Conversation with Ralph Fumante:
How HBO is Preparing for HDTV

by Michael Zakula

Home Box Office (HBO) has embraced the concept of airing library and original motion pictures in high-definition (HDTV) format. The cable network is programming an HD channel for early adapters of the new wide-screen TV sets. As part of this commitment, HBO will eliminate panning and scanning and will display motion pictures in their original aspect ratios on the new 16:9 HDTV screens. If a motion picture was composed in anamorphic format with a 2.4:1 aspect ratio, that is the way it will be seen. The Caucus took a strong stand on this issue in 1995 in conjunction with The Artists Rights Foundation, DGA and ASC.

“Our goal is to make HD viewing an uniquely engaging experience,” says HBO Studio Operations Vice President Ralph Fumante, Jr. “We want the audience to experience narrative films and documentaries with all of the subtleties in colors, contrast and composition that are on the original negative, because an expression in someone’s eyes, the look and feel of the environment and relative positions of characters in the frame are all part of the storytelling.”

Fumante notes that panning and scanning alters the director and cinematographer’s creative intentions. He says that HBO Studio Productions has invested in building a state-of-the-art postproduction facility in Manhattan. The centerpiece of the post facility is two Philips Spirit DataCines specifically designed to preserve subtle nuances in colors, contrast and other imaging characteristics recorded on film. Kodak earned two Emmy® awards last year for developing and manufacturing the imaging technology that is the heart and soul of these machines.

“There has always been more visual information on film than we have been able to see on TV screens,” says Fumante. “With the Spirits, we can convert much of that information to traditional video and HDTV formats. It makes a tremendous difference.”

Following is  a conversation with Fumante and HBO Studio Productions colorists, Allan Rogers and Richard Dare.

Zakula: Why is HBO getting out in front on the high-definition frontier?

Fumante: HD is a natural evolution for HBO. We have always done our best to preserve the artistic intentions of the filmmakers. Our goal is to faithfully bring the stories they tell to our subscribers. Subtleties in the quality of the images, composition and camera movement are essential elements of visual storytelling. With HDTV we can do a much better job.

Zakula: What is the current status?

Fumante: We had a very short window. HBO announced intentions to deliver high-definition television programs a little over a year ago. Very few library or HBO films were converted to HD format at that time and there was no postproduction infrastructure in place. You could have counted the number of telecines that could deliver high-definition images on one hand. We felt that the Philips Spirit DataCine was probably the only true high-definition machine at that time. It gave us exactly what we needed to air the most pristine pictures. So, we made the necessary investment in setting up a facility with two Spirits and a talented staff.

Zakula: What is the difference between the Spirit DataCine and other telecines?

Dare: The image capture device of the Spirit is a CCD, which is more consistent than the CRT tubes used with most other telecines. The CRTs wear out over a period of time. As they degrade, the images get softer. In fact, with these tube-based technologies, you actually have drift from day to day. Not only does the Spirit DataCine give a more consistent look, but it is capable of seeing and recording more subtleties in details, such as textures, colors, shadows and highlights that are on the films. Those details are all part of the story. Once we time and transfer a film, we can reproduce it in any popular TV format. Maybe this sounds like dry technical talk for people who write, direct and produce television programs, but we know that they design sets and costumes with certain colors and textures for a reason. They hire cinematographers who use light and shadows to reveal and conceal information and to amplify moods. They compose images and move the camera in ways that provide a visual perspective for the audience. We are trying to preserve all of those creative decisions during postproduction.

Fumante: The reliability of the Spirit DataCine is also phenomenal.

Zakula: That’s good for the post house, but how does it help producers and directors?

Rogers: I was in the middle of a session recently and a light source on the telecine went out. That wasn’t surprising because we had run for 2,500 hours. I called maintenance and they came up and changed a bulb. We didn’t lose 10 minutes.

