Directors UK and 32 British directors have sent a letter to the BBC’s Creative Director Alan Yentob [pictured] about concerns of format delivery for HD.
The BBC has stipulated that content for its HD channels is not delivered on 16mm or Super 16mm, which many directors have complained about.
The signatories include Ken Loach, Stephen Frears, Michael Apted, Lynne Ramsay, Paul Greengrass, Jane Campion, Edgar Wright, Kenneth Branagh, Terry Gilliam, Roger Michell, Alan Parker and many other top directors.
The letter notes that Directors UK has been “overhwelmed by complaints to us about the provision in the BBC’s Technical Guidelines considering delivery formats for HD which effectively ban the use of 16mm/Super 16mm film on HD channels. Similar concerns have been expresed to us by a wide range of experienced industry practitioners, both creative and technical.”
The letter delivers two main points (below) and also calls on the BBC to review its Technical Guidelines.
1) 16mm transfer technology has developed over the past five years and the BBC’s current policy on the use of Super 16mm should be reviewed
2) Picture quality cannot be solely expressed as an engineering standard and creative considerations should be admitted
For the full letter, click here.
Directors UK represents 4,500 film and TV directors in the UK.
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