Archive for October 24th, 2011

Ross Ashton’s The Projection Studio was commissioned to design and create a special 5 minute son et lumière video artwork for award winning London based Pollard Thomas Edwards architects (PTEa), who specialise in the creation of new neighbourhoods and the revitalisation of old ones.

The event – PTEa’s first projection project and the latest in a series of transformations staged at Diespeker Wharf – celebrated the building as a local landmark, reflecting its history and location, its many previous uses and occupants and its current owners, PTE architects. The building represents a visible expression of PTEa’s ethos and approach to regeneration by retaining the best of the past, mending invisibly and allowing new architecture to elevate old rather than dominate it. The regeneration of Diespeker was the first intervention leading to the redevelopment of the whole City Road Basin area in Islington.

PTEa’s Carl Vann explains that their search to find a suitable son et lumière artist with whom to collaborate led them to Ashton, having been impressed with his work as the creator of several New Year’s Eve projections onto the Shell Building on London’s South Bank.

The brief for the Diespeker show content was to combine the history of that region of London, from the establishment of the first Roman camps in AD 43 through the ancient past to Victorian Islington, the 20th century and the dawn of the 21st – with a celebration of its communities, individuals, commercial and cultural development, etc., and an overview of the scope and imagination of PTEa’s work.
With a vast amount of content material to work into the show, the storyline had to move quickly and coherently!

First Ashton storyboarded a script, and once that was signed off by PTEa, worked on producing all the artwork with Paul Mumford, which took about 2 weeks. The artwork was ‘placed’ using reference points taken from a photo survey – a traditional method of producing large format projected images.

The video footage was then stored in a Green Hippo Hippotizer media server, which was used to do all the necessary keystoning, masking and other corrections required to match the camera lens to that of the projector, and the precision mapping of the images onto the building.

The projection was beamed onto the front of Diespeker Wharf, a truly 3D surface with multiple focal planes the closest surface being about 20 metres away and the furthest at 40 metres – so challenging! The width of the picture was about 16 metres.
Ashton specified a .8 lens for the single Christie Roadster projector, and he was “seriously impressed” with both the brightness of the machine and how the lens handled focussing on all the surfaces – giving tack sharp reproduction throughout.

The hardware – including a sound system – was supplied by QED. The projection and control system was engineered by Richard Porter, and sound artist Karen Monid was commissioned to create a bespoke soundscape to accompany the visuals, which was highly effective.
Ashton comments, “This was a really nice project. Several challenges made it interesting, and everyone at PTEa was very enthusiastic and a real pleasure to work with. Being architects, they also had a great perspective on the form and impact of what could be achieved with projected art”.

PTEa Director Carl Vann comments, “We were delighted with the projection performance and with Karen Monid’s sound track. It is a hard medium to assess during the design and development stages without any experience of the final format, and Ross and his team provided an excellent and highly professional service throughout. We also received extensive complimentary feedback from the audience both on the evening and subsequently”.

For more press info on The Projection Studio, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email louise@loosplat.com. To contact The Projection Studio direct, please call +44 20 8293 4270.

2020 Exhibits

2020 Exhibits maintains a 10,000-square foot showroom set up like a tradeshow floor with extensive numbers of flat-screen displays. A Vista Spyder X20 system resides in a dedicated control room and ties into eight different videowall configurations.

“We were looking at an AMX control system for the showroom and were doing in-house training with Vista for the Spyder,” says senior AV technician Chris Kennedy. “The trainer mentioned High Resolution Systems’ UDC and how easily it worked. So I downloaded the free demo and saw that it was exactly what we needed. [2020 Exhibits president] Bob Babine fell in love with the idea that with the UDC we could control the monitors with a smart phone or an [Apple] iPad.”

