Archive for May, 2012

Demonstrating Immediate Solutions for Exhibitors and Giant Screen Theaters


CineEurope 2012, Booth #301


Burbank, CA: May 25, 2012… Qube Cinema will demo the high-frame-rate (HFR) and high-bit-rate (HBR) capabilities of the Qube XP-I server and Qube Xi Integrated Media Block (IMB) to the European audience at CineEurope, June 18-21 in Barcelona.


A single Qube XP-I server running a single DCP can now drive a combined 240 fps stereoscopic projection, sending 120 fps per eye to each of two Qube Xi IMBs in two projectors. With throughput to play back at 1,000 Mbps, a single Qube XP-I server is capable of multi-IMB sync, delivering 4K content to two Qube Xi IMBs in two projectors, with both images in perfect frame synchronization.


“These HFR and HBR advances, along with the ability of a single Qube XP-I server to synchronize two projectors, means that 4K 3D projection on giant screens is a reality today,” said Nigel Dennis, director of marketing and sales for Qube in Europe. “The Qube XP-I server and Xi IMBs were used to complete the first giant screen installation of a 4K 3D system just three months ago to widespread acclaim. Now any giant screen theater can show 4K 3D with this impressive image quality.”


Qube will also be showing its line of mastering and distribution products at CineEurope, including QubeMaster Pro, QubeMaster Xpress 2, QubeMaster Xport and Qube KeySmith.


Visitors to CineEurope can visit Qube at booth #301 at CineEurope. For more information about Qube or to schedule a demo at CineEurope, contact Nigel Dennis at nigel@qubecinema.com or +44 208 1445661.

About Qube Cinema, Inc.
Qube Cinema is an international manufacturer of Digital Cinema technology and mastering solutions. A subsidiary of India-based Real Image Media Technologies, Qube Cinema draws on decades of experience in media, cinema and entertainment. The company is committed to creating a seamless Digital Cinema environment for exhibitors, filmmakers and postproduction companies with technologies that are innovative, flexible and cost-effective. Qube Cinema’s product lines include the Qube XP series of digital cinema servers, Qube Xi 4K Integrated Media Block, QubeMaster software solutions, and Qube KeySmith KDM generation system. Qube Cinema, Inc. is based in Burbank, California. For more information, visit www.qubecinema.com.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 29, 2012… “Standing Still” is the German contribution for the Eurovision Song Contest finals on May 26, 2012, performed by Roman Lob. Standing still is a thing completely alien to the Belgium TV Broadcast and OB van provider Alfacam: For ten days, five OB trucks with up-to-date technology were on their way to Baku for broadcasting this event in optimum quality. After this job, they will go straight to Kiev for the European Football Championship 2012 and then travel on to broadcast from the Olympic Games in London. Regarding sound, Alfacam relies on Lawo technology – like the routing system Nova73 HD and the mc²66 consoles.

From Belgium, the trucks took the road to Romania, passing the Black Sea to transit Georgia and finally arrive in Aserbaidschan’s capital Baku, this year’s venue for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). For the world’s biggest music show, with viewing rates surpassed only by major international sporting events, Alfacam uses five mobile trucks: four OB vans are dedicated to handle the sound mix and the show mix while another one will be used as the Master Control Room (MCR). In the workflow on site, one sound OB van will produce the music mix (live music and playback), the other sound truck will work as backup. more

Live Design magazine has named the Clay Paky Shotlight Wash one of its 2011-2012 Products of the Year. The award winners are chosen annually by a panel of prestigious designers and programmers in the lighting, sound and projection fields. Clay Paky’s Shotlight Wash was cited in the Luminaire category.

“We are very proud that our Shotlight Wash has been honored with this important award,” says Pio Nahum, Chief Commercial Officer at Clay Paky. “We are especially pleased that Live Design has recognized our products two years in a row: Sharpy won the 2010-2011 Product of the Year award in the same category.”

