Instruction manual

Appendix C:

Working With 2K Workflows

Introduction

This chapter provides a simple overview of 2K workﬂow and how the KONA 3

can be used as an integral part of it.

Overview of 2K and Its Uses In Digital Cinema

2K is a term, like SD and HD, used to describe a particular image size and quality

of data. 2K data exceeds our pre-existing television broadcast standards for both

SD and HD and is therefore most commonly associated with traditional cinema

and the emerging digital cinema initiative.

As a point of reference, HD is commonly referred to by the 1920x1080 or

1280x720 pixel frame sizes. 2K, like HD, is commonly deﬁned by two basic

frame sizes. When working with data for eventual cinematic projection, FX work

or digital intermediate purposes, 2K is usually deﬁned as 2048x1556 pixels. This

size represents the “full” size of the 35mm ﬁlm between the sprockets. Therefore

the result, 2048x1556 pixels, appears as a 4x3 image when compared to an HD

image which is typically 16x9. In 2K, other images sizes can be derived from this

2048x1556 source by taking a cropped portion of the image for use or via scaling

of the image. For a traditional cinematic projection scenario, the ﬁnal delivery of

this 2048x1556 data is onto 35mm ﬁlm. The ﬁlm then undergoes photochemical

and mechanical processes before the image (digital image) reaches the screen.

The other common size attributed to 2K is 2048x1080 and this is the standard to

which digital cinema currently adheres. Most digital cinema projectors have this

2048x1080 image size as a supported resolution and in many cases, as a maximum

resolution.

So the ﬁrst obvious advantage of working with 2K images as opposed to HD

images when considering a traditional cinematic path is the size of the image that

can be generated, worked with, and ultimately projected. Some will argue that a

better choice for cinematic work is a 4K resolution. Certainly this is true, but this

requires double 2K's already large data requirements to be handled and therefore

is beyond the scope of nearly most modern equipment be it scanners, storage or

projectors. To be fair, some 4K and beyond resolution is

already being performed for select feature ﬁlms and even then

for select shots in many cases. Perhaps in the future 4K will

supplant 2K as HD has SD but that day seems to be quite distant

so for now a large body of the motion picture community has

settled on 2K as a high quality image size.