Archive for December 14th, 2011

WHITE PLAINS, NY – December 14, 2011 - Music education content provider In Tune Partners today launched the premiere issue of Woofer, a multimedia publication about the music industry for musicians, music industry executives and knowledgeable fans. Woofer takes full advantage of its digital format, offering over 100 pages of content infused with audio clips, video examples, and animations. The publication is available for viewing exclusively on iPads and computers. The issue carries a cost of $2.99 and can be purchased at woofermag.com or via the app store.

Woofer’s distribution model is as unique as its content. It’s being marketed primarily by a dozen “affiliates;” companies who have agreed to promote the publication to their 3.5 million constituents via social media, e-mail, and other customer communications. Affiliates will offer these constituents a $1.00 discount coupon code. Participating affiliates are ASCAP, Broadjam.com, D’Addario & Co., Disc Makers, DW Drums, The Epiphone Guitar Company, Guitar Center’s Harmony Central, Ibanez, iStandard.com, Nimbit, Notion Music, and PickTheBand.com.

Woofer is intended to help musicians, those working in the music industries, and fans address the latest challenges and opportunities in the music business. It highlights events, recommends music and musical acts, comments on music-lifestyle issues, and profiles music creation and business issues, in addition to drawing together insights and information provided by experienced journalists, top artists, educators and others working in the field. Some launch issue features include:

– “Under Deconstruction” in which One Republic’s studio engineer diagrams how one of the band’s new tracks was produced, and a video-based story called “Play My Song,” in which singer/songwriter Mat Kearney demonstrates how he performs his latest hit.

– “DIY or Die,” a column in which one emerging jazz artist helps another self-release a debut album.

– “The Barking Dog,” an at-large rant by Jeffrey Rabhan, Chair of New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the Tisch School of the Arts, about Justin Timberlake’s MySpace investment.

– “I Want To Be A Musician,” a comic video by Lev Yilmaz, and a short fiction piece by Anne Isaaks.

The premiere issue’s cover story discusses the recent wave of band and artist comebacks and how legacy acts are working to stay relevant in a new and changing music environment.

Woofer’s editorial team is headed by Mike Levine (Electronic Musician) Emile Menasché (In Tune Monthly), and Mac Randall (Music Alive!, Teaching Music) and its business team is headed by In Tune Partners CEO Irwin Kornfeld (Billboard Music Group), and In Tune V.P., Publisher Angelo Biasi (United Entertainment Media).

Woofer will begin monthly frequency in March of 2012 and add affiliates, doubling the publication’s promotional outreach. Annual subscriptions will be offered for the base price of $29.95.

BURBANK, CA – Anton/Bauer, a brand of The Vitec Group and a premier global provider of batteries, chargers, lighting and other mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video and film industries, will feature a range of reliable power solutions at the Band Pro World Open House on December 15. Anton/Bauer will display the MATRIX Cheese Plate and Gold Mount System for the Sony F3 and NEX-FS-100 cameras; the Canon 5D, 7D and 60D cameras; the Panasonic AG-AF100 camera and the RED EPIC camera. In attendance will be professionals from a wide range of industries, including the broadcast, equipment, digital cinema, production and videography industries.

Compatible with a variety of Gold Mount solutions, the MATRIX Cheese Plate mounts directly on 15-mm or 19-mm rod systems, allowing for easy mounting for Gold Mounts on a variety of cameras including:

These Gold Mount solutions can also be used on support rigs such as Cinevate, Shape, Redrock Micro and Genus, among others, and in some cases, a pouch (the QR-PD/HDV is recommended for the Sony NEX-FS-100 in a pouch configuration). Anton/Bauer’s Gold Mount System creates the most secure battery-camera connection in the industry and provides seamless power and future compatibility.

