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The Technique Behind LazyTown

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  • #16
    Re: The technique behind LazyTown

    Wow

    Like nindanjoe said, the majority was lost on me!
    I need a Rainbow smoothie! lol.
    Getur einhver annar verið Glanni ? það bara passar ekki
    Stefan Karl Stefansson, það er enginn eins og þú!

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    • #17
      split

      Lazy Town is filmed with digital cinema cameras (Thomson Viper: http://www.shuttersniped.com/tag/thomson/). These cameras are much more powerful than the HD cameras used in television. These cameras usually only used for movies or music videos. Zodiac, for example, was filmed entirely with these cameras.



      Image source: http://www.wkumeling.net/viper

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      • #18
        Re: The technique behind LazyTown

        I copied the technical post from xfv, I found this to be relevant for this topic.
        Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.

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        • #19
          Re: The technique behind LazyTown

          In other words....it's expensive.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: The technique behind LazyTown

            Not really.

            I can handle lossless 1080p video on my home PC.

            Lossless 4:2:2 8-bit 1080p @ 23.976 frames per second requires a bitrate around 1 Gbps uncompressed (or about 120 MB/sec). If they used a lossless compression codec like HuffyUV the requirements would drop down to 300 Mbps or 40 MB/sec (HuffyUV usually has a compression ratio of about 3:1).

            So 1 minute of lossless 1080p24 video requires 7.2 GB when it is uncompressed and 2.4 GB when it is compressed. There is no quality difference between something that is losslessy uncompressed and losslessly compressed. But I'm going to assume they're not using any lossless compression so at least 172 GB per finished episode is what it requires to store. A RAID 0 array or SSD can handle uncompressed HD video like a champ.

            Now keep in mind these figures are for 4:2:2 8-bit video which is what I work with. The requirements for 4:4:4 10-bit video that LazyTown works with are just a bit higher.

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            • #21
              Re: The technique behind LazyTown

              That doesn't say anything about being expensive or not. Maybe it's not expensive in your eyes but does for someone else.
              I bet those vipers cost a few thousand dollars already.
              Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: The technique behind LazyTown

                Originally posted by pooky
                That doesn't say anything about being expensive or not. Maybe it's not expensive in your eyes but does for someone else.
                I bet those vipers cost a few thousand dollars already.
                My consumer PC which is capable of handling lossless 1080p video cost $1,500. I believe you could do a much cheaper build with a sufficient CPU, RAM, and RAID 0 array for under $800.

                For the time (2004) the equipment necessary to work with lossless 1080p video was probably fairly expensive.

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                • #23
                  Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                  It pleases me to read that Colorado and Netherlands teamed together with Iceland to make those techical high standard LazyTown episodes, with an excelent team of actors from Iceland, USA and UK.

                  http://www.studiodaily.com/2004/12/l...color-grading/

                  Although it's an old article, it is so fun to read because of all the excitement, motivative and enthusiasm for something completely new and so futuristic unbelievable at the time.

                  By Debra Kaufman / Dec 1, 2004
                  It’s a long way between Boulder, Colorado, and Reykjavik, Iceland, but the distance is even greater between a traditional television workflow and a futuristic, data-centric all-digital pipeline. Mark and Dana Read have traversed both divides with LazyTown, a children’s TV program running on both Nick Jr. and CBS.

                  LazyTown Entertainment joined forces with Mark Read s’ Hypercube, a Boulder company specializing in virtual environments, to create a show blending live action, puppets and CG backgrounds. Within seven days, Scheving and Mark Read had conceived a state-of-the-art studio in Reykjavik. In November 2003, the Read's, their children and two cats moved from Boulder to Iceland, accompanied by a UPS airplane with 55 crates.

                  "There was no studio," says Mark Read. "Just a big structure with no walls, no bathrooms and no electricity."

                  The Read's were joined by two Hypercube employees: database and systems engineer Mike Dye and virtual-world specialist Bill Dore. The four started work on a human and machine pipeline and, 40 days later, LazyTown began shooting.

                  Mark Read (USA) is the show’s technical director and co-executive producer, along with co-founder Magnus Scheving (Iceland), LazyTown president/co-founder Ragnheidur Melsted (Iceland), and executive producer Raymond P. Le Gué (Netherlands).



                  The Hypercube pipeline is a transportable HDTV 24p system for studio and location production, says Read.

                  "The pipeline has evolved from a standard-definition pipeline over many years," he explains.
                  "Certain aspects were later tailored to movie-making in collaboration with Douglas Trumbull and then scaled down and modified to meet the needs of the LazyTown production. We’re merging film, video and computers all into one pipeline." That’s accomplished by a GPS reference clock on top of the studio, which locks the facility to real time. "Our time code on our master sync generator for the whole facility is exactly the same as the time on all our computers, which is exactly the same as the time code rolling on the slate," notes Read.

                  From the beginning, Magnus Scheving wanted to use HD 1080 24p cameras to fill immediate needs for SD versions as well as to future-proof the show for HD broadcast. At the head of the pipeline is the Thomson Viper FilmStream camera with DigiPrime and Canon zoom lenses. The output from the Viper goes directly into an Ultimatte HD system (this is where Read’s background in virtual cinematography comes in handy). Mark Read credits compositor Richard Welnowski as the studio’s "secret weapon" in keying the RGB signal from the Viper with the CG backgrounds.

