Convergent Design TITAN

M

Mitch Gross

Veteran
Introducing Titan HD Extract. As easy as 1 to 3.




Many cameras can shoot in 4K today, but most clients still want HD. How can a 4K camera become an enhanced HD device? Introducing Titan.


Titan is the latest option for the Odyssey & Apollo monitor/recorders. Titan uses one 4K camera to create three HD video signals. One frame is a SuperSample of the full image area and two are windows selected from within the original input. These windows can be panned smoothly through the 4K field and the three angles can be Live-Switched. All four HD signals can be recorded simultaneously in Apple ProRes with matching timecode and file names.


- Shoot a two-subject interview using one camera and Titan and record a Live-Switch of a two-shot plus separate close-ups.
- Record a panel presentation with a wide master plus a single on the moderator and another of the panel, all from one camera.
- Cover a House of Worship service with a shot of the clergyman, another of the chorus, and a wide view of them all – done with the modest investment of one camera and Titan.
- With Titan and a single installed camera capture an entire football field from the 50 yard line, plus follow a player as he runs the course of the field.


Eliminate the render time of reframing in post. Deliver edited content as well as the complete separate angles to your client at the end of the shoot. Shoot a multi-cam job with a kit you can fit in a single backpack.


Titan accepts 4K video signals over HDMI and SDI (original Odyssey7Q limited to 3G-SDI). Titan also accepts 4K RAW data from the Sony FS5, FS7 & FS700 cameras. Live-Switching is available as cuts and dissolves, and an Edit Decision List is generated as an .EDL file for conforming an edit in post.


Titan is an option for the Odyssey7Q+, Odyssey7Q and Apollo monitor/recorders. Other options (Odyssey RAW Bundle or Apollo) are not required for Titan.


Titan list price is $1295, but Convergent Design will offer Titan for a limited time at an introductory price of just $995. Titan is expected to be available around the beginning of October.


For more on Titan, visit the Convergent Design website and check out this video introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAIWclb14OM
 
Owners of the FS5/FS7/FS700 cameras please note that TITAN can accept the 4K RAW signal from these cameras, process it into video and then extract three HD frames. It can also accept a 4K video signal via HDMI or SDI.
 
This is very cool. I don't personally have any need for live switching myself, but for those that do I can see how this would be a real benefit for a single camera setup.
 
That sounds pretty amazing Mitch . I'm ready often doing interviews with the FS7 in 4K so the director can get closeups in HD . I wonder if they will pay an extra rental to get it all upfront and not bother to do it in post?

Will this also be a rentable daily option like Apollo?
Also when you say 4K does that include UHD? Oh I see UHD in the video never mind on that one.

From an FS7 then without an XDCA-FS7 back you would need to go into the 7Q+ with HDMI right?
Forgive me for asking an old question but is that 10 bit or 8 bit and can anyone recommend a reliable HDMI cable?


Lenny
 
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Mitch Gross said:
Introducing Titan HD Extract. As easy as 1 to 3.
Click to expand...


Ugh. Not a good thing for camera ops / DP's.

For one thing, it means you only need one camera op where you previously needed three camera ops. But beyond that, and more troubling, is that technology such as this removes camera operator input and necessity. It removes control from the DP / camera op. It removes creative choice from the DP / camera op. It takes framing / pan speed / tilt speed, zoom speed, focal length out of the production process and shifts all to the post-production process.

"Love the way the DP framed that shot! Really great statement there. So creative! Can I get their contact info?"

'Uh, the DP didn't frame that. It was done in post. The DP just sets up a wide shot and then babysits the camera while the action takes place. All the DP did was put the camera on the tripod, turn it on, and then hit "record". The "DP"'s only job is to swap out media cards and make sure that the camera doesn't get bumped while it is recording. Exposure, white balance choices, framing, focus placement, focal length- that's all done later by someone else. By someone in a creative role.'


________________

Wasn't but a couple of days ago that I was begrudgingly predicting the future of zoom lenses is digital zooming into a high resolution wide shot. And here we are with a latest-greatest device touting that it can use digital zoom to replace the need for mechanical zooming.

Ben? You can't be liking this direction at all. Or am I being a textbook luddite?
 
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Lenilenapi said:
That sounds pretty amazing Mitch . I'm ready often doing interviews with the FS7 in 4K so the director can get closeups in HD . I wonder if they will pay an extra rental to get it all upfront and not bother to do it in post?

Will this also be a rentable daily option like Apollo?
Also when you say 4K does that include UHD? Oh I see UHD in the video never mind on that one.

From an FS7 then without an XDCA-FS7 back you would need to go into the 7Q+ with HDMI right?
Forgive me for asking an old question but is that 10 bit or 8 bit and can anyone recommend a reliable HDMI cable?


Lenny
Click to expand...
Considering the savings they will get otherwise, I think you could make a healthy argument for a bump for Titan.

Yes, Titan will also be available as a daily rental option.

An FS7 without the extension back can output 4k via HDMI. The Odyssey7Q+ can accept DCI 4K over HDMI at 23.98p and UHD over HDMI at 23.98p, 25p, & 29.97p. These frame rates at these resolutions coming from the FS7 will be 4:2:2 10-bit and will be captured as such on Titan. My personal preference for HDMI cabling are the Sanho HyperThin cables.
 
I don't like the idea of extracting HD image from 4K image to begin with. There's already enough of "The image was sharp in 4K. If it's sharp in 4K why is it soft when I crop?". Having to deal with two separate circle of confusion criterions at the same time and producers not understanding it is not cool. But since these producers are not going anywhere I think I'd probably use the Titan to tame their frivolousness in assuming that you can always get a second cropped HD extract from a 4K frame, no matter what the f stop and focal length is used. I'd use it to make them aware of the implications. So overall, I think this product is a curse (but could also be a blessing).

