Why Apple Pro Technologies?
Mobile Lab's main workstation contains the maximum configuration of processors, ram, SSD's and graphics boards in Apple's new, hyperfast Mac Pro, also fitted with the added Afterburner - a card defined as a "Game-Changing Accelerator". This monster machine can process contemporarily 6 streams of ProRes 8K RAW or 23 streams of ProRes 4K RAW.
The ability to grade native 8K is even more critical than editing it.
Mobile Digital Lab also sports two of Apple's brilliant new 1000 nits. 32" displays - the 6k XDR's, which can also display HDR. In the words of Jarred Land, president Red Digital Cinema "Apple’s new hardware brings a mind‐blowing level of performance to proxy‐free r3d workflows".
Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design adds;
"With the new Mac Pro and Afterburner, we see full‐quality 8K performance in real-time with colour correction and effects, something we could never dream of doing before. DaVinci Resolve running on the new Mac Pro is easily the fastest way to edit, grade, and finish movies and TV shows.”
"In my modest opinion, I can say that I bought my first Mac more than 40 years ago, and I've always preferred them to other operating systems, thanks to their ease of use and reliability; now that the new powerful multi-processor pro workstations have become extremely powerful workhorses, and offer the flexibility of numerous card slots, its a no - brainer". (co-founder David Bush)
Why Apple Pro Technologies?
Mobile Lab's main workstation contains the maximum configuration of processors, ram, SSD's and graphics boards in Apple's new, hyperfast Mac Pro, also fitted with the added Afterburner - a card defined as a "Game-Changing Accelerator". This monster machine can process contemporarily 6 streams of ProRes 8K RAW or 23 streams of ProRes 4K RAW.
The ability to grade native 8K is even more critical than editing it.
Mobile Digital Lab also sports two of Apple's brilliant new 1000 nits. 32" displays - the 6k XDR's, which can also display HDR. In the words of Jarred Land, president Red Digital Cinema "Apple’s new hardware brings a mind‐blowing level of performance to proxy‐free r3d workflows".
Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design adds;
"With the new Mac Pro and Afterburner, we see full‐quality 8K performance in real-time with colour correction and effects, something we could never dream of doing before. DaVinci Resolve running on the new Mac Pro is easily the fastest way to edit, grade, and finish movies and TV shows.”
"In my modest opinion, I can say that I bought my first Mac more than 40 years ago, and I've always preferred them to other operating systems, thanks to their ease of use and reliability; now that the new powerful multi-processor pro workstations have become extremely powerful workhorses, and offer the flexibility of numerous card slots, its a no - brainer". (co-founder David Bush)
Why Apple Pro Technologies?
Mobile Lab's main workstation contains the maximum configuration of processors, ram, SSD's and graphics boards in Apple's new, hyperfast Mac Pro, also fitted with the added Afterburner - a card defined as a "Game-Changing Accelerator". This monster machine can process contemporarily 6 streams of ProRes 8K RAW or 23 streams of ProRes 4K RAW.
The ability to grade native 8K is even more critical than editing it.
Mobile Digital Lab also sports two of Apple's brilliant new 1000 nits. 32" displays - the 6k XDR's, which can also display HDR. In the words of Jarred Land, president Red Digital Cinema "Apple’s new hardware brings a mind‐blowing level of performance to proxy‐free r3d workflows".
Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design adds;
"With the new Mac Pro and Afterburner, we see full‐quality 8K performance in real-time with colour correction and effects, something we could never dream of doing before. DaVinci Resolve running on the new Mac Pro is easily the fastest way to edit, grade, and finish movies and TV shows.”
"In my modest opinion, I can say that I bought my first Mac more than 40 years ago, and I've always preferred them to other operating systems, thanks to their ease of use and reliability; now that the new powerful multi-processor pro workstations have become extremely powerful workhorses, and offer the flexibility of numerous card slots, its a no - brainer". (co-founder David Bush)
David Bush & Mike Connor present a cutting edge editing, colour grading and DIT unit created by them & based on their wish lists for post-production after decades of production and post-production experience.
The system is placed on or near set and is designed to save time & money for producers while offering exceptional quality for advertising, documentary, film & television production and post.
The core of the system is an extremely powerful workstation based on a fully optioned Apple Mac Pro with Da Vinci Resolve software & hardware. The combination avoids the need to use the traditional off-line (or with proxies) workflow, then re-conforming on-line, and the time required for this.
