“When we started the project, the prevailing idea was that we would shoot with two cameras and use stitching. But there are many problems with this approach, similar to those when shooting 3D: it’s difficult to set up the rigs, difficult to adjust the cross-points, and so on. Even if we used two identical cameras, there would still be differences at the hardware level – and the shooting difficulties get worse, obviously, as the resolution goes up. So, while we were running camera tests, we came up with the idea of using a single F65, shooting at 8K with an anamorphic lens. So we shot various scenes using both approaches, and did rigorous dot-by-dot comparisons of the resulting image quality. We confirmed that the single-camera approach would give us all the quality we needed, and so we decided to go down that road instead. So of course, this made it much easier to set up the camera at our locations. And it hugely reduced the amount of equipment we had to lug around. And, when you’re using only one camera, you have more freedom to move it around and to operate it the way you want to. For example, we have a church scene where we pan from a horizontal interior view up to the ceiling—this would be very difficult to accomplish when using multiple connected cameras. We were also able to do handheld shots; and shots of people moving back and forth across the entire 7:1 width.”

Aoki Takashi, Business Planner in the Solutions Business Development department of Sony’s of Sony’s Professional Solutions Group, comments:

“The start of broadcasting from Channel 4K (Japan’s first 4K-dedicated channel), and the anticipation of 8K broadcasts from the 2020 Olympics, have drawn considerable attention to resolutions beyond 4K. Not only for video but, also, for large images, for signage, and more. The SRDM processor used in this project generates high-resolution images in freely selectable aspect ratios and resolutions—freeing up the use of ultra-high resolutions with genres and display devices that were previously off limits. It opens the way to new types of expression, and new types of video experiences.”

Sales of this SRDM processor are expected to begin in the final quarter of fiscal year 2014.

The squeezed image data from the anamorphic lens was sent through a mixer, cropped to 7:1 size, and checked on the output monitor. According to Mr. Onomichi, “This was a great experience for me as a cameraman, because it’s quite hard to get the right angles with a 7:1 ratio, and to get the right balance between people and scenery. And when you’re shooting 16K, you have to be extremely precise about the focus. So I was using a magnifying glass when I was checking the focus on the monitor.” As described above, an SRDM processor was used to convert the raw data into 8K resolution, using S-Log2 gamma and S-Gamut color space and converting the result into DPX. Data was then converted to 2K/ProRes for offline editing with Final Cut Pro. TYO Technical Ranch’s PPC grading room did the grading on finished cuts. Nest+Visual did the finishing internally, using Flame Assist. Ai Hirata served as the colorist, and Kōei Ishizaki was the editor.

According to Mr. Okoyama, “We spent about two months in R&D, communicating very closely amongst ourselves, and as a result we succeeded in putting together a new and entirely original workflow. This was an entirely new challenge, and I think the technical team responded with considerable creativity.”

This production was the second of a series of films to be presented in 16K ultra-wide resolution on Haneda’s 36-monitor display. With the common theme of, From Haneda to the World, the films show travelers scenes of the different cities served by the airport. The first work in the series showcased World Heritage sites within Asia, whereas this second production looks at the Arts in four European cities — in particular the works and landscapes associated with Goethe (Frankfurt), Ludwig II (Munich), Edward Elgar (London), and Debussy (Paris). The film began showing at Haneda Airport in February 2015.