Also on display will be the DIONIC HCX and the DIONIC HC, both part of the company’s Logic Series Batteries, suitable for powering high-current applications in a lightweight package. Working closely with cell manufacturers, the HC series incorporates high-capacity cells offering 10 amps. To continually ensure cell protection and performance integrity, a special honeycomb cell pack design protects the cells. An enhanced RealTime display indicates up to nine hours of run-time (under low power load conditions) using a seven-segment display enclosed by four circular arcs that indicate 15-minute time intervals, ensuring high confidence in those filming with the battery.

The DIONIC HCX offers 124Wh battery capacity and a unique motion detection sensor, which puts the battery “to sleep” after a two-day period without a power draw. This feature significantly reduces self-discharge and provides extended storage and battery life with nearly zero capacity loss. To “awaken” the battery, customers need only move or attach it to a device. When airplane travel is required, DIONIC HCX users can carry on up to two batteries per person per flight.*

The DIONIC HC provides 91Wh and can operate a 40-watt HD camera for over two hours. Transported as carry-on luggage without restrictions, the DIONIC HC is the perfect lightweight battery for shooting on location.*

Additionally, the CINE VCLX series will be on display. Incorporating all the features of the Logic Series Batteries, the CINE VCLX batteries provide superior run-time and service life for the power demands of today’s cinema production and lighting equipment. The 560Wh CINE VCLX/2 comes equipped with one 4-pin XLR for 14.4V and one 3-pin XLRF for 28V, providing dual simultaneous outputs of 20 amps at 14.4V and 12 amps at 28V. The powerful CINE VCLX system provides extended run-times for some of the most popular film and digital cinema cameras from ARRI, RED, Sony and Panavision.

When operating the power hungry ARRI ALEXA, the QR-HOTSWAP AR allows for two DIONIC HC or DIONIC HCX high-current batteries for seamless hot swapping. Exclusive communications, only available with the QR-HOTSWAP AR, display combined batteries’ remaining run-time in the camera viewfinder.

About Anton/Bauer
Anton/Bauer is recognized as the world’s innovator and a premier provider of batteries, chargers, lighting and other key mobile power systems for the professional broadcast, video and film industries. Based in the United States in Shelton, CT with offices in Europe and Asia, Anton/Bauer was established in 1970 and has expanded its product offerings to include many signature lines such as its leading Gold Mount system, InterActive chargers and Logic Series batteries such as the HyTRON 50, 100 and 140, and DIONIC 90, 160, HC and HCX. Their products are compatible with virtually every camera brand on the market today. Other Anton/Bauer high performance products include the Ultralight, ElipZ, ElightZ, CINE VCLX and CINE VCLX/2. Their superior-quality products have become an industry standard. For more information on Anton/Bauer, visit www.antonbauer.com.

A Snapshot of The Vitec Group
Vitec is an international Group principally serving customers in the broadcast, photographic and military, aerospace and government (MAG) markets. Listed on the London Stock Exchange with 2010 revenue of £309 million, Vitec is based on strong, well known, premium brands on which its customers worldwide rely. Vitec is organized in three divisions: Imaging & Staging, Videocom and Services. Imaging & Staging designs, manufactures and distributes equipment and accessories for photography, video and events. Videocom designs and distributes systems and products used in broadcasting and live entertainment, film and video production and MAG. Services provides equipment rental, workflow design and technical support for camera, video, audio, fiber optic and wireless technology used by TV production teams and film crews. More information can be found at www.vitecgroup.com.

NEW YORK, NY – Studio Technologies’ Model 400 SDI-over-Fiber Transport Systems were recently deployed by NEP Broadcasting as a reliable fiber transport system for its remote trucks covering the NFL’s Sunday Night Football. NEP Broadcasting is a leading international provider of outsourced teleproduction services for live sports and entertainment applications, specializing in digital capture and transmission of events ranging from professional football and the Olympic Games to the Academy Awards and everything in between. The recently purchased Model 400 units have been integrated into a second production truck covering the national Sunday Night Football broadcast.

