OmniScope Featured Artist:
This month we chat with Omar Rivera Abreu, a colorist and DIT based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Omar was an early user of OmniScope and has been leveraging software scopes on-set since 2021. A self-described computer geek, Omar has designed and built his own portable DIT scope rig – now battle tested on films, T’V. shows, music videos, and live events.
Hi Omar! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
“Hey Time in Pixels fam! Thanks for the opportunity to share a little about my story. I’m a DIT and Colorist based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I got my start in audio post doing sound design, sound editing and mixing back in 2009 at a small post house called Clip Audio Visual with audio engineer José Elí Pérez. There I learned about the film world – I got to edit videos, boom commercials, and got exposed to the world of post-production and its many workflows.”
How did you get started as a DIT? Why did you choose this specific area of production?
“On my first on-set project, I was the Video Assist on a music video. I had no idea what I was doing, but the dynamics and collaboration between all the departments working together really called out to me.
I’ve always been a computer geek and in 2013 after a couple of years of post work and working on-set as a Digital Loader, I transitioned from the sound department to the camera department. I have always had a passion for photography and I just kind of fell into the DIT role by sheer luck. I was at the right place at the right time. I got my break and worked on my first film ever with DP Santiago “Chago” Benet called “The Vessel” and the rest is history. Most of the time now, I am working on films and T.V. – in between I stay busy on commercials, music videos and more recently live concerts.”
Bad Bunny in concert. OmniScope in the top center with dual inputs.
What projects from your career are you most proud of and why?
“More so than projects, I’d say I’m most proud to work with so many talented people – both in front and behind the camera – the actors, singers, technicians, artists, people that I admire, respect and some whom I’ve come to call friends. But I have to say that there have been pivotal projects in my career because of who I got to work with on set and the things I learned.
DIT Cart on Savage Salvation with Dual Flanders DM240 and Odyssey 7Q+ as waveform monitors
I mentioned “The Vessel”, my first film where I met and worked with long-time collaborator and amazing DP Santiago “Chago” Benet. We later shot an indie called ''Antes que cante el gallo'', one of my favorite experiences ever on set. On ''Despacito'' the famous music video, I got to do a test look for DP Tom Marvel. On “Savage Salvation” I worked with some sick camera people like DP Eric Koretz, and got to see the great Robert De Niro and John Malkovich in action. On “Replicas” starring Keanu Reeves, I worked with the accomplished DP Checo Varese. More recently I’ve been working on concerts for major latin artists such as Bad Bunny, Karol G, Eladio Carrión, among others…the list goes on.
I’ve found throughout the years that I draw the most enjoyment from the work itself, the collaborative nature of it and the greatest satisfaction from achieving a look, from nailing the iris pull from T2.8 to a T16 in a crazy one shot fight sequence, or achieving great exposure throughout that 20+ camera concert.”
Bad Bunny at MTV VH1 Music Video Awards. OmniScope on the left, next to Livegrade.
As creatives we need time to create and on-set time is a luxury. Any piece of gear, or software that can help me be more efficient and thus buy me more time to be creative is worth the try and investment.
We heard that you have built your own custom DIT rig? Can you tell us about it?
“Of course! I have been trying to get a portable scope solution for on-set use, and while there are options out there, nothing comes close to the features and customizability that Nobe OmniScope offers. I have been obsessed with getting OmniScope in a portable solution since I started using it, but it was kind of hard to find a hardware solution that didn’t compromise what I needed in some way. So, I decided to build my own.
It started as a conversation with my friend and fellow DIT Alex Ramírez. We hashed about ideas about this portable device that you could use to maintain exposure continuity. He has been instrumental in double checking my work and helping me with the design and testing. Since I have no design or engineering background, this has been an amazing challenge in all aspects. It took around one and a half years from idea to design, to first prototype. I’m currently in the middle of a film and have been using it as my primary exposure tool. At the heart of the software is OmniScope. Which is helping me maintain exposure continuity in a simple, yet powerful way. We call it WVFRM, pronounced waveform.”
Left: WVFRM running OmniScope. Center: from the back you can see our custom brain. Right: the WVFRM on a small monitor.
“I capture stills as we shoot each set up throughout the day. The first still is the slate with all the camera UI, and each following still is a center crop that is just the frame. This way I can reference a particular clip and reference basic camera settings, and the clean stills are the ones I use to compare exposure and framing later on.
Combining the WVFRM with a Streamdeck and a lightweight portable keyboard makes for a powerful and portable system. Now when we have to match exposure to scenes we shot weeks ago, it’s easy and straightforward. Any doubts are put to rest immediately by pulling up the reference frame from the matching shot and viewing it next to the current live image. It takes more time to explain it than to actually do it. I like to have false color and luma waveform with color overlay along with source signal reference and the snapshot handy. This setup has been a game changer. Did I mention that you can use it with any monitor you want? So far I have tested it on a SmallHD Indie 7 for ultra light set ups, a SmallHD 1303 for a compact portable set up and my favorite, with a Flanders DM240. This last one is a little bigger, but I just love that monitor. Can’t wait to get my hand on a DM160 and try this combo.”
What is your favorite OmniScope feature?
“Ease of use and customization are huge for me. OmniScope delivers in a huge way on both fronts. You can customize the scopes and layouts to your heart's desire. Configure for any type of monitoring set up like a 16:9 monitor or an ultra wide small monitor such as the ASUS ProArt 14" Ultrawide monitor. The waveforms are just spectacular.”
Why would you recommend OmniScope to other DITs?
“I don’t think you guys know how much I recommend OmniScope…I think I might be an unofficial spokesperson! Joking aside, yes. I’ve used it in every scenario like color grading with DaVinci Resolve, processing dailies with Assimilate Scratch, even with Silverstack Lab doing image QC while offloading footage, in concerts and live transmissions – I can keep going!”
From set to post OmniScope is a “swiss army knife” with an amazing amount of scopes and tools that will help you read, gauge and evaluate your image with confidence.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Where can our readers find out more about your work?
“Thank you! If you want to talk or just say hi, don’t hesitate to contact me on my Instagram!”
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