The Media Workflow Puzzle

Chris Lennon is President and CEO of MediAnswers, a trusted advisor to the cream of the crop of media companies worldwide. He has over 30 years of experience in the media business, leading large projects on every continent except for Antarctica. He has held a variety of leadership positions in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), including Standards Director, Local Section Manager, Technology Committee Chair, and others. He is a SMPTE Fellow and recipient of SMPTE’s 2008 Citation. He is known as a thought leader, with a reputation built on not only working with the world’s leading media organizations, but his leadership of several leading-edge industry efforts in many diverse areas, like BXF, NABA/DPP Content Delivery Specs, PMCP, 3DTV, OBID Audience Measurement, Multilink SDI using CWDM, microservices in media, and many more. He also serves as Executive Director of the Open Services Alliance, a global industry organization focused on interoperability among microservice-oriented media systems. In his spare time, he is a championship winning race car driver, author, and high-performance driving coach, and runs Winding Road Adventures. For more details on MediAnswers, its clients, and Chris’s team, please visit www.medianswers.tv. For more details on the Open Services Alliance, please visit www.openservicesalliance.com.     Clyde Smith is a Retired Former Senior Vice President, Advanced Technology for FOX Network Engineering and Operations, where he supported Broadcast and Cable Networks operating groups in addressing their challenges with technologies, standards, and regulations. Previously, he was SVP of Global Broadcast Technology and Standards for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. In this capacity, Smith was responsible for the strategic development and planning of new technology in addition to the operational transition of media from production to broadcast to air. Smith’s broad knowledge of operational and technical systems and hands-on experience developing processes for integrating operational facilities from the ground up were vital to the Turner Entertainment Group’s continuing expansion. Prior positions include SVP of Broadcast Engineering Research and Development at Turner and SVP & CTO at Speer Communications where he managed operations of one of the nation’s first all-digital facilities. He worked for 8 years in communications design and development engineering at the Kennedy Space Center where he supported 48 shuttle missions, three interplanetary probes, and numerous Department of Defense initiatives. Smith supported initiatives that were recognized by The Computer World Honors program with the 2005, 21st Century Achievement Award and an Emmy Award for Pioneering Efforts in the Development of Automated, Server-Based Closed Captioning Systems. Smith is a frequent speaker and honored guest at meetings for SMPTE, NAB, and SBE. He served 15 years as an SMPTE Governor; he also served as a Standards Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer of the SMPTE. He also was program chair for four SMPTE advance-imaging conferences. He has often presented and published research and technology papers that he has authored or co-authored in industry magazines and at industry conferences including CES, NAB, Hollywood Professional Alliance Tech Retreats, Storage Networking World, Storage Visions, VidTrans, IBC, SMPTE, SPIE, UFVA, and SBE. He is an SMPTE Fellow and recipient of the SMPTE Progress Medal, SMPTE David Sarnoff Medal Award, and the SMPTE Outstanding Service Award as well as The Broadcasting and Cable Technology Leadership award and the Storage Visions’ Storage Industry Service Award. He is a recipient of the North American Broadcasters Association International Achievement Award and an Honorary Member of the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM).

Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Overview

Revolution #1 – Television Enters the Scene

Revolution #2 – We Go Digital and Files Replace Physical Media

Revolution #3 – Multiplatform Distribution

Revolution #4 – Things Get Cloudy

Production

Cameras

The Types of Cameras and Their Uses

The Basics of Digital Cameras

The Implications of Camera Imaging Sensor Choice on System Requirements

The Various Forms of Color Coding & Color Spaces

What Does Gamma and Log Processing Mean?

What RAW Means and How to Digitally Process It

Compressed File Systems

Uncompressed File Systems

Common Camera Media Types

Common File Formats for Cameras

Common Production Formats

What Ingest Means and How to Organize It

Asset Management

On-set Grading

Dailies

Sources and Types of Metadata

The Role of the DIT

The Role of the Data Wrangler

eXtensible Markup Language (XML)

Key XML Terminology

Cloud Impacts

Post-Production

Introduction

Post-Production in Detail

Preparation

Technical Preparation

Post-Production Specific for TV

The End Game!

