Presenter: W. Thomas Wall, Principal, LightView
Abstract: The introduction of the Samsung Onyx emissive LED cinema screen has brought the first taste of true high dynamic range imaging in a cinema environment. Having content that goes to true full black even within a scene where other areas of the screen have content — with deep shadow detail now visible at full DCI 4K resolution and in full P3 color on a large cinema screen — allows for a new kind of visual experience. But, along with the ability to display highlights at a peak luminance over 6 f-stops brighter than normal projection-screen cinema, it also introduces challenges, that range from how such imagery is originally conceived and created on-set and how it is edited, to how it is graded for various types of HDR (and SDR) display that may be very different even in a cinema environment. We will describe observations of how the capabilities of such screens can be exploited to expand the creative palette, as well as issues that have been discovered, based on experience so far grading material for the Onyx screen at Roundabout Entertainment.
Bio: Thomas Wall is a retired computer systems designer and professional photographer. Thomas is the Coordinator of the SSIMWave HDR Evaluation Working Group of the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council, and also a member of its Next Generation Cinema Display Committee and ACES Working Group.
