Digital Video Festival program

Learn from leading industry professionals the secrets of great digital cinematography, digital post-production, digital intermediate workflow, compositing and audio location recording.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

DAY ONE

Tuesday 13 NOVEMBER

KEYNOTE SESSION: DIGITAL CAMERAS TODAY 9am

John Bowring, ACS

How do you decide between the bewildering array of competing cameras, none of which share the same format, recording media, resolution, or post workflow? This session will help you make sense of what's out there, whether you’re looking for a tape, optical, hard drive or a memory card based recorder that stores HDV, HD, 2K, or 4K data. The new cameras from Arri, Canon, Dalsa, Grass Valley, Hitachi, Iconix, Ikegami, Panavision, Panasonic, Red, Silicon Imaging, Sony, and Vision Research will be discussed and evaluated. Also, learn what you should know about the post workflow for each camera to avoid shooting in a format you can’t edit.

PANEL SESSION: DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY 10.30am

Moderator: Ben Allen ACS

Some of Australia's leading DOPs discuss the impact of digital high speed cameras as creative tools in the hands of the modern filmmaker, sharing their experiences working at the forefront of the HD revolution. They will analyse changing roles and responsibilities on the set, as well as the creative and financial implications of choices made during production.

MASTERCLASS: FLASH VIDEO ENCODING 12pm

Lisa Larson

In this session, we'll review the basic principles of encoding, and you'll learn about the tools available to encode video into Flash (FLV) format. You'll walk away with an understanding of how Flash video works, and techniques to make your final FLVs look their best.

LUNCH BREAK 1pm

BASIC COLOUR GRADING SECRETS 2pm

Ben Allan, ACS

Desktop colour grading is currently bursting onto the scene in a variety of forms. But why do most people find it difficult to manipulate colour? Although many believe they understand colour, much of what we know about colour is based on mistaken fundamentals. There are not seven colours in a rainbow and red, blue and yellow aren't the primary colours of anything. Ben Allan explains how colourspace actually works and how to make it do what you want. Focusing on techniques and tricks that work across all of the different colour manipulation tools this session is a must for anyone wanting to take control of the colour of their images.

PANEL SESSION: DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE 3pm

Anthos Simon, Atlab; Nic Smith, Digital Pictures; Stuart Monksfield, Cutting Edge

Australia's leading post-production industry experts discuss approaches to creating a successful data-centric workflow for HD, 2K and eventually 4K Digital Intermediate applications.

AUDIO-FOR-VIDEO SOLUTIONS 4pm James Nowiczewski

Amazing video can't save your production from bad audio. It's arguably the most important part of your production, but its importance is often overlooked. James Nowiczewski provides a professional's overview of various microphones and location recorders and explains how to get the best audio in normal and unusual shooting conditions. 

DAY TWO

WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER

REALITY BYTES FOR TAPELESS TV 9am

Michael Burton , Managing Director, Cutting Edge

Explore the realities of this next-generation approach to video production with an inside look at two high-profile series handled by Australia’s Cutting Edge. Big Brother 2007 was a landmark event for tapeless production with its round-the clock disk recording of 43 cameras, while The Limo Diaries on Foxtel features an innovative use of Sony consumer hard disk camcorders in the field. Cutting Edge managing director Michael Burton looks at the challenges faced in developing two very different applications of tapeless technology.

NEW SESSION - RED ALERT! 10am

Mike Seymour, fxphd.com

The RED ONE camera is one of the most hotly anticipated cameras to hit the production community in years. Having taken delivery of the first and only RED ONE in Australia, Mike Seymour will show off the RED camera and explain what it offers in terms of a revolutionary and truly affordable 4K digital capture offering a dynamic range, colour and depth of field matching 35mm. Mike will provide an overview of its state of development and and explain the post-production workflow for the camera. Mike is a part of the fxphd team of professional trainers and consultants that offer training in the production and post industries, and were one of the first companies in the world to receive a Red camera. Mike has a long history in the film industry and is highly awarded.
www.fxphd.com

PANEL SESSION: TAPELESS WORKFLOW 11.00am

Rachel Knowles, Digital Pictures; Rodney Bolt, Horizon Films; Michael Burton, Cutting Edge; Mike Seymour

The options for tapeless production are increasing rapidly, with the introduction of new cameras from Panasonic, Sony, Canon and Grass Valley and many more. How is the Australian post-production sector dealing with the demand for tapeless workflow from producers and cinematographers? Our experts consider the risks and rewards of this new process.