With the Mobile Lab, it is now possible to work with a full high-resolution deliverable or master in HD, 2k, 4k, or 8k from the first day of shooting.
The Mobile Lab is both a lightning-fast DIT workstation and creative editorial, colour grading and audio editing hub - all within a single system.
David Bush & Mike Connor present a cutting edge editing, colour grading and DIT unit created by them & based on their wish lists for post-production after decades of production and post-production experience.
The system is placed on or near set and is designed to save time & money for producers while offering exceptional quality for advertising, documentary, film & television production and post.
The core of the system is an extremely powerful workstation based on a fully optioned Apple Mac Pro with Da Vinci Resolve software & hardware. The combination avoids the need to use the traditional off-line (or with proxies) workflow, then re-conforming on-line, and the time required for this.
With the Mobile Lab, it is now possible to work with a full high-resolution deliverable or master in HD, 2k, 4k, or 8k from the first day of shooting.
The Mobile Lab is both a lightning-fast DIT workstation and creative editorial, colour grading and audio editing hub - all within a single system.
David Bush & Mike Connor present a cutting edge editing, colour grading and DIT unit created by them & based on their wish lists for post-production after decades of production and post-production experience.
The system is placed on or near set and is designed to save time & money for producers while offering exceptional quality for advertising, documentary, film & television production and post.
The core of the system is an extremely powerful workstation based on a fully optioned Apple Mac Pro with Da Vinci Resolve software & hardware. The combination avoids the need to use the traditional off-line (or with proxies) workflow, then re-conforming on-line, and the time required for this.
With the Mobile Lab, it is now possible to work with a full high-resolution deliverable or master in HD, 2k, 4k, or 8k from the first day of shooting.
The Mobile Lab is both a lightning-fast DIT workstation and creative editorial, colour grading and audio editing hub - all within a single system.
David Bush & Mike Connor present a cutting edge editing, colour grading and DIT unit created by them & based on their wish lists for post-production after decades of production and post-production experience.
The system is placed on or near set and is designed to save time & money for producers while offering exceptional quality for advertising, documentary, film & television production and post.
The core of the system is an extremely powerful workstation based on a fully optioned Apple Mac Pro with Da Vinci Resolve software & hardware. The combination avoids the need to use the traditional off-line (or with proxies) workflow, then re-conforming on-line, and the time required for this.
With the Mobile Lab, it is now possible to work with a full high-resolution deliverable or master in HD, 2k, 4k, or 8k from the first day of shooting.
The Mobile Lab is both a lightning-fast DIT workstation and creative editorial, colour grading and audio editing hub - all within a single system.
David Bush
David Bush
David Bush
David Bush
David Bush
David Bush
David Bush
David Bush
We are proud to present a novel and innovative Mobile Post Production Facility designed to be set up from its purpose built flight cases in less than an hour, in virtually any location.
The mobile facility, while relatively compact, offers practically all of the functions of a full blown post production facility. These include online editing, colour grading, back up of digital dailies, certain visual effects and post production of sound.
With it we can see both pristine quality images and sound, eliminating the need for off-line editing.
Mike Connor
With the Lab we can shorten the time normally required for delivery of finished product when using today’s standard editing workflow, while also offering better quality control and piece of mind over the production's progress.
The Lab has been developed through David & Mike's extensive post and production experience in the film industry and uses ultrafast constantly evolving Apple workstations running Blackmagicdesign Resolve and Fusion software. The lab's computers work effortlessly with blackmagic raw 8k and 12k files, allowing editing to start immediately.
Resolve mini grading panel
Resolve mini editing panel
Apple Mac Pro
With the lab's system solution there is also no need to transcode or convert the original raw camera files into other formats, enabling immediate post work and saving time and expense.
The ability to view reference images in loco within a calibrated environment helps active decision making for heads of departments; production design, make up, hair, costumes; indeed the whole crew have much to gain viewing and checking their work on the ultra high resolution calibrated displays.
The Lab also enables continuous colour grading so that colourist and director of photography can gradually create, refine, and take forward the look of the project day by day as the production progresses.
In essence both productive and creative aspects can be discussed and worked on immediately, contributing to the advancement of the project, and, importantly, helping to render the entire production's progress more efficient.