“We hooked up the system, programmed it in 10 minutes and we were bouncing through looks with my [Apple] iPhone,” Kennedy says. “The ease of set up and cost savings for our clients over other control systems were amazing. In five minutes you can teach anybody to recall cues with the UDC. Customizing buttons and changing command keys takes seconds instead of having to wait for a programmer to write hundreds of lines of code.”

The UDC made its debut in the showroom where it ran on an iPad and supported a 5×6 videowall during 2020 Exhibits social media boot camp held on August 25. “The ability to literally change your messaging and content in the exhibit space in real time is fantastic. People could walk up and tap into the iPad and change the content on the videowall all in real time” Kennedy reports.

Soon after, the UDC traveled to the VMworld 2011 convention at The Venetian in Las Vegas, a show for virtualization technologies, where it was employed at the BMC Software booth. The centerpiece of the exhibit was a 3×5 videowall, comprised of Samsung 460ux-2 46-inch LCDs, which occupied the entire booth and was tied into a Christie Vista Spyder X20.

“We had a laptop running Vista software and the UDC,” Kennedy explains. “The UDC got a lot of good buzz. People wanted to know what it was and how it worked. The UDC worked just great at the show, and BMC liked how easy it was to use. The response from the show by clients and end users was amazing. The booth remained busy at all times with multiple demonstrations happening concurrently utilizing UDC technology.”

“The UDC has so much to offer and our ability to integrate content through smart phones and iPads will continue to evolve. We love how easy it is to program, that we can use it with smart phones and iPads, and that it can control a long list of devices: You just tell the UDC that you’re using a particular device and it knows the command strings.”

About High Resolution Systems
High Resolution Systems is a company with a strong systems engineering and applications background. Its founders have decades of experience in the audio visual rental and staging industry, broadcast applications, A/V installations and system design. This combined experience allows them to provide the highest possible quality solutions to its customers in the most efficient manner. For more information, visit www.hrscontrol.com.

On Friday, VEVO launched “Tim Timebomb’s RockNRoll Theater,” an original series created by musical wunderkind and Grammy Award-winning producer Tim Armstrong, and directed by Mirror Films’ Kevin Kerslake. An homage to the classic American Musical, “Tim Timebomb’s RockNRoll Theater” centers on Armstrong as a punk rock version of Rod Serling, who hosts each episode starring special guest actors and top musical artists.

To view the trailer, go here: www.rocknrolltheater.tv

Premiering exclusively on VEVO, the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform, “Tim Timebomb’s RockNRoll Theater” features brilliant songs written by Armstrong paired with lively dance numbers that are married with narratives that cross over many genres, and all of it lined with scintillating, dark edges. “Doing a show centered on musical theatre isn’t really a stretch for me,” says Armstrong. “For 25 years, I’ve been making music and collaborating with friends, been involved in hundreds of videos, and it’s really just a direct extension of my world.”

“Dante,” the pilot episode of “RockNRoll Theater” brings “Inferno,” Dante Alighieri’s 14th Century epic poem, roaring into the 21st Century with a fresh take on greed and corporate corruption. The episode stars AFI frontman Davey Havok, guitarist and vocalist Lars Frederiksen of Rancid, and actor Robert David Hall, known for his extensive work on “CSI.” “Tim Timebomb’s RockNRoll Theater” marks the first scripted piece of original programming featured on VEVO, enriching the platform’s catalogue of 45,000 premium music videos and live concerts.

“When it came time to hire a director, we immediately thought of Kevin Kerslake,” says Armstrong’s producing partner David Robertson. “Having worked with him on a couple of Rancid videos, he was already in the family, but he brings so much experience to the table that it was an easy call to tap him for the job.”

“Tim’s idea for an anthology series that was a cross between ‘The Twilight Zone’ and ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ makes your mind just explode with the possibilities,” explains Director Kevin Kerslake. “Just as ‘The Twilight Zone’ examined social and psychological issues from adventurous angles, this show explores similar themes, but we give it a little more throttle.” A lot more throttle, actually. “RockNRoll Theater” is a foot-to-the-floor romp through prime musical real estate. “Tim is a musical genius, adept at so many styles, and the man can turn a phrase – his lyrics are a combination of street thug, beat poet, and hopeless romantic. Plus, his work ethic is just insane! This is without question the coolest project I’ve ever done in my life,” beams Kerslake.

