Approved Cameras
The technical quality of Netflix originals is really high. One thing that annoys me though is for some reason despite having rigorous standards for the camera it seems a common trend through numerous Netflix Originals to use the Vantage Hawk V-Lite Vintage '74 line of anamorphic lenses. I guess it's a stylistic choice but it results is some (for me at least) annoying image distortion that can really distract from the show. They are literally described at claiming the flaws are a feature: "The Vintage’74 version has certain gentle aberrations and other characteristics that might be considered flaws by others but are welcomed storytelling tools for cinematographers"
You can see this is some example footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhbRkoeNb9U
Note the distortion and blurred top and bottom of the image.
Am I the only one who feel continually let down by the script writing in Netflix Originals? Not all of them, but many of them seem to have a budget that allows for “decent” special effects and scenery, but when it comes to actual writing, which in my mind is what carries or collapses a series to begin with, it sometimes feels like they just grabbed interns or whoever was available for the lowest cost.
The latest example of a promising series torpedoed by shoddy writing is in my opinion “The Defeated”. I mean, it’s about killing nazis in post war Berlin, how do you mess this up? And yet the characters are boring, cliché and the story is predictable to the point that it feels like a chore to watch.
Maybe I’m not the majority in this opinion but I really feel like Netflix could probably make better series if they spent less on production and more on writing, but now that I’m saying it out loud I guess I am the minority after all. Most people probably prefer a well produced series with a bad script over a well produced, pretentious indie movie or bottle episode.
This means Netflix operates as a production and post studio for their many and talented film-makers. The stuff with the red N on the poster -- some of it is REALLY good -- uses Netflix-operated handling.
Any video production goes through a lot of steps from raw studio footage to edited, finished product. This web site says that Netflix processes and people handle a lot of that.
Also it looks like 4K is their minimum standard now. I bet the higher resolution makes it easier, with big*ss GPUs to clean up the raw footage.
(Footage? WTF? Video measured by distance? Maybe we should say "frameage" or "pix.")
Since there we're questions of what this list is for, this list doesn't determine with which cameras a TV show or film has to be shot with to be included in Netflix. Its rather one of several technical specifications (there are others for post-prod flow for example) for production companies who produce the so-called Netflix Originals for Netflix.
They probably do better to put more work into writing a guide for approved writers.
So many (many) shows with great actors completely let down by terrible scripts....
On their anime production requirements (https://partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com/hc/en-us/articles/360...):
> The working resolution must be 1920x1080 or higher throughout the production, including drawing, scanning, background, CG and VFX.
At least a few years ago, there was a belief that most anime were produced at under 1080p, then upscaled if necessary. Therefore 1080p anime didn't offer and advantages compared to 720p releases. I wonder if this is still true to this day.
Netflix is like an in-flight entertainment system. There's really nothing there you genuinely want to watch, but here you are, you might as well watch something.
Every once in a while, they do have a good show. And even that sucks, because you know they will now ruin it by adding 3 seasons where absolutely nothing happens.
And there's the woke thing spreading its wings. Even in the Witcher, where it's perfectly fine to behead people and burn down villages, but one most not engage in acts of "toxic masculinity", by making dismissive remarks at women. This requires a lengthy dialogue to correct.
Yes, I should cancel.
I would like to see the film industry focus on not only increasing resolution, but frame rate as well. 24fps has remained a standard for too long mostly because of legacy and stylistic reasons, but with the switch to digital productions and projections, and internet bandwidth increases across the board, there's no reason why shows and movies couldn't be produced and delivered at 60fps and beyond.
The main argument against this is that consumers would find the "soap opera effect" jarring, or that it would add even more strain on traffic for ISPs. These are minor complaints that would go away as more high FPS content is produced, and bandwidth is increased. With the advent of cloud gaming, the infrastructure should already be prepared for these high bitrates anyway. And consumers could always be given the choice to stream at different frame rates if it bothers them stylistically.
I for one would appreciate more detail in fast moving scenes that otherwise become a blurry mess at 24fps.
A couple of months ago I had a Zoom meeting with the CEO of another startup. I remarked his camera must be good because the capture was of incredible quality. His "webcam" was actually one of the Canon ones on the list.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1633519-REG/canon_379...
I've had the opportunity to work on two short productions for ESPN in the last two years. My role is writing the code for the screen overlays and real time scoring system.
I have very little knowledge in cameras but did have to review all the production guidelines.
Netflix doesn't mention image sensor size (CCD) but ESPN requires 2/3" or more. I'm guessing every camera they list as approved would meet that spec even though they don't specify it.
At the time I was surprised to learn that ESPN wants you to deliver all content in 720p. Wikipedia says that their Digital Center is equipped for 2160p, but they still broadcast in 720p. The archivist in me would want to receive the material greater than 720p even knowing it is to be broadcast in 720p, but I can understand the additional complexity that such a small thing can add, especially when dealing with hundreds of production companies.
