Archive for June 8th, 2012

XL Video supplied 200 square metres of LED screen, cameras / PPU, a Catalyst playback system and crew to Fatboy Slim’s phenomenal Fifth Beach Bootique show, which was the first entertainment event to be staged at the new Amex Community Stadium at Falmer, Brighton, UK.

At the Amex Stadium, an epic wide-screen design was created for the stage, comprising seven screens. This was a collaborative concept evolved by Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), his creative director Tim Fleming, production manager Mark Ward and lighting designer Steven Abbiss.

XL Video’s project manager for the two nights over the Jubilee Weekend was Paul McAuley (“Macca”). He and the crew, which included Catalyst programmer and operator Nev Bull, faced numerous challenges; the fact that it was the stadium’s inaugural gig (it’s the new home of Brighton & Hove Albion FC), a tight timescale, and the erratic weather amongst them!
The largest screen was the 20 metre wide by 10 metre high section of Barco Mitrix from XL Video, positioned immediately behind Cook’s DJ mixer, filling the upstage area. This was flanked by three other screens per side at ten, five and five metres wide respectively.

The special playback video content produced by Fleming and Cook for the Beach Bootique 5 performance was stored on laptops and mixed ‘live’ on-the-fly by the two of them as the performance unfolded.

Although specific visuals were prepared for certain pieces of music, the show was completely unscripted with no guarantees that these would be seen, as Cook played out as he always does – feeling and responding to the vibes of the moment.

Fleming, positioned onstage so he and Cook could clearly see and communicate with one other, completely tuned in to this psychic environment and called the show’s visual cues as they came up – producing a highly spontaneous visuality that flowed seamlessly for the two hour set, utilising all the screens in different combinations.

Fleming and Bull were able to schedule time together in advance of the show to work on producing a variety of different screen looks and scenes in the Catalyst that Fleming also had at his disposal.

The playback footage was a lively, provocative mix of graphics, colourful animations, text, and more, all of which got the crowd energised – from doves to vintage audio effects kit, smileys, key words from planet Fatboy Slim and plenty of hi-energy mood animated effects.

The IMAG mix also appeared on combinations of different screens, with inputs from four cameras – two Sony BRC 700 robo-cams and two of XL Video’s Sony HXC 100s, one locked off and one operated.

XL Video supplied a third Sony HXC at front-of-house which was locked off to give Fleming and Bull a FOH overview for their preview monitors.

Fleming cut the raw mix using a Sony Anycast, which took in all the camera feeds and the playback content stored on his and Cook’s laptops. All of these were then fed into the Catalyst v4 system via HD/SDI capture cards and framed / masked treated as required, and output to the screens by Bull using a Road Hog Full Boar console for control.

Also on XL Video’s team were crew chief Icarus Wilson-Wright, Steve Grinceri and Dan Oswald tech’ing the LED screen, and Myway who took care of all the cameras.

Says Macca of the highly-acclaimed event: “Everyone in all departments worked extremely hard – and very much together – to produce a great show. The conditions and the climate were tough but the rain didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the show!”

For more press info on XL Video UK, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679 or +44 (0)7831 329888 or Email ‘louise@loosplat.com’. To contact XL Video UK direct, call +44 (0)1442 849400 or check www.xlvideo.tv

About Gnarlynow Entertainment
Gnarlynow Entertainment was launched in 2010 by Producer-Director Bryan H. Carroll, succeeding his earlier company BC Entertainment. The production company is based Southern California.

Gnarlynow was created to gather emerging and established talent to produce positive, quality entertainment that motivates and informs. Producer – Director Carroll has a career that encompasses a wide array of credits in film, television and commercials, from Editor, to Producer to Director. He has spent his entire career in close collaboration with Hollywood’s leading filmmakers in a spectrum of producing, creative, and technical roles. Among a long list of top talents, Bryan has worked with James Cameron, Joel Silver and Michael Mann, with whom he has shared key producing roles on such movies as “Collateral,” “Miami Vice,” and “Public Enemies” and the television series “RHD Robbery Homicide Division.” His career is also marked with a deep expertise in emerging technology, making him an in-demand expert on the application of digital technologies on the storytelling process. Some of the movies on which he has led technology include “Titanic,” “Collateral,” “Ali,” “Public Enemies”, and have had profound impact on the methodology of filmmaking.

