Archive for February 2nd, 2012

OSLO, Norway — Feb. 1, 2012 — Bridge Technologies has launched its new VB252 RF interface, a complete RF monitoring and analysis solution for DVB-T/T2 broadcasters. With its extensive RF capabilities, ETR290 analysis via the VB120 and VB220 probes, and comprehensive support for DVB-T, DVB-T2, and DVB-T2 MI protocols, the VB252 solution is the only product on the market to offer everything the DVB-T broadcaster needs in one compact chassis. more

Two More Drewry Stations Upgrade as Group Standardizes on Utah Scientific more

For Immediate Release

Wohler Appoints Craig Newbury as Senior Sales Executive, EMEA more

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Broadway Systems, the leading provider of advertising management software for cable networks, announced today that Ron Levy recently joined the company as senior vice president. Based out of Broadway’s New York City office, he is responsible for client services and account management.

Levy has more than 30 years of buy-side advertising management systems experience, working closely with major agency holding companies such as Interpublic, Omnicom, and Publicis to deploy and maximize their returns from systems investments. Most recently, he spent four years as senior vice president of MediaBank and 18 years as senior vice president and partner at its predecessor, Datatech Software. He held dual roles managing sales and marketing, where he organized complex systems implementations and other initiatives critical to customer satisfaction. Levy also led product management and development for the national broadcast and broadcast traffic systems.

A charter member of the TECC specifications committee, Levy was the first to implement the TECC standard live. He also developed the first buy-side cable post analysis tool, was the first to integrate minute-by-minute data into the agency workflow, and delivered the industry’s first XML-based eTraffic prototype.

“Ron is a great addition to our company’s leadership team,” said John Sorensen, president of Broadway Systems. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the buying side of the advertising business, which makes him a valuable resource for our customers.”

Levy can be reached at (862) 221-2882 or ron.levy@broadwaysystems.com.

About Broadway Systems

Since 2002, Broadway Systems has collaborated with cable networks to engineer a contemporary and fully integrated programming, sales, traffic, stewardship, and billing software system. Today, this platform is used to manage some of the top brands in industry and more than $3 billion in advertising revenues for top 20 rated cable networks and startups alike. Broadway Systems offers cable networks a strategic alternative to existing vendors, one that is dedicated to their business and keeps pace with the changing needs of this dynamic industry. Find out more at www.broadwaysystems.com.

Director Rick Knief and Hooligan Editor Thomas Ostuni have teamed up to create a graphically compelling live-action music video for “Over the Sun,” Joseph Arthur’s latest single from the critically-acclaimed album, “The Graduation Ceremony” (Lonely Astronaut Records). The ground-breaking music video was shot on a multi-iPhone rig, captured within iPhone and iPad apps, and edited in Final Cut. The video is now available for purchase on iTunes.

Told on a stylized mosaic of nine interchanging and overlapping frames, the video features myriad shots of Arthur painting and playing every instrument heard in the song; the B story interprets the song’s muse who is seen leaving a NY gallery where Arthur performs, into the setting sun.

“It was exciting to work with an artist like Joseph, whom I’ve admired for many years,” remarks Knief. “He is such a unique artist. I really wanted to create a music video for him that would reflect that. And I think using an everyday tool like the iPhone in such an unorthodox way, really enabled us to pull that off.”

Knief says the video’s concept was heavily inspired by Arthur’s acclaimed performance art, which combines looping himself on various instruments with poetry and live painting.

 

“The way Joseph assembles his songs live on stage informed my filmmaking process,” explains Knief. “As a designer myself, I like to break things down to their core elements. Bringing those sensibilities to shooting and directing this video made sense because I could interpret the many layers of his art by essentially turning them into a collage, with each frame effectively serving as an individual film.”

 

“My favorite thing about Rick is he approaches filmmaking in terms of the graphic nature of the imagery,” adds Thomas Ostuni, senior editor, Hooligan. “He has a special knack for keeping things visually pleasing. Our goal was to keep the piece simplistic and graphic. It’s an art director’s dream video — every single second is art directed, it had to be.”

 

Knief’s idea to translate Arthur’s performance art in the form of a music video had long been in the making. The two first met at an Evan Dando concert and discussed the idea; subsequently, Arthur put Knief in touch with his management and the rest was history.

