In a previous article I expressed my concern for the push into the 4k revolution. Here I would like to explain how 4k can benefit and work for your organization.
Let’s briefly talk about what 4K even means. For the longest time the standard has been full HD (1920×1080 pixels of resolution) and for most TVs and monitors this is still standard output. Cameras are making a big push to move into the higher end resolutions even if the display most people have will not even be able to view 4K (4096 x 2160.) As an aside, Ultra HD (3840 X 2160) is also commonly and incorrectly referred to as 4K. The key thing here is that cameras are moving to 4K as a standard and most folks out there don’t have the ability to view the added amount of pixels.
So what’s the point?
Most of our clients don’t know we have moved into the 4K world. At Allied Pixel we have upgraded not only our camera kits, but also our editing capabilities. While we wait for 4K to become a standard among displays (which could take quite some time,) we are reaping the benefits of 4K in a different way.
First off, we are future proofing our clients’ videos for years to come. If any of our clients would like a higher resolution video years from now for YouTube or if they want to support 4K on their website, we can then make a new version exported in 4K. The need for that might not be there yet and most people nowadays would view video material on a phone or computer without the need to watch in 4K. This means we can use the added pixels in another way previously not doable in HD. Sometimes we get in situations where we will shoot an interview and the job calls for one camera and no other footage to cut to, so how can you make this a little more exciting?
Since we are shooting in 4K we can then scale an interview up by almost 4x and as long as the the camera operator maintains critical focus we can use 4K as another means to cut to a different-looking shot or frame. We could then go in and make the image move from side to side giving an illusion that we were moving the camera. 4K can be a valuable tool for single interview operations for clients.
4K is not just extra pixels, it can be a tool to used in operation and in the editing room. It gives us the ability to adjust the position of the image we shot, we can scale/crop/move the image to spice up a video in various ways. I have been shooting 4K for over half a year and I see how it can help clients and our editors at allied pixel in bringing a better product.
4K also has major benefits for shooting greenscreen material. With four times the resolution, the mattes we can pull are far more accurate and that allows for a much more natural-looking composite image.
So even if you don’t need a 4K deliverable right now, there are some nice advantages to shooting in 4K.