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For information about Gnarlynow Entertainment, contact:
Bryan H. Carroll
bc@gnarlynow.com or call 805.630.2951

Media Contact:
Chris Purse, 818.303.8088
ignite strategic communications
chris@ignite.bz or mimi@ignite.bz

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 8, 2012) – Vaddio, the global leader in robotic PTZ cameras and camera control systems, will debut the new Universal Quick-Connect CCU for the ClearVIEW line of HD PTZ cameras at InfoComm, June 13th – 15th, 2012.

Outputs now include HD-SDI/SDI, HDMI and analog HD component for extreme flexibility in system design and integration. All three outputs are live simultaneously. A new industrial design enables the adjustment of white balance, color, pedestal, gamma, knee, chroma, detail, iris and gain functions with the press of a button. These controls deliver a more accurate representation of the image that is being captured, and the ability to color-match and shade multiple cameras. User-defined adjustments can be stored on three Scene-Store buttons.

Universal Quick-Connect CCU

“The new Universal Quick-Connect CCU represents a new milestone in camera image control technology,” explains Rob Sheeley, President of Vaddio. “The challenge with camera control is that every camera model has its own unique set of image control parameters, buried deep in the camera control code, that need to be controlled and adjusted to optimize the image quality. We designed the CCU with a new user-programmable illuminated LED display that shows all of the individual image control functions in the camera and what they are set at. We are also now outputting all three major HD video standards: HDMI, HD/SDI and analog component from the back of the CCU – allowing the integrator to choose whatever video output standard they’d like.”

The Universal Quick-Connect CCU still delivers high-quality HD video, power and control over three Cat. 5 cables up to 500 feet without the loss of video quality or latency. A new advanced Auto-Skew differential cable conditioning system automates skew adjustment and a new Fine-Tune mode is also available for excessive cable loss. The Universal Quick-Connect CCU system is available with Vaddio ClearVIEW HD cameras including the HD-20, HD-19 and HD-18.

Stop by Booth C8729 at InfoComm to see the new CCUs, as well as Vaddio’s complete line of cameras and camera control systems. For free VIP InfoComm passes or to set up an appointment at InfoComm please contact kperkins@vaddio.com or by calling (763) 971-4409.

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About Vaddio:
Vaddio is the leading manufacturer of specialty PTZ cameras and camera control systems used in the audiovisual, videoconference and broadcast industries. Your customers demand cutting-edge technology that’s simple to use. You want equipment that’s easy to install and reliable to operate. Vaddio serves integrators and operators alike – with broadcast-quality PTZ cameras and control systems that deliver the performance you need with the convenience you demand. More information can be found on the Vaddio website, www.vaddio.com or at (800) 572.2011.

Vancouver, BC — Digital Domain Productions, a subsidiary of Digital Domain Media Group (NYSE: DDMG), has named Jason Dowdeswell head of production for its Vancouver studio. The 20-year industry veteran will oversee operations for all of the company’s Vancouver-based productions, talent and teams, as well as collaborations with Digital Domain’s Venice, Calif., San Francisco, Florida, London and Mumbai Digital Domain visual effects teams.

“Digital Domain is a big player in Vancouver; the company is embarking on huge projects that I’m excited to get involved with,” said Dowdeswell. “It is a very interesting company on a global level as well, with a lot of irons in the fire. The team here is amazing and passionate and I look forward to building the strong creative culture and artist-friendly environment that’s been cultivated, and fostering more efficient collaboration with Digital Domain studios around the world.”

