Monday, April 11, 2011
The Sports Channel of Israel Adopts Stergen’s 2D to 3D Conversion System for 3D Broadcasts
The Sports Channel of Israel Adopts Stergen’s 2D to 3D Conversion System for 3D Broadcasts: "
Stergen Hi-Tech is proud to announce that it has cut a licensing deal with the Sports Channel of Israel, also known as Sport 5. The Sports Channel has chosen Stergen Live system as the Channel’s conversion solution for its upcoming 3D broadcasts, starting on April 16th, 2011.
Pandora Adds New Post Options with PSi, PLUTO and PILOT
Pandora Adds New Post Options with PSi, PLUTO and PILOT: "NAB Pandora International is introducing three new products at NAB, PSi hardware upgrade for 
Spirit Classic and Shadow telecines with 2K and HD scanning capabilities, PLUTO display
colour management system and PILOT, a controller for telecines, VTRs and image processors.
"
Spirit Classic and Shadow telecines with 2K and HD scanning capabilities, PLUTO display
colour management system and PILOT, a controller for telecines, VTRs and image processors.
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| The PSi Spirit interface can be installed in any Spirit Classic or Shadow telecine to speed up scanning to 2K DPX files. The system provides video monitoring and simultaneous video and file transcoding for SD/HD or offline versioning. PSi can be added on to an SD machine without modification, as an instant upgrade to 2K and HD capability. The PLUTO display colour management system manages 1D and 3D LUTs across multiple displays from a single location. PLUTO can be operated from the local panel or via an ethernet-based remote GUI, including multiple PLUTO-ganged controls. PLUTO can also be configured to add variable blanking and safe area cursors and will generate profiles for displays. PILOT is designed as a post-production system controller for telecine, VTR and image processors with edit control and an intuitive GUI. The system controls all the parameters of the machine from a T3 control panel. Pandora’s Revolution colour corrector is currently in use at the Mill, Framestore, Glassworks and Prime Focus. The Revolution, with YoYo data management software, is a multi-format workflow working with ARRI Alexa, Pro Res and Red R3D and other footage formats. www.pandora-int.com |
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Tweak Extends RV to RV SDI for Dailies and Review
Tweak Extends RV to RV SDI for Dailies and Review: "NAB Tweak Software is bringing RV SDI to NAB, an extension with Dual Link SDI output to 
Tweak’s RV image and sequence viewer for VFX and animation artists.
"
Tweak’s RV image and sequence viewer for VFX and animation artists.
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| Artists can playback and review media within a customizable dailies workflow and a media architecture that lets users automatically combine media of different resolutions, frame rates, colour spaces and audio sampling rates. RV SDI adds Dual Link SDI output with embedded audio to RV using Nvidia Quadro SDI hardware. RV SDI will support Linux and Windows. RV SDI handles stereo over Dual Link high res, high bit depth SDI and 24 bit embedded audio. Colour handling includes HDR, floating point and linear light pipeline. You can organize and annotate media for desktop or dailies review, and collaborate with other artists, clients or vendors for remote review. Sequences can be edited with lightweight intuitive tools, and layout shots or cuts compared in tiled views or A/B compares with wipes. Facilities may script, customize and automate RV to fit into existing pipelines. VFX and CG animation studios including Digital Domain, WETA, Aardman, ILM and others use RV. Its tools built on an open, extensible architecture allowing users to adapt the software to their own styles of working. www.tweaksoftware.com |
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NEW from NAB the Sony F65
NEW from NAB the Sony F65: "The F65 is a top-end motion picture camera. It features a true step-change in sensor technology, using a 20.4 Mega pixel CMOS sensor and a unique Double Bayer pixel orientation for full green resolution. The F65 runs up to 120Fps, creates HD/2K or genuine 4K resolution (4 times HD) images with a wide colour gamut, [...]"