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, Spain, Japan and Korea, notes that this latest award signals the impact the company’s lighting fixtures are making in the U.S. “It’s very rewarding to be honored for the Shotlight Wash, which is capturing the attention of lighting designers in the U.S.,” he says. “Just like Sharpy before it, Shotlight Wash is making a name for itself in this key market.”

Clay Paky’s Shotlight Wash is a totally new kind of projector that combines a 1500W discharge lamp washlight and a 3000W Xenon lamp strobe in one fixture. The wash/strobe functions are perfectly integrated and can be operator controlled with either simultaneous or separate operation and special effects.

The washlight’s optical unit offers extremely high luminous efficiency; electronic zoom; CMY color system, two color wheels and a linear Golden CTO; ovalizing, diamond effect and frost filters; and three-phase pan/tilt motor for silent operation.

The strobe section is provided by two semi-circular Xenon lamps, which can flash together or separately at different frequencies. Strobe and strobe/wash effects can be pre-set.

“The Shotlight Wash is unique, and American lighting designers are beginning to discover all that it can do,” says Bob Gordon, President and CEO of A.C.T Lighting, the number one Clay Paky distributor in the world and the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky lighting in North America. “Clay Paky is known for introducing innovative fixtures, and Shotlight Wash richly deserves Product of the Year honors.”

Steve Lieberman is an American lighting designer who has already added Shotlight Wash to his repertoire. “A strobe on the front of a moving light: Genius!” he declares. “This light is a perfect fit for my shows. It offers high visual impact with a knockout punch that will have you seeing stars. I’m using 26 of them on my next show.”

Live Design’s Product of the Year Awards will be announced in the May issue and presented during the Broadway Lighting Master Classes on May 22 at a reception at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City.

TSL Professional Products Ltd., a leading manufacturer of audio monitoring, tally and power management solutions for the broadcast industry, will be showing its most recent products at KOBA 2012 (See TSL at the SOVICO Stand: A421), including a brand new multichannel audio monitoring platform, a new Virtual Panel for its TallyMan system and the Touchmix Pilot, which provides a more flexible control for creative operators who need instant access to audio sources. more

PIX 260 and PIX 240v2 Offer Powerful Recording and Monitoring Capabilities

LOS ANGELES, MAY 29, 2012 — Sound Devices, experts in portable audio and video products for field production, showcases its next-generation PIX 260 and PIX 240 Version 2 portable production audio/video recorders at Cine Gear Expo 2012 (Stand 94).

“Our new PIX line of production video recorders has received overwhelming support and interest from the industry as a whole,” says Jon Tatooles, managing director at Sound Devices. “We are excited to bring the new rack-mounted PIX 260 along with Version 2 of the PIX 240 to this year’s Cine Gear Expo.”

Sound Devices’ new PIX 260 production recorder is based on the company’s field-proven PIX 220 and PIX 240 recorders. PIX 260’s convenient 1/2-rack, 2-U chassis dimension allows it to be easily integrated into any existing environment. The PIX 260 is a file-based video/audio recorder/player that seamlessly replaces tape-based video decks in production and post-production environments. Using the Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD codecs, the PIX 260 records and plays files at up to 220 Mbps in high-quality, 10-bit 4:2:2 video, along with up to 32 tracks of 24-bit, 48 kHz audio. Files from the PIX 260 are ready for direct import into Avid and Final Cut editing environments, eliminating time-consuming transferring and transcoding. Files can also play out of the PIX 260 for real-time applications.

Continuing the company’s deep heritage in production sound, Sound Devices has infused the PIX 260 with 32-track record/playback capability. In addition to 16 channels of embedded SDI audio and eight channels of HDMI audio, the PIX 260 also accepts eight channels of line-level analog I/O and eight channels of AES digital audio. Using Dante, the PIX 260 can accept and transmit up to 32 channels of audio over Ethernet.

The PIX 260 has a built-in five-inch 800- x 480-pixel video display that allows users to view video and setup-menu selections. With its extensive control capabilities, the PIX 260 is usable as a video playback source compatible with Final Cut Pro 7, Final Cut Pro X and Avid sessions. The PIX 260 can be controlled by both external RS-422 and through its embedded Web server over Ethernet.