This is just a technical consideration. Creative one is another thing and I'm with JPNola on that.
 
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JPNola said:
Ugh. Not a good thing for camera ops / DP's.

For one thing, it means you only need one camera op where you previously needed three camera ops. But beyond that, and more troubling, is that technology such as this removes camera operator input and necessity. It removes control from the DP / camera op. It removes creative choice from the DP / camera op. It takes framing / pan speed / tilt speed, zoom speed, focal length out of the production process and shifts all to the post-production process.

"Love the way the DP framed that shot! Really great statement there. So creative! Can I get their contact info?"

'Uh, the DP didn't frame that. It was done in post. The DP just sets up a wide shot and then babysits the camera while the action takes place. All the DP did was put the camera on the tripod, turn it on, and then hit "record". The "DP"'s only job is to swap out media cards and make sure that the camera doesn't get bumped while it is recording. Exposure, white balance choices, framing, focus placement, focal length- that's all done later by someone else. By someone in a creative role.'


________________

Wasn't but a couple of days ago that I was begrudgingly predicting the future of zoom lenses is digital zooming into a high resolution wide shot. And here we are with a latest-greatest device touting that it can use digital zoom to replace the need for mechanical zooming.

Ben? You can't be liking this direction at all. Or am I being a textbook luddite?
Click to expand...

I think you've got it wrong here. This sort of thing is happening in post every day. When that happens the camera operator is taken out of the mix.

Titan brings the control back to the set. With Titan the framing is set live while shooting. Think of it this way, instead of the camera operator moving the frame using a tripod head, he/she is instead doing it using Titan. At initial introduction the framing control will be via the OLED screen, but we will soon offer a joystick accessory for positioning the frame. This will make it much like controlling the framing on a PTZ remote camera or a camera on a crane.

Titan will never completely replace the use of multiple cameras. The perspective does not change, only the angle of view. That's why we offer Apollo as well. But there are plenty of situations where either a low budget, a short turnaround or combination of both make Titan an advantageous solution. And it puts the control of the frame back in your hands where it belongs.
 
broughtonfilm said:
I don't like the idea of extracting HD image from 4K image to begin with. There's already enough of "The image was sharp in 4K. If it's sharp in 4K why is it soft when I crop?". Having to deal with two separate circle of confusion criterions at the same time and producers not understanding it is not cool. But since these producers are not going anywhere I think I'd probably use it to tame their frivolousness in assuming that you can always get a second cropped HD extract from a 4K frame, no matter what the f stop and focal length is used. I'd use it to make them aware of the implications. So overall, I think this product is a curse (but could also be a blessing).
Click to expand...
I guess we'll take the backhanded compliment. ;-)
 
Mitch- My reaction was a bit in haste, to say the least. I did not at all mean to rain on your announcement or misrepresent the impact of the Titan. ( and I didn't connect at first that you work for Convergent even though it is in your tag line. ) My reaction was admittedly from the selfish perspective of a person who is often hired to operate a second camera. As well as from the perspective of a camera op who takes pride in being able to execute a beautiful slow zoom from wide to tight, a skill I worked long and hard to master. I'm having to swallow the fact that as a result of new technology it is a skill not only less needed but also less wanted and less appreciated. The Titan is truly remarkable and will be of great use to a segment of the production world. As you noted in your reply, the technology eliminating the need for multiple cameras and also removing creative control from the camera op ( eliminating the need for a camera op to change field of view / zoom in-shot ) pre-existed the Titan. Although for clients who did not have the turn-around time for re-framing in post, the Titan does potentially eliminate camera ops and camera rentals. As a result of the Titan a client can now walk away with a multiple field of view production in hand having only hired one camera and one camera op. Whereas before the Titan they would have needed to hire 3 cameras and 3 camera ops to attain that same product. Two camera ops just got buggy whipped. Such is progress.

Back to the remarkable Titan, one thing is unclear to me. Does it enable zooming? That is, with the Titan can you live-zoom from wide to tight? Or is it instead 3 shots of fixed magnification?
 
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It is three shots of fixed magnification.

I don't think the elimination of jobs is likely from Titan. I highly doubt anyone would see it as an opportunity to cut costs. Instead I believe it is an enabler to expand the production results for those that are already on a set fixed budget.
 
I am looking forward to seeing it in person. Thank you for all the great offerings from Convergent.
 
Mitch,

I assume Titan is a software option for the Odyssey 7Q+.
What's the cost of the software, alone, if one already owns a 7Q+?
 
Interesting tech. Dubious value. But teddy bears don't move much but people sure do. They lean left and right, forward and back. They slouch.
Can't see many of my clients clamoring for this gimmick but kudos to CD for trying something new...
 
cuervo said:
Mitch,

I assume Titan is a software option for the Odyssey 7Q+.
What's the cost of the software, alone, if one already owns a 7Q+?
Click to expand...
The list price for TITAN will be $1295, but we will initially release it at an introductory price of just $995. I do not know at this time how long that introductory offer will last.
 
JCummings said:
Interesting tech. Dubious value. But teddy bears don't move much but people sure do. They lean left and right, forward and back. They slouch.
Can't see many of my clients clamoring for this gimmick but kudos to CD for trying something new...
Click to expand...
Well that's why you can "operate" the shot of the closeups on the OLED or through an optional joystick while letting the wide shot stay static.
 
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