“Kevin’s range and diversity as a Director never ceases to amaze me,” adds Mirror Films’ Owner/Executive Producer Eric Barrett. “This latest work with Tim Armstrong for VEVO is a throwback to musicals of a bygone era. Couple this with his just-released ‘Electric Daisy Carnival’ feature doc – two genres that are very current in today’s youth culture – and you can see that it’s been a very busy year.”

In addition to working with Director/DP Kerslake, Armstrong teamed up with choreographer Michael Rooney, known for his multiple MTV Video Music awards, including Spike Jonze’s Fatboy Slim “Weapon Of Choice” music video starring Christopher Walken, and esteemed casting director Mary Vernieu (“Black Swan,” “Sin City,” “The Wrestler”).

Future episodes to come on VEVO.

Bio: Director Kevin Kerslake:

After appearing in a couple Warren Miller films in his early teens, Kevin Kerslake embarked on a path to emulate Miller and his other childhood hero, Bruce (“Endless Summer”) Brown, making surf, skate and ski/snowboard films throughout his hormonal years. Kerslake then became one of a handful of directors responsible for forging the visual identity of the MTV generation, directing award-winning music videos for such bands as Nirvana, Green Day, R.E.M., the Rolling Stones, Smashing Pumpkins, Rise Against and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kerslake dominated the leading-edge of pop culture, directing core culture films and documentaries, notably “Nirvana: Live! Tonight! Sold Out!,” “The Ramones: We’re Outta Here!,” and a long-running film series for electronic music giants Insomniac Events, as well as more mainstream fare, such as “Fallen,” one of ABC Family’s highest-rated miniseries, and Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi series “The Visitor.” Kerslake’s trendsetting visual style resonates in his commercial work for clients AT&T, AXE Body Spray, Sony Playstation, Sprite, Coca-Cola, DC Shoes, Kohler, Puma, and Nike.

This past summer, Kerslake’s documentary feature “Electric Daisy Carnival Experience” played in movie theaters nationwide. This cinematic tour de force documents the most prestigious electronic music festival on the planet, and features an all-star line-up of the world’s top DJs. The film is coming out on BluRay and DVD November 7th. Kerslake has just begun editing the next installment in the Electric Daisy Carnival series, and has recently completed a graphic novel. He is currently attached to direct J.G. Ballard’s “Running Wild,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Rosamund Pike.

About Mirror Films: Mirror Films is a creative collective of award-winning film directors, each bringing a unique sensibility to the screen. The distinctive and memorable work that Mirror Films produces is reflected in repeated commercial campaigns for top brands such as Anheuser Busch, Dove, Toyota, Target and Sony. Mirror Films’ directors are well versed in the integrated media landscape, with a portfolio of work that extends into digital entertainment and new media. Mirror is a streamlined and efficient production company — small enough to brainstorm one-on-one, yet large enough to tap global resources.
www.mirrorfilms.tv

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The Venice Media District has launched its College Internship Program with the addition of its newest team member: Mount St. Mary’s College (MSMC) senior Zully Garcia. Garcia began interning with Hype Communications, a sponsoring company of VMD, during Summer 2011 and worked on a comprehensive research project for VMD. She then decided to become VMD’s first College Intern for Fall 2011.

This autumn, Garcia continues her comprehensive research project for the Directory section of VMD’s recently re-designed web site (www.venicemediadistrict.org). She is also assisting with special event production at the recent Abbot Kinney Festival in late September and the organization’s next Mixer at The Brig in Venice on November 9th, 6-9 pm. In addition to her research project and special event production for VMD, Garcia is also acquiring knowledge in marketing, public relations, advertising, and non-profit organizations.