“Tossing the idea around with Arthur’s management, I had simultaneously been in conversations with Apple to develop a project using their tools and create a ‘making-of’ piece to share in-store. The iPhone’s video quality had vastly improved, so I decided to shoot with it.”

 

Knief developed a treatment with a concept to divide the 16:9 aspect ratio into nine separate screens. He then devised a method to achieve the multi-frame effect using six iPhones on a custom-built camera rig he designed and built. Production took place at the Aperture Gallery and on NYC’s High Line. Knief’s 6-man crew completed the shoot in just one day.

 

Knief downloaded numerous apps from iTunes to enhance production and postproduction, from concept aesthetic to workflow. The B story, for example, called for images of the sun flaring around the video’s love interest. Given that the iPhone camera is automatic, he achieved crucial lighting aesthetics with FilmicPro, an exposure locking app. Finally, to address the crucial phase of syncing footage from essentially nine iPhones, they used an iPad app called MovieSlate.

Ostuni says the consumer tools used to produce the video offered a unique editorial process, which called for creating nine unique sequences (utilizing every take) to assemble the master composite within the 16:9 aspect ratio.

“Dealing with multiple edits kept us on our toes as far as managing frames and organizing bins and dailies,” concludes Ostuni. “But working in uncharted territory allotted us freedom to experiment and write the rules as we went — convention went out the window and the possibilities were endless; but what ultimately made it interesting for me as an editor was I didn’t have to cut away from the performance to show the B story. With this vehicle, I could tell two stories at once.”

 

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Together with Timberland’s in-house global creative services group, Apologue Experience Design Firm has developed an intelligent interactive experience within the retail fixtures that intrigues and engages the customer throughout the store, inspiring them to discover their great outdoors with Timberland gear, technologies and brand storytelling.

An interactive test module has been designed as part of Timberland’s new store concept launched in the Fall of 2011 in Stratford, UK. Located in juxtaposition to merchandise and environmental graphics, the digital experience creates an interaction between product and digital innovation, transforming the typical retail touch point into a more meaningful communication tool that delivers relevant information and emotional branding to Timberland’s global consumer.

Apologue, in collaboration with Automata Studios, Iron Claw and Audio, Video & Controls, designed a custom, open-source cloud-based HTML5 system that is able to dynamically retrieve remote data and create real- time, uniquely generated storytelling at every interface touch point, in every store, at any location around the world. The systems allows Timberland to add and tag assets for immediate integration into the storytelling all around the world in real-time, while being managed and monitored from a central location.

The interactive touch points transcend traditional retail models by transforming the shopping experience into a dialog between the brand and the customer. The system is uniquely designed to adapt, capture and learn from each store globally, providing unique, location-specific content to individual stores and inviting customers to provide meaningful feedback about Timberland products and initiatives that can then be converted into meaningful data for the brand.

This unique interactive system is being tested in key store locations in Singapore, the UK and the US.

Apologue, Inc. worked closely in developing this global test with the Timberland Global Creative Services teams led by Bevan Bloemendaal, Sr. Director – Global Creative Services and Susan Fraser, Director – Interactive Group, Global Creative Services.

Concept, Strategy, Creative Direction and Production: Apologue, Inc.
Executive Creative Director: Tali Krakowsky
Producer: Marissa Levin
Creative Director: Beth Elliott
Art Direction and Interface Design: Iron Claw
Software Development: Automata Studios
System Design & Technology Integration: Audio, Video & Controls, Inc.
PR: Priya PR

About Apologue
Tali Krakowsky is the founder of Apologue, Inc., dedicated to the creation of immersive environments that seamlessly integrate new media, storytelling and physical space. Committed to a highly multi-disciplinary and collaborative methodology, Tali has imagined and created interactive spaces for clients such as CHANEL, Victoria’s Secret, BMW, the Museum of Modern Art, IBM, Frank Gehry and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Born in Israel and raised in Hong Kong, Tali has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design from the Parsons School of Design and a Master of Arts from UCLA’s School of Architecture, where her thesis was on interactive architecture. She is a frequent speaker and writer on the topics of design, technology, and architecture, and is also a curator and moderator of global, cross-disciplinary events that focus on facilitating conversations amongst professionals around the science and fiction of immersive design.

www.apologuestudio.com

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Tool has bolstered its interactive director roster with renowned web developer Jason Nickel.
One of the world’s pre-eminent developers for Facebook Connect and interactive video experiences, Nickel is fresh off developing the haunting and hugely popular “Take This Lollipop” Facebook app with Tool director Jason Zada. In its first thirty days, “Take This Lollipop” registered over 60 million views and 10 million Facebook ‘Likes’; it was recognized as the fastest-growing Facebook application of all time. View the case study here.