Up to four SATA drives can be connected to the PIX 260 simultaneously. All four drives can be recorded to simultaneously for RAID-1 type redundancy and to eliminate the need for post-record copying when multiple copies are required.

Sound Devices’ PIX 240 Version 2 is the perfect companion to a wide range of professional cameras used for feature films, such as ARRI and RED as well as small-format HD cameras from Sony and Canon. PIX 240 connects to cameras with HDMI or SDI and records directly to QuickTime using Apple’s ProRes or Avid’s DNxHD codec. Since PIX recorders use Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD, files recorded in the field can be used directly in post production, making the workflow simple and fast.

The PIX 240 Version 2 now enables users to monitor images in varying exposures through Exposure Assist, a feature that allows for false-color and zebra-stripes viewing. It is also equipped with Focus Assist, which includes a peaking filter and 1:1 pixel zoom. Monitor brightness, contrast and chroma adjustments are also now available. Version 2 of PIX 240 also includes standard definition recording (NTSC and PAL) and support for using simultaneous analog and SDI/HDMI audio inputs. These new features are available as a free firmware update to all PIX 240 users and can be downloaded by visiting http://www.sounddevices.com/download/pix-firmware.htm.

Both the PIX 260 and PIX 240 include a sophisticated scaler and frame-rate converter. Regardless of the incoming signal, the PIX recorders can record the signal after up, down or cross-conversion at the same or a different rate. Hardware-based 3:2 pull-down removal is included as well. Both models include a built-in Ambient Clockit time-code generator/reader with genlock output for multi-camera and double-system sound applications. In addition to generating an ultra-stable time code, the time code can be read from the SDI stream, the HDMI stream or from an external source.

Sound Devices, LLC designs and manufactures portable audio mixers, digital audio recorders, and digital video recorders and related equipment for feature film, episodic television, documentary, news-gathering, and acoustical test and measurement applications. The thirteen-year old company designs and manufactures from their Reedsburg, Wisconsin headquarters with additional offices in Madison, WI and Highland Park, IL. For more information, visit the Sound Devices website, www.sounddevices.com.

Los Angeles, CA — International visual effects company Pixomondo today announced the opening of a new studio in Detroit, Michigan, bringing their global network total to thirteen facilities spanning three continents. The new studio, formed through the acquisition of boutique VFX company, With A Twist, now dubbed Pixomondo DTW, will focus on feature film, television and commercial work, handling both local and international projects.

“Talent is a key factor when we consider new facility locations,” said Thilo Kuther, Founder, Pixomondo. “We have collaborated closely with With A Twist for many years on a number of high profile projects so are very familiar with their impressive work. We now can officially welcome them to the Pixomondo family and look forward to having a solid presence in Detroit.”

With A Twist has a long-standing relationship with Pixomondo, as a sub-vendor on several feature film projects including The Amazing Spider-Man, Fast Five, Sucker Punch and Hugo, for which Pixomondo supervisors won the Academy Award® for Best Visual Effects. The updated Detroit facility is expected to be operational later this month, and will be fully integrated into Pixomondo’s global workflow.

“We were fortunate to have been so successful thus far and had reached the point where we needed to grow to remain competitive,” said David Burton, Co-Founder, With A Twist. “Pixomondo has already accomplished much of what we aspired to do, and done it well, so it was a natural progression to join into their team. Our cultures mesh well and the timing was right.”

“The VFX industry is such a worldwide marketplace, it is a tremendous asset to have access to global resources,” added Pam Hammarlund, Co-Founder, With A Twist. “Pixomondo has an excellent business model and I love how, even though the company is large, everyone takes ownership of their jobs, they are unsatisfied with mediocrity, and they really support one another so things never feel too overwhelming.”

With extensive experience in the automotive industry creating visual effects for such companies as Audi, VW and MINI, Pixomondo is aptly suited for work in the Motor City. The Detroit location will enable the company to service clients locally while simultaneously working on other diverse projects for its other twelve studios around the globe.

