Month: July 2016

Aerials over the South China Sea

Posted on by Andrew Morse

Aerial video is exciting.

As humans need aided flight to take to the air, most viewers can only experience this perspective through video or computer graphics.

For decades, filmmakers used fixed and rotary wing aircraft to present an aerial view. Now we use UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles, a.k.a. ‘drones’) to capture stunning imagery from closer and sharper than ever before.

As a filmmaker, I have shot sequences for television commercials and feature films, often from a Aérospatiale Écureuil or Bell JetRanger helicopter with a Wescam gyroscopically controlled 35mm film camera. For decades, this was cutting edge technology. Most recently, I have ‘downsized’ the image capture technology to a DJI Inspire One and a 4K camera.

This approach delights both the practical and creative requirements of a Producer and Director. The size, weight, flexibility, economy and programmability of the UAV and the proximity, clarity and simplicity of the 4k camera result in better and closer images than ever before. 

Current lightweight UAVs, use batteries which can be permitted in aircraft carry-on baggage, provided strict fire-prevention criteria are met. Shenzhen based DJI, is a world leading UAV manufacturer and the Inspire One is its most versatile aircraft.

In October 2015, Digital Tsunami arranged for a pilot and gimbal-operator to travel south from Zhuhai to a remote island in the South China Sea. Here on a beautiful clear day, they shot the site of a future Hanas LNG terminal. The quality of the images is breathtaking.

The video produced for Hanas New Energy, followed on from short videos of power generation facilities which the company manages in Inner Mongolia and the northern Chinese province of Ningxia.

Tracking over the sea on approach to the island, the camera captured the texture of the waves glistening in oblique sunlight and then ascending across the sandy beaches and lush mountainside forest of the island.

For a veteran filmmaker, a corporate client and the audience, the ability to get close to sea, land and the built environment is truly exciting.

Defence supplier video released

Posted on by Andrew Morse

One of the greatest joys of filmmaking is the constant acquisition of knowledge.

Every project (feature film, television commercial, documentary or corporate video) offers opportunities to learn. Information can be discovered, whether about a new image capture technology, a time in history, management insights, or the technical aspects of a particular manufacturing process.

A corporate video recently produced by Digital Tsunami, offered opportunities to learn more about the latest filmmaking equipment and advanced ballistic panel manufacturing.

The client was defence contractor, Craig International Ballistics. The subject was the manufacture of ballistic panels for body armour worn by the Australian armed forces. The filming locations were a manufacturing plant south of Brisbane and a testing facility in Melbourne.

Digital Tsunami had previously developed a refined identity and responsive web presence for the company.

During our four days of filming, we had a range of mounts and 4K cameras at our disposal: tripods, a slider, a Ronin hand-held gimbal camera, Sony action cams, a DJI OSMO hand-held gimbal camera, and a DJI Inspire One UAV. This range of camera platforms allowed us to capture a diversity of camera angles, from 1,000 feet in the air, to wide angle and extreme close up. The OSMO was released in late 2015, and; along with all the other cameras; delivers 4K resolution.

A location ‘recce’ of the property enabled the director to prepare a schedule and storyboard. This maximised efficiency, both for gaining client approval of content, but also for creative conceptualisation and preparation for the camera teams. As a result, we were able to attain a very high number of camera setups each day. We captured multiple angles of each piece of action and therefore great diversity of options in the editing room.

Movement was achieved either in the subject or with camera, so that the combination of a quick cutting style and rapid screen captions, together with a fast music track, provided dynamism and engagement.

The aerial video was utilised to apply visual consistency in ‘bookends’ to the film. We started in the sky above Queensland as we descended toward the manufacturing facility, then ended by ascending as a truck bearing pallets of ballistic panels drove off along a highway.

While filming inside the manufacturing plant and testing lab, we learnt about materials and processes relating to ballistic panels. The multiple layers of Kevlar and Spectra fabric which create panels that are lighter and stronger than steel; the laminated glass which can resist a high velocity NATO round to meet NIJ standards; and the innovation which Craig International Ballistics has applied to the tracking and shipping of panels, compliant with military standards.

By understanding the criteria which apply to any client’s business, we are in a position to take an approach to marketing, which meets these requirements and presents the brand in the most positive way.

So from creative and commercial perspectives, the learning which is most important .. is learning about our clients.

4K, or not 4K

Posted on by Andrew Morse

Rather than paraphrasing The Bard of Avon, with “4K, or not 4K”, maybe we should say “4K .. or Ultra HD”?

Even as we shoot motion footage today, there are cameras (and monitors) offering a resolution way beyond the current television broadcast standard of HD.

HD or High Definition, displays an image 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. In the industry, individuals use different terms for this resolution. Broadcasters may call it ‘1080’, following the practice of defining horizontal scan lines, as a PAL image is ‘625’ and NTSC is ‘525’. Some use the terms ‘1080p’ (for progressive scan) of 30 frames per second (fps) and ‘1080i’ (for interlaced) at 60 fields per second, referring to the two fields within each frame. Computer programmers and graphic designers; who commonly refer to a measurement of pixels on each axis; may use ‘1920 × 1080’.

