Monaco Unveils New Digital Intermediate Suite
Monaco Digital Film Labs has recently made a significant investment in their new Digital Intermediate Color Grading Theater. The new facility and technology offer clients an ideal environment for all phases of the digital intermediate process and presents the advantage of large-screen projection during post-production. This high quality, large screen digital projection allows colorists the added advantage and dimension of seeing elements as they will appear in a theater.
Monaco’s new theater utilizes the Scratch Data-Centric Workflow Solution by Assimilate, a powerful software foundation whose open-architecture, modular feature sets, and image processing tools allow for an integrated, end to end DI pipeline. The software’s core features include simultaneous, real-time, multi-resolution review and playback, assemble/edit, conform and primary color grading, visual effects and final mastering to film. The system empowers creative professionals working on visually complex, full resolution, long and short term creative productions.
Besides dramatically increasing productivity for film productions, the new DI workstation and technology has the capability to complete a digital intermediate with exactly the same tools a filmmaker would have when working with a photochemical process. The advantage lies in the speed, efficiency and quality with which the work may now be completed.
Monaco complements its new digital intermediate software and theater with full resolution film scanning and laser recording, providing the highest quality transfer from any source material and output to film. This combination of software and high end scanning and recording provides the client with an unprecedented amount of creative latitude and assures a vastly superior final product.
In addition to the digital intermediate operations, clients will be able to view dailies with large screen digital projection via Monaco’s new JVC D-ILA HD2K projector. The D-ILA (Digital Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier) is an ultra high-resolution QXGA projector providing clear, sharp, high-definition and film-like quality. The projector’s high resolution, high brightness, high contrast, and analog gradation result in impeccable reproduction of all details and information contained in the original source materials. The D-ILA also provides virtual elimination of annoying "grid" or "screen door effect" while viewing digital dailies.
These recent investments along with traditional full service film and video services make Monaco the premier digital intermediate facility in Northern California. Professionals, independents and commercial producers working with all forms of source materials can now be assured that, from origination to completed deliverables, their work can be completed at one post production company.
According to Monaco's digital intermediate supervisor Jim Moye, "the flexibility of the DI workstation allowed us to bring all formats for this project – super 16mm, 35mm, Sony HDCam and standard definition video – into the same timeline. After scaling and conforming the source material in the workstation, transition effects such as dissolves, wipes, repositions, flops and speed changes were added. Afterwards we focused on titling, color correction, and dirt and scratch removal as needed. As the final reels were completed they were digitally projected for approval, then rendered for output to 35mm on the laser recorder."
Colorist Gary Coates worked with Monaco's recently purchased Scratch digital intermediate system and explained the benefits of large screen projection in the DI process. "I've done DI color grading in a video environment, but the DPs can't tell what it will look like in a movie theater because the color space on a video monitor is wrong. With (Monaco's) digital projection we can finally see the colors in a projection color space and filmmakers can see their work the way it will really appear."
"This was the shakedown cruise for DI at Monaco," Taylor notes, "and we've gotten extra attention. It's been great and the process went very smoothly."
