New Tech: 4 Reasons Why the new Petabyte DVD technology is about to change everything.

     There are a few nerds, like myself, who are buzzing with the information that a new laser technique for burning DVD’s has surfaced which gives us the ability to put 1,000 Terabytes of information/data on a disc that could previously only hold 4.7 gigabytes. Most people shrug and wonder why we’re working with DVD’s in the first place. Wasn’t that a hot 90’s tech? How could society possibly benefit from such massive storage on a disc notoriously known for being easy to scratch or for losing everything? Or even worse; having fragmented files or movies that would maddeningly stop and jump all over the place. Well my friends, this has bigger implications than just a better burning process. Everything we know about this technology is about to change and get exponentially better!

1. It’s 1,000 Terabytes on a DVD!

     Even for those that don’t know how big file sizes are or simply believe your computer is a magic box that spews out pretty pictures, 1,000 terabytes is still a really big number. That’s 50,000 HD movies. I’m trying to think of how I could possibly find a Petabyte (one-thousand terabytes) of information to store on one single disc. I work in the video world in an age of High Definition shooting. We are accustomed to ridiculously large numbers when talking about small bits of video where for every large file size comes a large price tag - it’s the way technology works. A bit of tech gets halved in size and doubled in price (anyone who uses P2 cards, can I get an AMEN?). This has changed everything when it comes to digital storage. I can shoot all day long on a RED or Alexa and never have to worry about filling the DVD. But Jeremy, you say, DVD’s are really fragile and couldn’t even protect 4.7 gigs without getting scratched to hell. With that being said, how can this be a viable storage medium for so much condensed information? Well I’ll tell you this...

2. We’ll fix all the Problems

     Do you know why all those DVD’s were so easy to scratch in the first place? It’s because the companies pumping them out didn’t see a reason to protect them any more than was cost efficient. So for something storing so little information, it wasn’t worth protecting. Now that I have the ability to store my entire digital life 30 times over, it will be worth it for these companies to likewise make the discs themselves better. If you have any Blu-ray discs, do me a quick favor. Take one out, rub a brillo pad all over it and then pop it back in the player. (***Note: Rubbing a brillo pad on your Blu-ray disk is at your own risk***) That’s because when Blu-ray technology was first introduced, the disks were made to be scratch resistant due to the extremely large amount of information they are able to hold. A Blu-ray, at its max and most expensive, can hold 128 GIGABYTES of information. The company viewed this as a good enough reason to make them scratch resistant. Don't you think it will logically follow, now that DVD’s can hold more information than EVER before? Manufacturers will rework the disc and make it completely scratch proof!

3. Looking back and leaping forward

     If I showed you an 8-track, told you that I had a new way of making it hold every song on your iPod and that it gave you a way of playing your music  better, you’d probably tell me to get back on my meds and wonder what museum found an 8-track in. Well, this is the same thing. The fact is, with this amount of information now able to be stored everything is going to grow 10 fold. Huge storage servers which always run hot and are hugely expensive are going to become cool DVD towers capable of processing and storing massive amounts of information at a fraction of the cost (and heat). Processing power is where this is really going to get exciting.  In science, computers allow us to run applications such as protein folding simulations which are helping to cure disease; they also help perform complex computations that help us further define the most fundamental laws of physics. Previously, theses endeavors had been limited by the amount of processing power computers can put toward the simulations. Now take that computer and expand its processing to the tenth power. This has almost put us to the apex of what computing power is capable of. But wait...

4. We've conquered light! (And that’s just the beginning)

    This new laser technology is really quite exciting. Without getting too technical, it actually consists of two lasers. However, in order to explain what they do, we first have to look at how we write DVD’s today - it all has to do with light. When a DVD is burned, a single light laser burns a binary (ones and zeros) code into the disc which is then translated by an optical eye into data (i.e., the movies we enjoy, the information on our computers, etc.). The limiting factor to this was the size of the laser, which is limited to the wavelength of light. In 1863, a German physicist, Ernst Abbe, published a law that states the diameter of a spot of light obtained by focusing a light beam through a lens cannot be smaller than half its wavelength. Because of this, we couldn't make the ones and zero nanosized and couldn't store more information than the light would let us burn. And then these people threw out the rules of physics and said "we're going to make it better." With this new two laser system, they've found a way to make light write nanosized digits that can be read by a regular DVD eye. I’m not sure if I even fully understand what they're doing here but I’m going to give it a try. Knowing that both beams cannot be smaller than half their wavelength means they cannot produce smaller dots individually, but they gave the beams two distinct functions. Much like the single beam system does now, the first beam has a round shape and is used to make the recording. This is called the writing beam. The second beam plays an anti-recording function and is shaped like a donut, inhibiting the function of the writing beam. The two beams are then overlapped, as the second beam cancel's out the first in its tight donut ring while the recording process is tightly confined to the center of the writing beam. This technique produces an effective focal spot of nine nanometers or in better terms, one ten-thousandth the diameter of a human hair. 

     And voila! Cheap, effective, digital storage for all! Best of all, this dual laser breakthrough is the only one in which conventional optical and laser elements are used, so DVD production facilities can start rolling these off tomorrow!

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By: Jeremy Hatfield

Filmmaker/Tech

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net

Film/Video Producing: Important Steps for a Successful Production

     Enter the wonderful world of video production. Here, you can make your dreams a reality, put your visions into practice, and let your voice be heard. Whether your goal is corporate, consumer, or entertainment in nature, video production is the key to your success.

     Before getting too excited and jumping into any video production, it’s important for you to understand that the process is quite extensive. In order for a video production to succeed, a long list of steps must be followed. These steps largely fall into one of three categories: pre-production, production and post-production.