“We created an additional production truck for Sunday Night Football because of the space restrictions within existing truck compounds,” says George Hoover, chief technology officer for NEP Broadcasting. “HD video has an effective transport link of about 300 feet on copper, but, for this application, we needed the ability to potentially go several thousand feet away from our main production truck. The only option was optical fiber. Based on our positive experience with deploying Studio Technologies’ units on a number of other projects, including almost 60 percent of NFL games, we selected the Model 400 to serve as the video interconnect backbone for this additional trailer. The Model 400 is a highly reliable, versatile tool that gets the job of supplying programming to our clients done. We currently deploy over 30 Studio Technologies systems.”

NEP’s new trailer provides the technology that generates the virtual signage, lines and images that float on the field. It also handles the transport for all of the wireless and RF cameras between where they are received, processed and handed off to the main truck. The trailer also houses all the transmission hardware to get the signal back to the broadcaster. Reliability was extremely important because every camera and the outbound transmission path flowed through this fiber backbone. If the fiber system went down, game over.

The Model 400 SDI-Over-Fiber Transport System is a high-performance, cost-effective, rack-mount system for distributing digital video signals over short and medium distances. The system is compatible with all common broadcast serial digital video formats and is suitable for use in remote trucks, live-event video distribution and fixed links associated with broadcast and production facilities. The Series 400 offers 12 format-independent SDI data paths over four single-mode optical fibers supporting 3G (SMPTE 424M), HD (SMPTE 292), and SD (SMPTE 259M) SDI, as well as DVB-ASI. Fiber transport is based on the SMPTE 297 standard.

“We started working with Studio Technologies three years ago on a multi-channel fiber transport system and the 400 was the result,” Hoover states. “We’ve never had a failure in all 30 systems supported right now. The unit has a very good status, alarm and monitoring system, so if you’re having issues, you are warned about them before they become total failures. We also needed to effectively reduce the fiber count between the trucks. We have about 48 signal paths going back and forth, so we wanted to reduce that down to a manageable number of fiber optic cables just to ease the setup. Every aspect of the Series 400 helps us to flawlessly deliver the game from the opening kickoff to the victorious team running onto the field, providing superior service to our clients.”

About Studio Technologies, Inc.
Studio Technologies, Inc. provides tailored, high-performance video, audio and fiber optic products for the professional audio and broadcast markets. The company was founded in 1978 with a commitment to design and manufacture dependable, individualized solutions for broadcast studio, stadium and corporate environments. Known for “designing for the way professionals work,” the company is recognized as an industry leader that has never wavered from its individualized design pledge. Product categories include fiber-optic transport, broadcast support, mobile broadcast, intercom and IFB, announcer consoles, loudspeaker monitor control systems, distribution amplifiers, cable testers and sound pressure level monitor systems. For more information, please visit the Studio Technologies Web site at www.studio-tech.com or call 1-847-676-9177.

LOS ANGELES—Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, director Stephen Daldry’s film slated for a Christmas day limited release from Warner Bros. Pictures, expanding to wide release January 20th, was the first major studio production to shoot with the ARRI ALEXA camera in a Codex/ARRIRAW workflow. It was also the first digitally captured film for veteran cinematographer Chris Menges, ASC, BSC.

This new workflow provided the production with a number of distinct benefits. The uncompressed ARRIRAW data output resulted in unsurpassed image quality and maximum flexibility for post production processing. The solid state Codex data packs used to capture the raw camera data provided rock-solid reliability and a way to jump-start the process of preparing dailies, back-up media and post production deliverables. Codex technology also provided the means for collecting complex metadata, including camera settings, notes from the director and DP, and other vital production information, making it instantly accessible to downstream members of the production and post production team. more

DFT Digital Film Technology, provider of high-end film and digital post production solutions that preserve, manage, and deliver your pictures, announces that Spice Shop, Bangkok, Thailand, is the first commercial post facility in Southeast Asia to install a SCANITY film scanner.