Dowdeswell, a Vancouver native, joins Digital Domain from Vancouver-based Image Engine where he spent two years as head of studio, overseeing visual effects on films including The Thing and Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming Elysium. Prior to that he spent eight years at CIS-Vancouver (now owned by Deluxe) as head of studio and has also worked at Sony Pictures Imageworks and Boss Films, where he got his start in visual effects in 1993. He has been involved in the production of visual effects for features including: Salt, Invictus, Zombieland, Angels & Demons, Twilight, Night at the Museum, The Da Vinci Code, Men in Black II, Star Wars: Episode II, Stuart Little, Godzilla, Starship Troopers, True Lies and many others.

Jody Madden, senior vice president of global studio operations, said, “In just three years our Vancouver studio has grown to become an absolutely integral piece of our global production pipeline. This summer we’ve done amazing work on Jack the Giant Killer, The Watch and G.I. Joe: Retaliation and we have some really big features in the pipeline just behind them. Jason’s experience, good humor and skill in building strong teams bring even more depth to our capabilities in Vancouver. He’s a fantastic addition to Digital Domain’s leadership team.”

About Digital Domain Productions, Inc.
Digital production company Digital Domain, founded in 1993, is a subsidiary of Digital Domain Media Group (NYSE: DDMG). The company has created visuals for more than 90 movies including Titanic, The Transformers series, X-Men: First Class, Real Steel and hundreds of commercials. Its artists have earned multiple Academy Awards®. Digital Domain recently completed visual effects for Rock of Ages and is in production on visual effects for The Watch, Jack the Giant Killer, 47 Ronin and other features, and a full slate of commercials. The company is a co-production partner on the upcoming live-action feature, Ender’s Game, and recently created a virtual likeness of Tupac Shakur for Dr. Dre’s show at Coachella. Digital Domain Productions is headquartered in Venice, CA with studios in Vancouver, BC, Canada; San Francisco, CA, Port St. Lucie, FL, London, UK and Mumbai, India. www.digitaldomain.com

Outstanding Engineering Technologies for Post Production Sought for Revered Honor

(Los Angeles, CA) The Hollywood Post Alliance has announced the 2012 Call for Entries for its coveted Engineering Excellence Award. The Engineering honor showcases inventors, manufacturers, vendors and/or peer post production companies for outstanding product or technology application offerings. Valid offerings may include products or processes, and must represent a step forward for its industry beneficiaries. The HPA Engineering Excellence Award is recognized as one of the most important technology honors in the post production industry.

The Engineering Excellence Award spotlights the companies and individuals who draw upon technical and creative ingenuity and apply it to real world post production demands. The Engineering Excellence Award will be bestowed as part of the Seventh Annual HPA Awards, a gala event set for early November in Los Angeles, CA.

Launched in 2006, the HPA Awards have become the standard by which creative and technical excellence in the art, science and craft of post production is measured. The Engineering honor has been considered a crucial part of the HPA Awards from its inception. The 2011 winners included Sony for the OLED Monitor, Lightcraft for Previzion, Dolby for the Professional Reference Monitor and IBM for Linear Tape File System.

In addition to the Engineering Excellence Award, the HPA Awards honor important post production categories including: Outstanding Color Grading using a DI process for feature film, as well as Outstanding Color Grading for television and commercials; and Outstanding Editing, Sound, and Compositing for feature film, television and commercials. The Call for Entries for The HPA Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation in Post Production, which recognizes companies and individuals who have demonstrated a notable step in post production from a technical, creative or efficiency perspective, have also opened.

Complete rules, guidelines and entry information are available at: www.hpaawards.net. Submissions for the Engineering Excellence Award will be accepted through June 22, 2012. For more information about the HPA Awards, visit www.hpaawards.net or call 213.614.0860.

About the Hollywood Post Alliance(r)
Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content.

About the HPA(r) Awards
The HPA Awards were created to foster awareness of post production, promote creative and technical excellence, recognize the achievements of post production talent, and build involvement in the Hollywood Post Alliance.

