Archive for February 11th, 2008

Eye Scream Factory DVD Art Professional and DVD Art Essentials ship; time-saving templates for DVD menus, disc labels, and case inserts

Boston, MA – February 12, 2008 - Eye Scream Factory, the Boston-based creative team providing automation design templates for media hobbyists and professionals, today announced the launch of Eye Scream Factory DVD Art Professional and DVD Art Essentials. The new Eye Scream Factory products automate the design and development of professional DVD menus, disc labels, and case inserts. These stunning DVD menu and packaging designs can easily be modified using Adobe Photoshop and imported into leading DVD creation software. The menu templates may also be directly modified in Adobe Encore; this streamlined process offers tremendous time savings for any videographer. more

The “Class on Demand Gift of Education� program provides a path for schools, universities and NFPs to obtain award-winning training products at no cost

Hoffman Estates, IL – February 12, 2008 - Class on Demand, a provider of professional educational products for creative markets, today announced the roll out of their first ever corporate gifting initiative; the “Class on Demand Gift of Education� program. The new program gives non-profit institutions (NFP), schools k-12 and universities access to specific award-winning training products from Class on Demand’s extensive library of self-paced training at no cost. The school or NFP will pay only for shipping. Students can learn how to edit, create special effects, and produce full video productions using industry leading creative applications from companies such as; Adobe, Apple, Avid, and Sony to name a few. more

San Francisco, CA – (February 11, 2008) – Spy Post, a leading post-production company based in San Francisco, has opened a CG division and signed VFX Supervisor & Lead CG Artist Joe Henke. Under Henke’s leadership, Spy Post’s new division is launching into commercial campaigns for Lexus and Interactive Brokers, and continues their CG work on several high-profile feature films.

“We’re excited to meet the changing nature of our business head-on, and by adding a full-service visual effects, CGI, and animation division, we are supporting the needs of our current telecine and visual effects clients while keeping an eye on new project opportunities,� remarks Spy Post Partner/CEO Eric Hanson. more

ICG, SOC, support educational efforts for members and community

February 8, 2008 (Burbank, CA) Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Co and HD Expo are offering a two-day camera production workshop to the members of the ASC, ICG, SOC and other guilds and associations whose members may have been affected by the Writers Guild labor negotiations. more

February 11, 2008 — Markham, Ontario: Digital Rapids – a leading developer of scalable solutions for content ingest, encoding, transcoding, protection, streaming, delivery and playout — has unveiled a significant new version of the Digital Rapids Transcode Manager family of automated media transcoding software. Available immediately, version 1.2 of Transcode Manager FE (Facility Edition) features new video processing functions, enhanced clip list options and a comprehensive Web Services interface, enabling customers and third-party developers to easily integrate Transcode Manager into their own custom applications.

Based on industry-standard SOAP Web Services, the new API lets developers take advantage of the enterprise-level performance, load-balancing intelligence and failover capabilities of Transcode Manager FE in their own applications through an easy XML-based programming interface. The complete range of Transcode Manager features — from submitting and monitoring the status of jobs to setting video processing options — can be accessed through the Web Services interface. more

The Brief:
Bruce Hurwit of Crossroads directs this satirical political spec pilot entitled Average American that tracks the campaign of presidential candidate Sam Jefferson. In this first installment, we follow the High School History teacher as he competes on a reality TV show to win 20 million dollars in funding. Through text message voting, he is announced as the winner and begins a whirlwind crusade run by incompetents to grab ratings and fulfill a ridiculous agenda. The comedy mixes real political issues and candidates with their own absurd take on the state of today’s presidential race. more

The Brief:
The VFX team from Asylum brings us a glimpse into the future for Under Armour, the athletic brand of this generation. Athletes of all shapes and sizes utilize the futuristic CG city around them to work themselves into the perfect human machine. The gritty back alleys and abandoned industrial warehouses serve as the perfect forum for working their bodies to the brink. Suddenly, as if heeding a silent call to arms, the multitudes begin to gather together, combining their sculpted physiques. A speaker steps forth to address the hushed masses as he declares that the game has changed and the future is ours. more

The Brief
Keith Olwell of 89 Edit cuts this whimsical campaign for TomTom, the market’s number one selling automotive GPS navigation system. The campaign highlights the devices up to the minute traffic reports, alternative routes, and extensive map archive. Whether it’s a ribbon-cutting that opens a bridge for the first time, bumper to bumper traffic, or a truck full of rubber duckies that spill out onto a highway, TomTom is there to let us know when we need to keep driving or when to get off of the road. more

The Brief:
New York-based directorial collective HUSH pushes the envelope with their work on Honda’s new marketing initiatives for the FCX Clarity, billed as the world’s first production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Launched for a series of major auto show appearances, the stunning design elements surround the onlookers through well-executed placards and banners, and moving images. HUSH chose to stick to a powerful color palette of reds, pinks, and purples; the exhibition space surrounds visitors with media that melds and changes to fit their informational needs. On our journey, the low-key, casual product specialist highlights the safety features and refueling capabilities from his perch on two tiled HD display screens. He even engages us in a discussion on futuristic advances in a home hydrogen fueling station able to light and heat our homes, all of which is presented to us through HUSH’s superbly executed live-action imagery and design. more

Los Angeles, February 11, 2008 – The VES Awards were given out last night during the Visual Effects Society’s (VES) sixth annual gala event at the Kodak Theatre Grand Ballroom in Hollywood. The sold-out event attracted more than a thousand visual effects and animation artists, dozens of nominees and members of the film, television, commercial and video game industries. During the evening, filmmaker Steven Spielberg received the VES Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to the art and science of visual effects. more