MASTERCLASS : ADOBE PREMIERE PRO 12pm

Evan Butson

Learn how to get the most out of Adobe Premiere Pro and deliver stunning results for film, broadcast, DVD, Web and mobile devices utilising enhanced features such as new format support and a unique Time Remapping tool that improves slow motion and variable speed effects

LUNCH BREAK 1pm

CASE STUDY: DIGITAL FILMMAKING 2pm

Richard Stewart, Producer and Jon Hewitt, Director, Acolytes

Learn from the experiences of making the eagerly awaited Australian film Acolytes, a new $A3.8 million feature due out in early 2008. Acolytes is the first feature in the southern hemisphere to be shot on a high-definition Viper camera.

FINISHING WITH COLOR 2.45pm

David Gross

A co-author of the forthcoming Apple Pro Training Series title Color , David Gross provides an essential a guide to Apple’s masterful new colour grading and finishing application.

NEW SESSION - VIDEO COMPOSITING WORKFLOW USING ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS CS3 & CINEMA 4D  4D R10.5 3.30pm

Nigel Allen

The use of 3D animation is increasing in all areas of industry. With the correct choice of 3D production tool & compositing software you can build a highly flexible workflow while shortening production times & adding new compositing capabilities to your facility.
This thirty minute presentation will assist you to...
• Enhance your 3D productions using live action video
• Use multi-layered rendering for the ultimate control over your renders
• Add 3D compositing to your skill set and command higher rates
Nigel Allen from Adimex will show how this can be achieved using the tight integration between CINEMA 4D R10.5 & After Effects. You will see how live action video footage can be seamlessly integrated into a pre-rendered 3D animation in After Effects using camera & lighting information generated in the 3D production environment. Using multi-layer rendering technology Nigel will demonstrate how to adjust the look of your 3D animation within After Effects without the need for time consuming re-renders.
Who Should attend?
• Artists, designers and editors who would like to expand their knowledge and skills to include 3D compositing;
• Studio producers/managers who want to learn what 3D can offer their studio; and
• Freelancers who want an understanding of how to offer 3D to their clients.

DIGITAL CINEMA 4pm

Ben Wilson, Atlab Image and Sound Technology

What screen you are shooting for? As the digital cinema revolution rolls on, producers must understand the impact of digital technology in cinema, and who better to provide insights than Atlab, the company that creates most of the release prints in Australia? Atlab’s technology division is a leading player in the rollout of DCI -compliant 2K digital cinema installations and also supplies its own sub-2K e-cinema system. This session will get you ready for a future that includes 4K display and mainstream 3D cinema.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

