Departments

Digital Asset Management: Heir to Helical Scan

by Laurence B. Abrams

Standing between an ARRI Alexa and a RED Epic on October 20, 2012 at the “Digital Asset Management and Workfws” training session conducted at AbelCine in Burbank, and with an array of ingest and processing software installed on nearby computers, Local 695’s Tom Vanasse began the day by ominously announcing that “Some of what you see and hear today will almost certainly be obsolete tomorrow.”  That’s not very encouraging but new product introductions coming from a wide assortment of manufacturers are announced almost every week.  And there are nearly as many on-set production workflows as there are productions, with many shows opting for entirely unique and often experimental approaches… part technology and part improvisation.

There’s much at stake on a motion picture and television production set and it grows increasingly more difficult to stay abreast of this rapidly changing state-of-the-art but it turns out that the Local 695 engineers who work with and develop these new technologies relish the challenge.  Maybe that’s because it was the tinkering inventive egghead pioneering spirit that brought many of our members to this business in the first place.

Way back in the spring of 1953, Local 695’s engineers were doing their own sort of pioneering, experimenting with ways to bring this new thing called “video” to a world that for the most part had not seen it before.  Even as their small static-y rolling image gradually found a place in living rooms across the country, there were many who continued to predict that television would not last… much like there were those who decades earlier predicted the demise of radio and decades later, the demise of 3D.  But Local 695 member A. Murray Jarvis, writing in an article for the March 1953 issue of Local’s 695’s “International Sound Technician” magazine, saw it differently when he offered these remarkably prescient words:

“While the Video magnetic recording process is still in the experimental stage, great progress is being made toward its perfection by its enthusiastic developers.  The resolution of the visual image produced by this process in its present form has restrictions, however the industry is watching this development with anxious interest for it has the potentiality of revolutionizing the entire motion picture technique as we know it.”

The black-and-white ABC TK-10 camera Murray Jarvis appears beside in this 1953 photo could be used only for live broadcasting and the Ampex VR-1000 2-inch helical scan recorder, the first recorder capable of capturing a video image, wouldn’t appear in TV studios until 1957.  Even so, Jarvis’ vision for the future was extraordinarily accurate.  Sixty years have passed… Kodak no longer manufactures film stock… and virtually all studio production, whether for motion picture or television, is recorded in video format.  Jarvis’ nascent video technology truly is responsible for “revolutionizing the entire motion picture technique as we know it.”

Thus has been the ongoing evolution of the electronic audio and video recording chain, pioneered by Murray Jarvis and his contemporaries and carried forward by successive generations of Engineers, Broadcast Technicians, Videotape Operators and Video Assist Technicians of IATSE Local 695.

Tom Vanasse’s October training session at AbelCine represented one more step in that ongoing evolution.  In this particular class, Tom explained to the 695 members in attendance that even though tools and workflows vary from job to job, and many of those tools and workflows in current use will most certainly face obsolescence before very long, the basic building blocks of digital video production… recording and re-recording… can be directly applied or adapted for almost any modern production environment.  Training begins with these extensible building blocks.

Using this premise as the structure for the training session, Vanasse took the class step by step through the entire production chain.  The choice of camera, from a DSLR to the widely used ARRI Alexa, stands at one end of the process while the varying requirements of Post-Production stand at the other.  In between is the domain of the Local 695 engineer, recording full resolution RAW or multi-codec output live during shooting, re-recording video data from the camera’s source media to magnetic hard drives or LTO tape, generating additional backups and archives, transcoding to deliverable formats and meeting any additional requirements that are requested before the hand-off to Post.

The benefits and requirements of many of the connection standards were reviewed, from eSata, SAS and fiber to Thunderbolt and Firewire800.  Discussion and demos covered the range of available external recorders and the rapidly evolving software tools that are currently available, including Black Magic’s Davinci Resolve, Assimilate’s ScratchLab and Adobe’s Speedgrade. 

