Workflows - Data Lab

Why use Data Lab?

Because data processing runs on computers, many people are tempted to think that good data processing can happen anywhere you can plug in a laptop.

However, there are many reasons why a Data Lab is by far the best place for this to happen:

Speed: the infrastructure and parallel processing power of a dedicated Data Lab means that data conversion can happen many times faster than on a single machine.

Quality: properly calibrated broadcast quality monitors and a suitable viewing environment mean that dailies, or online- resolution output can be properly quality controlled.

Consistency: people know what to expect from the service. Editors know they will get their dailies in the format that works immediately on their system and they won’t have to waste time working out how to ingest their data; Directors of Photography know that their work will be shown in the best light, and they can build up a relationship with the lab in the same way as they do with a fi lm lab.

Safety: proper procedures and systems architecture mean that rushes will be secure and properly backed up.

Expertise: data Lab personnel are trained in all aspects of digital imaging technology and colour science, from capture to editorial to delivery.

What does all the jargon mean?

1080i	High Definition format consisting of 1080 interlaced horizontal scan lines, usually assuming an aspect ratio of 16:9 producing a resolution of 1920 x 1080
1080p	High Definition format consisting of 1080 progressive horizontal scan lines, usually assuming an aspect ratio of 16:9 producing a resolution of 1920 x 1080
2K	File that is 2048 pixels wide. Vertical resolution varies depending on aspect ratio
4K	File that is 4096 pixels wide. Vertical resolution varies depending on aspect ratio
720p	High Definition format consisting of 720 progressive horizontal scan lines, usually assuming an aspect ratio of 16:9 producing a resolution of 1280 x 720
AIFF	uncompressed audio file format
ALE	Avid Log Exchange. Text file used by AVID systems to log video metadata
ari	RAW file format used by Arriflex digital cameras
Aspect ratio	Ratio of width to height of image eg: 16:9 or 4:3
AVC Pro HD	Digital file format used by Panasonic
AVI	Audio Video Interleave. Multimedia file format developed by Microsoft
Baselight	Non-linear grading system manufactured by FilmLight
Bayer filter	Colour filter array for arranging RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors.
best light grade	Application of colour correction across dailies
Bit depth	The number of bits that are used to encode colour luminance information. Higher values provide better quality images
BITC	Burnt-In TimeCode. In-picture timecode reference
bitrate	Speed of data transfer
CCD	Charged Couple Device. Type of chip used in digital cameras
CDL	Colour Decision List. Format for exchanging grading information between systems, developed by the American Society of Cinematographers
.cine	RAW file format used by Phantom cameras
CineAlta	Name of Sony's high end digital camera system
CineForm RAW	Codec developed by CineForm for compressing high resolution images. Commonly used in the SI-2K camera
CMOS	Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor. Type of chip used in digital cameras
CMX3600	Widely used EDL format
Codex	Manufacturer of tapeless capture systems
conform	Process of assembling media into a sequence
D-21	High end digital camera manufactured by Arriflex
Data Lab	Facility to process media from digital cameras
DCN	Digital Camera Negative. Unprocessed files straight out of a digital camera
DCP	Digital Colour Process. Usually a grade performed after a conform
De-log	Image processing curve to de-encode logarithmic encoding
DI	Digital Intermediate. Digital grading and finishing process for theatrical distribution
DIT	Digital Imaging Technician. On-set camera technician and data wrangler
DnxHD	High Definition codec used by AVID systems. Comes in a range of bit rates
dpx	Digital Picture Exchange. File format containing a single image, typically for online quality processes.
dSLR	digital Single Lens Reflex. High end digital stills camera
EDL	Edit Decision List. Text file enabling exchange of edits between systems
Epic	Next generation of high-end digital camera manufactured by RED Digital Cinema. Due for release end of 2009
eSATA	external Serial ATA interface. Connection for external hard drives enabling a fast data transfer
EX-1	Lightweight prosumer digital camera manufactured by Sony
EX-3	Lightweight prosumer digital camera manufactured by Sony
extraction	conversion of data from RAW files to RGB data
F-23	2/3 inch format digital camera manufactured by Sony
F-35	35mm format digital camera manufactured by Sony
Final Cut Pro	Editing system developed by Apple
Firewire 400	Connection for external hard drives
Firewire 800	Connection for external hard drives
fps	Frames per second. Recording rate of image capture
FrameCycler	Playback and grading software manufactured by Iridas
gamma	factor of gamma encoding eg. 1.8, 2.2
gamma encoding	Method of encoding luminance or RGB values for different display technologies
GB	GigaByte. 1024 MegaBytes
Genesis	High end digital camera manufactured by Panavision
global shutter	Type of digital shutter
h264	High compression display codec often used for internet delivery
HD	High Definition. Blanket term covering a variety of high definition video formats.
HDCam	High Definition (1440 x 1080) 8-bit video format
HDCamSR	High Definition (1920 x 1080) 10-bit video
HDD	Hard Disk Drive, usually used for external portable drives
image sequence	Sequence of image files such as dpx or tiff, as opposed to a contained media file such as QuickTime
linear	correctly refers to a gamma value of 1.0, although often used incorrectly to refer to video gamma of 2.2 as opposed to log encoding
Log	Logarithmic data encoding, typically used for film scanning

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