UK – Once again confirming its reputation as a pioneer of LED processing for “on camera” applications, Brompton Technology has announced its new Tessera v3.2 software with ShutterSync, a game changing tool for users of Tessera SX40 and S8 LED processors. In addition, it has added the option to upload a custom 3D LUT directly to the Tessera LED processor for the very first time.
More details from Brompton (www.bromptontech.com):
Tessera v3.2 is ideal for creatives using LED on camera for both virtual production and XR (eXtended Reality) applications, giving professional users more flexibility than ever before with convenient features that put the emphasis on creative choice and control.
“Until now, filming an LED screen required the camera’s shutter speed to be precisely matched to the LED screen refresh to prevent ugly artefacts appearing. With ShutterSync, LED refresh can be tuned to the camera, not the other way around, giving creative control back to the user,” says Brompton CTO, Chris Deighton.
ShutterSync is an industry-first, patent-pending processing feature that automatically adjusts the timing of the LED refresh to match the preferred camera setup. It can optionally be used in conjunction with Frame Remapping, which allows the user to interleave different areas of the video raster or solid colours in the output enabling multi-camera systems, and transforming the workflow for virtual production.
With ShutterSync, the LED screen ceases to be an obstacle to work around, becoming a genuine partner in the creative process with many of the commonly experienced visual artefacts on camera a thing of the past. “This means that the DOP retains creative flexibility for camera configuration, with wider choice of aperture, lens, sensor gain, filters, etc. to achieve the desired creative result and level of motion blur,” adds Deighton.
ShutterSync is compatible with all LED panels fitted with a Tessera R2 receiver card and works best with panels supporting HFR (High Frame Rates). ShutterSync does not affect network pixel capacity and works with genlock for a perfectly synced system.
Tessera v3.2 also offers power users greater control over the color of an LED screen with the ability to import a 3D LUT. 3D LUTs (Look Up Tables) are an efficient way of remapping colors and allow for advanced color correction. They are commonly used in film production, for everything from on-set camera tuning to color grading in post. The Tessera software can import and use any valid Adobe .cube file, using 12-bit precision and tetrahedral interpolation.
“Reproducing color on LED screens is a complex science,” concludes Deighton. “Our Dynamic Calibration technology is essential for achieving color accuracy, and our existing ChromaTune feature gives users flexible, integrated color correction. 3D LUT import builds on this to give power users, especially those working in virtual production, direct access to the system’s color processing capabilities. This helps with camera calibration and improves integration with existing color management workflows, with zero additional latency or cost.
“Filming with LED is here to stay, and we’re proud to continue delivering features that support and empower the creativity of our users.”
ShutterSync and 3D LUT import are available as free software upgrades to users of Tessera SX40 and S8 processors. Tessera v3.2 software is currently available for beta testing from the Brompton website.
