Alchemist OD Brings One Direction to the Big Screen

posted:

23/01/2015

Virtual Post relies on Snell software standards converter to handle challenging low frame rate conversion for "Where We Are"

Virtual Post, the recently formed UK post production facility headed up by conversion expert Jon Lee, recently carried out high quality standards conversion on Snell’s Alchemist OD to bring HD footage shot at pop band One Direction’s San Siro Stadium, Milan concert in June 2014 to a worldwide cinema audience.

Produced by Fulwell 73 and distributed by Arts Alliance, One Direction’s ‘Where We Are: The Concert Film’ was watched by over one million people around the world on 3,400 screens in 78 countries over the 11th and 12th October. The DVD was released in December 2014.

Celebrated music film and TV producer, Jim Parsons, was in charge of the project. “Preserving the concert’s superb experience was our single mission when converting the film from 1080 29.97p to 1080 24p; it was of paramount importance that the conversion quality stood the challenge of the big screen,” he recalls.

“Choosing Jon Lee at Virtual Post and Snell’s Alchemist OD was the best decision that we made for this project,” Parsons continues. “I was astonished to see the way Alchemist OD handled the material. Such a dynamic concert shot with over 40 cameras, with this amount of movement from both the cameras and the performance, was a demanding piece of content. Jon and I went through the whole film frame by frame and barely spotted any imperfections – the results were virtually perfect. For such a challenging low frame rate conversion, it was the cleanest output I have ever had the pleasure to attend; quite remarkable. I can’t recommend Virtual Post and Alchemist OD highly enough.”ENDS

About Alchemist OD
Designed for in-house use by post production houses, content owners, broadcasters and media facilities, Alchemist OD delivers even more quality, frame rate wizardry and power than the fabled Alchemist Ph.C-HD in a cost-effective software package. Alchemist OD supports format and frame rate conversion from SD up to 4K for a wide variety of file formats. Acclaimed Snell algorithms ensure stunning pictures however complex the source, shortening turnaround times and enhancing client satisfaction.

About Quantel
Quantel is a world-leading developer of innovative, high performance content creation and delivery systems for News & Sports production and high quality Post. Quantel fast-turnaround production systems give broadcasters the creative, productive and flexible workflows they need to stay ahead in today’s competitive global media market. Quantel’s post production systems deliver the quality, resolution and performance post houses need to capture high margin, high value work.
Also part of the Quantel Group is Snell, a world leader in enabling broadcasters and media organizations to process and manage their valuable media content. Snell’s expertise empowers customers to achieve greater efficiencies and increase revenue while delivering their content to multiple distribution platforms. Snell TV Everywhere and Live TV products bring tangible benefits throughout the production chain.