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Colorfront Debuts On-Set Dailies at the 2011 NAB Show
Colorfront Debuts On-Set Dailies at the 2011 NAB Show: "
LAS VEGAS, NAB Booth C8615 — April 8, 2011 — The 2011 NAB Show marks the North American debut of On-Set Dailies, Colorfront’s sophisticated and innovative digital dailies system for filmmakers. First previewed in Q4 of 2010, On-Set Dailies has already been adopted by major studios, labs, and post facilities in the U.S. and Europe, and at NAB booth C8615 (Codex Digital), Colorfront will be demonstrating significant new enhancements to the system.
On-Set Dailies offers an all-embracing approach to digital dailies workflow, integrating all the necessary tools — including playback and sync, QC, color grading, stereoscopic 3D support, and audio and metadata management — and providing the ability to generate simultaneous faster-than-real time deliverables in all common file formats.
Developed by the team that won the 2010 Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Autodesk’s Lustre grading system, On-Set Dailies makes its NAB debut with a number of major enhancements.
"Prolost - Blog - Two Free Color Correction Plug-ins from Red Giant Software
Prolost - Blog - Two Free Color Correction Plug-ins from Red Giant Software
LUT buddy sounds like a revolutionary tool. Traditional professional solutions cost tons of money and are fairly complicated to use. Can't wait to try it out!
Baselight is Final Cut’s Newest Color Grading Plugin!
Baselight is Final Cut’s Newest Color Grading Plugin!: "
Screenshot of Baselight Plug-in in FCP
Yes.
You just read that correctly.
NAB 2011 just kicked off a day early with news from Filmlight that they’re integrating high-end color grading app Baselight directly in the Final Cut Pro timeline!
According to the Press Release, integration is 100%. More details:
- Grading done on a full-blown Baselight system can be exported directly into the FCP timeline and rendered within FCP.
- FCP has full access to all the Baselight functionality - grades created within the FCP plug-in can be exported to Baselight for final grading.
- Data is transferred between the two stations via XML – bypassing the more limited, but standardized, CDL (Color Decision List) framework allowing full integration between the two systems.
- Full integration with Avid’s Artist Color control surface (formerly Euphonix MC Color)
- You will NOT need Baselight’s custom Blackboard control surface.
- Pricing: Under $1,000 (which I take to mean – they’re going to price it similar to DaVinci’s Resolve…).
Avid and Premiere Pro graders need not despair. Directly from the Press Release:
The plug-in marks the start of an initiative designed to make Baselight’s advanced functionality directly available within third party applications. In future, the technology behind Baselight for Final Cut Pro could be applied to other editing systems, as well as to visual effects and compositing systems.
Baselight has other news:
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BlackBoard 2 – A redesign of their custom control surface, with a wood finish, haptic touch (provides touch feedback), and fully programmable buttons (the DaVinci control surface is not).
Baselight's BlackBoard 2 colorist control surface
- Triple-head Display – 3 dedicated displays. One each for – UI, Scopes, and Image Gallery
- New hardware to support: Red Rocket Card, 40TB of Raid 6 Storage, and a whole lot of cores.
You can find the raw details and additional download links on Baselight-Tutorials.com
"
Friday, April 8, 2011
Introducing Pro Media Tools
Introducing Pro Media Tools: "
Detects when a drive is inserted containing P2, RED, AVCHD or XDCAM media and can automatically copy it to your computer. It can copy to multiple locations at once and verifies the copied data to ensure its integrity.
This is a tool for renaming lots of files at once. There are lots of utilities on the market that do this but what makes Batch Renamer different is that it is designed specifically for post-production workflows. Consequently, it can deal with a large number of files easily and there are lots of features for managing frame numbers, including reversing, adjusting padding, closing gaps and reordering.
Scans video files to locate where edits and scene changes occur. It doesn't look for timecode breaks but in fact scans the actual video frames. This means it can be used on pre-edited movies or files without timecode tracks.
Allows you to compare two clips for shifts in gamma. It's designed for situations where you export a clip from an app such as After Effects and the resultant clip looks dark or washed out when compared to the original.
This app will show you all media, effects and markers in your Final Cut Pro project. It will show you how many times a particular media file has been used and allow you to batch enable/disable or remove filters.