ABOUT PIXOMONDO
Pixomondo is an international visual effects company boasting 24-hour production capabilities, sharing projects across a global network of 13 facilities in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Beijing, London, Munich, Burbank, Toronto, Hamburg, Baton Rouge and Detroit. Founded by CEO Thilo Kuther in 2001, Pixomondo has created visual effects for more than 30 feature films including Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Red Tails, Sucker Punch, Super 8, Fast Five, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, 2012 and HUGO. The company is currently in production on VFX for Snow White and the Huntsman and The Amazing Spider-Man, and on TV series including Game of Thrones, Hawaii 5-O and Grimm. In addition to visual effects, Pixomondo delivers the full range of creative, production and post services required to produce design-driven storytelling for commercials.

http://www.pixomondo.com

School Partners with Autodesk, Inc. to Host All-Day Animation Workshop with
Animators from Pixar Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, and Tippett Studio

Emeryville, Calif., May 29, 2012 – Animation Mentor, the state-of-the-art online animation school founded by animators for animators, announced today that it has partnered with Autodesk, Inc. to host an all-day animation workshop — highlighted by advanced breakdowns of animated feature film shots — with:

Pixar Animation Studios: Victor Navone, Animator
DreamWorks Animation: Peer Lemmers, Animator | Robyne Powell, Animator | Sean Sexton, Animator
Tippett Studio: Will Groebe, Animation Supervisor | Chris Mullins, Animator
Autodesk, Inc.: Marcel de Jong, Concept Designer/Sr. Solution Engineer

These esteemed industry professionals will be featured in the live event — Breaking Down the Animated Shot: Live & Uncut — at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, Calif. on Saturday, June 30, 2012,
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Workshop Summary — Animated Feature Film Shot Breakdowns
The professional animators will provide advanced breakdowns of their animated feature film shots — vital insights that are invaluable to beginning and skilled animators. These presentations will combine in-depth demonstrations with detailed descriptions of the challenges, solutions, and overall results. Specific topics include planning, staging, blocking, and reference. The professional animators will also present behind-the-scenes studio feedback and director notes from current and past animated features, including Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Puss in Boots, How to Train Your Dragon, Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon, Toy Story 3, and Monsters vs. Aliens.

“From day one, we asked ourselves: ‘If we were to start over again, how would we want to learn?’” says Bobby Beck, Animation Mentor’s CEO and cofounder. “We wanted to learn from the same people who are creating the animation we love! So it’s amazing for us to gather our peers and to have them share their knowledge and passion for animation! We can’t wait to break it down!”

Workshop Details
For complete information on Breaking Down the Animated Shot: Live & Uncut, including speaker bios and a working Maya® demonstration from Marcel de Jong of Autodesk, please visit www.animationmentor.com/seminar.

About Autodesk, Inc.
Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software — with the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects using Autodesk software to design, visualize, and simulate their ideas. Learn more at usa.autodesk.com.

About Animation Mentor
Animation Mentor is a state-of-the-art online animation school focused on teaching the art and craft of animation. Students learn face-to-face from the same professionals who are animating their favorite characters on the big screen … not to mention on TV and in the video games they love. Mentors conduct classes online and use the school’s proprietary eCritique® tool to hold one-on-one sessions with students where they can draw directly on the work and offer support, guidance, and feedback. From these comments, students refine their shots for the next review — just like the professionals do in the studios. This real-world approach teaches students to focus on each of the important aspects of animation within the framework of a production environment. By learning to receive and integrate feedback, Animation Mentor students graduate ready to contribute on their first day on the job as real professional animators. For more information, visit www.animationmentor.com

Blackmagic Design today announced that KiBAN International, a global e learning company, used Blackmagic Design’s ATEM Television Studio, HyperDeck Studio Pro and SmartView Duo to form the video backbone of one of the world’s smallest HD broadcasting cars, named the Panda Bird. The vehicle carries a full array of switching, monitoring and SSD recording, and was shown to the public for the first time at the recent Educational IT Solution Expo (EDIX) in Tokyo.