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Media Contact:
Ignite strategic communications
p: 818.303.8088
Christine Purse, chris@ignite.bz or
Mimi Rossi, mimi@ignite.bz

The annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, with its 24/7 schedule and desert location, poses a challenge for performers and their lighting and media crews alike. So when the lighting designer, lighting programmer/director and media programmer for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg opted to use Prelite Studios’ previsualization services prior to the show they gained some distinct advantages.

With the sun rising early, boiling temperatures throughout the day, no chance for atmosphere (fog/haze) due to the high winds and dust storms, and opening acts starting at 10 am, it’s tough to lock in a show without previs. Brian Jenkins, teamed with production designer Demfis Fyssicopulos on Dre and Snoop’s set. Add to the mix that they were not the only artists performing and other LDs needed time for their shows as well, and the technology from Prelite became a no-brainer. The team couldn’t imagine the nightmare if they had only programmed some elements in rehearsals and waited to do the other elements on-site at Coachella.

Jenkins, Fyssicopulos and media programmer Matt Shimamoto spent about seven days in rehearsals at Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar where Prelite principal Tom Thompson set up the system. Jenkins, who was new to the Prelite experience, had begun coordinating with Thompson about two weeks earlier on plots, unit numbers, patches, fixture orientations and a few required revisions. The team arrived on site in Santa Monica, plugged into the Vision software and were running.

The biggest advantage for him during rehearsals was having the entire Coachella lighting rig six feet in front of them while I was programming. Budget, space and trim height restricted them to a certain amount of physical gear that could be used in Santa Monica.

Prelite had top-notch machines running Vision, with internal parameters adjusted for the best performance. The show translated perfectly from partial previs at rehearsals to the actual rig at Coachella. Everyone was surprised how well the machines handled the large inventory of moving lights and LED components without bogging-down.

Dre and Snoop’s set was divided into segments: Dre and Snoop together, Dre alone, Snoop alone and each with guest artists.

All of the previs and programming was based on the fact that set up on site would begin after the sun was setting and the miscellaneous field lighting from merchandise booths, palm tree lights and carnival lights was shut off. The team gives kudos to Neil Ryan and the Coachella staff for turning off the lights – it was helpful to have the environment set for the entire performance, and it was extremely crucial to have total darkness for the Tupac segments.

It was a monumental task for the stage crew to perform an extreme makeover from night to night, allowing each headliner to load in their entire show. There were 24 universes of control between moving lights, LED products, miscellaneous site lighting fixtures and video control for the Hippos. It was a big Brown United roof, so there was lots of space to put fixtures and elements of the set.

Instead of programming unnecessary lighting cues that would never translate onto the stage, they created big, bold looks – along with the necessary hits and sweeps, of course – and let video push the envelope. For the majority of the performance, video content was the driving portion of the show because they were outside, in the desert, and atmosphere was hard to control and maintain.

Custom video content, timed to the beat of the songs, was displayed on a main upstage WinVision LED wall, the band riser (which was wrapped in flexible paper LEDs hugging the curve and rigid LED tiles for the straight portions), and IMAG screens located stage left and right.

Sometimes the LEDs were supportive elements for lighting. For some songs they’d tone in color on the riser to match the lighting scheme for a cohesive look. At other times, like the beginning of the set, which featured an iconic downtown LA open, all the LED elements and the IMAG screens played as one for an engulfing experience. The stage was completely overtaken by LA imagery so Dre and Snoop could claim it for their home turf in an artistic way.”

Unlike Jenkins, Shimamoto was a Prelite veteran, having used the previs system on Eminem’s and Jay-Z’s Home & Home Tour, a Little Wayne tour and for the Activision booth at the E3 convention. Prelite helps paint a picture of what everyone has been talking about for months – lighting, color, content, you get to see it all come together. The team was fortunate to have the LED wall at rehearsals so we were able to use Prelite to show Dre and Snoop what things were going to look like when we got to Coachella.