“Zully is one of those rare college seniors who brings an already-developed skill set to her internships, and a desire to apply what she is learning in the classroom to the workplace,” says Colleen O’Mara Diamond, Co-Founder/Chair and Director of Communications for Venice Media District, also Co-Owner of Hype Communications (www.hypeworld.com). “Zully is the perfect person to launch VMD’s College Internship Program, and we are happy to have her spend her senior year with us.”

“Being in a classroom learning about a subject and working hands-on on a project through an internship or a job are two completely different things,” adds Garcia. “Through my job/internship experiences, I have been able to implement all that I have learned. I feel great satisfaction that what I have worked so hard for in school is finally paying off. I am extremely grateful for all that Hype and VMD have taught me. I look forward to continue working with both organizations in the future, as I continue to improve in my intellectual and business skills throughout my career.”

The Venice Media District was founded in 2006, and launched its High School Internship Program in partnership with Venice Arts in 2007. The hugely successful High School Internship Program has placed highly-trained high school students enrolled in the internationally recognized and award-winning Venice Arts Program (www.venice-arts.org) in a series of creative internships over the past four years.

About the Venice Media District:
Creative icons, artists and visionaries have been drawn to Venice, CA since its inception more than a century ago. Today, the eclectic community continues to thrive as LA’s artistic outpost by the sea, attracting a wide range of creative professionals and businesses in a variety of disciplines. In consideration of Venice’s dynamic creative history, the Los Angeles City Council bestowed the title of “Venice Media District” (VMD) on the community. The Venice Media District is a sitting committee of the Venice Chamber of Commerce.

For more information, please go to VMD’s newly re-launched web site: www.venicemediadistrict.org

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Mirror Films Owner/Executive Producer Eric Barrett continues to expand and diversify his company’s talent roster with the addition of Director Wrye Martin. A key creative talent behind “Butterfinger 13th,” launched on Facebook last week to more than 1 million FB fans, the short film was directed by Martin in collaboration with celebrity Actor/Director Rob Lowe and Threshold Interactive’s John Montgomery.

To view Director Wrye Martin’s reel, go to: http://www.mirrorfilms.tv/director2.php

“I am extremely stoked to have Wrye on my roster,” says Mirror’s Eric Barrett. “His diversity is unparalleled in today’s marketplace. His latest work for Butterfinger is a classic example. The behind-the-scenes/’making of’ footage with Rob Lowe in pre-production is down right hilarious. Slam cut to the actual short film, which is an authentic horror film really proves my point. You cannot get two genres that are more polar opposites than those. Wrye brings many years of advertising experience to Mirror, and I’m proud he chose us as his home.”

From Feature Film to Documentary, Commercial Production to Broadband Content, Director Wrye Martin has worked on the front lines of media creation as a Creative Director, Director and Producer, with a constant emphasis on targeted, award-winning content. As a Commercial Director, Wrye has helmed spots for clients including ESPN, Nikon, Disney, Hello Kitty, Target and Microsoft. Wrye has directed leading and genre-defining New Media/Broadband Content for numerous clients including MSN, Disney, Halo, Target, Best Buy, and Interscope Records. These projects have garnered One Show awards, Addys, Cannes Grand Prix Cyber Lion Awards, Webby Awards, and a Clio. Wrye co-founded Civilian Pictures to finance independent features — the first film produced was Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner “American Movie,” followed by “Life of Reilly” with Charles Nelson Reilly, NASCAR Documentary “Moonshine to the Finish Line,” and “Rock the Bells,” which chronicles the behind-the-scenes struggle to put together the final performance of hip-hop super-group The Wu Tang Clan.

“I’m just thrilled to join the Mirror Films team,” concludes Martin. “Eric Barrett is a true visionary, who has a passion for strong storytelling. He is someone who is not just talking about where advertising is going; he is actually doing it. His support on a project like this one for Butterfinger and many others like it, make it a pleasure to collaborate with him and everyone at Mirror Films.”