KiBAN International provides custom built e learning technology to connect organizations around the world. As part of KiBAN International’s work to connect different communities, the company uses video and Internet streaming from often hard to reach locations. KiBAN saw the need for a mobile car based broadcasting system built around a trike design that could go anywhere, especially to places inaccessible to larger OB vans.

The Panda Bird, built around a HONDA Gyro Canopy trike, provides HD production and Internet streaming through Blackmagic Design’s ATEM Television Studio Production Switcher, HyperDeck Studio SSD recorder and broadcast deck and SmartView Duo dual monitor. Through the ATEM Television Studio’s built in H.264 encoder and broadcast quality switching capabilities, the trike can offer multi camera production and broadcast encoding for Internet streaming in a single rack unit. Cameras are connected wirelessly to the ATEM Television Studio, with H.264 files encoded using ATEM Television streamed live using Ustream.

KiBAN added HyperDeck Studio to the trike for a rack mount SSD based deck with dual slots for infinite recording of uncompressed, DNxHD or ProRes. With the SmartView Duo, the trike can include two large independent eight inch LCD screens in a compact rack mount design, and view SD, HD and 3Gb/s SDI video standards, allowing trike operators to be able to use any signals available to them in the field.

The system is removable from the trike for inside use, and works with a 12V power supply so that it can also run using external batteries.

“With Blackmagic Design’s equipment, we were able to build a 6RU mobile broadcast trike that gave us the highest level of broadcast production and streaming. It also gives us the flexibility to use any of the formats and tools available, a must have when working in the field. We could not have done this without Blackmagic Design,” said Masahiro Nishimura, CEO of KiBAN International.

Press Photography
Blackmagic Design logos and product photos are available at http://www.blackmagic-design.com/press/images/.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagic-design.com.

There’s a grandMA in the house for “WICKED,” the Broadway musical about the untold story of the Witches of Oz. The long-running show at the Gershwin Theatre recently switched to a grandMA2 console for lighting and special effects control. A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of the grandMA in North America.

“It was time to replace our previous system due to its age, and it made sense to update to a grandMA2,” says Brendan Quigley, show electrician. “All of the ‘WICKED shows worldwide are on the grandMA platform, so it was our turn to move up. The grandMA is proving to be both agile and rock solid.”

He notes that reliability is critical for a production that does eight shows a week and more than 400 performances a year, not counting rehearsals. “The previous control platforms were approaching 20 years old, so it was time to ensure that we had a stable system moving forward. We need a desk we can call on day after day to deliver the show our audience expects and wants to see.”

In an understatement, Quigley notes that the grandMA controls “a lot of gear” for the show. The lighting inventory boasts approximately 650 conventional fixtures; 78 VARI*LITEs, including 3000 Spots, 2000 Spots and 2000 Washes; and more than 250 scrollers of varying sizes. The console also controls a pair of Barco R6+ projectors using Catalyst software and Catalyst moving mirror heads, three SS6K dry ice machines, two Aquafog 3000 dry ice machines “and a smattering of other ancillary equipment,” says Quigley.

Even with all that gear, “we really aren’t pushing the limits of the grandMA2,” he reports. “We’ve only replicated the original show that was programmed on other systems. The grandMA2 has far more power than we will ever need or want. We’re very happy with it and know it will be state-of-the-art for the remainder of the run of ‘Wicked.’ It’s a stable desk that will serve our needs for years to come.”

Follows Work of Long-Time FUJINON Shooter Bob Poole at Gorongosa National Park

Wayne, N.J. – FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Optical Devices Division has announced that “War Elephants,” a nature documentary featuring the cinematography and conservation efforts of DP Bob Poole was shot using FUJINON lenses. The documentary first aired on April 22, 2012 at 8pm ET/PT on Nat Geo WILD.

