SetLab DIT Services
BY AUTOCLAVE
Dailies seemed like a thing of the past. A vestige of the era with physical media limitations, and equipment that needed air conditioned machine rooms. Now, a distributed and remote workforce of clients, producers, editors and (of course) agency creatives need trusted feet on the ground. No longer is it enough to leave set with a pair of orange hard drives in a producers car, the only enduring product of a shoot day. SetLab brings the best parts of a real post production facility to where they belong in our modern workplace.
Equipped to operate out of a vehicle or near-set trolley, wrangling of camera-original media to high speed and secure storage is handled invisibly. High speed wireless internet is used to provide immediate delivery of transcoded material, ready for review on or off set. Expand on (and off) set control of processes otherwise left for the ever shrinking window after picture lock. Colour, contrast and basic matching of filmed material can often be used directly for social content and can provide a a solid starting point for fast turnaround projects.
Ensuring continuity between differing freelance crews is all the more important now that all captured content sees increasing deliverable requirements and brands seek to build libraries of evergreen material. Setlab can ensure that varied camera and lighting packages still deliver consistent looks that fit a brands aesthetic. Digi-op for motion. In stills their has long been the understanding that what the camera (and the eye) see is not where the creative process ends on set. Tests are done, a development process is built in collaboration with the lighting to produce a cohesive result, 5 seconds or so after the shutter clicks a processed image appears on a high quality screen.
Live grading brings this level of quality and control to video production. Before the shot has even rolled, clients and agency can be approving the image with confidence thanks to technical processes becoming invisible. DPs who haven’t worked with particular camera systems can be accommodated with looks that match their mental reference for a good exposure. Cross camera system looks can be built to ensure no one camera is the weak link. It’s common to need specialist low light, small or highspeed cameras that lack the mighty dynamic ranges of high end A cams. Attractive, subtle base looks that make the most of limited dynamic ranges to encourage achievable lighting ratios even the playing field.