About Mirror Films: Mirror Films is a creative collective of award-winning film directors, each bringing a unique sensibility to the screen. The distinctive and memorable work that Mirror Films produces is reflected in repeated commercial campaigns for top brands such as Anheuser Busch, Dove, Toyota, Target and Sony. Mirror Films’ directors are well versed in the integrated media landscape, with a portfolio of work that extends into digital entertainment and new media. Mirror is a streamlined and efficient production company — small enough to brainstorm one-on-one, yet large enough to tap global resources. www.mirrorfilms.tv

Amidst the whirling dervish of high-profile drivers and in-your-face horsepower, ad agency Jump Co. and Twist Director Matt Pittroff had to tell millions of rabid NASCAR fans that things were going be different this year. The 2011 season offered a brand-new breed of driver, new cars, and rule changes that would produce a never-before-seen NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion. Pittroff collaborated with Cerebral Lounge on visual effects and editorial to create a three-spot campaign via a slightly inept and completely overzealous tour guide who showcases the new faces, new cars and new rules in some pretty unexpected and unconventional ways.

To view the three-spot campaign, please visit: http://bit.ly/TwistNASCAR

“I knew the success of this campaign hinged on finding the right tour guide,” explains Pittroff. “My exploratory approach to casting ultimately uncovered a pretty unique tour guide in Brandon Odell via The People Store in Atlanta. We cast the net wide for the role looking for what amounted to a NASCAR version of Kenneth from ‘30 Rock.’ Our ultimate choice is about as far from Kenneth and NASCAR as you can get, but somehow it just worked.”

Pittroff and Cerebral Lounge in Washington, DC collaborated together on editorial and visual effects. “It’s rare to do a spot without some effects these days,” notes Pittroff. “My goal is always to keep as much in-camera as possible and create effects that go un-noticed by the audience. We worked very closely with Cerebral Lounge on the post effects in making the right choices and capturing the right elements. From tire rubs, to car-sized glass trophy cases, to a celebrity face replacement, they nailed it.”

“Matt brought a true strength in casting to this project,” says Jump Co. Copywriter Matt Telthorst. “He has an obvious passion and dedication to his work, and that was obvious to us. He had great ideas that he offered through the entire creative process, including sitting in the edit room to make sure the vision stayed consistent throughout the campaign. We really enjoyed working with him on this unique ad campaign for NASCAR.”

Credits:

Client: NASCAR
Spot Titles: “Tram at the Track” :30; “Under Glass” :30; “Video” :30
Shot on location at Charlotte Motor Speedway; Concord, NC

Advertising Agency: Jump Co
Creative Director: Bob Harris
Copywriter: Matt Telthorst
Art Director: Steve Schwartz
Producer: Michael Windler

Production Company: Twist
Director: Matt Pittroff
DP: Andy Lilien
President/Executive Producer: Jim Geib
Executive Producer: Amyliz Pera
Line Producer: Steve Blair
Staff Reps: Rob Neill, Kathryn Lotis

Editorial & VFX Company: Cerebral Lounge
On-Set Supervision: LeRoy Konen, Owen Lang
Editorial/Online Editor: Owen Lang
2D VFX/Animation Matte Painting: Giles D’Souza
Graphic Design: Giles D’Souza, Sheena Callage
Composite/Rotoscope: Andrew Dickenson
3D Design/Animation: Chris DiNardo
Post Producer: Alissa Liebert

Postproduction Company: Out of the Blue
Colorist: Micah Kurz
Executive Producer: Steve Bodner

Sound Design/Audio Post Company: Clean Cuts Music
Sound Designer/Mixer: Andrew Eppig, Cadell Cook
Audio Producer: Jessica Barbot

