Nestor M. Rodriguez

The Effect of Single-Sensor CFA Captures on Images Intended for Motion Picture and TV Applications

Current digital cinema camera designs employ a variety of sensor architectures based on CCD and CMOS integrated circuit technologies, with either separate sensors for each color channel or a single sensor with a color filter array. Some of the sensor solutions that have proven robust for consumer still photography may fail to meet expectations at the higher system magnifications and greater viewing angles encountered in motion picture applications. This paper compares the desirable attributes and unwanted artifacts that are generated by various single-sensor and multiple-sensor camera designs. To illustrate the key tradeoffs in system design, the resolution, sharpness, aliasing, reconstruction errors, color filter array (CFA) artifacts, sensitivity (speed), and dynamic range that are associated with current designs are quantified. Mitigation strategies that can improve overall image quality are also examined.

Integrated Calibration and Management of Color, Tone, and Image Structure in a Digital Intermediate System

As the number of feature films processed with digital intermediate systems has increased, so has the need for more efficient methods for reducing system variability and preserving creative intent. Unwanted color, tone, and image structure distortions might be introduced during digitization or subsequent image-processing operations. The presence of this variability makes visually seamless intercutting of source material much more difficult. This paper describes a system and method for automatically creating calibration functions that convert color, tone, and image structure into a common exchange space. After this calibration, the system provides features that allow the user to accurately preserve the color, tone, and image structure of existing films or create custom renderings that are faithfully reproduced when the images are displayed on film or digital devices.