Helping Core Post make the move to HDR grading

When they were commissioned to provide post services for a new Sky project, Core Post realised they’d need to update their facility in order to produce the Dolby PQ deliverables required. We got them set up with new video cards, Avid support and an EIZO HDR monitor…

By Liz Sunter January 23, 2019

“One of the advantages we have at Core is that our directors also work on the shop floor, so new technologies and advances in the industry are always on our radar,” explained Managing Director and Colourist Matt Brown. “We’d been looking at HDR and Atmos anyway, but when we won a tender that delivered to Sky, it seemed like a good time to take the financial hit of investing in and installing the relevant technology.”

Thankfully, Core had built a certain degree of futureproofing into the design of their facility when they moved to MediaCityUK, so the changes needed were minimal. “The infrastructure was basically there, but we needed different monitors and video cards. We were already getting hardware and Avid support from you, so when EIZO told us you could supply the monitors we needed it was perfect, because we’d already worked with you in so many areas.”

“The image quality shone through.”

When it came to choosing an HDR monitor, Core’s team did their research, testing several different options before settling on EIZO’s CG3145 ColorEdge Prominence reference monitor. “We’d always used Sony monitors in the past, and it’s easy to think ‘let’s play it safe and go with the brand we know’, but that’s not always your best option,” said Matt.

“I really liked everything the CG3145 delivered. I liked the built-in colour spaces it had, the ease of switching between Rec. 709 and Dolby PQ, and I thought the image itself was really beautiful. The screen is matte rather than gloss [like our Sony monitors], but that’s never really bothered me; I thought the image quality shone through.”

As well as boasting excellent image quality, the CG3145 was packed with features that would make Core’s day-to-day workflow more efficient. “Having the ability to switch between two colour profiles on the monitor is really handy, and there’s built-in PQ clipping at 1000 candelas, so you can hit that ceiling within the monitor and see where your whites have clipped. You can set colour warnings in case you hit certain limits, or part of your image falls out of the Rec. 709 colour space – just a lot of handy little features that it’s useful to have.”

Building a 4K workflow

Now that their grading room is HDR-ready and their dubbing suite has been brought up to Atmos certification standards, the Core team are working on linking every area of their facility, so clients can access full quality images and audio in any space.

“We’ve got all the elements in isolation, and now we’re looking at how that feeds through into the online and review stages,” said Matt. “How are the dubbing studio going to receive those pictures? Are clients going to want to hear the final sound mix in our online suite? If so, does that need to be Atmos-ready as well?

“Our focus is on making sure we’re prepared for whatever the client needs to deliver, and Jigsaw24 are a big part of that. It’s great to know that there’s a company out there that can provide us with most solutions, and the support we require as well. You can become quite closed in your opinions when you run a company, so it’s nice to work with a supplier who can make suggestions and help us explore other options.”

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