Edits QuickTime movies. You can add and remove tracks, import video and audio from other movie files, add timecode, add chapters (you can also import/export these as marker / locator lists and DVD Studio Pro chapter lists) and edit metadata.
It took some of our beta testers a while to grasp this concept so I'll try to explain it as clearly as I can. Quick Bins is an automatic bin generator that speeds up sorting footage in your browser.
Watches Compressor batches, Final Cut Pro / Avid render files and any additional directories you specify for new renders. It can notify you with a growl alert, a sound, open the folder in Finder, open the clip in QuickTime Player, send an email, send a text message or send the file to another application such as Compressor.
Performs common cleanup and time-saving tasks on Final Cut Pro sequences. It can collapse tracks, replace gaps with slugs, remove unused tracks, strip filters and more.
Scans a video file for illegal luminance values, flash frames and audio peaks and shows the exact frame where errors are occurring. Can output results to FCP marker lists, Avid locators, CSV and text.
We're proud to introduce our newest product, Pro Media Tools. Pro Media Tools is a suite of ten workflow utilities focused on processing and managing media, with functions including detecting gamma shifts, editing QuickTime movie metadata, batch renaming files and more.
There are many features that have been in demand for a long time, including notifying when a render is complete, editing markers and adding timecode tracks and reel names to QuickTime movies.
Pro Media Tools also marks our first foray into supporting multiple NLEs. Version 1.0 supports Final Cut Studio 2 and higher and Avid Media Composer 5.0 and higher for Mac*. The Avid support is primarily aimed at people using AMA workflows. Adobe Premiere Pro support will be coming shortly.
The full list of tools is as follows:
Auto Transfer
Detects when a drive is inserted containing P2, RED, AVCHD or XDCAM media and can automatically copy it to your computer. It can copy to multiple locations at once and verifies the copied data to ensure its integrity.
Various actions can be performed after the transfer has taken place, including showing the copied files in the Finder, opening up the clips in QuickTime Player or, if the clips are in a compatible format, importing them directly into a Final Cut Pro project.
Batch Renamer
This is a tool for renaming lots of files at once. There are lots of utilities on the market that do this but what makes Batch Renamer different is that it is designed specifically for post-production workflows. Consequently, it can deal with a large number of files easily and there are lots of features for managing frame numbers, including reversing, adjusting padding, closing gaps and reordering.
Edit Detector
Scans video files to locate where edits and scene changes occur. It doesn't look for timecode breaks but in fact scans the actual video frames. This means it can be used on pre-edited movies or files without timecode tracks.
Results can be exported in a variety of formats including Final Cut Pro marker lists, Avid locator files and EDLs.
Gamma Shift Detector
Allows you to compare two clips for shifts in gamma. It's designed for situations where you export a clip from an app such as After Effects and the resultant clip looks dark or washed out when compared to the original.
Just navigate to the same frame in both clips and click the Detect Gamma button. It will compare them and give you a percentage difference between the two. You can then use this percentage to go back to the app and compensate for the shift.
In some cases, the pixels will be identical but the gamma shift will be occurring due to a mismatch in metadata. In these cases, Gamma Shift Detector allows you to sync the metadata of the two clips with one button press.
Project Overview
This app will show you all media, effects and markers in your Final Cut Pro project. It will show you how many times a particular media file has been used and allow you to batch enable/disable or remove filters.
It also offers comprehensive marker editing capabilities including offsetting, custom printable data fields, label presets (to label all green markers as 'Needs VFX' for instance) and the ability to import Final Cut Pro marker lists and Avid locator lists into an FCP project. It's a great companion to Cut Notes, our note-taking iPad app.
QT Edit
Edits QuickTime movies. You can add and remove tracks, import video and audio from other movie files, add timecode, add chapters (you can also import/export these as marker / locator lists and DVD Studio Pro chapter lists) and edit metadata.
Quick Bins
It took some of our beta testers a while to grasp this concept so I'll try to explain it as clearly as I can. Quick Bins is an automatic bin generator that speeds up sorting footage in your browser.
There are several types of quick bins available. A Bin Range generates a group of numbered bins, allowing you to quickly create empty bins for scenes 1-100 in your movie for instance.
