MUNICH — Arri (www.arri.com) has added a new recording format — ProRes 3.2K — to its Alexa cameras. Support for the format will be available through a software update scheduled for release early next year. ProRes 3.2K allows the same easy up-sampling in post to UHD deliverables as ArriRaw Open Gate does to 4K. These formats, combined with Alexa’s dynamic range, make the camera suitable for any type of production, with any distribution requirements.
“Designed from the outset to be adaptable and future-proof, Alexa can easily accommodate productions that choose to follow a UHD or 4K workflow,” notes Alexa product manager, Marc Shipman-Mueller. “The camera's stellar overall image quality in combination with ProRes 3.2K or ArriRaw Open Gate allows for simple up-sampling to UHD or 4K in a quality at least as good as other contenders. And because of their unequalled exposure latitude and highlight handling, Alexa images are already uniquely HDR-compatible.”
Arri introduced the ArriRaw Open Gate recording format for Alexa XT cameras earlier this year. Open Gate records the full 3.4K Alexa XT sensor area for an optimal up-sample in post to a 4K DCP. Open Gate has been enthusiastically received by the feature film industry and is in use on numerous productions already, including Warcraft, San Andreas, Pixels, Goosebumps and Sicario. Other feature films are shooting ArriRaw 16:9 or ArriRaw 4:3 and using Open Gate selectively for VFX shots include Terminator: Genesis, Fantastic 4, Agent 47 and Deus Ex Machina.