These are exciting times for consumers and the television industry as bigger and more capable HDTVs continue to hit the market. TV picture technology also continues to evolve with the advent of 4K and 8K resolution image quality as well as a major advancement in picture processing technology with the introduction of HDR or High Dynamic Range which takes your viewing experience to a new level never before seen in your home. With the right TV and content, HDR can dramatically increase overall picture quality with a greater contrast range delivering brighter peak highlights, deeper blacks, and more vibrant and realistic colors.
Now, to further ensure consumers are seeing movies and TV shows the way the filmmakers and content producers intended while watching their 4K Ultra HD TVs, the UHD Alliance has teamed up with filmmakers, Hollywood studios and consumer electronics companies, and recently announced what is called “Filmmaker Mode”.
Filmmaker Mode will allow viewers to enjoy a more cinematic experience on their 4K TVs when watching movies by disabling all post-processing (e.g. motion smoothing, etc.) so the movie or television show is displayed as it was intended by the filmmaker, preserving the correct aspect ratios, colors and frame rates.
And what sets Filmmaker Mode apart from other picture modes is it will be a pure, clean expression of what the movie was meant to look like when it was made.
Filmmaker Mode will be easy to access on your 4K TV, unlike some picture modes which may require the user to enter one or more menus to find and select, Filmmaker Mode will be activated either automatically, through metadata embedded in the content, or through a single button which enables the consumer to activate Filmmaker Mode without moving through multiple menu levels. Furthermore, to make finding displays that can display content in Filmmaker Mode, the name and settings will be consistent across multiple TV brands.
Initially, Warner Bros., Universal and Amazon Prime Video are the studios that are onboard, while LG Electronics, Panasonic and VIZIO announced hardware support for Filmmaker Mode. Specific product and implementation plans will be announced by each company at the appropriate time. However, Vizio has recently announced it will include Filmmaker Mode on its 2020 TV models.
While studios and CE manufacturers have long worked together to deliver new entertainment technologies and experiences to consumers, Filmmaker Mode marks the first collaboration to add leaders in the creative community to the mix.
What filmmakers are saying about Filmmaker Mode…
“I care deeply about how cinema is experienced at home because that’s where it lives the longest. That’s where cinema is watched and re-watched and experienced by families,” added Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther and Creed. “By allowing the artists in the tent to help consult and give feedback to the electronics companies on Filmmaker Mode, we can collectively help make the consumer’s experience even more like it is in the cinema.”
“Modern televisions have extraordinary technical capabilities, and it is important that we harness these new technologies to ensure that the home viewer sees our work presented as closely as possible to our original creative intentions,” said Christopher Nolan, the celebrated director of such acclaimed films as Dunkirk, Interstellar and the Dark Knight Trilogy. “Through collaboration with TV manufacturers, Filmmaker Mode consolidates input from filmmakers into simple principles for respecting frame rate, aspect ratio, color and contrast and encoding in the actual media so that televisions can read it and can display it appropriately.”
“I started the Film Foundation in 1990 with the goal to preserve film and protect the filmmaker’s original vision so that the audience can experience these films as they were intended to be seen,” noted celebrated director, Martin Scorsese. “Most people today are watching these classic films at home rather than in movie theaters, making Filmmaker Mode of particular importance when presenting these films which have specifications unique to being shot on film.”
In addition to consolidating feedback from filmmakers, studios and CE manufacturers, the UHD Alliance engaged the broader creative community by polling their members to identify priorities. As part of the specification development process for Filmmaker Mode, the UHDA worked with and solicited input from the Directors Guild of America and the Film Foundation.
The 4K TVs from supporting Consumer Electronic members are capable of delivering a range of viewing options and the addition of Filmmaker Mode for cinematic content, which is based on input from a broad range of preeminent filmmakers, provides a way for consumers to better experience the filmmaker’s vision.
To learn more about the UHD Alliance, click here.