A Smart Bin automatically sorts media into the bin if it matches the criteria you have chosen (e.g. 'scene greater than 11' or 'filename contains MVI_'). A Smart Bin Range takes this concept one step further, where you choose the criteria first and then Quick Bins automatically creates Smart Bins for each variation of the criteria.
As an example, in the screenshot below I selected 'File Extension' as the criteria for the Smart Bin Range. Quick Bins went through all of the media files in the project and discovered files ending in .mov, .aiff and .tif, so it created new bins for each of these types and automatically sorted matching clips inside them.
Render Watcher
Watches Compressor batches, Final Cut Pro / Avid render files and any additional directories you specify for new renders. It can notify you with a growl alert, a sound, open the folder in Finder, open the clip in QuickTime Player, send an email, send a text message or send the file to another application such as Compressor.
Timeline Tricks
Performs common cleanup and time-saving tasks on Final Cut Pro sequences. It can collapse tracks, replace gaps with slugs, remove unused tracks, strip filters and more.
Video Check
Scans a video file for illegal luminance values, flash frames and audio peaks and shows the exact frame where errors are occurring. Can output results to FCP marker lists, Avid locators, CSV and text.
The suite is available for an introductory price of $99 and there is a 15-day trial available here. It will run on Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 on both Intel and PowerPC computers.
If you want to find out more about Pro Media Tools, check out screenshots and the user manual.
We're always keen to hear feedback, so contact us to let us know what you think and how well the suite fits in with your workflow. We have many more post production tools available here.
* Note: due to technical limitations, a few features of the suite are unavailable for Avid users.
"Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
ARRI and Codex Digital release OEM ARRIRAW Recorder
ARRI and Codex Digital release OEM ARRIRAW Recorder: "
(London, 31 March 2011) – Codex Digital, the leading developer of digital media recorders and media management systems for film and television production, today
announces that it has reached an agreement with ARRI to manufacture a Codex ARRIRAW recorder for use with ARRI’s popular ALEXA and ARRIFLEX D-21 film-style digital cameras. The new recorder will be marketed both directly and through ARRI’s worldwide reseller network. ARRI and its resellers will also be selling Codex camera mounts, datapacks and transfer stations.
Technicolor Launches ShareVue™ Dailies Solution
Technicolor Launches ShareVue™ Dailies Solution: "(Paris France, Hollywood California--April 5, 2011) Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH) today announced it has launched its next-generation dailies solution that facilitates and greatly enhances the viewing of dailies content on desktop, laptop and mobile device including iPad and Android tablets.
Designed with industry professional’s input, ShareVUE™ gives all production stakeholders the flexibility to remotely view, comment and share content, playlists and other production information and metadata on portable devices, wherever and whenever needed. The new dailies solution provides a secure and immersive viewing platform for dailies and other production information, and an intuitive user experience along with pristine visual quality."
Not DSLR Killers, But Killer DSLRs: How DSLRs Killed the Prosumer Video Camera
Not DSLR Killers, But Killer DSLRs: How DSLRs Killed the Prosumer Video Camera: "
It seems the blogosphere is filled with talk about “DSLR killers.” Here are a few predictions ranging from the end of 2008 to March 2011: “Red unwraps ‘DSLR Killer’” by John Mello; “Sony joins the fray with (another) DSLR-killer“; DVXUser thread: “Panasonic AF-100 being called the ‘DSLR killer’. Any thoughts?“; “The Real ‘DSLR Killer’ For Filmmaking (No, It’s Not A Hasselblad)” by Neil Matsumoto.
Indeed, I would argue that the DSLR was the prosumer video camera killer and the video camera had to evolve in order to stay in the game.
Rather than “killing” the HDSLR, it seems the large sensor HDSLR market has been killing the prosumer video camera market. They’ve stepped up and noticed. They’re taking on the best of the DSLR features and are crafting cheaper video cameras with DSLR sensors in order to be competitive in the low budget cinematic market.
