Subscribers of Netflix have probably never heard of Anne Aaron, but she has what is perhaps the unenviable task, of working on codecs delivery for their catalogue and also as they move into live-streaming, cloud gaming and live sports coverage.
I’m not a tech geek, but found this article an interesting read, as generally we as punters take for granted what goes into making a film or event look good on our screens - for all our different devices.
When working with DPs, I understand their concerns about overcoming ‘noise’ and low-light scenes, but I’ve never thought of the complexity of the delivery of our films to screens around the globe. The added complexity is that when Netflix moves to different territories, there is the problem of divergent bandwidths.
It makes me wonder what bandwidth our ‘real world’ must be running at, so that it doesn’t pixellate when we move through it? Just a thought about a potential digital existential crisis!
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/22/24171581/netflix-bet-advanced-encodin...?
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whats a great example of transmedia?
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Waheed Rehman currently, take a look at Fallout, a video game adapted to a Netflix series. Video game adaptation is a burgeoning phenomenon, Waheed. How are you doing? Are you working in Transmedia elements for your IP?
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I think it's hard at this point to consider Fallout a transmedia project. It could continue to grow into one over time, but currently, it's more of an adaptation of the original game to a series.
The key to understanding Transmedia is that it's establishing a universe across multiple mediums to tell a larger story. An adaptation of a story is NOT transmedia unless it explores new stories within the world through different mediums and all of it is connected and considered canon. Transmedia is most successful when it challenges a fan to experience new pieces of the larger story by branching into other mediums. They should all stand on their own two feet, but as a whole, it would offer the most comprehensive view of the story, characters, world, etc.
I would actually say something like The Last of Us, where the video game established a story, then a comic book was created that told its own story with characters that were introduced in the game. The comic books filled in a chapter that the audience had never experienced before. Then the show adapted the game and comic but made it a further transmedia outlet by creating entirely original stories in episodes that used characters from both and most importantly, those new stories helped us understand the larger narrative, themes, world, etc.An even better example is the Matrix. Our lead characters of Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus are introduced in the first film and we're eased into the world and larger conflict. Then the sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, built on that story. BUT, if you watch The Animatrix animated series, you follow Niobi and other members of the Resistance who were working to help our main characters at the same time as the plot from Reloaded. Even more, there are references to this in the sequel film that you only pick up on if you watched the animated series. You can also watch the CGI shorts that fill in world-building gaps about the history of the machine war, various side adventures, and even how the crew from the Osiris learned about the attack on Zion and worked to get word to them. THEN if you played the Enter the Matrix video game, you could play as Niobi on an adventure that intersects with the Reloaded plot. The video game actually explains how she knew how to catch Morpheus on the freeway which is a scene that plays out in the film. Technically, you don't have to watch or play all of the extras to follow the main trilogy of films. But if you do, you actually understand the world, characters, and plot BETTER because it's all interconnected.
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From the time I created my first video files for the internet, and then authored my first DVDs for sale, the act of managing quality versus bitrate has been a real challenge. I’ve had to learn more about codecs and compression than I ever wanted to.
Anyone else remember a time before YouTube? Those of us with websites would offer streaming video as QuickTime, Windows Media, and Real Video formats. And often a high and low quality version of each! Flash video (FLV) came next, then H.264.
For DVD production, it was MPEG-2 (M2V), and I used a specialized program called TMPEG to make those files. My non-linear editing programs certainly couldn’t make them. That’s when we really tried dialing in the high/medium/low settings for the variable bitrate files. Looking at scenes of fog, rain, and even cross dissolves was where the rubber hit the road.
So Netflix has developed the new AV1 codec and its successor? Bravo to them, especially since they’re making them open source. There was a lot of worry with previous codecs, since some were patented. (The reason Adobe doesn’t make Encore anymore is their dispute with Dolby over their audio compressor.)
And for Netflix to commission a free-to-use short film to demonstrate and test for compression issues? Very cool.
Here’s something more about the film, Meridian…
https://youtu.be/YMCvX9lW-wc?si=9BjZe9H6cKhDd-y0
And Meridian itself…
https://youtu.be/h3tqyQ6asZc?si=doNue0UCu9kdccj5
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Ashley Renee Smith oh, I thought there were extensive plans to move it into the TM world?
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Mike Boas yes, Mike, I remember those days. Yes, the Netflix free-to-use video is very cool and helpful to indie producers.
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Geoff Hall, I believe there are plans, yes. But that's the case with many franchises and few of them manage to actually do it. I'm hopeful that they will successfully create a more comprehensive transmedia universe out of Fallout, but we'll have to wait and see.