Ideally, and if production space allows, the Mobile Digital Lab is placed directly on the set or nearby, but if the ambient light cannot be adjusted in terms of intensity - usually 10 nits for Home Entertainment and 3 nits for theatrical - we suggest the solution of placing a relatively cheap black gazebo like the one shown in this link, creating a sort of room within the room; also known humorously and affectionately as the Punjabi Tent in India.
Custom built flight cases
The Lab is transported in purpose built flight cases and, thanks to the reduced number of cables necessary for connecting up hardware, control panels, disk arrays, screens and workstations are all set up very quickly.
The screens are calibrated both for the room’s ambient light levels and correct HDR or SDR display.
This innovative method of editing and colour grading immediately the digital camera footage in its final quality and indeed the Mobile Lab itself have been extensively tested by David and Mike using Red Gemini, Red Monstro, Blackmagic design 6k cameras in 4k, 5k, 6k, and 8k, together with the Blackmagic design 12k camera.
Following on from extensive testing a first job was worked on in Dubai when the capability of editing and grading during shooting was called for. This became the first time in the world that the Mobile Lab was used for a project.
Mike was director of cinematography, and is seen here in the Dubai office of the Prime Minister of The United Arab Emirates - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This was for a film based on his book “My Story”, and The Lab was set up in a Hotel in the City. Every evening Mike was able to see colour graded rushes that David had graded for him, while director Ahmed Kamel was able to see edits made by editor Wael Al-Masri.
The production companies and producers were also able to see progress in shooting and post production on a daily basis, and everyone was extremely well impressed by this, and, of course the quality of the pristine imagery and Mike's Cinematography.
While the main shooting was done in 8k with the Red Monstro, night time desert shots were done with the Red Gemini in 5k, taking advantage of its 3200 ISO capabilities.
The project was edited, graded and finalised in 4k, independantly of the resolutions used to shoot it.
Mobile Digital Lab and Da Vinci Resolve
The Digital Mobile Lab uses Da Vinci Resolve - the World's most successful and versatile solution for resolution independent cost-effective high quality post production.
Thanks to manufacturer Blackmagicdesign's market leadership, and especially the free version of software available to professionals, there are now more and more freelance operators available around the world.
Excellent interface design with lightning fast editing, grading and sound control interfaces also make it easy for Avid, Final Cut Pro or Premiere editors to learn how to use it and become operative in a very short time.
However, importantly, and unlike other post production solutions, Resolve allows massive creative and technically streamlined collaboration between editing, grading, effects and audio all on one platform.
For some types of visual effects, and especially those where we try to capture as much as possible in camera, the possibility of making extremely high quality vfx composites on set also makes sound creative and economic sense.
David has worked as a visual effects supervisor for decades "with the equivalent of a blindfold over my eyes, I have always dreamt that I would have been able to see all of the elements we had just shot put together. Well, now its become possible, and with a calibrated high resolution screen the finished visual effects can be shown to director and approved, or, if there is a need, re-shot then and there".
Mobile Digital Lab and Apple Technologies
Mobile Digital Lab contains high end configurations of multiple Apple workstations
Proxy free workflows
"Having tried it myself", David writes, "I can say that grading in 8k offers an incredible and absolutely unique selectivity of colours and, at the same time, less image noise. The power of the workstations make the interactivity, instant playback with sound merge into a colourist's dream, displayed on the brilliant calibrated HDR displays."
Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design adds;
"With the new Macs we see full‐quality 8K and 12K performance in real-time with color correction and effects, something we could never dream of doing before. DaVinci Resolve running on the new Mac Pro is easily the fastest way to edit, grade, and finish movies and TV shows.”
In the words of Jarred Land, president of Red Digital Cinema;
"Apple’s new hardware brings a mind‐blowing level of performance to proxy‐free r3d workflows".
Mobile Digital Lab founders
David Bush and Mike Connor
Stimulated by our long term professional quest of striving to improve processes and techniques in our fields, we decided to design and create the Mobile Digital Lab based on what we believe is already a more efficient and cost effective solution for merging production and post production techniques.
We have observed from a privileged position that the current post production workflow for films and episodic series needs a serious overhaul.
The Lab that we have created is in essence the tool that we dreamt of for our own work, and, as it offers overall savings to production, while also adding very useful new creative tools, we think the market will like it too.