Working with Mixed Media and Mixed Resolutions
So, you’ve just returned from a major industry trade show, and the LED exhibits were stunningly beautiful — simply breathtaking in their creativity. So, fresh with ideas, off you went back to the shop, slammed together some content, set up your company’s LED wall, sized up the video through your scaler — and voila! Third-generation VHS dubs look better than this. What gives? “Them trade show guys must know something,” I hear you mutter.
Well, in fact, they do.
The Evolving Palette
Back before LEDs invaded the rental and staging industry, in addition to lighting and sound, there was only one major brush on your media palette — projection. There were also a limited number of ways that you could highlight the person behind the microphone, whether it was a singer, the CEO at a convention or the preacher at the pulpit. And back then, the term “video” only meant one thing to us television guys — 4:3 NTSC. If you wanted video, you put a monitor on a stand and connected it to a tape deck or a switcher.
With a cascade of dramatic changes, we now (thankfully) have a mix of brushes on the media palette, effectively making the set designer’s role one of the most creative in the industry. Projectors take many forms, with a variety of aspect ratios, resolutions and lumens. LEDs are available in tiles, drapes, tubes, transparent modules and misty curtains, with many choices in terms of pitch and nit. And a much broader definition of video has evolved — if it’s an image (moving or still) that’s displayed on some kind of device (LED, CRT, LCD, projection screen, etc.), and if it ain’t lighting or sound, it’s called video.
But let’s say you’ve been a “single media” producer (or A/V company) up to this point, with the desire to move into the mixed media realm that combines both LED and projection. To date, your gig has been projection and lighting, period. You’re damn good at it, but the client’s demand for more creativity on stage is ramping up. How can you handle a mix of destination devices with different resolutions? How do you prepare the content in this environment? And, what secrets do those trade show guys know that make their LEDs look so good?
Mixing Resolutions
Let’s start with a fairly simple “projection only” example. The auditorium (or concert hall, or sanctuary) has two projectors: one 16:9 and one 4:3. The task is to create one set of content that plays well in both aspect ratios and both resolutions. With lots of time and money, you could produce separate 16:9 and 4:3 clips, configure separate 16:9 and 4:3 playout and video processing systems, and then route each output to its respective projector.
But, alas, Mr. Time n’ Budget says you don’t have this luxury, so the single-playout method is mandated — one set of clips that plays (and looks good) on both screens. This method simplifies the content creation process and eliminates any multideck playout synchronization problems.
To make this work, shoot and edit your content in 16:9, at the resolution of your high-def projector. Throughout the entire production workflow, ensure that you center all interviews, graphics, titles and primary actions within an imaginary 4:3 window (or safe zone). With your primary content in the zone, let the left and right boundaries fall where they may. If you’re creating original graphics and animations using PhotoShop, Illustrator, After Effects, a 3D application, PowerPoint or Keynote, follow the same guidelines.
For playout, you’ll need a server (or a computer to display your PowerPoint or Keynote presentation). You’ll also need two
single-destination video processors, each capable of acquiring, scaling and cropping inputs. As an alternative, you can use one of the industry’s large multidestination presentation systems.
Connect the server’s outputs to each processor (or use a DA if required). Set each processor’s output to match the native resolution of the target projector. With each processor, acquire the input and adjust levels as needed. For the 16:9 feed, very little adjustment in terms of sizing and positioning is required because the source and destination are both 16:9. For the 4:3 feed, crop off the source’s left and right sides and you’re ready to roll.
This is all well and good, but what do those trade show guys know?
Adding LEDs to the Mix — Tips for Content Creation
The last concert you attended had multi-screen projection combined with a huge LED I-mag wall. The last awards show you saw on TV (e.g., the 2007 CMT Music Awards, pictured), had I-mag, projection, plus “slivers” of video on stage — essentially, arrays of LED tiles in very unique aspect ratios. And of course, the last trade show had every imaginable LED configuration, with stunning clarity.
The common technical thread between all of these venues is that high-resolution projection was perfectly mixed with low-resolution LED, and that someone in the production company knows their pixels — and knows how to build their LED content pixel-for-pixel.
Instead of laying out a step-by-step workflow, I’ll provide some general guidelines — and let you fill in the steps to suit your specific application. The guidelines are the same, whether you’re creating content for LED walls with standard or nonstandard aspect ratios.
If you’re not already a pixel packin’ mama, here’s the basic problem. When you squeeze a 1024 x 768 image into a 400 x 300 pixel LED wall, for example, you’re going to lose information. Scaling technology is excellent, but it can’t compensate for a high degree of compression in which the source and destination pixels only match up in certain areas.
However, if you create your content with prior knowledge of the target LED array, you’ll get out what you put in — with dramatically improved results. Here are three important tips:
Know the exact pitch of the LED tiles (the distance between the LED elements), and create your content according to the target matrix. If you’re using tiles with a tight matrix (e.g., 4 mm to 8 mm pitch), detailed content will look great — but not necessarily text with small fonts. If you’re using wide matrix tiles (e.g., 12 mm and above), your event might best be served with less detail and more abstract content.
Avoid scaling at all costs. The moment you scale through your digitizer and video processor, you will distort the image and lose information. Instead, create your content at the wall’s exact pixel dimensions. For example, if your target wall is 400 x 300, create your content at exactly 400 x 300, using the many “precision” graphics tools available. In addition, ensure that your digitizer is “pixel-perfect” in its ability to map content onto an LED wall of any shape.
Understand the intent of the content, and create your images accordingly. Whether the display is designed for digital retailing, a concert environment or a house of worship, build the project with environment and communications in mind. For example, if you’ve designed a center projection screen that is framed by slivers of LED tiles, leave the text on the high-res screen, and let the low-res LEDs enhance the mood with abstract colors, graphics and textures.
Tools of the Trade
To close the loop on improved LED content, get yourself a first-class graphic artist who is downright dangerous with pixels (or, you could become a highly-skilled pixel-packer yourself). Ensure that your artist knows them pixels, and as an absolute prerequisite, is completely familiar with all the required tools for superb content: & nbsp; &nb sp;   ; & nbsp; PhotoShop — for creating and modifying stills and backgrounds PowerPoint, Keynote — for creating presentations, text and bullet copy
Illustrator — for creating vector-based objects
Premier, Avid, Final Cut Pro — for editing 16:9 and 4:3 video
Digital SLR — for capturing stills
XSI, 3D Max, Maya — for creating 3D animation sequences
After Effects, Combustion — for compositing and rotoscoping
And while you’re at it, get yourself a truck-load of disk storage. When working with high-resolution formats especially, not only do the master playout files take up gigs of room, but the source files and elements leading up to the master can be extremely large. If a client is involved, they just might want to change things, and the wise artist always archives projects in their entirety.
Pixel Packin’ Secrets
So, what do these trade show guys know?
∑ They know their pitch, pixels and content creation tools.
∑ They know the intended communication and how to properly correlate the project to the size of the LED matrix.
∑ They know that scaling (in terms of LEDs) is directly proportional to loss of information.
To become a truly dangerous pixel- packin’ mama, you’ve got to know them pixels.
Paul Berliner is currently packing his pixels away in Davis, California. He can be reached at pberliner@plsn.com.
