27/09/16 – Sony Pinewood Studios Training
We attended Pinewood Studios for a training session with Sony engineers on the FS-7 4K video cameras. The university has purchased some of these new high-end cameras and we had to receive training before being allowed to use them for our assignments, to ensure that we could make the most of all of the functions and options.
First, we had a talk from an engineer, who gave a comprehensive overview of the many menu and settings options from the software of the camera, as well as a brief look at the hardware and buttons on the chassis of the camera. Next, we were allowed to have a play with the actual thing, set up on a couple of tripods in the main area of the studio. Some more interesting features were demonstrated to us by the engineers, including the ability to control the camera and its settings from a mobile phone via a wifi dongle.
After a short break, our next session was with a professional colourist. He outlined to us the basics of the technology around colour spaces and gamuts. He briefly showed us the process that a colourist would go through to colour-correct an image or shot, including his use of an HDR (High Dynamic Range) computer monitor, which shows colours very vividly and lifelike. This was really interesting and a great insight into working in the industry.
After attending the workshop at Pinewood, in small groups we have used the FS-7 video cameras for various assignments. While being a highly professional and complex piece of equipment, the training that we have recieved makes them fairly easy to use.
References and Further Reading:
tobysanderson.co.uk 