Going back to the pre-Hi Def days of 2000, when George Lucas decided to shoot Star Wars II on a 1920×1080 24P Sony CineAlta HDW-F900 (modified the Panavision HD-900F), they used a f/1.5 lens on three 2/3″ sensors. But with a current street price of around $80,000, only professional shoots are within reach of this camera (rentals). Thus we can begin to see the significance of the DSLR APS-C sized sensors in the Rebel T2i/T3i at one percent ($800-900) of what the CineAlta costs!
The DSLR revolution has struck the prosumer video market — they were the ones dying off and some have adapted. The low price point of the DSLR will ensure its survival.
Indy filmmakers may use the Sony FS 100 more than the Panasonic AF100, due to Sony’s S35mm chip size and the smaller body and design work on it (aesthetics). The main thing you’re getting with these cameras that makes them a step above DSLRs is XLR-inputs — which is great for news and doc shooters, but filmmakers serious about capturing high quality audio will only use this as a back-up. They record audio on a separate recorder — typically with a field mixer and mic preamp — in order to get the best possible sound.
At the same time, DSLRs are taking on the best of the prosumer video market, such as the flip out screens for the Panasonic GH-1 and GH-2, Canon’s 60D and Rebel T3i/600D.
If the DSLR makers are smart, they will eventually create models with XLR inputs and a headphone jack, for those who do not want to record to external devices. Yes, Beachtek and JuicedLink offer XLR adapters, but you cannot monitor the sound going into the camera.
In either case, DSLRs are not going away, because the price of the Sony is still over $3000 more than a Canon 5D Mark II and over $5500 more than the Rebel T3i. You can kit out a Canon T3i for $3000 with a shoulder rig, a couple of decent lenses, a Zoom H4n, a decent shotgun mic.
If you want everything in one package, and you can afford it, then the Sony FS100 may be the camera you should use. If you’re on a budget or prefer the smaller form factor of a DSLR, us it. Nearly twenty percent of the films at 2011 Sundance were shot on DSLRs. They’re not going away. Not even close.
"ARRI Releases New ALEXA Firmware v3.1
ARRI Releases New ALEXA Firmware v3.1: "
ARRI has released the latest Software Update Packet (SUP), v3.1, for the ALEXA and the new ALEXA Plus cameras. All new cameras will ship with SUP v3.1, and it is available as a free download from the ARRI website for all current ALEXA owners.
Key features of SUP v3.1 include:
- Full support for both the ALEXA and ALEXA Plus cameras.
- Integrated functionality with the ARRI Wireless Remote System (WRS) lens controller. This includes both generations of the ARRI transceiver module, known as the Yellow Radio and the White Radio.
- Communication with the new ARRI Remote Control Unit (RCU-4)
- Lens Data System (LDS) display on the ALEXA Plus. A later SUP will also capture this information in metadata.
- Dual SxS card recording. Both card slots can be set to capture identical files simultaneously, making backup file transfers faster.
- ARRIRAW frame grabs. In addition to the other formats already available, frame grabs can be captured in ARRIRAW.
To download SUP v3.1, ALEXA owners must login after completing a one-time registration on the ARRI website. The file can then be downloaded to an SD card for uploading into the camera. Also available for download are an updated user manual and release notes for SUP v3.1
"Sneak Preview of New Motion Stabilizer for After Effects
Sneak Preview of New Motion Stabilizer for After Effects: "
Filed under: After Effects Tips
"
April 6, 2011
by Adobe TV
It’s called the Warp Stabilizer, and it has ways of dealing with your shakycam HDSLR footage. Check out what new technologies, features and innovations the Adobe product teams are working on behind the scenes. Stay tuned to get an early glimpse of what could be next from Adobe. labs.adobe.com
Click here to view a Sneak Peak of the new Warp Stabilizer…
Sneak Preview of New Motion Stabilizer for After Effects
Filed under: After Effects Tips
"
Monday, April 4, 2011
Light Iron to Launch Live Play During NAB
Light Iron to Launch Live Play During NAB: "Michael Cioni, Light Iron CEO and post production visionary, will officially launch the company’s iPad-based LiVE PLAY and mobile dailies applications at two separate events during the 2011 NAB Show....
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