I speculate that Netflix wants you to turn in higher quality video because they are factoring in that over time encoding and streaming algorithms and increased bandwidth will allow them to push higher quality feeds to end users, and they want the highest possible raw capture so they can improve the stream as technology improves, whereas ABC is content with airing footage in the future that looks as it did when it aired originally.
I'd like to see their guidelines for the social content of their productions. Every Netflix production I've seen seems to feature commonly themed social commentary, in some cases more subtle than others.
I know we can't do this here, but can we talk about the scroll-locked header which takes almost a third of my screen?
It's too bad they don't screen their actual content with the same rigor as they do their technical side. I don't doubt their technical side is excellent.
Most of Netflix is utterly mindless garbage content for background consumption. I struggle to name even 5 of their originals over the years that you could call good "TV" or Cinema.
Black Mirror is the only one that really comes to mind.
Now do "sound must be remastered for stereo speakers."
Top of the list is Munich based ARRI. A fascinating story by itself: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arri
curious - does anyone know the least expensive camera on their approved list? It's a lot for me to look up price for each one
> Limited use of non-approved cameras is allowable in certain circumstances (e.g. crash, POV, drone, underwater, Pan-Tilt-Zoom/Robocam etc). In all cases, such cameras must be explicitly approved by Netflix for a specific project.
The implications here are amazing.
Say someone wants to like film a mountain bike scene on a GoPro. Someone has to realize how this is going to work in advance. Then they have to tell someone to write Netflix an email to ask for permission. Someone writes that email. Someone at Netflix receives the email, and asks their team whether or not to approve the exception. A meeting is scheduled and it's discussed. They decide yes! They make a note of the approval in their project planning system. Or rather, try to... the system doesn't support that. They file a bug report. The engineering team's product manager takes a look and decides it's important, so they have a short call with the team's manager to get it prioritized. It gets prioritized. The product manager tells the Video Camera Approvals department that it will be looked at in the next couple weeks. Meanwhile an engineer picks up the ticket, decides it makes sense, and adds a new column to the ongoing_production table 'boolean unapproved_camera_exeception_granteed default false'. Some glue is put together to make this a checkbox, and in just a week, the feature is launched! The camera exceptions department is informed. They say they actually wanted it to be a list of camera models that were approved, the date that that camera model was approved, and the user who approved it. Also can you add a button to client-facing UI so that production companies can make a request there? The project manager says this is a great idea and prioritizes it. The engineer that added the checkbox is on vacation, so the more complicated version of this feature is given to the new-hire as their starter project. The new-hire puts together a small document with an overview of what they plan to do; a database migration to add a new table to store approved cameras, the UI work, a messaging system to tell the video cameras approvals team that there is a request to review, etc. A design review is scheduled for next Thursday. Don't work on it until then, we'll do the rest next sprint. Meanwhile over in the video camera exceptions approval department, the production company writes in "hey, we're running out of time, should we just use a GoPro?" The exceptions manager writes "This is approved. We're having some trouble adding a note to the CRM, but that should be fixed in the next couple months. For now, if anyone asks, this email is the record of your approval." Unfortunately, right before they press send, a cat picture is posted to Slack. Slack makes a loud sound to notify everyone of this, and the email window is closed as everyone goes over to check out the cat picture. As it turns out, this email just lives in the Drafts folder for the rest of eternity. It was the Exception Manager's last day; turns out Hulu is paying Video Camera Exceptions Managers twice as much, and in theory have better software. Meanwhile, over at the video production company, they are frustrated that they can't get ahold of anyone at Netflix to approve the camera, so they decide to just strap a Sony F65 to the rider's handlebars. There is no off-the-shelf-mount for this, so they shop around the idea to local machine shops. One offers to design and build it over the weekend so they can start using it on monday. $20,000 for the design and first prototype; $10,000 for the rush job. Approved. On Monday morning, they attach the F65 to a bicycle in the studio and pedal it around. A little wobbly, but nothing our stunt rider can't handle. They book her for a shoot tomorrow. She inspects the bike and says "whoa, this is weird" but gets used to it after a while. They head out to location and begin the technical descent. So far so good, even with the very wobbly cockpit. She hits a huge jump and get higher up in the air. The bike unexpectedly pitches downwards. The landing is not good! CRUNCH! She's off the bike. The camera flies into a ravine. The chase crew stops and throws their bikes away as quickly as possible to check on the stunt rider. She's conscious. They quickly call 911 to get a medical team out here to assist. Broken neck? Broken back? They don't know what to do. Unfortunately, there is no cell reception. Someone volunteers to hike to the summit to call. 20 minutes later, they're talking to 911. They can't get an ambulance out there, so they're sending a helicopter. Do you have the GPS coordinates? They don't, but offer to signal to the helicopter when they hear it. Someone probably has a mirror that they can signal with, right? 20 minutes pass, and the helicopter is overhead. The rest of the team doesn't know that one is coming, but someone has the bright idea of using one of their cheaper lenses as a mirror. They attract the helicopter pilot's attention. A paramedic descends through the trees, attaches a back brace to the stunt rider, and they're off to the hospital. The rest of the crew descends the slope on their bikes, reaching the production van and telling them the news. They're weeks behind schedule at this point, they might have to just cut this technical scene.