In addition to providing a full range of post production services for the local and international television and cinema commercial markets, Spice Shop has recently unveiled it’s newly renovated facility which enhances its service offerings to support feature film post production including on-set and post grading, 3D DCI mastering, as well as archive & restoration work. more

Absolute NYC is thrilled to announce the hiring of respected feature film and commercial VFX standout Dan Dixon. “Oh, we’re really super excited to have such a talent as our new Head of CG,” Absolute EP Sally Heath noted, her enthusiasm palpable. The addition of Dixon, a creative luminary in the world of visual effects whose technical innovations and artistic ability has produced boundary-pushing photo-real effects for films like District 9, Battle: Los Angeles, and The Incredible Hulk, marks a new era for Absolute as a leader in the global post-production arena.

Boasting recent campaigns for MasterCard, Nissan, Lipton, Verizon, and Motorola, Absolute has long enjoyed a strong reputation in the industry thanks to a broad client list and impressive roster of top-flight talent. So when the studio began its search for a Head of CG they weren’t just looking for new talent, but for an artistic leader and visionary to take their CG capabilities to the next level.

“Dan had previously been working for Radium in LA, and was relocated to Dallas with their realignment of resources,” Heath continued. That Dixon began considering his next career move just as Absolute began to reach out to fill this position was a case of the stars aligning for artist and studio alike.

Dixon brings his mastery of photo-real CG and natural facility for leadership to a star-studded creative team that includes industry heavyweights like Dirk Greene, James “Krispy” Cornwell, and Nathan Kane. Dixon’s leadership will serve to organize the studio’s talents beneath a singular creative vision, and to reaffirm the studio’s commitment to its core values: creativity and professionalism delivered with a personal touch.

“Absolute’s already much admired reputation within the industry can only benefit from Dan joining us,” noted Heath. “Dan has the talent, the experience, and the enthusiasm to help us continue to achieve the level of professionalism, creativity, and quality that makes Absolute truly outstanding, especially in terms of producing gorgeous, photo-real CG.”

“Not only has everyone at Absolute been incredibly welcoming, but we all share a similar aesthetic sensibility when it comes to our output,” stated Dixon. “Much of the Absolute reel caters to work that I find very exciting. With such an incredible group already in place, I’m very eager to get started. The opportunities ahead are full of incredible potential and amazing work!”

Dixon’s commercial portfolio includes spots for Pepsi, Nestle, TNT, Bayer, Nickelodeon, Exxon Mobil, Adidas, Budweiser, Hummer, Saturn, Sears, Toyota, Nike, MasterCard and the NFL. His Digital Experience with The Cosmopolitan earned a Grand Prix at Cannes.

Outside of the ad space, Dixon’s film credits include Speed Racer, The Game Plan, The Number 23, Stranger than Fiction, The Wild, Serenity, Constantine, Catwoman, The Ladykillers, Kingdom Hospital, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded and Snow Queen.

Prior to joining Absolute, Dixon spent time at various studios in Texas, California and Vancouver, including Digital Domain, Method, Image Engine and The Embassy.

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About Absolute
Founded in 2004 by David Smith, one of the world’s leading Flame artists, Absolute is a high-end VFX studio working within the commercial, emerging media, music video, and film communities. With offices in New York and London, Absolute over the years has collected numerous industry accolades including two BTAA awards, a D&AD pencil, a Cannes Lion, an APA Collection Diamond, three Andy wins and an MTV video statue. The New York office opened in 2007, helmed by CD Dirk Greene, to further facilitate Absolute’s international client roster with a growing Flame and CG service.

More info: TRUST 646 452 3388 (NY) 310 451 5153 (LA) trustcollective.com

Creating the Sound of an Extreme TV Show

Sonixphere, a globally-connected music and sound company, in collaboration with its Los Angeles-based partner iSpy Music, is currently creating original music for Discovery Channel’s Flying Wild Alaska (FWA). The reality series follows the adventures of the unconventional, airborne, millionaire Tweto family as they transport passengers to remote parts of Alaska on their airline, Era Alaska. more

Veteran Character Animator Anders Beer Teams with Brickyard VFX to Offer Custom Character Animation

Boston, MA — Renowned character animator Anders Beer has teamed up with Brickyard VFX co-owners Dave Waller and Geoff McAuliffe to launch General Gau, a hybrid animation/production company dedicated to creating custom character-based content. Based out of Brickyard’s Boston office, General Gau offers a specialized talent pool and customized internal pipeline to leverage in-depth, high quality character animation.

