Band Pro’s One World Open House Exhibits 4K

The large tent outside Band Pro‘s headquarters in Burbank, Calif., became increasingly smaller as guests of the One World Open House arrived and explored. A collection of exhibitors presented new and improved products of the camera, lighting and sound kind in a fashion meant to demonstrate their functionality on set. Band Pro’s own centerpiece was a 4K viewing room wherein short films, produced by Band Pro, showcased 4K achievements of several participating exhibitors, including RED. Their REDRAY PLAYER, displayed in the final stage of the exhibition floor, delivered the 4K signal to the 84″ LG monitor and bookended the tent experience.

A guest couldn’t enter the tent without first coming face to face with the RED Dragon carbon fiber. Capable of 6K resolution and more than 16 stops of dynamic range, offering 9x more pixels than HD, the RED DRAGON kept an entourage of camera enthusiasts curious about such claims. The carbon fiber case shaves off about one pound before any rig is applied, the camera weighing in at about 3 1/2 lbs. Regarding their REDRAY PLAYER, representative Kris Prygrocki said, “it allows us to shrink the data rate of a 4K file to about 2.5 MB/sec, so we’re really excited about that.”

When asked about 4K televisions and broadcasting, Nir Reches, sales manager for Band Pro, said consumers may see surprising developments as early as next year. President/CEO Amnon Band stressed their excitement regarding the 4K films being exhibited. Brett Gillespie of Band Pro produced one such film, Falcon 9 Launch, coverage of the first launch of the new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Director of photography Randy Wedick used a Sony F55 with a Leica Summilux-C 100mm prime lens, as well as additional coverage with an F65 through a Fujinon Premiere 75-400mm zoom lens. Footage was captured at 60 FPS in 4K RAW.

Also showcasing recent developments, Blackmagic Design exhibited its Blackmagic Cinema and Pocket Cinema cameras. The Pocket Cinema camera, unveiled this fall, was the centerpiece, offering 13 stops dynamic range, Apple ProRes and RAW shooting modes and competes with a $995.00 price tag.

Zeiss exhibited its Compact Prime and Compact Zoom lenses, entry-level options as compared to their Ultra and Master family lenses. According to Richard Schleuning, national sales manager, Zeiss has been working closely with Arri to develop their lenses. The Compact family follows closely in advancement. “The lenses are about as future-proof as you can get in the industry. The great thing is you can swap these lenses, swap the mounts out, and you’re still going to cover the biggest chip size we think we’re going to see in the industry, 24×36,” said Schleuning.