     While each step is an important part of the video production process, pre-production can make or break a project. In a nutshell, pre-production is the planning stage. Pre-production is where the brunt of the work takes place: from conceptualizing and location scouting, to casting, making shot sheets, storyboarding, filing for permits, gathering crew, and gathering props. Pre-production is especially important as just about every production throws you a curve ball. However, while my College Professor, Dr Don Dexter, once said, "There is no thing as a perfect production,” pre-production provides a means to preparing for and managing  the uncertainties that pop up during a video production. In fact, the more you plan in the pre-production stage, the easier the next two steps will be.

     When most people think/hear the word "video production," the production step is what comes to mind. Production is where you see all the glitz of the video production process: being on location, playing with cameras and lights, engaging with the talent, and watching all of the hard work in pre-production pay off. However, this step should be the shortest step out of the three. In other words, the more time you put into pre-production means less time you spend on production, and  less money you have to spend on cast, crew, locations, and whatever other necessities the project requires. It’s on that note that my motto is “get in, get the shot, get out.” Believe me, absolutely no one likes to sit around on set bored for hours.  The sooner you can get into post-production, the better.

     This brings us to the last and final step: post-production. This is where the magic, per se, happens. While most people think of post-production as special effects, this is only part of a much larger picture. Post-production, though including special effects, also encompasses everything else after production. This could be anything from  logging the footage, to getting a rough cut, to audio soundscaping, color grading, adding motion graphics,  and rendering. This sounds like a lot, and rightfully so. With all these things to do, it’s hard to imagine how anyone keeps track of what needs to happen. Well, as I’ve emphasized early on, the answer is pre-production. If you did your pre-production correctly, then you have a manual to your final product. By utilizing your shot sheet, storyboard, and script created during the first step, you can easily find your way through the project.

     Although each step in the  video production process requires a ton of work, I cannot stress enough how valuable and important pre-production is to the success of a production.  Video production is fun and all the tools needed are at your fingertips. With that in mind, get out there and film ( or hire a production house that will do it all for you)!

By: Eyal "Fill" Filkovsky

Producer/Director

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net

Film/Video Producing: Using Technology to your Advantage

     Let's face it, in order to have a smooth film/video production, you need to have great communication and organizational skills. Today's technology plays a pivotal role in mass communication. From Google Drive, to Dropbox and beyond.  The question is, how can a Video Producer use these tools to their advantage? Let's break it down a little.

     Google Drive: How great would it be if the Producer(s), Production Manager and other Above The Line crew had a spreadsheet that they could all edit and update live? That's exactly what Google Drive allows you to do. It's a means of open communication and planning between several departments of a video production. We at EFillF Productions, LLC count on Google Drive quite a bit. From creating call sheets to prop lists, script breakdowns to location management. How can you go wrong with such a great tool?

     Have you ever tried to herd cats? Well any Producer or Event Coordinator out there will agree that getting a bunch of people together at the same time and place can be very challenging. E-mails and phone calls, updates to spreadsheets and a whole lot of hair pulling. But hold on! There is hope yet! With Google Drive you can create a form for your cast and crew to fill out with their availability and all you have to send them is a link (provided by Google Drive, there is also an embed feature for websites)! All of this information gets automatically transcribed into an easy to read/organize spreadsheet. The work is done for you!

     Most recently we were working on a music video for a Denver band, 'Your Own Medicine". With the help of Google Drive, the Editor, Special Effects Supervisor, Director and Producer were all able to view, edit and make notes on clips by name. We had a list of clips in one column and notes in the next. We used color coding (Red = needs attention, Amber = Rendered and in Dropbox, Green = Good to go). We would even grab snapshots of clips that need attention and insert them onto the Google Drive spreadsheet. This allowed everyone on the post production team to be on the same page.

     Dropbox: Sharing documents, contracts, lists, audio and video clips via the internet has never been easier. Dropbox allows users to share anything they need and we at EFillF use this tool all the time. The service is free (up to 2Gigs) but you can upgrade your account for a very reasonable price (like we did). We've been able to work with other filmmakers, composers, graphic designers and more from all over the world and Dropbox has always played a big role in the process. The key is file management and organization.

     What's the difference between Google Drive and Dropbox? The answer is everything! Google Drive is web based. Even though you have the ability to upload documents, the translation into a web based format isn't always the best. However, with Dropbox you actually share the files! You have the ability to create folders and organize your files. The entire production team can have read, or read/write permissions to your project folder. You can share sketches, design notes, casting sides, video clips, audio clips and a whole lot more. The best thing is that you can install the desktop application and view your dropbox folder just as you would view any other folder on your computer.

     Facebook Groups: According to Cnet.com, there are over one billion (that's 1,000,000,000) facebook users worldwide as of 2012 and chances are all of your cast and crew have an account. What better tool to use as an open forum than a secret facebook group? You can share ideas, concerns, scheduling, planning and everything in between with everyone on your team. EFillF uses this tool for almost every production, the bigger the production, the more necessary it seems. This is also a great way for your cast and crew to begin getting to know each other. Start building a team early, because after all, a good production is put together by a team, not a group of people.

     Using the combination of Google Drive, Dropbox and Facebook Groups gives you an advantage over other productions because you defeated the most difficult task, keeping everyone in the loop. But let's take a moment to reflect and show our respect to past filmmakers, some of the greats (whoever that is to you), who didn't have these tools in the past and were still able to create amazing films. Today's filmmakers have it good, the tools are out there, you just need to start using them.

By: Eyal "Fill" Filkovsky

Producer/Director

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net