Beer, a Boston native, has a background in computer graphics and has focused on character animation throughout his career. He got his start at DreamWorks on character development for “Shrek,” and has since worked at Disney, Digital Domain, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Double Negative and more on character animation for video games and feature films. Beer recently moved back to Boston after working in London as animation supervisor on both Guillermo del Toro’s “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” and Greg Mottola’s “Paul.”

“I’m so thrilled to be back in Boston and to be launching General Gau,” says Beer. “Character production has always been my focus but in big studios it can sometimes get tied up in bureaucratic logistics. With General Gau I can just really let the artistry drive it and have much more creative freedom. And being able to work with Brickyard as a partner in this effort is great because with the quick timeline of commercial projects, the type of work you can do is always changing and it keeps everything fresh.”

Brickyard just wrapped its first project with General Gau, :30 spot “Goodnight” for Progressive Insurance. Breaking today, the spot showcases Beer’s character animation with a dream sequence cameo featuring a family of festive chipmunks and a feisty thieving squirrel.


Progressive \"Goodnight\" Squirrel Jail :30

“We always used to turn character animation work away because it was something we just couldn’t do as well as we do visual effects,” said Dave Waller, founder, Brickyard VFX. “But we always knew if the right person came along, character animation would make perfect sense for Brickyard—and when we met Anders, and saw his body of work, we knew right away that he was our guy.”

About Brickyard VFX
Brickyard is a digital production studio skilled in high-end visual effects, animation, design and creative development for advertising, feature films and emerging media. With shops in Boston and Santa Monica, Brickyard is artist-centric at the core, fostering a close collaboration of not only artist-to-director but the entire creative team. Within a cozy eclectic production space, Brickyard assembles a customized crew of designers, animators, and compositors for every project. Please contact Kirsten with Brickyard VFX Atlantic at (617) 262-3220 or Jeff with Brickyard VFX Pacific at (310) 453-5722, or visit http://www.brickyardvfx.com.

Progressive “Goodnight” Squirrel Jail :30 Credits

Agency: Arnold
Mike Lawson, Agency Producer
Sean McBride, Creative Director
Josh Tetrault, Creative Director
Brian Hayes, Copywriter
Jim O’Brien, Art Director
Caroline Foss, Copywriter
Alyssa Wilson, Art Director

Production Company: Uber Content
Jeffrey Fleisig, Director
Richard Berman, Line Producer

Editorial: Cutting Room
Editor: Merritt Duff

Audio: Soundtrack
Engineer: Mike Secher

Post: Brickyard VFX
Senior Producer: Amy Appleton
Lead VFX Artist: Sean McLean,
VFX Artist: Geoff McAuliffe
VFX Artist: Henrique Ghersi

Character Design & Animation: General Gau
Animation Director & CG Supervisor: Anders J.L. Beer
Senior Producer: Amy Appleton
Digital Artist: Evan E. Richards
Animator: Gordana Fersini
Additional Character Designs: Nick Zagami
Character Modeler: Chris Cowan

New high definition (HD, 2K, 4K) royalty-free stock footage timelapse shot in San Marino have been added in different categories (Landscape, Clouds and People) on HDtimelapse.net website.

