Interesting article on HDTV from Digital Spy

[BGonaSTICK]

A good read...

Originally Posted by digitalspy.co.uk

At this year's Broadcast Live exhibition, high definition was everywhere. If production companies are not gearing up for it already, most of the sector is certainly considering HD production in the near future. But at what point do programme makers make the leap from standard to high definition? Joanne Oatts hears the advice offered to producers from those already making HD at Broadcast Live, which will hopefully prevent their productions turning into HD horror stories.

After many years in the pipeline, the world of television is finally going high definition. Although access to HD in the UK is limited to those with the right pay-TV subscription or the right kind of equipment, broadcasters like Sky, the BBC and the other global players know that if they want to produce programmes that are going to be bought and sold on the international market, they have to produce them in high definition. This is especially so in markets like the US, Japan and Australia, where HD broadcasts have been around a lot longer than in the UK.

As far as our own market goes, the BBC produced 600 hours of HD content in the last year, and is looking to make about the same amount this year. This is likely to increase once a permanent BBC HD channel is in place. Sky has 12 HD channels, including two Box Office channels. As Tim Wallbank, production specialist at BBC Training and Development points out, the demand is there and is getting bigger: "As a marketplace, HD is definitely growing. And if you are going to produce content from a UK perspective, you need to think about the future: HD is here, and it is here to stay." Ian Potts from BBC HD, who was holding a seminar with Wallbank at Broadcast Live, added that as well as the creative aspects HD gives programme makers, the format can be sold internationally to markets where HD production is the norm, which is one of the reasons why shows like the BBC's Hotel Babylon are made in HD.

One of the main factors that puts many off producing in HD is cost. Wallbank warns that producers who think broadcasters like the BBC are going to help them out financially with an HD production, are sadly mistaken: "There is no pot of gold for HD. Don't think that you can go to the BBC HD team and say 'I've got a great idea, but it's going to cost 25% more in HD.'" Potts agrees but adds that for the right production a little extra funding may be found. "It depends on the type of programme or the genre, but it is only [reserved] for very particular type of programme that the BBC wants to make. And the money [available] is going down, as the licence fee is not what it was," he adds.

At the moment there are only a few HD equipped studios in London: Studio One and (recently converted) Studio Eight at the BBC's Television Centre, and the studio at The Hospital in Covent Garden. So with space at a premium, production costs in an HD studio are going to be higher. However, if you're working on location, Ian Potts believes a basic HD production can work out at around the same price as standard definition: "It depends on the location, the genre; the more ambitious you are, the better [HD] lenses you need, so the more it's going to cost." Outside HD broadcasts can also be cost effective, though not if you want to shoot at the weekend using one of Sky's fleet of HD-capable trucks. With its HD channels using them for football and other sports, Wallbank says you can get a good deal if you want to shoot mid-week. "At weekends you're going to be paying 20-25% more than standard definition, but mid-week, there are good deals around," he says.

When it comes to way the production is going to look, the quality of HD will expose production flaws such as lighting, set design, and make-up which would be masked using standard definition. With set design, some sets will work as well in HD as they do in SD, but it does vary. "It's genre-oriented. It depends where you want to place the money. If the programme is very visual then you'll want to spend the money on expensive set design," says Potts.

Doctor Who was produced in standard definition because the sets would have required much more money and time spent on them to make them work in high definition. "It's sets and CGI. We would have to get six months ahead of ourselves. We couldn't just simply switch [to HD]. We'd have to take it off air for a year," Potts adds. Though in contrast, spin-off Torchwood was made in HD because it used a quarter of the special effects of Doctor Who, making the budget and schedule allow for high definition production in this case.

Ian Potts believes making it work in HD is as much to do with planning as anything else: "With costume for example, the feedback we get from drama is that the planning of costumes is important: getting good costumes, doing your research, making sure there are no things that 'show'. It's all about the effort that goes into it before, rather than the time taken making the costume."

As far as make-up is concerned, HD does a wonderful job of exposing the facial flaws of the on-screen talent, so getting an experienced and highly-skilled make-up artist on board is paramount. HD make-up specialist John Woodbridge, who held several seminars at Broadcast Live, believes the increased use of HD means make-up artists will need to work to a high standard throughout, but without taking extra time for the job. "For basic make-up work, if you have talent that you've been working on for 20-25 minutes, you can't turn round to a floor manager and say 'we're shooting in HD now, I need to take 45 minutes because I have to get it to film standard.' That's just going to get you fired."

Finding the right crew to work on an HD production is also going to make life a lot easier. "If you have got people with experience, it will make the production go a little smoother. The skills are out there," says Wallbank. The cost of post-production talent is also a factor. In HD, there's about five times the amount of information in an HD file than there is in SD, so when it comes to adding graphics, retouching and cutting out, it will take about five times longer on a computer. According to Potts, it's around 20-25% more in costs, but it depends on the genre and how much detail there is on the screen already. "Extra detail and extra design costs money, so getting someone who can work on it quicker and more efficiently is quite important."

One of Wallbank's warnings is that standard definition content has a limited shelf life, and producers may want to consider future-proofing themselves with their content even if HD is not necessarily required for a particular production. Shooting in HD and saving money with a SD post-production process may seem absurd, but by doing so you have guaranteed a future HD deliverable.

There are other ways to make your content work in HD for commercial benefit. Potts says that on the BBC natural history programme Coast, although shot mainly in SD, the aerial shots were shot in HD, so that the BBC could have archive footage for other uses in the future. "What was good was that we could also show those segments as shortforms on the HD trial channel, so if you're an indie thinking of doing something like that, it's a good way to market your material," says Potts.

At the end of the day, when broadcasters start demanding content in HD, then more and more production companies are going to have to face these issues and front up the cash for the extra costs involved. In a few years time, the cost obstacles won't be as great because, as with any technology, as the equipment becomes more advanced the hardware at the lower end of the price scale becomes more accessible to those on a lower budget. The difference between SD and basic HD will eventually be 'cost neutral.' The 'tipping point' will come when all TV genres are going HD, and supply and demand start to level out. But we're not there yet. "For instance, you're not going to produce a daytime home improvement show in HD are you?" asks Wallbank. "No," says Potts, "but we will do eventually."

In five years time many consumers will have HD screens and HD replay facilities. That is the marketplace, so whether production companies like it or not, the future is HD.

[sstylianou1976]

HDTV is the future without question and hopefully more channels will provide the goods to do the technology justice cause at the moment it is few and far between.

Regards,

sstylianou1976