insight, I talked about the 5 pillars of the technological growth and innovation of digital video – as defined by Technicolor in a 2016 Siggraph presentation. Technicolor did a great job segmenting that innovation into discreet areas of research and development:

• Frame Rate
• Frame Size
• Bit Depth
• Color Space
• Dynamic Range

Here in Part 2, I finish up my discussion on Frame Size and then move into Bit Depth. In both cases, as with Frame Rate, we look at how those aspects of digital video have evolved, the pace of the rate of change, and the force driving (or stunting) that innovation. And what is that force? Presence; which is the desire of the audience to feel immersed in our video and audio stories.

Presence drives audience acceptance and technology adoption

If proposed changes in technology don’t increase the audience’s sense of Presence, a particular innovation is likely to slow or die. As discussed in this video, this accounts for the quick increase in larger screen sizes for home entertainment but the slow rate of change in moving from 8-bit to 10-bit delivery formats.

Enjoy!

-pi