The team spent long hours in rehearsals locking cues into timecode and stepping through the show song by song. A few songs used static imagery on the LED surfaces and Fyssicopulos turned Jenkins loose to cue out a song.

At Coachella, Shimamoto, at front of house, had four Hippo HD media servers, two grandMA full systems for video and another two grandMAs for lighting at his disposal.

Curtis Battles served as production manager for Dre and Snoop’s set. Derek Burt of Upstream Touring supplied the video package and crew in conjunction with VER. Matt Waters was the media tech during rehearsals. Loren Barton was head FOH and Hippo tech for the show.

About Prelite

Prelite was founded in San Francisco February 2000 by Tom Thompson and Norm Schwab as a place for lighting designers and programmers to use technologies to previsualize lighting projects. Its success led to the launch of Prelite NY in June 2001 by Kim Grethen and Rodd McLaughlin. The bicoastal company provides studios where previsualization and creativity take center stage away from the distractions and interruptions of a chaotic work environment and where clients save time and money and minimize stress. Prelite also offers on-site previsualization services for those who prefer the convenience of working at the venue. For more information, visit www.prelite.com or contact Thomas Thompson at 415-883-7727.

Christie, a world leader in control room technology solutions, is offering more choice for mission-critical monitoring of assets, activities and infrastructure with the introduction of the Christie Entero LED 70” video wall display cube and TVC-1700 video wall processor.
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The Christie Entero LED 70” features a new and improved design, based on our proven LED platform, first introduced by Christie, and found today in control room environments worldwide. Owing to the use of solid state illumination, the Entero LED 70” features vivid, wide color gamut performance and there are no lamps to replace, no moving parts, and no consumables.
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The system’s zero maintenance design provides exceptional reliability and a long life. It also features Christie ArrayLOC automatic brightness and color balancing technology that monitors and adjusts color and brightness levels across the video wall in real time. This significantly reduces downtime due to recalibration requirements typically needed with other systems, and makes the system superbly scalable from small to large installations.
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“Christie brings a history of innovation in the most demanding visual display environments, with more than 30 years experience providing state-of-the-art control room solutions for a broad range of industries, both in the public and private sectors, as well as the military and civilian environments, ” noted John Stark, senior director of product management for Christie’s Collaborative Visual Solutions (CVS). “Drawing upon our extensive network of dealers and integrators, combined with our experience working with end users, we bring a deep understanding of all the factors involved in developing effective digital display solutions for mission-critical monitoring applications.”
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“Christie is always our first choice for control room solutions because they are dedicated to helping their customers achieve success,” commented Kevin Marah, systems integrator, National Security Technologies. “They are an ideal partner to bring in early in the process, because they look beyond the hardware to the whole system – and back their products with outstanding service not only over the telephone but in the field as well.”
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Christie TVC-1700 Video Wall Processor Offers Ultimate Integration Tool
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The latest generation of Christie video wall processors, the Christie TVC-1700, is designed to meet increasingly complex and diverse control room environments, which depend on a wide variety of digital sources and devices. Based on Windows 7 and running on a 64 bit OS architecture, it also supports single and dual link DVI inputs as well as standard video inputs. Its PCIe bus architecture is perfectly suited for capturing and displaying high resolution, high frame rate content, while providing ample processing power to support multiple inputs and outputs simultaneously. It easily powers large arrays, with exceptional visual performance regardless of application.
“The Christie TVC-1700 video wall controller is the latest addition to the Christie family of high performance control room products, and like all Christie solutions, it offers reliable performance, compatibility, and versatility in a cost-effective package,” noted Stark.
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“Our clients look to us for innovative technology solutions at competitive pricing. We look to Christie first because they provide us with the best of all worlds: a reliable and cost-effective solution founded on industry-leading innovation and backed by more than a quarter century of experience in the industry,” said Drake Wayson, president, General Projection Systems, Inc.
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Stark observed that Christie control room products are found everywhere. “Every customer has a critical need, regardless of the setting,” he said. “Our products are purpose built, customized to the customers’ needs and seamlessly integrated into the most demanding display wall environments.”
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The Christie Entero LED 70” HD rear projection system and TVC-1700 video wall processor will both be available in June.
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Visit Christie at InfoComm Booth # N405 June 13-15, who, in addition, to many business products, will showcase control room solution displays as follows: TVC-1700 controllers driving 70” HD Entero cubes and 50” SXGA+ Entero cubes, and the Christie Vista Spyder video processing powering the new 80” SXGA+ cubes, with high brightness engine prototypes, and 55” LCD flat panels.
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About Christie
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of USHIO, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925), is a leader in visual solutions for world-class organizations, offering diverse applications for business, entertainment, industry. A leading innovator in film projection since 1929 and a pioneer in digital projection systems since 1979, Christie has an established reputation as a total service provider and the world’s single source manufacturer of a variety of display technologies and solutions. With the acquisition of Vista Controls Systems, Corp., Christie offers the most complete and advanced solutions for cinema, live venues, control rooms, business presentations, training facilities, 3D and Virtual Reality, simulation and education as well as industrial and government environments. For more information, visit www.christiedigital.com

