I know what you’re thinking, “4K video is nowhere near hitting critical mass yet and 1080pHD looks just fine, so why would I need to have my video captured in 4K?”
We won’t go into deep technical details about aspect ratios and the geekiness surrounding the 4K RAW discussion, but we’ll hopefully enlighten you on the benefits of working with 4K technology. If you need more clarification on what 4K means, or you need a little nerd-ammunition for the water cooler, check out this CNET article written by @LukeWestaway.
Without further adieu, here are 3 Reasons Marketing Agencies Should be Shooting in 4K RAW.
Future Proofing
If we deliver your project in 1080 HD, then shooting in 4K will allow us to “remaster” in 4K down the road.
It’s not uncommon for our clients to come back to us 3 or 4 years later to freshen up an old video. Changes are often attributed to branding, messaging or occasionally, a main character in the video is no longer employed by the company.
Another element to consider is the fact that people actually own 4K televisions now, and they’ll want to take full advantage of all that 4K pixely goodness.
It’s also important to remember that companies like Google are taking the future of video seriously. After all, they own YouTube and as of late, they’ve made it possible to upload videos in 4K. If you upload a video in a lower resolution, you’re stuck with it. Have you ever tried watching a YouTube video in standard definition? I know, right? Painful!
Reframing
Shooting in 4K resolution adds a new tool to your Art Director’s creativity-arsenal. If the final video is being delivered in a 1920×1080, you can zoom in 200-400% (debatable) without losing any resolution. Armed with these extra pixels, your editor is free to adjust and reframe the composition till the cows come home.
It’s best practice to build in a safety net whenever possible. The ability to reframe the image in post might just be the tool that keeps you out of hot water. Imagine that “the prototype shoe” that isn’t supposed to be seen until next quarter is clearly seen next to the CEO being interviewed, and of course rescheduling the shoot isn’t an option. Well, hopefully this would never happen in the first place but, Murphy’s law has a tendency to set precedent now and then. If the video was captured in 4K, a quick zoom in your editing software will nudge that pesky shoe out of sight.
More Information for Special Effects and Color Grading
Shooting RAW means you’re capturing more digital information. Digital information is to special effects as Botox is to Angelina Jolie. It makes the impossible possible and keeps things looking their best! Take for instance your typical green screen shoot. To (key) or remove a green background and replace it with a wall of Persian cats you’re going to need, well, a lot of cats, but more purrrrr-tinent, a lot of digital information, information in the form of color depth and resolution. The software used to key a green or blue background is only as good as the amount of color information it has to work with. To make a long story short, shooting in RAW provides more information to work with. This will result in a brilliant key and more possibilities with special effects as a whole.
Color information is very important during the postproduction process. Shooting in 4K RAW will yield much more information for color correction and grading. Many cameras use very lossy codecs, which is a smart-guy way of saying, “Not as much color information.” Maximum color information is crucial when you need to make changes to exposure, contrast and hue. Most 4K RAW capable cameras will utilize codecs designed to maintain this data.
Generally, these cameras will capture a much greater dynamic range of light. This means theses cameras will do a better job at maintaining detail in brighter areas such as windows while still keeping the lower lit subject at a usable exposure. Most 4K RAW cameras will handle these situations much more effectively. Another way to say this is that the 4K RAW cameras will typically have more stops of latitude.
Some Popular 4K RAW Cameras
For the 3 reasons above and many more, you might want to make sure your next video is shot in 4K RAW. Here are some popular cameras that will fit the bill:
If you have any questions about 4K RAW or you’d like to visit us, please email: connect@cinerrific.com or call 616-805-9081.