Jason has been the lead developer on ambitious projects such as the MTV VMA nominated interactive music video for Cold War Kids and the full-screen HD interactive video experiences featuring Alton Brown (Salt 101) and J.K. Simmons (UniversityofFarmers.com). His other work includes innovative projects for Nike, McDonald’s and AT&T.

Jason’s work has been recognized by the FWA, Cannes, The Webby’s, AICP and MTV. His portfolio of work can be viewed here.

“With Jason’s proven track record in creating innovative interactive video projects and his extensive knowledge of leveraging Facebook Connect, it’s a great time for him to help advertisers produce meaningful interactive experiences,” noted Tool EP Digital Dustin Callif. “We’re excited to see what the future holds.”

Visit Tool

About Tool
Bicoastal Tool is an award-winning production company, representing top live-action directors and interactive directors for advertising projects. From funny… visually engaging… and/or interactive, Tool’s diverse roster of unique talent creates unforgettable commercial and digital content across all platforms.

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

Morgan Hill, Calif., February 2, 2012 – From multi-site ministries to small- and medium-sized churches, houses of worship and religious groups across the U.S. are increasing the use of video, radio and television messages to reach their followers and spread the word. These organizations are adding information to their databases, such as images and video and audio files, at increasing and unprecedented rates. The result is much more data, many more different file types and many much larger files that need to be archived.

Faced with this challenge, many of these organizations are embracing Cache-A’s archive appliances to preserve, distribute, repurpose and protect the audio and video-related data they generate each day. Cache-A’s complete product line – including the award-winning Pro-Cache5, Prime-Cache5 and the new Power-Cache — is designed to meet the needs of digital media professionals for safe, reliable and cost-effective content archiving, access and interchange.

“We are delighted that so many houses of worship and religious groups are choosing our line of archive appliances to preserve their video content,” said Phil Ritti, President and CEO of Cache-A Corporation. “We have specifically designed our complete product line to be cost-effective, while offering our customers the benefits of safe, long-term archival storage and fast, easy access to their content whenever they need it.”

Here is a list of some of the houses of worship and religious organizations that are using Cache-A’s archive appliances:
* Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Virginia Beach, VA
* Church Communities International, Rifton, NY
* City On a Hill Productions, Louisville, KY
* Community Christian Church, Naperville, IL
* Cottonwood Christian Center, Los Alamitos, CA
* Desiring God, Minneapolis, MN
* Fraternite Notre Dame, Chicago, IL
* International Mission Board, Richmond, VA
* Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, Los Angeles, CA
* Self-Realization Fellowship (Yogananda-SRF), Los Angeles, CA
* Vision.org, Pasadena, CA
* Word of Life Christian Center, Lone Tree, CO
* Wycliffe Bible Translators, Orlando, FL

The Cache-A Product Family
Simple to deploy, Cache-A’s archive appliances offer the most integrated networked archiving solution to help increase productivity. Tape interchange, for example, is easy because every tape has its own table of contents, and the built-in searchable database of every tape makes it easy to keep track of – and access — every asset.

The most efficient and easily deployed way to manage multiple terabytes of archived data, Cache-A’s Pro-Cache5 offers many of the advanced features demanded for content archiving, interchange and access. Pro-Cache5 takes advantage of the latest generation of LTO-5 data tape technology to offer 1.5 terabytes (TB) of storage per LTO-5 cartridge, while also providing significantly faster archiving speeds. It writes data on low-cost, secure, portable, interchangeable and IT industry-standard LTO-5 tape cartridges with a 30-year archival life.

Introduced at IBC 2011, the new high-performance Power-Cache Archive Server combines Cache-A’s noted appliance functionality with more disk speed and better throughput. Power-Cache combines a high-performance blend of LTO-5 tape drives, 8 TB of RAID and 10Gb Ethernet technologies to provide digital media professionals with faster archive and retrieval transfers as well as greater flexibility for staging content, making duplicate tape copies and working with Cache-A Library and Expansion units.

