Archive for August, 2011

Visual effects plug-in Rays now supports video/film hosts from Adobe, Avid and Apple – including FCP X

Los Angeles, CA – August 29, 2011 – Digital Film Tools, developer of visual effects software, today announced that their visual effects plug-in, Rays, has been updated to support popular video and film hosts. New supported hosts include Adobe® After Effects® CS5 and up, Premiere Pro® CS5 and up, Apple® Final Cut Pro® 6, 7, and X, Motion® 5, and Avid® Symphony, Media Composer®, Newscutter, and Xpress Pro. Shedding new light on film and video footage, Rays allows users to easily create realistic light ray effects with stunning image quality. Known as volumetric lighting in computer graphics, or crepuscular rays in atmospheric optics, this dramatic effect adds polish and style. By creating shafts of light streaming through clouds, rays filtering through a forest canopy, beams of light on a foggy night, more

Facilis Technology, a leader in advanced shared storage solutions for post-production and content creation, today announced that it has qualified its TerraBlock line of shared storage solutions, versions 5.0 and above, for Mac OS X Lion.

“Integrating support for OS X Lion into TerraBlock is an extension of our commitment to supporting the latest and most advanced platforms for creative professionals,” said Shane Rodbourn, SVP & general manager, Facilis. “Customers who use or purchase TerraBlock 5.0 and above can now experience the same high performance and capacity of TerraBlock with the highly anticipated OS X Lion release.”

TerraBlock, Facilis’ high-capacity, shared storage system, supports Fibre channel and Ethernet, volume and file-level control, and multiple platforms. It outperforms the competition and provides a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than that of traditional SAN infrastructure.

While Facilis TerraBlock, versions 5.0 and above are qualified for more

Method artists create a world of dancing robot armies and hamsters for Kia Soul

Los Angeles, CA – Renowned visual effects company Method Studios completed work on a new commercial, “Share Some Soul,” developed by Kia Motors America (KMA)’s advertising agency of record, David&Goliath, introducing the significantly refreshed 2012 Kia Soul. The VFX-heavy spot debuted during the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. Featuring the wildly popular hamsters from previous Kia commercials, the new spot also features two sets of robot armies engaging in a fantastic dance battle to LMFAO‘s ubiquitous club smash “Party Rock Anthem.” Working with acclaimed director Mark Romanek, Method Studios took Anonymous Content‘s designs and created the dancing robot armies as well as the spot’s desolate environment.

In addition to taking on the challenge of creating an all-CG world with all-CG characters, Method had to complete the job more

Charlex recently finished up the final two Subway spots in a series of three for Boston agency MMB; a campaign built around healthier fare and a handy gift card.

Following That’s A Lot, Parfait and Notebook were the subject of “quite a bit of back and forth in terms of concept,” reports Charlex Director Ryan Dunn. “The agency was bringing a diverse range of ideas for these spots, and after a few rounds of conceptual brainstorming, we finally landed on two scripts and designs that everyone was happy with.”

Notebook is a back-to-school promo exploring the notebooks and doodles of an unseen high school student. As they daydream of awesome gift cards and tasty Subway sandwiches, hip music and fun animation guide us through. The spot owes much of its look to art director Masayoshi “Masa” Nakamura. “He was perfect for this job more

OXFORD, UK: Europe’s largest independent mastering facility, The Metropolis Group, has purchased a significant package of 10 Sonnox Oxford Limiters and 10 Oxford EQs. Sonnox Sales & Marketing Manager Nathan Eames reports, the substantial plug-in acquisition was vetted by Metropolis Group Technology Development Manager, Crispin Murray. “We test drove a good number of plug-ins, and Sonnox were the ones that everyone seemed to come back to,” Murray said. “Because they were the most transparent of all we tried, they are now installed in all ten of our mastering suites.”

Mastering engineer Miles Showell comments, “Transparency is particularly important with loudness. I don’t think we’re mastering any louder than we used to. We won’t go down the ‘level at all costs’ route, but you do need to compete. If your stuff isn’t loud enough, clients will just go elsewhere. It’s better more

Behind the scenes at Sunnyboy Entertainment, post-production editors are working more fluidly as the creative agency’s workflow has improved substantially since installation of Small Tree’s 32TB GraniteSTOR ST-RAID Mobile system at its Los Angeles location.

Founded in 2007, Sunnyboy provides entertainment marketing services to promote upcoming movie releases, including talent interviews, Internet spots and the popular “making of” features that appear on HBO and other cable channels. As the agency prepared to move its operations to a new facility earlier this year, management decided it was time to implement a shared storage system so that its group of editors could work as a team instead of independently, as they were doing previously.

In preparation for the move, Sunnyboy contacted Small Tree, Ethernet-based shared storage and networking experts. The first step, according to Small Tree, was installing a Cat6 network fabric throughout the new more

NEW YORK—Renowned fashion and beauty director Rebecca Blake, of Rebecca Blake Films A STORY Company, has directed a new campaign for Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo launching its innovative UV Cut collection. Conceived by Dentsu, Tokyo, the spot features Japanese model and actress Kiko Mizuhara (“Norwegian Wood”) who is shown wearing the young, fashionable clothing, which filters UV rays, in a stylized contemporary home overlooking a pristine ocean under a sunny sky. more

Blackmagic Design today announced the world’s first video product with Thunderbolt technology. UltraStudio 3D which allows portable capture and playback with full resolution dual stream 3D support, 10 bit hardware architecture, dual link 3 Gb/s SDI, support for up to 1080p60 in SDI and component analog and HDMI 1.4a connections, as well as full SD, HD and 2K support, is now shipping for only US$995. more

The concept was simple: Create a commercial that makes the viewers feel like they have an all-access pass backstage at a Lenny Kravitz concert and are sharing the experience with his inner circle of friends in a world where music and fashion come together. Wild(child) Editorial editor, Diego Panich, set the pace of the spot, taking his cues from the Grammy-winning artist’s ‘chill’ demeanor, the natural ease of his gate, and his recently released track, ‘Rock Star City Life.’ Director Philip Adelman’s stunning 35mm black + white footage created the documentary-like feel of a spot that conveys the rocker’s signature style, personified by the Basement’s hip urban line of men’s clothes.

The :30 spot, entitled ‘BASEMENT/Rock Star City Life,’ opens with an aerial shot of Miami, that cuts to street level as the camera moves with the city’s traffic. The viewer rides along, following a black SUV with tinted windows more

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