Twist:
A global production company, Twist has offices in New York and Minneapolis. Headed by EP/President Jim Geib and EP Amyliz Pera, the Twist directorial roster features the diverse talents of Directors Matt Pittroff, Rich Michell, Grady Cooper, Chris Stocksmith and Marc André Debruyne. Recent Twist projects helmed by Matt Pittroff include commercial campaigns for Affinity, Pepsi-Max, Colorado Lottery, NASCAR, as well as Picadilly, which he co-directed with Rich Michell. Pittroff has just finished shooting a hilarious new campaign for Ad Council, due out in January.

www.twistfilm.com

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Visual Acuity broadens skill base with new hire of Damian Andrews

This key role has both internal and customer-facing dimensions, as Blair Parkin, Managing Director, Visual Acuity, explains:

“The technological scope of our work continues to develop, as does our geographical reach – we are currently working on projects as far afield as Asia, the Middle East, the US and Europe.

“Damian will lead and champion our customers’ interests and provide advice and support to architects, building engineers, vendors and other service providers on each project.”

In addition to project-management expertise, Andrews also brings specialist skills in stage lighting and production to the party – significantly broadening Visual Acuity’s range of technological competencies as the diversity of the company’s customer base continues to grow.

Andrews’ industry experience dates back to the mid-1990s when, while studying for a Diploma in Audio Visual Design, he worked in the technical department of the UK’s Middlesbrough Theatre. He subsequently studied Electrical Engineering for Theatre, before embarking on a large-scale musical as production electrician and working as Company Stage Manager for the Carl Rosa Opera Company. Several years travelling the world as a technical manager in the cruise-ship industry culminated in the appointment as Senior Production Manager on the Queen Mary 2 overseeing the operation of multiple and varied entertainment spaces.

“The QM2 featured the world’s first Planetarium at Sea, and it was while working there that I developed a passion for planetarium design, technology and content,” Andrews explains. “After returning to dry land to work as an event technician and convention-centre operations manager in New Zealand, I was delighted to be approached by Sky-Skan, Inc., to work on a planetarium installation for them there.”

Andrews subsequently worked on other planetarium projects for Sky-Skan all over the world, including the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco – which is where he first came to the attention of Visual Acuity. He now joins Visual Acuity from Staging Connections, an event services company in Melbourne, Australia, where he was Operations Manager. Prior to that, he was Technical Director and Chief Lighting Technician at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, Ireland.

Andrews has returned to the UK where he will be based at Visual Acuity’s Brighton HQ. “This appointment gives me the perfect opportunity to use the skills I have gained from working in varied industries around the globe, to compliment what is already a well-respected and experienced team,” he concludes. “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Visual Acuity.”

www.visual-acuity.com

ROCHESTER, New York – With a continued growth pattern of success, Rochester, NY-based Lab X Technologies, a design resource and provider of IEEE 802.1 Audio Video Bridging (AVB) solutions, introduces Larry Hartzell as Senior Project Manager. With more than a quarter century of experience as a developer, manager and designer of embedded systems, Hartzell offers veteran industry knowledge to Lab X’s development and client relations teams.

“With Larry on the Lab X team, we expand our capabilities and increase our ability to offer clients greater products, support and services,” stated President of Lab X Technologies, Lee Minich. “Lab X has seen a tremendous amount of business growth, not only in new business, but also with our relationships with current clients and manufacturers around the globe. Larry will be essential to help Lab X reach our near and long-term growth goals, while keeping those relationships thriving.”

A Rochester, NY resident since graduating with his MBA in Computer Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Hartzell began his career with Nortel Networks as a developer and moved on to development management, spending 13 years as project manager. He then spent 15 years as a project manager for an engineering consulting firm, where he designed and developed outsourced systems. He left that position as a senior project manager, responsible for managing teams, budgets and clients.

As a Lab X senior project manager, in addition to managing design services, Hartzell has responsibilities related to the company’s development resources, budgets, timelines, client interaction, and updates on project progress.