Dailies in More Depth

Editorial

Different Editorial Groups

Visual Effects (VFX)

VFX in Pre-Production

VFX in Production

VFX in Post-Production

Sound

Sound Editorial

Mixing

Predubs

Soundtrack Versions

Audio Loudness for TV and the Home

Digital Intermediate

Conforming

Image Fixing

Finishing

Color Pre-Timing and Reference Look

Mastering and Versioning Preparation

Mastering and Versioning

Mastering and Versioning Applied to TV Documentary

Titling, Captions, Subtitles, and Alternate Takes

Title Sequences

Captioning and Subtitling

Alternate Takes

Quality Control (QC)

QC for Theatrical Delivery

QC for Television

Compliance QC for Television Delivery

Content QC

Area for TV Immersive Audio QC

QC Database of QC Items

Photosensitive Epilepsy (PSE)

Sound Audibility for Television

Archive

The Future of Post-Production

Bonus Content

Special Section 1: Color Pipeline

Special Section 2: High Dynamic Range

Special Section 3: Visual Effects

Managing Your Media Assets and Workflows

Content Identification and its own metadata

Advertising

Content Identification for Programs

Business Systems

DAM/MAM Systems

Programming Workflow

Media Planning and Promotion in Linear Network and Broadcast Television

Sales/Traffic/Scheduling

Master Control Automation / Playback

How BXF Can Help

Quality Control

Annex A: Classification of QC checks

The Interoperable Master Format

Implications of IMF for Asset Management and Workflows

The Business Case for IMF

Automating Workflows

Cloud Impacts

Distribution to the Viewer

History and Evolution of Broadcast Networks and Stations

Modern Broadcast Networks and Stations

History and Evolution of Cable Systems and Cable Channels

Traditional Cable Systems and Cable Channels

History and Evolution of Satellite Television

Modern Satellite Television Systems

History and Evolution of Internet Video and OTT Services

Modern Internet Video and OTT Services

Modern Cable Systems

History and Evolution of Pre-Recorded Media

History and Evolution of Digital Cinema

Modern Digital Cinema Workflows

Mastering

Picture

Stereo Picture

Captions and Subtitles

Auxiliary Data

Other Unique Formats

Creating the Digital Cinema Package (DCP)

MXF Wrapping and Encryption

Composition Play List (CPL)

Asset Map, Volume Index, and Packing List

Key Delivery Message (KDM)

Transport

Theater Storage and Projection

Theater Management Systems (TMS)

Showtime Projection

Projector Types

Summary – The Impact of Distribution Systems on Production Workflows

Wrapup – Content Delivery to Multiple Distribution Systems

Archive and Preservation

Introduction

Why Digital Archive

Creation

Consumption

Archive

Libraries, Repositories, and Archives

Digital Library

Digital Repository and Digital Archive

Preservation

Library and Archive Science

Forever Is a Long Time

What Is an Asset?

Asset Value

The Asset Construct

Technical Metadata

Connecting Metadata and Essence

Data Scale

Enterprise and Broadcast Technology Collide

Backup

Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM)

Content Storage Management (CSM) and Active Archive

Software Defined Archive (SDA)

Build Versus Buy

Storage Technology

Solid State

Hard Drives

Optical Disc

Data Tape

Public Cloud Services

Future Technologies

Storage Classifications

Tier 0 Storage

Tier 1 Storage

Tier 2 Storage

Tier 3 Storage

Tier 4 Storage

Storage Tier Summary

The Anatomy of a Digital Archive

Storage Abstraction

Storage Orchestration

Archive Maintenance

Asset Integrity

Connecting the Bits and Pieces

Archive Transformation and Modernization

Standards-Based Digital Asset Protection

Archive eXchange Format (AXF)

Standard

A Closer Look

AXF Structures

Inside an AXF Object

History of AXF

Conclusion

Looking Ahead

Looking Deep into the Future: Al Kovalick

The Granddaddy of Exponential Laws in Electronics

The Power of the Exponential

The Evolution of Infrastructure Elements

Software Powers Media Workflows

Networking Capability and Performance

Infrastructure Rides the Exponential

The Analog and Digital S-Curves

The COTS/IP S-Curve

The SDMI S-Curve

The Public Cloud S-Curve

Contemporaneous S-Curves

Final Words

The Future Is Real

The Future is Real

Glossary of Terms

Index