John Bowring, ACS

After starting as an assistant projectionist for Village Drive-ins, then as a news and current affairs cine-cameraman/editor for GTV9 and later Willesee at Channel 7 in Melbourne, Bowring has won over 30 awards for cinematography. In those earlier years, Bowring both shot and edited TV comedy programs including the Paul Hogan Show, Ernie Sigley, Graham Kennedy and Don Lane. For the BBC, he photographed and directed the Clive James Postcard series specials on New York, Cairo, Sydney and for the UK's Carleton TV, "Postcard from Bombay," " Hong Kong" and "Melbourne". In 1996 he shot and was the telecine colourist for "ELLE" - Australia's top rating TV documentary that year and won an ACS Gold award for cinematography. Glenn Ridge's series on the Year of the Outback also won several awards for cinematography in 2003/4. Away from the pointy end of a camera - Bowring started the company Lemac in 1975 on the advice of GTV Channel 9 - originally to supply his services and equipment for Nine's production department, outside of his on staff news commitments. Later - after leaving GTV, the Lemac service would expand to the film and television industry generally - sharing the techniques and equipment Bowring developed or discovered while working as a cinematographer/editor. The Lemac equipment grew from an Sun Gun battery light, an old secondhand 16mm Auricon Pro 600 sound camera and a clockwork Bolex- to a whole rentals and sales inventory. Lemac today has a full time staff of 35, based in Sydney Brisbane and Melbourne, providing state of the art film and digital equipment for rental or sale, as well as post production and creative services. 2005 saw Lemac celebrate 30th year in business. Over the years, amongst the technical developments John has either introduced or developed have included - the sync stretch frame - which won him awards for cinematography and technical innovation by the Australian Cinematographers Society. SUPER 16 & 16x9 origination for television, timecode on film and the MultiCam film system using TV pedestals for the series "MurderCall." In 1999 FACTS - the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations approached Bowring to shoot and post produce their High Definition Presentation for the Federal Government that lead to the introduction of HDTV in Australia. Bowring through Lemac introduced Australia's first HDCAM cameras into its' rental inventory in 2000. For a long time, Lemac was Australia's only HD rental equipment supplier - supporting and training DOPs in this new capture medium. Bowring as been directly involved in the HD acquisition and work-flow for Australian HD features such as, "WOLF CREEK," "MACBETH," "ROGUE," "THE TUMBLER" "LAKE MUNGO" all photographed by ex Lemac staff assistants of Bowring. Then came the first introduction of P2HD and now Lemac is the first to offer the new RED 4K Digital Cinema System - starting with the Australia's first RED feature "Nothing Men." As a cinematographer / imaging technologist, Bowring is always looking for new ways to shoot pictures, and re-working old tried and proven ways too - like 3perf 35 with AatonCode. He's is in demand by many organizations and equipment manufacturers for technology advice, training and help on camera, lens and system design. But he cannot give up his addiction to the camera - as a cinematographer, he's shot all but one the Nine Networks Image/ ID campaigns over the last quarter of a century - and many of the Seven Network's too. Recently he's shot national campaigns for Nine, Seven Foxtel, Fujitsu, Greater Union, and Wyatt and many currently "on air" - all shot either on film or high definition digital. John Bowring was accredited 'ACS' by the Australian Cinematographers Society in 1991, made a life member of the society in 1999, inducted in to the society's Cinematographer's Hall of Fame in 2005, and is a member of SMPTE and the BKSTS. The original Auricon Pro-600 sound camera is now apart of Lemac's equipment museum in Melbourne - but on standby - ready to shoot at a moments notice!

Ben Allan ACS

Ben Allan is an award winning cinematographer who works with both film and HD. A pioneer in the HD world, he has been actively using the format for the last seven years. His work in desktop colour grading stretches almost as far back with the award winning films Where Is Your Love (2001) and Albert's Chook Tractor (2002) both graded entirely in Final Cut Pro. In recent years, Allan developed The Grading Sweet package of colour grading plugins for FCP to make the process faster and easier. The Grading Sweet has recently been awarded the ACS Ross Wood Award for innovation and is now in use in over twenty countries around the world.
www.benallanacs.com

Evan Butson

Evan Butson is the founder of The Difference Engine (TDE), a Melbourne-based media solutions company working within the television, corporate and educational sector servicing such clients as BHP Billiton, Aurius Diamonds, Honda MPV, Shell, and Ford.

Dominic Case

With 30 years' experience in lab and post-production roles, Dominic Case is Director of Communications for the Atlab Group. Dominic started out in a lab in England as a physics graduate, but after emigrating to Australia he took a communications & media degree at Macquarie University. Now after more than 30 years in the film industry he is the author of the definitive textbook, Film Technology in Post Production, and a frequent writer on the industry. He is a Fellow of the British Kinematograph, Sound & Television Society and also the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers. He became a Commissioner on the Australian Film Commission in 2003.

James Nowiczewski

James Nowiczewski has been a working professional in sound for television and film for 15 years, with location sound credits including Better Homes and Gardens, The Biggest Loser, Atlas and much more. James has been a speaker at many industry events, written articles for trade magazines and also owns audio post production studio, Groovetown.