“Looking at the overall technologies, products, and processes of Lab X, I was very interested in their strategies used to reach such impressive heights,” Hartzell said. “I want to enhance the project delivery experience for our customers through both process improvements and by continuing to build strong customer relationships. I’m very excited to be a part of Lab X’s continued success.”

For more information on Lab X Technologies and AVB, please visit http://www.labxtechnologies.com.

Show Marks First Time Company’s Super Slo Motion HD Camera Shown in Full Broadcast Configuration in Latin America

Fort Lee, N.J.- FOR-A Corporation of America, a leading manufacturer of video and audio systems for the broadcast and professional video industries, today announces the company’s participation at CAPER 2011 (Camara Argentina de Proveedores y Fabricantes de Equipos de Radiodifusion), an annual convention focused on digital television technology.

Recognized as a critically important gathering for broadcasters in Argentina and surrounding Latin countries, CAPER 2011 will take place from October 26-28, 2011 at the Centro Costa Salguero in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the show, FOR-A products will have a showcase at the booth of its Argentinean distributor SVC (Sistemas de Video Comunicacion SA), a sales, engineering, and systems integration company based in Buenos Aires. SVC has provided over 25 years of service and support to the Latin broadcast community and is a vital business partner to FOR-A in the region, which encompasses Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia.

In the SVC booth, CAPER 2011 show-goers will see a variety of FOR-A solutions for cost-effective, live broadcast production including: the VFC-7000 HD Super Slow Motion Camera; the FA-9500 3G/HD/SD multi-purpose signal processor; LTR-100HS LTO-5 Video Archiving Recorder, VTW-330 HD/SD Character Generator and HVS-300HS and HVS-350HS live video switcher.

CAPER 2011 will mark the first time that FOR-A has shown the VFC-7000 Super Slow Motion Camera in a full broadcast setup—including a high-end lens, viewfinder, and tripod—in Latin America. The VFC-7000 is a compact, lightweight, user-friendly camera capable of high-speed HD recording from 24 to 700 fps. It offers a high-sensitivity CMOS color sensor; electronic high-speed shutter of up to 1/200,000th of a second; and recording times ranging from 9.8 to 29.5 seconds.

“The ability to capture fast-moving subjects without any motion blur makes the VFC-7000 ideal for live sports,” said Pedro Silvestre, Sales Director, FOR-A Corporation of America. “The VFC-7000 is part of a comprehensive, affordable FOR-A product range which, when used together, meets critical live production needs.”

FOR-A will also show two powerful, compact HD/SD video switchers: the HVS-300HS 1-M/E portable switcher and the HVS-350HS 1.5-M/E switcher. The HVS-350HS offers integrated frame synchronizers; 2D/3D wipe effects; DVE; (dual-channel) keyer with chroma key and picture in picture; (four channel) DSK and still stores; and dual-channel, 16-way multiviewers. The HVS-300HS offers integrated frame synchronizers; up converters; 2D/3D wipe effects; keyer with chroma key; dual channel P-in-P; DSK and still stores; and 16-way multiviewer.

CAPER 2011 is also an opportunity to exhibit the FA-9500, a 3G/HD/SD multi-purpose signal processor for use in multi-standard, multi-format DTV environments. Besides functioning as a frame synchronizer, the FA-9500 provides up/down/cross/aspect conversion, plus a second converter for down/cross/aspect conversion, a color corrector, Dolby E encoder/decoder, and automatic video optimizer for all types of video and audio signals.

With its 1.5-terrabytes of recording capacity, the FOR-A LTR-100HS video archiving recorder ingests and archives large quantities of HD media cost-effectively using LTO-5 datatape. Equipped with a high-quality MPEG-2 encoder, the LTR-100HS includes an MXF wrapper/un-wrapper so that MXF files recorded in real-time to LTO-5 tape can be used directly by nonlinear editing systems.

