ARRI Partner Program Camera Systems and Solutions

Deliverables of the ARRI Partner Program (APP):

ARRI Image SDK

• For ARRIRAW processing of MXF/ARRIRAW and .ari ARRIRAW files for all current camera models to LogC3 or LogC4.
• ARRI Color Management for LogC3 and LogC4 ARRIRAW and Apple ProRes camera material in both SDR and HDR color spaces, as well as linearization in ARRI Wide Gamut and ACES.
• Creation of ARRI Look Files in ALF2 (.aml) and ALF4 (.alf4) format.

ARRI MXF Library

• For reading and writing of MXF metadata according to RDD 54/55.

ARRI HDE Transcoder

• HDE Transcoder provided as a separate GUI or CMD tool.
• Enables HDE encoding of ALEXA 35 camera original ARRIRAW clips in an new MXF container according RDD 54 specification.

ARRI Sample Footage

• Reference and test files for certification of ARRIRAW processing according to LogC3 and LogC4.
• Test material with look metadata for verification of color managed workflows.
• HDE test material for verification of HDE workflows.

Image Science Documentation

• Technical specification of ARRI LogC3/4 color encodings and colorimetric conversions.
• ARRI REVEAL Color Science 3D LUT package for LogC4.
• Textures White Paper

ARRI Reference Tool

• The new ARRI Reference Tool is designed to support playback of all ARRIRAW and Apple ProRes recording formats from current and future camera generations, including ALEXA 35. It combines the functionality of the existing ARRIRAW Converter, ARRI Color Tool, and ARRI Meta Extract applications.
• The ARRI Reference Tool uses the new ARRI Image SDK to read ARRIRAW files.
• Conversion of current LogC3 and new LogC4 material into different SDR and HDR color spaces with combination of creative looks and export to Apple ProRes and Tiff formats.
• Export all current LogC3 and new LogC4 material to linear ARRI Wide Gamut or ACES in OpenEXR format.
• Creation of camera look files for current and future camera generations using a 3D LUT.
• Export metadata of original camera material from all current and future camera generations.
• Note: A CMD version of the ARRI Reference Tool is currently not available.

Metadata

• All ARRI digital cameras can capture metadata during each take that not only describes the file itself, but also contains important information for postproduction about the camera settings and status, categorized into the following main groups:
  • Camera device
  • Optic
  • Sensor
  • Monitoring
  • Recording
  • Processing
  • Positional
• The ARRI Reference Tool is also the new tool for reading ARRI metadata and replaces ARRI MetaExtract (AME) for extracting ARRI camera metadata from ARRIRAW and Apple ProRes files.
• The ALEXA 35 no longer uses the ARRI V3 header structure to write the camera metadata into the ARRIRAW and Apple ProRes files, instead it is described by a new revised MXF structure in ARRRAW and Apple ProRes.
• This is documented in two SMPTE documents:
  • RDD-54-ARRIRAW-in-MXF*
    • *RDD-54-ARRIRAW-in-MXF describes the selection of metadata necessary to parameterize the ARRI Image SDK to process ARRIRAW images.
  • RDD-55-ARRI-metadata-carriage**
    • **RDD-55- ARRI-metadata-carriage describes the remaining metadata in ProRes and ARRIRAW that is useful for downstream postproduction processing.
• Documentation on streaming metadata from UMC-4 and ALEXA 35
  • ARRI Live Link Metadata Zip File

ARRI MXF Library

• To make it easier for manufacturers to support the new MXF structure, ARRI provides the ARRI MXF Library (source code) in the ARRI Partner Program. This can be used to read and write current (ARRI V3 header) and new (RDD54/55) MXF original camera files.  
• The sidecar *.ale files created at capture time also contain the static metadata of the recordings.
• The ARRI Metadata Bridge (AMB) SDK for writing metadata according to ACES Container Specification (SMPTE ST 2065-4) is no longer offered.

ARRI Look File

• The use of creative looks on monitor outputs during shooting is still supported in current camera generations and has been enhanced to provide more flexibility for monitoring on set and finishing in postproduction.
• The ALF4 Look file contains only a LogC4-to-LogC4 3D LUT without color space conversion, which expands the use of the creative look because the target color space for the display used can be selected separately and is no longer “baked in.”
• The creation of ALF4 Look Files and ALF2 looks is supported in the ARRI Reference Tool and replaced the ARRI Color Tool (ACT).
• The ARRI Reference Tool can be used to read and export ALF2 and ALF4 Looks from ARRIRAW and Apple ProRes original camera material.

ARRI Look Library

The ARRI Look Library is provided in the ARRI Reference Tool and is available in LogC3-to-Rec 709 and for ALEXA 35 in LogC4-to-LogC4.

Camera Access Protocol

• Specification of a network protocol to configure, control, and send/receive metadata from all ARRI cameras.
• There is also a reduced version of the ARRI Partner Program, which has a shorter deliverable list and provides only the Camera Access Protocol (Specification of a network protocol to configure, control, and send/receive metadata from all ARRI cameras).

Deliverables of the Camera Access Protocol Program (CAP):

Camera Access Protocol (CAP)

Remotely controlling cameras and receiving camera metadata is a common practice on the set and will be enhanced with the next generation of ARRI cameras. The Camera Access Protocol (CAP) is available through the ARRI Partner Program. For the available functions please download the CAP function list.