Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/29/12 05:05:54 PM

Film Is Dead. Long Live Digital?

Criticwire's Matt Singer gives a clear-eyed view of some of the boons and pitfalls of the en masse transition to digital cinema. He writes, "Film is going away. That much we know. But it's worth remembering digital has its benefits. And its pitfalls, too."

Read his full piece here.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/25/12 03:05:14 PM

'Man & Beast' Previews Canon C500 Capabilities with Help from Fotokem's nextLAB

FotoKem’s nextLAB, a powerful end-to-end software solution for film and television productions using file-based workflows, played a pivotal role in the production of demonstration footage to support the development announcement of the Canon Cinema EOS C500 and the Cinema EOS C500 PL for use with EF-mount and PL-mount lenses respectively.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/25/12 02:05:01 PM

Sound Devices 552 Captures Dynamic Audio for Nat Geo's 'War Elephants'

When sound engineer David Ruddick was presented with the challenge of finding portable audio gear that would hold up in the rugged terrain and extreme climate of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park for an upcoming National Geographic elephant documentary, he turned to Sound Devices’ 552 Production Mixer.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/25/12 12:05:41 PM

Click 3X Brings Beloved Monopoly Dog to Life for Maryland Lotto

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Click 3X does just that in a high-energy spot for the Maryland Lottery’s Monopoly scratch-off ticket, bringing the board game’s iconic dog to CGI life. Click 3X CGI director/creative director Anthony Filipakis led the effort on the spot,

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/24/12 05:05:47 PM

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (And Timelines): Autodesk Smoke 2013 Emerges with New Efficiency and Economy

Thanks to the common Unix underpinnings of Linux and Mac OS X, Autodesk Media & Entertainment was able to bring its advanced Smoke editor to the Mac platform in December of 2009 as an unbundled software product. The $15K price tag was a huge drop from the price of Autodesk’s turnkey Linux Smoke workstations but still hefty for the casual user. Nevertheless, thanks to an aggressive trial and academic policy, Autodesk was successful in getting plenty of potential new users to download and test the product.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/24/12 03:05:15 PM

Making Connections: Considering New Thunderbolt Capture Devices

Media pros have seen data protocols come and go over the years. Some, like Fibre Channel, are still current fixtures, while others, such as SCSI, have bitten the dust. The most exciting new technology is Thunderbolt, which began development at Intel under the code name Light Peak.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/23/12 05:05:16 PM

The Force of 4K, Cult of the Cloud: 2012 NAB Show in Review

The theme for this year’s NAB Show was best defined by Sony’s banner: “Believe Beyond HD.” 4K-resolution products generated the buzz that bumped stereo 3D from the limelight. Many of the products had been announced, released or hinted at prior to the NAB Show, but Las Vegas provided an opportunity to see, touch and comprehend.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/23/12 04:05:27 PM

Litepanels Expands LED Fresnel Line

A new line of Litepanels tungsten-balance Fresnel fixtures, the Inca Series, made its worldwide premiere at NAB.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/23/12 03:05:03 PM

'The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye:' Documentary Traces Decades of Transformation

In creating The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye, Marie Losier spent seven years with her subjects, documenting their lives and choreographing scenes for them. The film’s strength is the genuine portrayal of its subjects, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, a key figure in the British industrial music scene since the 1960s, and her lover and partner Jacqueline Breyer, known as Lady Jaye.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/23/12 02:05:58 PM

Time Travel and Timelessness: Shooting with Sony’s F3 on 'Safety Not Guaranteed'

“Wanted: Someone to go back in time with me.”

A classified ad beginning with this request ran in a survivalist magazine in the mid-1990s. Later it was posted online, where it became something of a sensation and the source of many parodies. Upon seeing the ad, screenwriter Derek Connolly immediately envisioned the concept as the basis for a script. The title would be taken from the original ad: Safety Not Guaranteed.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/23/12 01:05:28 PM

Tips to Clip: June 2012

Trucking Tremors
It seems that almost every day I receive an ad or e-mail touting the latest slider, dolly or other method of trucking (moving) the camera during a shot. Most of them are very nice but also very expensive. Over my almost 50 years of making pictures I have used a number of methods to do the job, and most of them were free.

Added by Sarv Taghavian--Creative Planet Network, 05/22/12 05:05:55 PM

The Big Finish: A Guide to Mastering Your Video Projects