Rachel Knowles

Rachel has worked in the film and television industry in Sydney and Melbourne for twelve years and has been at Digital Pictures since 2002. Her most recent film credits include The Bank Job and rushes & DI scanning for Warner Bros. Where the Wild Things Are. Roger Donaldson's feature film The Bank Job was shot in the UK and post produced at Digital Pictures. This film was shot on the ARRI D20 camera recording onto HDCAMSR. Digital Pictures post-produced the film to 35mm prints with HD and SD deliveries as well as providing the Avid edit suites with Unity Data Storage for the editorial team. Rachel's recent Australian credits include Digital Intermediate Producer for Kenny, The Caterpillar Wish & The Magician; and Post Producer of Rushes & HD Mastering for Noise, The Home Song Stories & Boytown. She has also supervised post production paths for a range of documentaries and TV series, and in 2005 helped co-ordinate Digital Pictures’ first major international Digital Intermediate, Seven Swords, directed by Tsui Hark.

David Gross

David Gross is an editor and colourist at Definition Films, based in Sydney. Located in the heart of the Australian film industry at Fox Studios Australia, he specialises in providing HD solutions to international clients including 20th Century Fox, Discovery Channel International, Sony BMG, Universal Music, Becker Entertainment, and MTV.

Nic Smith

Nic hails from England where he cut his teeth working for Molinare as one of the founding members of their Digital Intermediate department. Nic has been working in DI since it became an industry standard and has completed over 30 feature films in the last 3 years including MGM's I Could Never Be Your Woman and the multi-award winning Zozo, London to Brighton and The Living in the Home of the Dead. Arriving in Melbourne to help set up the workflow for the Warner Bros feature film Where the Wild Things Are, Nic helped Digital Pictures complete scans for a million feet of film across more than a thousand lab reels. In the past six months, Nic has helped set up their TVC DI workflow and has played an important role in recent successes with the feature film DIs Night and The Bank Job. Nic is a massive film fan and is a movie collector with tastes spanning most genres and continents and is committed to excellence in his craft.

Jon Hewitt

Jon Hewitt has written, produced and directed three uncompromising features, as diverse in their scope as they are focussed in their intent. Hewitt’s hard-hitting cop thriller Redball (1997) was one of the world’s first digitally shot features and a precursor to the Dogme movement. Premiering at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Best Film winner at CUFF (Chicago), Redball was also one of the most controversial films ever given a mainstream theatrical release down-under, where its unflinching dramatisation of police corruption earned it a damning and unprecedented full-page editorial in a major Australian newspaper. Acolytes, whose cast includes Joel Edgerton and Bundaberg-raised actor Michael Dorman, is his first mainstream big- budget feature.

Anthos Simon

Anthos is the General Manager for Atlab's Sydney operations, and is particularly responsible for production scheduling and digital postproduction quoting and planning. Anthos started out as a keen filmmaker. He has made several short films and still actively participates in filmmaking. He's a 19-year veteran of Atlab, having originally started in an apprenticeship at Colorfilm and going on to rise through the ranks of Atlab and digital post production to become NSW General Manager. Anthos studied photography at TAFE for four years - a valuable basis for understanding how film works - and has also studied at the AFTRS. In the last 10 years (including four at Dfilm services, then Australia's premier visual effects facility), Anthos has become an outstanding expert on digital techniques.CLICK HERE to return to the main Digital Media Festival page. www.atlab.com.au

Stuart Monksfield

Stuart is Vice President of Operations, Sydney for Cutting Edge, one of Australia’s leading post-production facilities with headquarters in Brisbane, two facilities in Sydney and one in Darwin. Raised and educated in England, Stuart holds a Diploma in Television Broadcast Engineering. He spent fourteen years with Sony Europe in the UK, supporting and product managing post production equipment sales into Europe, Middle-East and Africa. In 2002 Stuart immigrated to Australia, working for Cutting Edge as Engineering Manager. During this time he was directly involved in providing post production services and workflow solutions for several Hollywood feature films, in addition to many other domestic and international productions. In 2005 he moved to Germany, where held the position of world-wide Director of Business Development and Workflow Manager for Thomson’s Grass Valley Post Production Solutions Division. In 2005 Stuart returned to Cutting Edge as Vice President of Operations in Sydney, where he currently oversees all technical and operational requirements at their Chippendale and Entertainment Quarter post production facilities.
www.cuttingedge.com.au

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW

CLICK HERE to return to the main Digital Media Festival page.