                  The CG backgrounds are created by 12 artists using Alias Maya, Kaydara’s Online and Apple’s Shake. Kaydara’s Online is virtual set software that runs on Windows XP; Read says he has a "hot-wired" version that allows him to operate in HD.

                  Recording the RGB material is a challenge.

                  "A lot of recorders will record HDTV," says Read, "but only a few record 4:4:4."

                  He’s got all of them: the DVS CineControl, Drastic Technologies’ WVW series digital disk recorder, and the Baytech CineRAM, which is the most portable of the group. Editing is done on an Avid Adrenaline system; online and color-correction is done with the Iridas SpeedGrade. The SAN provides 80 TB of online storage and the show doesn’t touch videotape until the last moment, when the playlist records the DPX files to a Sony SRW-5000 RGB VTR.



                  "We use a very unique color-correction scheme that is enabled by the fact that we maintain the alpha channel along with the image as an RGBA signal as well as a file and not just RGB," explains Read. "We effectively have two color-correctors, both live and in post- one color-corrector for foreground and one for background, so we retain control over the image from a compositing perspective."

                  And it works. In the year it’s been functioning, Read says the facility has shot 10-hour days six days a week without having to stop due to a pipeline issue.

                  "Think about how often you have to deal with technical issues in any other environment," says Read. "I’m excited at the opportunity we’ve had in broadcasting the first TV show for children shot in 24p, and the interest we’ve garnered."
                  Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                    Lazytown is a series of pipelines
                    http://eighteenlightyearsago.ytmnd.com/

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                    • #25
                      Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                      http://blog.svconline.com/briefingro...that-inspires/

                      or

                      http://news.creativecow.net/story/872038

                      LazyTown Entertainment in Iceland is using DPA miniature microphones to capture the audio for the multi-award winning LazyTown pre-school television show, which is now shooting its fourth series in Iceland.

                      LazyTown’s sound supervisor, Gunnar Arnason, who also owns a recording and post production company called Upptekid, is responsible for selecting all of the audio equipment used by LazyTown Entertainment at its state of the art studio in Gardabaer, Iceland.

                      “My task is to create the entire audio workflow for each LazyTown series, from studio recording through to the final sound mixes,” he explains. “Over the past two years we have relied on DPA microphones for dialogue recording, using them on the live actors and also to record the puppeteers. We chose DPA microphones because they have an excellent signal to noise ratio and because they are extremely well-built, which means that they last a long time and are very durable.”

                      DPA’s Icelandic distributor Exton has supplied LazyTown Entertainment with 12 DPA 4061 miniature microphones.

                      “The puppeteers have the miniature microphones mounted in sweatbands on their foreheads, while the live actors have them hidden in their clothes,” Arnason explains. “This works well, especially for the puppeteers who have to work with their hands above their heads, so they need a microphone that will stay firmly in place and won’t get knocked when they move around. Also, when the microphone is tight on the forehead you get some resonance from the skull, which makes the sound even better.”

                      Currently shooting its fourth series, LazyTown is an Icelandic production with an international cast from Iceland, the UK, and the USA. The series was created by former aerobics champion Magnus Scheving, who also plays the lead character Sportacus in the show, to motivate children to get active and make healthy lifestyle choices. Cleverly mixing live characters, puppets and CGI, LazyTown creates engaging storylines that have a healthy message – delivering entertainment that inspires, and raising the bar for children’s television.
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                      Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                        so only the original footage in american english is affected by the new technology?...I mean the other eps are getting dubbed in several languages anyway
                        Gallery

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                        • #27
                          Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                          Here is a video of Virtual Television pioneer Raymond le Gué, who is testing the software on a blue screen before it was used in LazyTown. This was in 2002. In that year it was a relative new technique made due the crisis in television: media budget stayed the same to make television programs, but the demand was increasing. Mainly the logistic costs decreased and it was easier to work with. Also it doesn't matter to make mistakes because you can correct it afterwards, which could not been done with the regular technique used in these days.

                          Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                            Interesting...

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                            • #29
                              Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                              nice hanging out ;)...wait...they use the same word for "Aufnahme" (take) in Iceland like over here?...that's strange
                              Gallery

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                              • #30
                                Re: The Technique Behind LazyTown

                                Originally posted by Buzz View Post
                                nice hanging out ;)...wait...they use the same word for "Aufnahme" (take) in Iceland like over here?...that's strange
                                VIDEO SUBTITLES:
                                Met geluid
                                Attentie Rene
                                Opname, 5 tellen na nu
                                5-4-3-2

                                [text actor/actress]
                                "Opname!"
                                It was tested in my country so they obviously did not speak Icelandic. LazyTown was the first big project.
                                The pilot episode was made in 2002 as well but I don't know if Raymond's Vitual Television Production was used or used the way like this, probably it did.
                                Magnús: - I have fans of all ages and I don't think it's weird when older people like LazyTown. LazyTown appeals to people for many different reasons: dancing, acrobatics, etc.

                                Comment

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