Of particular interest to the group was the new Codex Vault, which was demonstrated by Codex Digital Product Specialist Stephen Ceci.  The Vault is a modular location-based media management environment that performs fast transfers by way of a programmable automated production management interface.  This standalone solution requires no external drives or processing and seeks to eliminate some of the complexity involved in developing custom workflows on location.  The Vault generates deliverables in all formats required for dailies review, post production and archive.  Additional capabilities are expected as new stackable modules are released.

The video recording and re-recording technology used by Local 695 engineers has been improving continuously since the first helical-scan recorder arrived in 1957 but never has the technology evolved at such rapid pace as it does today.  New developments in resolving power, data processing and throughput are introduced almost continuously.  As equipment and workflows evolve, overall performance increases, quality gets extraordinarily better, cost efficiencies of production and distribution improve dramatically and with it, the entertainment industry finds new opportunities for growth by expanding markets for the products we create.

Celluloid takes its place in history and not without a good measure of nostalgia but now — sixty years later — on sound stages and location sets around the world where video electronic recording has almost totally replaced film, we can say with certainty that the revolution envisioned by Murray Jarvis WILL be televised.

California Tax Credit Program Extension Signed Into Law

Assembly Bill 2026 and Senate Bill 1197 were signed into law on September 30, 2012, by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. to extend funding for California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program. The two-year $200 million extension ensures that tax credits will be available through fiscal year 2016-17. More information can be found at http://www.film.ca.gov/Incentives.htm

New Soundstages to Be Part of NBC/U’s Extension

Local 695 Business Agent Jim Osburn accompanied Local 80 Business Agent Thom Davis and a delegation of IA reps at a recent hearing in L.A. City Council chambers in support of NBC/Universal’s $1.6 billion “Evolution Plan”. The project, now approved by the City Council, will include new and improved production and post-production facilities, two new soundstages, new media-related office space and enhancements to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and CityWalk, along with hotels and retail and dining facilities.

Additionally, a Project Labor Agreement has been reached between NBC/Universal and Southern California construction unions that is expected to create about 13,000 construction jobs during the 10-year project. More information can be found at http://nbcuniversalevolution.com

Local 695 Building Debt Paid Off

The Local made its last payment in June on a second mortgage loan that was taken out in 1992 for funds in order to make much-needed earthquake repairs. The building is now owned free and clear by the membership.

Bridge to Health

The MPTF program “Bridge to Health” offers limited healthcare services to members who have not accrued enough hours to qualify for the Motion Picture Health Plan. Available to members and their dependents age 13 and up, office visits cost only $25 and lab services and X-rays are free when performed at the Motion Picture clinics. For complete details and eligibility information, see www.mptvfund.org/page.aspx?pid=528

Mixers Out Socializing

More than eighty members of the local sound community attended the MOS gathering (Mixers Out Socializing) at the Gordon-Biersch Brewery Restaurant in Burbank on September 8. Proposed and organized by Michael Miramontes, a local sound recordist, the event was promoted on the online discussion forum operated by our own Jeff Wexler and attracted considerable support from other sound professionals and equipment suppliers. Rich Topham, a native of Los Angeles and now president of Pro-Sound in New York, came west for the event and generously contributed both lunch and a donation to support the Wexler forum. Swag from many sources was distributed freely. Anyone who left empty-handed was probably not paying close attention to the raffle announcements. More importantly, sound professionals had an opportunity to meet others working in the same field, match faces to names and exchange experiences. Special thanks to Whit Norris for handling the raffle chores and to his wife, Kathy, for signing everyone in and keeping the event running smoothly.

In Memoriam

FRED JOHNSTON
Boom Operator
Oct. 2, 1954 – Sept. 19, 2012

MARVIN E. LEWIS
Boom Operator
Aug. 18, 1943 – Sept. 22, 2012

In Perspective: Fred and Marvin

Deep and somber affection compels this communication. During the past quarter, two of our valued members passed away. Fred Johnston died on September 19 at age 58 and Marvin E. Lewis passed on September 22 at age 69.