Blackmagic Design has announced the ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher, along with the Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio, will be used to visualize the BBC Radio One Official Chart Show online.

The Official Chart Show counts down the 40 best selling singles in the UK and is broadcast every Sunday. Show producers are using the ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher to allow listeners to watch the final hour of the show online, with fans able to access a studio feed along with videos of the top ten best selling UK artists and exclusive artist interviews featuring in the chart.

The studio set up consists of six robotic cameras, plus two DVD players used to play chart music videos, all feeding in via SDI to the ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher. Videos and interviews are mixed with live graphics and output into Adobe media encoder while the show’s Recording of Transmission (ROT) is captured using Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Studio.

The Blackmagic Design ATEM 2 M/E Production Switcher was installed at BBC Radio One by broadcast solutions specialists, CVP.

“Producers approached us with an urgent need for a 16 channel production switcher capable of handling multiple cameras feeds from several different studios,” said Jon Fry of CVP. “The customer was looking to add online video to the radio shows format and so a reliable broadcast quality mixer was needed.”

Fry continued: “What ever solution we put forward needed to be stable, and had to include flexible multi screen functionality as well as integrated broadcast quality stings and graphics. Blackmagic’s ATEM 2 M/E was the perfect answer to the problem addressing all aspects of the broadcasters brief.”

About ATEM Production Switchers
Empower live creativity with the new ATEM Production Switchers! For the first time extremely powerful broadcast grade features, incredibly small size and low cost have been designed in a live production switcher! ATEM Production Switchers include 4 upstream keyers each with independent chroma, shaped and linear keying, 2 downstream keyers, stinger effects, graphic wipes, media players for stills and clips and a built in DVE for amazing DVE transitions or key repositioning. For portable use, the built in Multi View showing all cameras, preview and program can be viewed on a single SDI or HDMI monitor.

ATEM Production Switchers also include loads of HDMI and SDI inputs allowing professional SDI cameras as well as consumer HDMI cameras and computers to be connected. Only ATEM Production Switchers allows low cost HDMI consumer cameras in a professional switcher so it’s easy for customers starting out in live production! ATEM Production Switchers include a free software control panel and media pool management software for Mac OS X and Windows 7. ATEM Production Switchers are sold independently of the hardware control panel allowing lower initial cost and greater customization. ATEM Production Switchers retails for only US$2,495.

Press Photography
Product photos of ATEM Production Switcher models and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at 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.

Mik Wells Brings Over a Decade of Senior Software Engineering Management, 2D and 3D Compositing Expertise

GUILDFORD, UK (June 8, 2012) — Imagineer Systems (www.imagineersystems.com) today announced it has expanded its management team with the addition of Mik Wells as its new Head of Engineering. With over fifteen years of experience in the high-end film and video software industry at companies including Avid Technology and Softimage, Mik brings significant expertise in 3D, compositing, effects and editing real-time 3D simulation and training software to Imagineer Systems.

