Designed from the outset to be adaptable and future-proof, ALEXA can easily accommodate productions that choose to follow a UHD or 4K workflow. The camera's stellar overall image quality in combination with ProRes 3.2K (due for release as a software update in early 2015) and ARRIRAW Open Gate (released earlier this year) 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. Put simply, ALEXA remains the safest available capture tool for asset longevity, no matter what future standards come to fruition.
Capture with ALEXA, Deliver UHD for Television
For TV productions looking for a UHD deliverable, ALEXA XT cameras and ALEXA Classic cameras with the XR Module upgrade offer the new and cost-efficient ProRes 3.2K recording option. At data rates far below uncompressed ARRIRAW, ProRes 3.2K provides the benefits of the well-established and efficient ProRes workflow. As an additional benefit, most lenses fully cover the 3.2K image circle that results from the 16:9 ProRes 3.2K image. A straightforward up-sample from ProRes 3.2K using standard post tools delivers UHD images of the highest quality for broadband and broadcast.
Capture with ALEXA, Deliver 4K for Feature Films
Many high-profile movies have been shot in ARRIRAW 2.8K and up-sampled to a 4K DCP with spectacular results, an example being the last James Bond film, SKYFALL. To further improve upon this option, ARRI introduced the ARRIRAW Open Gate recording format for ALEXA XT cameras. 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, the latest movie lensed by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC. Other feature films are shooting ARRIRAW 16:9 or ARRIRAW 4:3 and using Open Gate selectively for VFX shots, including TERMINATOR: GENESIS, FANTASTIC 4, AGENT 47 and DEUS EX MACHINA.