Some time passes. The stunt rider makes a full recovery. It looked worse than it was, and she's back in the saddle within a week. The scene is cut from the film, and it's delivered in time. The film gets amazing reviews. Subscriptions are at an all time high. The CRM software is modified to support the video camera approval workflow, and it works great. The junior engineer is promoted. A quarterly business review shows that the processes are working great, and that the scrappy Netflix is out-innovating all of the competition. High fives all around. Their share price increases and all the employees are richer.
This is the American economy in a nutshell, and I'll be honest -- I don't fucking get it.
What is the purpose of this document, i.e. who does it apply to? Does it mean that a movie like Tangerine[1] (filmed on an iPhone) would never come to Netflix?
I once thought about a high-end camera rental side business. Never really completed the research, but I am curious again... Do studios and creators own these cameras or they usually rent? Is there an aggregated marketplace where I could be able to put my camera for rent if I do eventually get one?
So long with "shoot your next movie on iPhone". I was hoping for Canon EOS, but it is $5.5k "cinema" one.
Gotta re-read Rodriguez' "Rebel without a crew" (and try to forget his way subpar episode of the next Disney Star Wars humiliation).
This is really high end stuff. Makes me realize how much I'm getting for just 10 bucks.
This Netflix site lists the preferred capture formats (RAW, REDCODE RAW, X-OCN, etc.) for recording the video. What file format would be used to submit the final video (edited with audio and captions) to Netflix?
What’s with the Java vulnerability warning that takes up 1/3 of my phone screen? I know about the log4j vulnerability, and this still made me think this was a pwned website trying to serve up malware…
Maybe this is a little off topic, but I was curious to know why, when the Blackmagic pocket camera came out like 3 years ago, it was such a revolution/attention-grabbing camera? As in, people were like, this upends the dominance of ARRI, etc etc.?
Was it just the resolution available for the price point at the time? How did the company achieve it, and why weren't any of the major camera manufacturers able to do that up until that time?
Talking about brushes instead of paintings.
An overwhelming part of society has lost the essence in everything and went full-on meta, some 10 years ago one could find wonderful album reviews on Discogs, as example, but not anymore - the vinyl press quality is the topic 99% of comments over there now. The only feeling music seems to be inducing in those people is that of annoyance at clicks, pops and scratches.
6-21-3-11-ing metaworld.
For reference: BBC[0] 'technical specification for the delivery of television programmes'. 35 pages, with links to additional specs for cameras etc.
[0] http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/scotland/commissioning/TechnicalD...
For some odd reason, I expected an affiliate purchasing link on that camera list. Even though it is a multi billion dollar company, I have been pavloved by webpage's with list of products.
I wonder when Netflix will have their own video editing software...
how much is the cheapest on that list?
the Canon EOS C70 looks most consumer still.
I saw something getting shot today in downtown SF where a ton of extras were all walking down the street wearing VR headsets. Anyone know what that was?
For anyone into photography, an unrelated topic is that Amazon prime offers unlimited photo storage, you can upload all your RAWs as long as you keep your subscription.
The next generation of cameras should move away from SD cards. I can’t wait until you can stick NVMe on one, it’s a shame they don’t even make any emmc SD cards. Even the iPhone has had that for half a decade now.
Digital cameras really suck, they’re all horrible proprietary hardware devices, basically expensive locked down computers with large sensors that attach to lens through proprietary mounts.
It’s a bit random Blackmagic Ursa 4.6k is approved but Ursa 12k or Pocket Cinema Camera 6k are not
Canon R5 and R6 aren't approved. A good example of white listing fail.
Are the 4.5K cameras intended for 4K output? If so, why 4.5K?
Wonder why they approve the Canon C70 but not Canon C200
Nothing from NIKON?
No Apple iPhone?
>netflix requires approval if you want to film a crash with a slightly lower spec camera
centralized platforms strike again!
Too bad their streaming video platform uses low bitrates.
So disgusting seeing big square macroblocks, esp.on dark scenes.
Cancelled it months ago.
This is totally arbitrary. Many Nikon cameras match those requirements but are randomly not listed.
You could use an “unapproved” camera and just overwrite the metadata. Nobody would know (unless you’re using an iPhone or something).