The cost-effective Prime-Cache5 is a new version of the well-established LTO-4 based Prime-Cache and has been upgraded with an LTO-5 tape drive and a 2TB hard disc drive in an improved chassis. It now features 10 times faster direct-attached transfers with USB 3.0. Optimized for desktop applications, Prime-Cache5 is compact and quiet in the Prime-Cache tradition.

Cache-A’s new software adds the emerging LTFS (Linear Tape File System) capability as an option to the industry standard tar format for its family of LTO-5 based archive appliances. Based on open source software, LTFS enables users to interchange content across different operating systems, software applications and physical locations.

About Cache-A Corporation
The winner of Creative COW’s Blue Ribbon Award for NAB 2011 for “Best Archiving System,” Cache-A is a leading supplier of network-attached archive appliances for the media and entertainment industry. Cache-A’s archive appliances can easily archive source masters for production or entire projects for post-production using the secure, portable, interchangeable, industry standard LTFS or tar format on LTO-5 media.
www.Cache-A.com

Contact:
Randy Savicky
Strategy+Communications
W: (203) 226-6156
randy@strategypluscommunications.com

WAYNE, NJ – JVC Professional Products Company, a division of JVC Americas Corp., today announced that the Church of Champions in Houston recently purchased four GY-HM790U ProHD camcorders, along with a KM-H3000U production switcher and DT-V24G11Z 24-inch studio monitor.The new equipment is being used to webcast weekly sermons and other projects.

With its growing footprint – it has locations in Texas, Georgia, New Jersey, Colorado, and Hawaii – the 23-year-old Church of Champions felt it was time to replace its outdated SD system. “We needed a more sophisticated way to reach our members, so we decided it was time to make the logical switch from SD to HD,” said David Grigsby, creative pastor at the Church of Champions.

The church produces live coverage of sermons on Sundays for its Web site, www.champ.tv. Three of the four GY-HM790U cameras, positioned on the left, right, and rear of the church, have full studio configurations. The fourth camera is a handheld unit used on and around the platform and altar. All four ProHD cameras are equipped with KA-M790G multicore studio modules.

Grigsby is pleased with the image quality of the HD cameras and the performance of the switcher. He said the new JVC system has greatly improved the video production of Sunday services, and he plans to produce more sophisticated projects. In fact, the church first used its new JVC system on Sept. 30 for its “Thinking Out Loud” webcast.

“It was an online roundtable discussion with pastors and ministry leaders from six other ministries, where we discussed various topics that dealt with church and ministry leadership,” Grigsby explained. “We had roughly 600 viewers, most of whom were church leaders. The new JVC system worked flawlessly, and we are very pleased with what we felt was a successful first event.”

Grigsby hopes to produce roughly six webcasts a year similar to the “Thinking Out Loud” event. The Church of Champions also plans to provide worship and sermons for other locations throughout the nation and the world, as it expands its multi-site capabilities. Other projects in the pipeline include coverage of the church’s community groups, called Champions Life Groups, which meet every week in different locations around the area to discuss the Bible and Christianity. “We want to enable our members in different cities to join these groups virtually,” Grigsby said. “We’d also like to do some electronic newsgathering.”

An ideal solution for multicore or fiber-based facilities, the GY-HM790U offers an innovative modular design and a redesigned studio adapter sled. Its three, 1/3-inch progressive scan CCDs produce 1280×720 and 1920×1080 images, and its proprietary MPEG-2 encoder supports 1080i, 720p, and even SD (480i) for operations that have not yet made the move to HD. The compact, shoulder-mount camera is also an outstanding choice for ENG applications, with a dual card slot design that records to low-cost, non-proprietary SDHC solid-state media cards in ready-to-edit file formats (.MOV and .MP4) for major NLE systems.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS COMPANY

Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Products Company is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVC Kenwood Corporation. JVC is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video and audio equipment, security products including IP network cameras and recorders, premium front projection systems for home theatre use, and projection displays and optics used in aviation simulators. The JVC Technology Center provides advanced technology in support of major JVC business alliances. For further product information, visit JVC Professional’sWeb site at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800)582-5825.

