High Definition – The Future of TV is Here Now

by Patty K. Mooney

I remember the first time I saw a High-Definition Television (HDTV) image.  It was gorgeous.  The reds were redder than red, the blues bluer than blue.  And the yellows just screamed “YELLL-OOWWW!”  You could practically stretch your arm into the screen, it seemed so three dimensional.  Over the last twenty years, broadcasters and equipment manufacturers have been transitioning towards HD, and, we, the producers, shooters and editors on the creative end of the spectrum, can see the writing on the plasma screen.  HD is here.

Industry pundits are saying that HD is the biggest innovation in television technology since the introduction of color broadcasting.

So what’s the big deal about HD?  It boasts the highest screen resolution in existence: 1920 x 1080i (interlaced) or 1280 x 720p (progressive).  Without going into further detail, let’s just say it’s crisp; you get a picture that’s up to five times sharper and more detailed. With the screen size of film (16 x 9 as opposed to traditional television, which is 4 x 3), the challenge of HD for traditional videographers looms large.  Now you’ve got much more space to fill with a compelling story. 

This migration from analog to digital is BIG. According to Randall Paris Dark, a producer who has been shooting on HD since 1986, “The bottom line is that the future is Electronic Widescreen High Resolution TV/Computer/Movie Theater. Period. That is evolutionary, not revolutionary. As a species, we have evolved from primitive finger painted drawings in our caves to primitive low resolution moving images (television) in our homes and we will not stop there. Humankind has always wanted bigger, brighter, sharper. (How else can you explain the clothing styles of the 1970's?) This change will affect every one of us, but initially it will have the biggest impact on the broadcasters. And you don't have to take my word for it. The government has told the broadcasters they have to switch from analog to digital television. The clock is ticking.”

There has always been a raging controversy over which is better, film or video.  Now, movie-makers have begun to embrace HD in the same way that writers moved from their Remington manual typewriters towards computers.   

George Lucas, HD maverick, shot “Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones” entirely on  high-definition digital video, saying, "For a fantasy film, this kind of technology is almost a must in order to get your story told.”  Robert Rodriguez shot "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," and James Cameron shot “Ghosts of the Abyss” on HD.  Now of course many want to board the bandwagon; however, the camera that Lucas used on his film, the Sony Cine Alta, retails at $100,000 and the lens goes for around $35,000.

My partner, Mark Schulze, recently got a chance to use the Cine Alta over a two-week span.  He said that the material he shot on the last day was ten times better than what he’d shot on the first day, as he had a chance to become more intimate with the camera’s features.  He had a difficult time parting with the camera (as in “you can pry it from my cold, dead hands”) but it inspired him to go to the last NAB (National Association of Broadcasters convention) and seriously check out the new HD equipment.

And the beauty of a marketplace with healthy competition is this:  even if you can’t afford the Cine Alta, you’ll find an array of smaller HDV cameras that may be more to the liking of your pocketbook, starting at around $4,700. So if video is your creative passion or career, step lively.  HD is here, and it promises to make life very interesting for a long time to come.