Both men represented the finest qualities in their profession as production microphone boom operator technicians.

They leave an exceptional and profitable body of work that shall be enjoyed by millions in years to come. Their industry contributions required physical stamina, technical expertise and long hours of employment away from family.

The preliminary reports my office received concerning Fred is that he contracted a lung ailment known as Valley Fever, following his work on production. Fred failed to recover despite the medical attention he received.

Marvin retired after 40 years of capturing actors’ scripted dialog on production. Continuous use of a “fishpole” had caused injury to his back and necessitated knee replacement operations in both legs; he could no longer continue the work.

Memorial services for Fred with his family were, like Fred himself, personable and quiet. His ashes will be disbursed in the wind.

Memorial services for Marvin were held on October 6 at the Angelus Funeral Home. More than 200 friends came and were part of a very touching service. It was absolutely clear to me that Marvin was loved and embraced by many.

Local 695 members attending included Executive Board members Elizabeth S. Alvarez, Andy Rovins, myself and many other members who took time to share in that moment.

The Industry Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee is collectively aware and investigating matters that, I believe, contributed to physical distress our members have suffered and continue to endure.

Neither Fred nor Marvin shall be forgotten as we pursue reasonable work hours and safe work environments.

James A. Osburn, CAS
Business Representative
Executive Director

GIVING THANKS ON THANKSGIVING

As I sit here writing, so much of the world is in a hurricane. Sandy batters the East Coast where most of my family is. The presidential election is days away, swinging its razor pendulum. Likewise, international turmoil is in an uptick and uncertainty reigns in the land.

This year has been a tough stretch for many of us. In some ways, the toughest many of us have ever seen. And yet I’m constantly delighted and warmed by the camaraderie, perseverance and intensity of commitment I come across in my contact with fellow members. Never was this more clear to me than during the lovely get-together in Burbank, as described elsewhere in this issue of the 695 Quarterly. What a great gathering of a terrific community.

A voice inside brings calm as the refrain “this too shall pass” reverberates, inviting me to an inevitable sense of gratitude:

On this day, my children are healthy as is my loving wife of 32 years. My parents, well into their seniority, (92 and 86, respectively) are still independent and I have been blessed with some of the dearest friends a human could ever hope for. Further, I get the opportunity to do what I love (filmmaking) when invited, to some pretty interesting projects. So after 36 years in this freelance life, with all its ups and downs, what more could I ask for?

The answer is continued safety and security for my family and friends and the renewal of sustained prosperity and security for my beloved professional family of IATSE Local 695.

My message this issue is very simple: I thank our committed team in the office and the Board of Directors for their insight, caring and wisdom, and I thank you—the membership—for your friendship, support and professionalism. It is easily the proudest association I have been blessed with in my professional life.

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and healthy holidays to you all.

With heartfelt fraternity,
Mark Ulano
President, IATSE Local 695

As members of Local 695, we are a community but we often perform our tasks in isolation from our fellow brothers and sisters working the same disciplines.

If you are fortunate to be on one of the major studio lots, you might have the time to stagehop and visit with fellow associates. Otherwise, the other members of your own team are likely to be your only contact with fellow 695 professionals.

Fortunately, the Internet has created a larger community and given us a place to connect virtually. More fortuitously, it has also created the famous NAB “RAMPS Party” held each April in Las Vegas, the Annual Kriky-Seth BBQ and more recently, the “Mixers Out Socializing.”

These have all proved to be wonderful opportunities to socialize and become friends in a relaxing and noncompetitive environment. It has reinforced our sense of community and this issue of the 695 Quarterly gives a major hat’s off to the organizers of these events and all who attended.

The Quarterly is also a part of our sound community. We aspire to be the link, giving you informative articles that both enlighten and bring us all closer together.

We appreciate your readership and the continuing contributions from every craft represented by Local 695.

Fraternally,
Richard Lightstone, David Waelder and Eric Pierce