“This is an exciting time to join the team. Imagineer Systems has done some truly amazing things with Planar Tracking and the mocha family, and I’m looking forward to exploring even more opportunities to take this innovative technology into new territories and solve more workflow problems for VFX artists,” said Mik Wells, Imagineer’s new Head of Engineering. “Being a part of this team is wonderful opportunity for me to stay well connected with the film and video industry that I know and love.”

As a result of his experience with Softimage and Avid, Mik brings a solid understanding of the complexities of color science, color management systems, 2D and 3D compositing, rendering, and broadcast standards.  He is also well acquainted with the processes of post-production and digital film making. During his time at Softimage, Mik played a major technical and supervisory role in achieving seamless integration of an OpenGL based 3D-DVE/Titling application into Avid|DS Nitris. Prior to that, during his time at Avid Technology/Parallax in London, Mik was a Senior Engineer on Media Illusion, a resolution-independent composting, effects, paint and editing software for the high-end film and video industry. He was also the Product Architect for Jester, a digital ink and paint system with integrated effects and compositing.  As part of his role with Avid Technology as a graphics card expert, Mik also actively participated on standards specification committees (OpenGL ES and OpenGL).

Mik has also worked as an independent consultant for “Chameleon,” an on-set previsualisation product for real-time chroma keying and compositing of live action footage in to a virtual scene.

In his new role at Imagineer Systems, Mik will lead the software engineering teams in new technologies and continued development of the mocha product line.

“Since, mocha has been widely adopted into more complex film and visual effects workflows, Imagineer is investing in our engineering team and continued development of customer requested features such as, Python scripting, native Stereo support and more.  We are very excited to have an engineering manager with Mik’s level of expertise and deep industry history as part of the team,” added Ross Shain, chief marketing officer, Imagineer Systems.

About Imagineer Systems 

Imagineer Systems Ltd innovates and markets next-generation visual effects solutions for film, video and broadcast post production markets.  Imagineer Systems has made its mark on such marquee Hollywood blockbuster productions as Black Swan, Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, Shutter Island, Invictus, and the Harry Potter series. Imagineer’s desktop product line consists of mocha Pro™ – roto, planar tracking, compositing, and removal utility; mocha AE™ – a planar tracking and roto utility designed for After Effects and Final Cut Pro users.  Imagineer Systems was founded in 2000 and its headquarters is located in Guildford, United Kingdom. For more information visit www.mocha-Pro.com

Look Solutions’ Unique2.1 hazer made its debut with the Penn State Thespians when the theatrical company recently premiered the musical “Aida” in a four-performance run at the 946-seat Schwab Auditorium on campus.

Founded in 1897, the Penn State Thespians marked their 200th show with the staging of the musical version of the Verdi opera. “Aida” won a 2000 Tony Award for Best Original Score by Sir Elton John; Tim Rice is the lyricist.

“The haze was used for atmospheric effect during select scenes,” says lighting designer Andrew Markosky. “I chose the Unique2.1 because of positive reviews I read online and the reputation of Look Solutions. I also liked the ability of the Unique to vary the amount of haze autonomously.”

The Unique2 haze machine offers minimal warm up time, minimal noise and minimal fluid consumption. Its new, more efficient fan quickly distributes haze in a room, and its variable output can achieve any desired effect from the finest mist to a thick haze similar to fog.

Markosky reports that the hazer “performed well overall” and delivered on its price-performance promises for the run of the musical.

About Look Solutions

Based in Germany, Look Solutions manufactures high-performance fog machines, haze machines, battery-powered mini-foggers, low-foggers, accessories and fluids at reasonable prices. Look Solutions USA, located in western Maryland, serves customers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information, or to request a demo machine for evaluation, visit www.looksolutionsusa.com or call Hunter Totty, Director of Operations, at 1-800-426-4189. Look Solutions’ Technical Service line is 646-300-0520.