“War Elephants” also won the best documentary prize at the prestigious Sun Valley Film Festival in March. A link to the beginning of the film can be found here: http://www.poolefilms.com/index.html

NGTV’s in-house Director of Photography Eric Cochren for “War Elephants” turned the cameras on Poole, whose award-winning cinematography sheds light on the dangers facing the majestic but threatened animals of the African plains. “War Elephants” prominently features the elephants that roam Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. Starting in 1977, a 16-year-long civil war ravaged the country, leaving more than one million people dead and wiping out nearly 95 percent of the park’s wildlife. Elephants, poached for their ivory, were among the hardest hit — their population was reduced from more than 2,000 to just over 100. Today, peace has been restored to Mozambique, but the surviving elephants still carry the emotional scars of war.

Featured with Poole in “War Elephants” is his sister, Dr. Joyce Poole, a world-renowned zoologist specializing in the health and welfare of elephants, including their unique means of communication. About their plight, Dr. Poole describes, “We’re talking about animals that are intelligent, highly social, and probably capable of revenge. This kind of [war] experience has left a deep scar. We’re not here to make them forget. We’re here to teach them that they are safe. Gorongosa today may be the best place in Africa to be an elephant.”

Bob Poole’s lifework— including his efforts to document the life and death struggles of elephants against natural and manmade threats—is the central theme of “War Elephants.” Cochren employed an extreme telephoto HA25x16.5BERD HD Premier Series zoom lens to document Bob’s work. Throughout the film, Poole is seen shooting with his FUJINON HA25x16.5BERD and HA13x4.5BERDHD super wide-angle zoom lens. Poole also utilized his FUJINON TS-P58A external stabilizer for shots requiring image stabilization on either lens. For both Poole and Cochren, FUJINON lenses have proven to be durable and rugged in inclement weather conditions—such as the powerful winds, extreme heat, and massive sandstorms common to the African plains.

To see footage of Bob Poole on camera in “War Elephants,” please click on the following link:

http://www.poolefilms.com/bob_on_camera.html

Today, the remaining elephants are traumatized by violence, and as a result, quite hostile and aggressive towards humans. Nevertheless, DP Poole repeatedly risks his personal safety to capture breathtaking images of the elephants in their natural habitat.

“Since the elephants are wary of humans and have an uncanny sense of smell and earth vibrations, Joyce and I must observe them from considerable distance,” said Poole. “They can charge at you from a half-kilometer away and attack if they believe they are in danger.

“Filming the elephants at great distances requires highly stable, high-performance optics and camera equipment,” Poole continued. “My FUJINON 13x wide angle zoom establishes scenic and beauty shots, and my 25x telephoto zoom helps locate subjects and then zero in. If I’m properly set-up, balanced, and leveled, I don’t miss any priceless moments of animal behavior anymore.”

In Bob Poole’s two most recent NGTV wildlife documentaries, “Great Migrations” (November 2010) and “Africa’s Lost Eden” (March 2010), he focused on the plight of elephants at Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. Besides producing over 30 nature documentaries for NGTV, Poole is also a member of the board of Gorongosa National Park, which is entrusted with its restoration and preservation.

Bob Poole is also employing his FUJINON lenses in the production of a digital textbook available on the iPad regarding the plight of Gorongosa National Park, and he plans to produce a digital field guide for the park.

About Fujifilm
FUJIFILM North America Corporation, a marketing subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings America Corporation consists of five operating divisions and one subsidiary company. The Imaging Division sells consumer and commercial photographic products and services including film, one-time-use cameras, online photo services and fulfillment, digital printing equipment and service. The Electronic Imaging Division markets consumer digital cameras. The Motion Picture Division provides motion picture film, and the Graphic Systems Division supplies products and services to the printing industry. The Optical Devices Division provides binoculars, and optical lenses for closed circuit television, videography, cinematography, broadcast and industrial markets. FUJIFILM Canada Inc. markets a range of Fujifilm products and services. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmusa.com/northamerica, or go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, digital printing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 16 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2010, and in the year ended March 31, 2011, had global revenues of $25.8 billion*. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.

* At an exchange rate of 86 yen to the dollar.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

FUJIFILM Optical Devices Division, 10 High Point Drive, Wayne, New Jersey 07470. Phone: 973-633-5600. Fax: 973-633-5216. Web site: www.FUJINON.com