Archive for September 22nd, 2008

Calabasas, CA, September 23, 2008 – MusicBox, a leading music production company that provides thousands of cuts from its original music catalog, as well as original composition and scoring for television programs, promos, films, and commercials, has unveiled a revolutionary new suite of online music search and collaboration applications. MusicBox’s new web modules “MusicBox LIVE,� “MusicBox Update� and “MusicBox Files� embody the company’s ongoing commitment to convenience, responsiveness to industry demand, and customer service. more

NewBlueFX Introduces “Video Essentials� Effects Plugin Suite The “Swiss Army Knife� of Video Effects Collections

Video, Multimedia and Technology Editors

LA JOLLA, CA (September 22, 2008)— NewBlue, Inc. announces NewBlue Video Essentials, a comprehensive collection of NewBlueFX video plugins designed to enhance, optimize, and accelerate productivity and workflow. Featuring an indispensable toolbox of 10 distinct video effects plugins, NewBlue Video Essentials aids video professionals and enthusiasts in repairing, refining and improving their video. more

Santa Monica, CA, September 23, 2008 – Immediate Music, Hollywood’s preeminent supplier of original music for high profile, major studio feature film trailers, has named David Noble as Director of Sales and Licensing. The announcement was made today by company co-founders/composers Yoav Goren and Jeffrey Fayman.

In his new post, Noble will be responsible for generating new business development within markets beyond Immediate Music’s core motion picture advertising client base. Noble’s initiatives will primarily focus on securing licensing opportunities for the company’s extensive music catalogue in film, TV, videogame and advertising projects. Representing the talents of an award winning in-house composing staff, Noble will also seek to generate new custom scoring opportunities across all media. more

Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 23, 2008 — Buster, a conceptual design studio that specializes in graphic design, 3D, CG and animation/mixed media for the advertising and broadcasting industries, has retained Ellen Knable of EKA, Santa Monica, CA, for commercial representation.

Jonas Morganstein, Executive Creative Director, Buster, said, “Ellen has an amazing reputation, having worked with many top creative companies. We are excited about this new relationship, and can’t wait to grow our presence in the ad world together.� more

Online Animation Company Talks Like Pirates, Descends Upon San Antonio Natives in Pirate Garb in Accordance with National Talk Like a Pirate Day

SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 – SAN ANTONIO – A flotilla of pirates from MyToons.com, today launched a sneak attack on the city’s historic art village, La Villita. Setting sail from the Hyatt, the squadron of river boats and their menacing crews circled the inner-city before disembarking at the Arneson Theater Landing. The unruly band of pirates proceeded to “act piratey.� Sauntering and speaking loudly with bad grammar, they made their riverside assault on the beloved village en route to the city’s upscale urban ristorante and favored pirate haunt and galley, Luca, located in the historic Fairmount Hotel. more

Autodesk released a Stereoscopic Filmmaking Whitepaper delivering a comprehensive understanding of the state of the industry and its current barriers. The whitepaper provides valuable knowledge for anyone curious about the future of Stereo 3D (S3D) and highlights current industry challenges from technical production complexities to studio considerations and theatrical acceptance.

The whitepaper is available for download here.

While the industry faces numerous economic, technical and creative barriers, the growth of Stereo 3D is omnipresent and the demand for live action SD3 cannot be ignored. Autodesk’s whitepaper devotes a considerable amount of thought to standardized workflow processes and the creation of affordable tools to make S3D more available and accessible to a broader range of film projects—both independent and studio-driven.

Writing computer software requires exacting detail. Proofreading each letter, number, and symbol in the code and checking that it is correct requires a crisp, high-resolution display that a team of programmers can carefully review, line-by-line. Since there is no room for error, the Engineering Information Group of publishing giant Elsevier displays their code for peer review using a Canon REALiS SX7 Multimedia Projector. Featuring HD-quality SXGA+ resolution display of intricate type as small as 7-point, the use of this projector enables the division’s entire team of programmers to view the software code as a group on a large-screen, in high-resolution detail. more

The Brief:

Asylum pulls out all the VFX tricks for an intriguing campaign directed by Christian Loubek of Anonymous Content for Hyundai Motor America.

0-60 opens on an expansive test facility where the Hyundai Genesis prepares for launch. The anxious revving of the engine and trailing overhead lights leads to lift off. The camera shakes in the wake of its off-the-line power leaving no doubt in the Genesis’ ability reach 60 MPH in 5.7 seconds. more

The Brief:
rhinofx recently completed extensive effects work on Dreamworks’ Ghost Town, as the sole VFX creator for the supernatural romantic comedy. The film, to be released September 19, is written and directed by David Koepp, best known for lending his award-winning writing talents to action blockbusters Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, and Mission: Impossible. In the story, a surly dentist (Ricky Gervais, creator of The Office) dies for seven minutes in a colonoscopy gone awry, and awakens with the unwelcome ability to see and help ghosts. The rhinofx team’s role expanded as the film went through development, with VFX Supervisor Arman Matin and Compositing Supervisor Jim Rider leading over 50 effects shots, including a very intricate opening scene and introducing an entirely new 3D collision modeling approach to simulate ghosts moving through buildings, buses, and even people. more

TEWKSBURY, Mass., September 22, 2008 – Avid Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVID), today announced that all of the Emmy Award winners across 31 Outstanding Picture Editing, Outstanding Sound Editing/Mixing, and Outstanding Program categories at the 60th Annual Emmy® Awards used at least one system from Avid® – or its Digidesign®, Softimage®, Sibelius® and M-Audio® brands – to create this year’s top television programming. A majority of these programs employed workflows consisting of multiple systems from the various Avid brands. In total, more than 140 nominees in 38 categories used Avid brand systems. From first-time nominees and winners such as Pushing Daisies, Damages or Flight of the Conchords, to repeat honorees such as 30 Rock, Lost or South Park, editing, audio and animation professionals continue to choose systems from the Avid family to achieve creative excellence. more