“We’re looking forward to meeting current and prospective Latin American clients at CAPER 2011,” Silvestre added. “We’re confident that we have very compelling production solutions that will appeal to this rapidly growing DTV market.”

About FOR-A
FOR-A is a major manufacturer and distributor of video and audio systems to the broadcast, postproduction and professional video markets. For more information about FOR-A’s product line, call 201-944-1120 or visit our web site at www.for-a.com.
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Now to be clear from the start, this is not (God help us) newly discovered, classic porn starring Dave Attell, but the comedian (along with some A-list pals), delivering commentary over those straight-from-the-room-with-the-swinging-door-in-the-corner-of-the-video-store flicks from the 70s and early 80s.

But the story here is not about this eight-part, not-to-be-missed Showtime series that debuted Oct. 20. Rather, we’re here to talk about the editorial and post masterminds with enough swagger to splice Attell and friends’ hilarious content with commentary from living porn legends as they share the raunchy behind-the-scenes scoop on these erotic gems: Click 3X.

Over the course of a year, the shop worked closely with Dave, doing everything but filming this grainy, cheesy smut of yesteryear, editing, designing, animating and handling audio for each 30-minute episode. Much of the work came in rendering, as the entire series is shot against a green screen, with the film later added to the footage of Dave and his posse on the couch.

“Making a series for a premium network on a very, very small budget is a daunting task, and I needed a production house that could take me from editing through sound and design and help me deliver a finished project in spite of this,” stated Attell. “Click 3X, with their relaxed and confident team, did all of this and then some, taking a lot of pressure off of me to deliver my series on time. I was not treated as just some client, and had amazing access to all of the studio’s services. They never ceased to amaze me in their ability to turn any idea into something great. Also, they serve beer and have a foosball table, so what more can you want? I can’t wait to work with them again.”

“The big challenge here was to find a balance of raunchiness and absurdity without being too explicit for broadcast,” noted Click 3X Editor Jeremy Baumann. “After a while, you forget you’re dealing with porn – especially as the films of this era were much funnier, more story-based, and less hardcore than what you see today (not that I’m accusing you of watching the stuff or anything). After some trial and error, we found that the best strategy was just to be upfront with the people we hired to work on the project and make sure they were comfortable. At the end of the day, it was about Dave and his guest – the porn was secondary.”

Attell brought Baumann in to work on the entire series after the pair worked on the pilot and a few other items together. “I came to Click 3X to work with my most favorite editor, Jeremy B.,” said Attell. “He really has a great eye for comedy, so it was only natural that I would want him to help me make the show. I can’t say enough about Mr. J; he is the most patient guy in the world – we spent many a night working on this show and I owe him big time. Jeremy rocks! Rob Meyers, Brian Scibinico and Sarah Cortese helped round out the core creative postproduction team and I also cannot thank them enough for their patience and hard work.”

Learn more about the show on Dave’s Old Porn website (http://www.davesoldporn.com/), on Facebook and on Twitter.

Visit Click 3X

Credits
Post/Effects: Click 3X
Editor: Jeremy Baumann
Designer / Animator: Sarah Cortese
Managing Director: David Edelstein
Executive Producer: Rob Meyers
Associate Producer: Maddy Yasner
Creative Director: Ders Hallgren
Assistant Editor: Jason Lowther
Flame Artist: Chris Memoli
Flame Artist: Dan Bowhers
Flame Artist: Liz Berndt
Audio Engineer: Brian Scibinico
About Click 3X
Click 3X and its interactive division ClickFire Media create engaging film, TV and web content. Positioned at the intersection of entertainment, advertising, and technology, the studios work in tandem or autonomously. Click 3X shoots, edits, designs, animates and creates VFX, while ClickFire Media brings those disciplines into the interactive space. Click 3X operates a full service, 11,000 square foot state of the art studio in Manhattan outfitted with 50 fulltime staffers. In 2010 audio post-production division, Sounds Like Click was launched to provide sound design, mixing and original music services.

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