MAYWOOD, NEW JERSEY, February 2, 2012 – Among the many thrilling sights TV viewers will see during this Sunday’s telecast of Super Bowl XLVI will be replays of ultra-slow-motion football action captured in crystal clarity and fine detail by the new Hi-Motion II ultra-motion camera system. Made by NAC Image Technology, a world leader in the design and manufacture of advanced imaging and motion-analysis systems, these Hi-Motion cameras are unique in using a three-CMOS-sensor camera head with built-in memory to deliver greater than ten-times-speed (“10x”) for dramatic ultra-slow-motion playback of HD sports action. The new Hi-Motion II camera, developed in cooperation with Ikegami, is a dual-format 1080i/720p system that can provide simultaneous output of live normal-speed video and ultra-slow-motion replay video, and can be used as both a “traditional” HD portable/field camera and an ultra-motion HD camera that can work side-by-side with other Ikegami HD cameras on production trucks to deliver the exceptional imagery today’s HDTV sports viewers demand. The Hi-Motion II camera is sold and supported by Ikegami.

“The Hi-Motion II camera systems are performing flawlessly right out of the box, which doesn’t always happen with new products, so we are quite happy right now,” states Dan Grainge, Vice President Fletcher Camera & Lenses. Four of the 12 Hi-Motion II ultra-motion cameras Fletcher recently purchased will get their inaugural use at Super Bowl XLVI. Grainge lists several reasons why his company has invested $3.5 million in the new technology.

“Number one is the superior image that we saw in the Hi-Motion II cameras during side-by-side testing with other high-speed cameras,” Grainge says. “You can get great images out of both single-chip and three-chip cameras, but I can tell you that the three CMOS sensors in the Hi-Motion II cameras provided a clarity improvement and a detail enhancement that is better than their competitors’ cameras.”

“Number two is the complete integration that Ikegami has provided for this important niche product, in terms of all the support equipment required to make the Hi-Motion II camera system work with mobile production vehicles,” Grainge adds. “On the video side in the truck, the CCU and OCP are professional Ikegami equipment, which are very well understood by truck engineers. When they see the Ikegami name they already know how to use it. Also very important is that the Hi-Motion II camera is designed to work with the Ikegami fiber interface, allowing the Hi-Motion II to work at long distance (more than 6,000 ft.) using SMPTE fiber as well as single-mode fiber with local power from, for example, a Telecast Fiber HDX box.”

“Number three is Ikegami’s attention to detail in terms of functionality for camera operators,” Grainge continues, “where the knobs and the intercom are placed and how they interface. The Ikegami 9-inch color LCD viewfinder has been said by camera operators to be the best build-up viewfinder they have ever seen. It’s definitely the one you want to use when you have an 86×1 long HD lens on your Hi-Motion II camera and you have to focus in a low-light situation.”

“Number four is how precisely the Hi-Motion II camera matches and cuts-in with other HD cameras. Because this three-CMOS camera can originate in 1080p, its picture quality and color reproduction make it easier and quicker to paint than a single-chip camera. With the Hi-Motion II there’s no longer a difference between the look of the high-speed cameras and the look of the truck cameras.”

“There’s a real comfort factor for our customers when they see the Ikegami name on the side of the Hi-Motion II camera, because they definitely respect the finishing work and the quality that Ikegami provides,” Grainge concludes. “We look forward to seeing the Hi-Motion II ultra-motion camera system being used for Super Bowl XLVI. We also look forward to how it will benefit such major sports coverage as basketball, hockey, baseball, football, and soccer. I know it’s going to be a big hit.”

Ikegami Electronics (U.S.A.), Inc. is a leading supplier of professional broadcasting products in the Western Hemisphere. With U.S. offices in New Jersey, California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, the Ikegami name is recognized worldwide for its state-of-the-art television cameras and closed-circuit TV equipment. Ikegami’s universal High Definition TV cameras have been widely accepted by the broadcast industry as it continues the transition to the High Definition Television Format.

Ikegami—“Tapeless Wireless Seamless”

For more information and the location of the Regional Office nearest you, call Ikegami’s Maywood NJ headquarters at 201-368-9171 or visit www.Ikegami.com.

About NAC Technology
Since 1958, NAC Image Technology’s continuous record of technical and digital innovation and a comprehensive, integrated line-up of products have set industry standards for performance and reliability, satisfying specific high speed imaging requirements. NAC is also the only manufacturer of high speed camera systems that has dedicated itself to producing complete, integrated systems with the most light sensitivity, the best image quality, the largest memory capacities, the smallest camera heads, the fastest download times and the most inclusive software packages in the industry. Learn more at their website at www.nacinc.com. For more information on the Hi-Motion II camera, go to: www.hi-motion.net .

Product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.