Some of the locations from San Marino are Aerial View Time Lapse of San Marino, Guaita Tower, Castle, Old Town Hall, Titan Mount, Adriatic Sea, Adriatic Coast, Monte Titano, The Apennines, Apennine Mountains, Borgo Maggiore, Domagnano, Fiorina, Serravalle, UNESCO, World Heritage Site, Ca Chiavello, Calligaria, Corianino, Monte Pulito, Faetano, Montegiardino, Fiorentino, Capanne, Crociale, Pianacci, Cerbaiola, Cesta Tower, Castle, De La Fratta Peak, Chiesanova, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Palazzo Pubblico, Liberty Square, Piazza della Liberta, Liberty Statue, Morning Fog.

HDtimelapse.net library contains 6900+ time lapse video clips from 125 locations in 40 countries.

Timelapse royalty-free stock footage here: http://www.hdtimelapse.net

A year following the introduction of The Art of Shaving’s highly-successful ‘The Brotherhood of Shaving’ print and outdoor advertising campaign which established a manifesto for men dedicated to the ritual of achieving the perfect shave, the P&G owned luxury men’s grooming brand ups the ante with the introduction of a follow-up campaign that aims to communicate distinct ‘Brotherhood’ personalities, articulating the values of the brand and a stylish perspective on modern masculinity.

The new advertising campaign, created by BBDO, launches to coincide with celebration of the brand’s 15th Anniversary. The new creative builds on the stylish appeal of the original adverts with the introduction of six ‘Brothers’, each representing male individual archetypes in a post-metro sexual, post-Mad Men world. Each of the six distinct ‘Brothers’ demonstrate individual lifestyle approaches to a man’s daily shaving ritual; The Gentleman Shaver, The Old Soul, The Shaving Savant, The Reformed Troglodyte, The Ambassador of Smooth and The Incurable Romantic. Each of these playful personalities conjures an entertaining insight into men’s individual grooming rituals and lifestyle behavior. The campaign is brought to life with poster adverts that showcase each character with a single execution that brings together all six personalities.

The new campaign can be seen in national print publications including G.Q., Details, Men’s Health, Esquire, and Out Magazines as well as via targeted outdoor. For this second incarnation of The Brotherhood of Shaving Campaign, the campaign goes beyond print with the production of three stylish short films that highlight the most iconic characters; The Gentleman Shaver, The Ambassador of Smooth and The Reformed Troglodyte. This new sharable video content serves to engage The Art of Shaving’s dynamic social media following in partnership with Esquire.com and the brand’s Facebook page.

Damon Jones, spokesperson for The Art of Shaving comments; “The Art of Shaving clients are united by their enthusiastic appreciation for the artistry of a traditional barber shave. We believe that this brotherhood of like-minded men will enjoy identifying with the six characters represented in this highly-engaging advertising campaign. Adding a dynamic digital component allows fans to share videos with their personal networks, enabling The Art of Shaving to build a greater level of engagement with our consumers”.

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Credits
Client: The Art of Shaving
Spot Title(s): The Reformed Troglodyte (featured), Gentleman Shaver, The Ambassador of Smooth
Air Date: November 2011

Agency: BBDO New York
CCO: David Lubars
Senior CD(s): Kara Goodrich, Cesar Finemori
AD: Cesar Finamori
Copy: Kara Goodrich, Dana Stalker
EP(s): Peter Feldman, Diane Hill

Prod Co: The Institute
Director: Ben Briand
DP: Eigil Bryld
EP(s): Scott Gardenhour
Producer: Kati Haberstock

Editorial Co: jumP
Editor: Michael Saia
About jumP
Bicoastal jumP is an award-winning creative editorial boutique focusing on commercials, features, short films, music videos, and emerging media content. The firm works with a wide-range of top-tier brands, directors, and agencies continually delivering powerful and efficient results for each of its clients. The company roster includes Partner/Editors: Luis Moreno and Michael Saia, Editors: Lin Polito, Troy Mercury, Terence Ziegler, Richard Mettler, Jack Douglas, David Trachtenberg, Mark Imgrund, EPs Betsy Beale and Alexandra Leal, and Partner/Managing Director Dee Tagert.

More info: TRUST 646 452 3388 (NY) 310 451 5153 (LA) trustcollective.com