Fumante: If you had done that in a tube device, it would have taken hours for the new tube to burn in, and you would have never been able to match the original color correction. You would have had to start all over again. The Spirit DataCine doesn’t stop the creative process. Picture yourself being in a film transfer for a week trying to work on your project, and suddenly the machine goes down and the colorist tells you to come back the next day and maybe the machine will be back up. In the case that Allan just brought up, they went out for lunch and when the came back the Spirit was running as if nothing had happened.

Zakula: Early on, there was some speculation by one of the networks and some video equipment vendors that the image quality of documentaries produced in   16 mm and Super 16 film formats wouldn’t be adequate for HD. What’s your experience in the real world?

Rogers: I don’t think anyone has higher expectations for preserving image quality than HBO. With the older telecines, you can see grain or noise, especially when you transfer high-speed films. That isn’t happening with the Spirit DataCine because of the light diffusion technology. There is absolutely no video noise. That eliminates a multitude of problems, and it gives the filmmaker a lot more (creative) latitude. Super 16 film looks phenomenal when we transfer it with a Spirit. We’re getting colors out of this machine that we never saw before in video transfer. The Spirit really allows us to present film in a very different way that shows off its strengths. This film format is also designed for wide-screen productions. It is ideal for HDTV screens.

Zakula: With a high-definition channel, does it matter whether you produce programs on film or with one of the new HDTV cameras and recorders? Are they now interchangeable?

Fumante: Not in my opinion. Film and video are different image capture mediums, and that includes HD cameras. In fact, we’ve done a lot of experimenting with high-definition, video-originated material. Our conclusion is there is a texture and an organic feel to film that you’re never going to get out of a video camera. Video is great for postproduction and for producing certain types of shows. Film puts you in a whole other dreamy place and it engulfs you. You get lost in your own mind with film. Video is too realistic for that and high-definition video, in particular, is surrealistic. I think high-definition video origination is a different medium and I don’t say that in a bad way. It is just not the best way to create a film look.

Zakula: Can you give us an example of how you are using the Spirit DataCine?

Dare: We recently produced an HBO movie called Lesson Before Dying. One scene takes place on a sunny day in a cornfield. But they had to shoot on a cloudy day. The cinematographer (Donald M. Morgan, ASC) asked if we could make it a sunny day and give it a whitish-blue sky during telecine transfer. I put a power window in the sky, which allowed us to alter just that one part of the image. We replaced the original sky and gave him the look he wanted. The skyline is shaped around the cornfields, so it looks natural. It creates a feeling of depth. The horizon seems far away. The color of the sky is an intangible element in telling the story, but it creates the mood that the writer and director had in mind. As we get into HDTV, decisions like this will become increasingly more important. The look and feelings evoked by the images are important sub-text.

Zakula: It sounds like you have high hopes for HD?

Rogers: I’ve been doing this work for 20 years. This (HDTV) is a new beginning, because of the image quality and also because we will show film in its original aspect ratio. It will be a different, more entertaining and involving experience for the audience, and more rewarding for us.

Dare: I think it is easier on the eyes. On a 4:3 screen, you are looking at the center of the picture. Your eyes don’t move very much. HDTV is more like a movie, because things are happening in different parts of a wider screen. Your eyes are constantly in motion, and you see things on the edge of your peripheral vision. It is more engaging and less fatiguing.

Fumante: The television networks have been consistently losing audience share to HBO and other cable channels, as well as to the Internet and computer games. We need to give people more compelling reasons to turn on their TV sets. HDTV can be the reason if there is good content. I don’t think the average family will replace all of their TV sets immediately. But, the early adopters will buy one HDTV set, and if we give them good programming, maybe they’ll gather the family and watch great movies together. I think we still have a lot to learn. In the short 12 months that we’ve been in the HD business, we can’t say we know it all. I think it (HDTV) will affect the way writers, producers and directors tell stories on television. I think it will also add a lot of value to great films in libraries. For the first time in the history of television, we will be showing movies to people while retaining so much more of the intentions of the original filmmakers. We feel lucky to be part of that revolution. HD is more than better television. It is a different medium.

Michael Zakula is Kodak’s sales and marketing manager for the television segment in Hollywood.