Galvanising
to save 16mm

Following the recent publication by the Digital Production Partnership (DPP) of the technical standards expected for UK TV programming, the production community is preparing to gather at BAFTA for one last attempt to persuade broadcasters of the creative value of Super16mm, reports Adrian Pennington.

 

Fears that 35mm may be next in the firing line have, however, been dispelled by BBC Executive Producer of HD, Ian Potts who told British Cinematographer: “As far as I know there are no plans to eradicate 35mm film acquisition.”

 

Potts reiterated the Corporation’s stance that the use of S16 as an acquisition medium going forward was “pretty much closed”, but did leave some room for producers, DPs and technology vendors to convince the BBC’s Head of HD Technology, Andy Quested, of improvements in degraining techniques.

 

“The BBC and most of the UK broadcasters now share a common delivery standard and, as all broadcasters are moving to HD capture and delivery, 16mm will not be acceptable,” confirmed Potts. “We have gone over it [the issue] so many times since 2006, that unless there’s some real radical technology change it [the pro-S16 lobby] is not going to work. The grain compared to the neg size is too large.”

 

In March the DPP, spearheaded by the BBC, ITV and C4 with the support of Channel 5, S4C and Sky and the indie production sector, released a common set of standards for tape delivery of HD and SD programmes.

 

The specifications have been a source of heated debate for the last two years, and now form the contractual basis between broadcasters and producers for all new commissions.

 

Causing most controversy is a rule that mandates against the future use of S16 whish states: ‘Super 16 is not considered high definition no matter what processing or transfer systems are used’ (their italics).

 

Industry body The Image Forum, in association with Equity, proposes to invite DPP members to a technical presentation at BAFTA, to put forward evidence it hopes will persuade the DPP to adopt more flexibility in its approach. The date will be announced shortly.

 

“The truth is that we have tried to fight for 16mm, and now we’ve got to try even harder to keep 35mm, which is at risk if the BBC follows the intent of its directive to the letter,” says Martin Hammond, Image Forum chair.

 

The guidelines state that 35mm film stocks are permissible for HD delivery, provided they are 3-perf or 2-perf daylight (no tungsten) with an ISO rating of 250 or less. “At BAFTA we will have a technical presentation to show what can be done with advanced film and degraining technology, and invite the BBC to network with our members, as well talent from in front of the camera,” says Hammond.

 

“It’s a question of artistic choice,” he stresses. “Film provides a certain look and feel, highly suited to certain types of production and desired by creative programme makers.”

 

The BBC is likely to accept the invitation, according to Potts, but demonstrations of a “technical breakthrough” will be the only thing that may change its mind.

 

The issue is muddied while certain drama shows with a legacy of film acquisition complete their run. These include BBC Wales’ Merlin, swapping from S16 to 3-perf 35mm for its current production; Sky’s Mad Dogs, also 35mm, and BBC series Doc Martin, Spooks, New Tricks, Waking The Dead and ITV’s Collision - all on 16mm.

All replacement series must conform to the new directive, although up to a quarter of a submitted HD programme can be non-HD originated, including archive 16mm footage.

 

However, the S16 archive of iconic productions held by the BBC and independent producers will not be shown on the BBC’s HD channel. That includes recent Oscar-winning features such as Hurt Locker, Black Swan and The Wrestler. The acclaimed David Attenborough series Life On Earth, Living Planet and Trials Of Life may never be shown on BBC in HD.

 

“There are no proposals to use any 16mm archive shows on BBC HD, although I did arrange for Civilisation to be transferred to SR and shown on BBC HD, but that was shot on 35mm,” says Potts. “Feature films shot on non-HD formats, such as 16mm, will not be shown on BBC HD. If a feature is scheduled for BBC One HD/BBC One then it will be up-converted if not delivered on SR.”

 

Although the BBC has issued a list of digital cameras it approves for use on HD programmes, the new standards don’t address the suitability of certain camera models and formats, as ‘these can vary from production to production and will remain subject to discussion between producer and broadcaster’.

 

Following a BBC HD DoP Day in March, concerns were raised that the BBC appears open to working with digital imagers with lower-resolution sensors, such as the Canon 5D DSLR, Sony F3 or the Panasonic AF101, provided material is shot and post produced to an acceptable HD standard, but it is not prepared to consider S16, the stalwart of flagship TV drama.

 

“Some of those cameras are very good optically, but their codecs are sub-HD so to use them and to fulfil the HD criteria you would need to record to devices such as nano flash or P2 at a minimum of 50Mb/s [the entry level for HD acceptability],” explains Potts. “The same goes for post. If you use a high-end camera and you use a very low-end editing system you are not going to get the benefit of that camera. So your workflow and camera dictates the workflow you need to maintain high quality HD pictures.”

 

Although it feels like a last ditch attempt, The Image Forum will hope to convince the DPP that advances in film technology should be taken into account. Both Kodak and Fuji have recently introduced new S16 stocks which produce higher contrasts and saturation as well as tighter grain.

 

Fuji’s Complete 16 package, inclusive of neg developing, ultra-sonic clean, prep for telecine and best-light transfer to SD tape, has proved “very popular,” says Colin Ricardo, Fujifilm’s Business Manager, Motion Picture.

 

“The BBC has an appreciation of film, but it just doesn’t fit in with system they are using,” he suggests. “While the BBC devotes bandwidth to programmes such as sport with fast action and zooms, it is to the detriment of programmes broadcast simultaneously on its network which under the greater compression give S16 shows a far grainier look than they deserve.”

 

Potts acknowledges this: “We have to think about the transmission chain and, unfortunately, using MPEG4, images are highly compressed and a 16mm source going through MPEG4 encoders will deliver noise which is unacceptable for HD. For the same reason we have banned filmic effects. At lower resolutions the encoders make the overall picture look soft on transmission.”

 

“We have seen a significant decline in 16mm in the UK – contrary to what has happened in other countries,” reports Christian Richter, Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Sales Manager UK, Ireland & South Africa.

 

Kodak introduced its Relativity texture control software into Deluxe 142 (then Ascent 142) over a year ago, but says the BBC has yet to view it in action.

 

“This software simply removes the grain from 16mm regardless of speed, making S16 film acceptable for HD broadcast,” says Richter. “We’ve been trying to get the BBC to see what it can do and it’s been a major disappointment that they have not done so.”

 

The software with post produced footage for comparison will form a centrepiece of the demonstrations at BAFTA. Also at the event proponents will also want to counter the perception that digital is more cost efficient, arguing that data production incurs IO costs as well as the hire of DITs and additional on-set kit, plus issues surrounding security of rushes.

 

“You may save on money on the front end, but you put it back on when you post produce data,” notes Ricardo. “Yet BBC drama producers are saying that they no longer have any budget for film – end of story.”

The future of S16 for British TV drama does, however, look bleak given that a definitive agreement has been now reached across broadcasters.

 

“This means it has quite a head of steam behind it,” admits one senior post producer. “The only way I can think it could be opened up is through the power of the prestige filmmaker who wishes to have an aesthetic choice to use film.”