Designing a 4K Production Workflow for an Educational Institution
Jakob, David (2015)
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201505117232
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201505117232
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the requirements needed to facilitate 4K video production within Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and design a feasible workflow, which gains full advantage of the available resources. By the purchase of the Blackmagic Design Production Camera 4K, students at Metropolia are now able to produce professional 4K video. Due to the sheer amount of data 4K video inherits, specialized workflows and data handling are required.
Before the actual 4K video acquisition, every component of the data flow model had to be tested and analyzed. Recording formats had to be evaluated based on image quality and resulting file size. Transport buses and connections needed to provide high enough bandwidths to support the heavy load of 4K video data. The most crucial and important component was the storage volume. 4K video processing requires a lot of fast storage to ensure fluent playback and editing. After the objective analysis of the individual components, several workflows were designed and tested based on the highest quality 4K footage in order to simulate maximum system stress. Workflows were designed to produce professional video quality, including color correction. Most importantly the concept of offline editing with proxy files, which enables 4K production on less powerful machines, was analyzed.
This thesis suggests that 4K video production at Metropolia is possible, yet at the current stage of development limited in its extent. A workflow based on proxy files allows multiple students to utilize the editing work stations already available at Metropolia's Media Lab. However, the computational power and data handling capabilities of the Mac Pro work station are still needed for many operations with 4K.
This thesis serves students as a guide for 4K video production. Furthermore, the institution can utilize the results of the data and component analysis to improve facilities in future development, thus enabling multiple students to work with extensive 4K productions.
Before the actual 4K video acquisition, every component of the data flow model had to be tested and analyzed. Recording formats had to be evaluated based on image quality and resulting file size. Transport buses and connections needed to provide high enough bandwidths to support the heavy load of 4K video data. The most crucial and important component was the storage volume. 4K video processing requires a lot of fast storage to ensure fluent playback and editing. After the objective analysis of the individual components, several workflows were designed and tested based on the highest quality 4K footage in order to simulate maximum system stress. Workflows were designed to produce professional video quality, including color correction. Most importantly the concept of offline editing with proxy files, which enables 4K production on less powerful machines, was analyzed.
This thesis suggests that 4K video production at Metropolia is possible, yet at the current stage of development limited in its extent. A workflow based on proxy files allows multiple students to utilize the editing work stations already available at Metropolia's Media Lab. However, the computational power and data handling capabilities of the Mac Pro work station are still needed for many operations with 4K.
This thesis serves students as a guide for 4K video production. Furthermore, the institution can utilize the results of the data and component analysis to improve facilities in future development, thus enabling multiple students to work with extensive 4K productions.