No matter what you call it, some may simply refer to HD as ‘the old standard’.

While HD is a signal many terrestrial broadcasters have only in recent years started transmitting; and while it is the standard for most online video platforms; the format has been around for over thirty years.

Japanese engineers developed HDTV in the 1980s. Sony, Canon, NHK, Ad Agency Hakuhodo and laboratory Imagica, all collaborated to shoot ground-breaking sequences in Queensland. Digital Tsunami founder Andrew W Morse, was Production Manager of this first shoot in Australia on the massive High Definition studio cameras.

Giving a television interview on location, Morse needed to explain the meaning of ‘pixel’, a relatively unknown term in the cathode ray tube era. The HDTV gear was so large; that in order to film on Whitehaven Beach; the executives flew by helicopter, but we also had to charter a barge to take our large crew and the truck in which all the camera, monitoring and data storage equipment was installed.

As SeaWorld dolphins leapt into the air, the crystal clear images of water and spray were astoundingly sharp, bright and full of rich colour. This image quality was in stark contrast to the blurry video images of the day. At the time, only 35mm film could achieve such high quality, which is why most drama and commercials productions were shot on film.

Decades later, 4K cameras allow us to shoot stunningly sharp, rich images with dramatically more data in every frame. Where HD offers 2 million pixels (megapixels) per image, 4K is four times larger, delivering over 8 megapixels per image.

However, terms still need defining. An image of 3,840 × 2,160 pixels is sometimes referred to as 4K, but is more accurately described as ‘Ultra HD’. To differentiate, 4096 × 2160 images are sometimes referred to as ‘True’ 4K.

With 8K cameras launched in 2015, the obligation of filmmakers to their clients, is to deliver the best images which can be displayed on currently available monitors and projectors. Very large 8K television monitors have been available for a year or more, but prices are still exceptionally high.

So when the question is posed today on which resolution to shoot, the answer is:

“Not HD. Not Ultra HD. .. It must be 4K” !

 

 

Review recent 4K video productions:

Craig Defence video
Master Residences Yinchuan video
Hanas LNG bilingual video
Hanas Windfarm video

Online innovation in 2016

Posted on by Andrew Morse

In 2016, Andrew W Morse was again invited by WMA founder Bill Rice, to join a select group on the international judging panel of the WebAwards.

With a long history of visual communications and digital media, the founder of Digital Tsunami has considerable expertise to analyse and comment on submitted sites.

Judging criteria

Created in 1996 (the same year in which Digital Tsunami was founded), the WebAwards is dedicated to setting a standard of excellence for web development. The judging panel assesses the components of:

  • Aptitude
  • Copywriting
  • Design
  • Ease of use
  • Innovation
  • Interactivity
  • Technology

For the judges, it is instructive to view a number of sites which excel in interactivity and innovation. These exceptional sites are viewed in context of the mainstream. The vast majority of submitted sites; while they may be well constructed, well organised, well written and visually attractive; do not deliver impact or engagement.

Innovation and interaction

There is a big emphasis on usability and innovation. Yet these are not new concepts. Last century, websites and software was referred to as being ‘user-friendly’.

Now, brands can spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, on information architecture; requirements specification, technical specification and functional specification documentation; usability analysis with eye-tracking and focus groups; and User Experience (UX) analysts; to ensure that functionality is as simple and intuitive as possible, to minimise abandonment rates and ensure happy customers.

In a world of immediacy, rapid change and global exposure, true innovation is evident, but hard to distinguish amongst the plethora of media we see every day.

Digital Tsunami has been fortunate to work with clients who appreciate the value of proven innovation when appropriate to the target market.

Three examples

Amongst Digital Tsunami clients, three prime examples of current innovation and interactivity stand out.

For a national educational organisation, Polymer 1.o was utilised to provide a simple, impactful and effective interface for teaching school kids to ride bikes safely. The Let’s Ride site was built with the developers beta pack and released on the same day that Polymer 1.o was launched. It can’t get much more innovative than that!

For a Chinese property developer, of paramount importance, was a responsive site which integrated both vertical and horizontal scrolling and video on all devices. Digital Tsunami delivered a bilingual (simplified Chinese character and English language) site which fulfilled this imperative, and used photography and succinct text to promote one of the most luxurious and well-engineered residential complexes in China: Master Residences.

For a government water management authority, simple, clear and editable interactive maps were a focal point. The lrwg.com.au site features interactive Google maps overlaid with location markers for: catchment areas, rivers and creeks, weirs and dams, fishways; nationally and regionally significant wetlands; as well as past and current watering events. These maps enable the plotting of water courses and the setting of irregular catchment areas, to dynamically demonstrate the impact of the water releases upon both farming land and the environment.

As a judge for the WebAwards, Andrew W Morse applies an awareness of current technologies, accessibility and efficient functionality, to consider all websites.

Digital Tsunami can do the same in your sector, and ensure that your brand communicates effectively with your clients and customers.