Archive of the Visual Effects Category

HUDSON, MA – The Facilis TerraBlock 5.5 Shared Storage Solution with the Facilis Shared File System for Linux is now available. New features such as integrated server spanning and mirroring, Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5 project sharing and the TX16 capacity expansion product offer post production, broadcast and content creation professionals expanded capabilities and scalability, in addition to enhanced value and performance.

TerraBlock 5.5, which debuted at Broadcast Video Expo last month, is the latest version of Facilis’ multiplatform, high-capacity shared storage solution supporting 4Gb and 8Gb Fibre channel, and 1Gb and 10Gb Ethernet. New features include:
• Linux Shared File System Support – Mount Multi-user Write volumes on Linux workstations connected via Fibre channel or Ethernet
• TX16 Expansion – Cost-effective capacity expansion of 32TB per unit
• Integrated Server Spanning and Mirroring – Create volumes that span across multiple TerraBlock servers or mirror to another server
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5 Project Sharing – Avoid costly overwrites while sharing both Apple® Final Cut Pro® 7 and Adobe Premiere Pro projects on Multi-user Write volumes through the Facilis Project Manager Application
• Support for Avid® Media Composer® 6.0 and Symphony® 6.0 – Qualification of the latest Avid applications on Windows 7 and OS X Lion
• Recovery (Rebuild) Priority – Control the speed of recovery, or pause recovery when bandwidth-intensive work is required during the recovery process

TerraBlock 5.5 is now available free of charge for customers holding a current support contract. These customers may contact license@facilis.com for their free upgrade. Support contracts may be purchased through Facilis directly or the worldwide reseller channel. For more information and a full list of features, please visit: http://www.facilis.com/products.html

About Facilis Technology
Facilis Technology, Inc. was founded in 2003 to bring advanced shared storage to television and film post production at a reasonable price. The company designs and builds high-capacity, turnkey solutions that are open, flexible and scalable; enabling content creators to collaborate and work more efficiently. www.facilis.com

All trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Orad, leader in broadcast graphics solutions, announced the release of the latest version of the Maestro enterprise graphics solution.
 
Maestro addresses all of broadcasters’ graphic needs for real time, pre and post production environments. The new version of Maestro introduces many interesting features that improve usability in a studio environment and the connection to external systems and data sources.
 
Orad has developed an iPad application specifically designed to enable television anchors to control Maestro graphics from the studio itself. The OradControl iPad application allows the presenter to directly play graphics on air at any moment, making the relevant graphics follow the flow of the show.
 
Also new to Maestro is the use of Facebook and Twitter as data sources. Data received from them can be filtered and connected to any object (including tickers), like any other data source. In the case of tickers, the user (journalist, editor, Maestro operator) can manually filter the entries that should be displayed on air.
 
Maestro 6.1 supports interactivity even more by being able to receive callbacks from the RenderEngine, allowing Maestro to react to user actions in the interactive device.
 
With Maestro’s support for Avid Command, users can now control from a single interface video and graphic items. In addition, Maestro 6.1 offers a new NLE plugin for Adobe’s Premiere, further expanding Maestro’s extensive list of supported NLE systems.
 
For more information about Maestro, please visit us at NAB (booth SL4524).
 
About Orad Hi-Tec Systems
Orad Hi-Tec Systems is a world-leading provider of real-time 3D broadcast graphic, video server, and media asset management solutions including news, channel branding, sports production and enhancement, elections and special events, virtual studios, and virtual advertisement. Orad’s compelling solutions streamline production workflow, enhance viewer experience, and improve production value. Founded in 1993, Orad is a public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (OHT).
 
For more information, please visit www.orad.tv or contact us at: info(at)orad(dot)tv.
 
For further information contact:
ORAD Hi-Tec Systems Ltd
Ofir Benovici
Vice President Marketing
ofirb(at)orad(dot)tv

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Key Third-Party Components Broaden Color Management Options for SCRATCH and SCRATCH Lab Artists

The ASSIMILATE Store, the unique on-line marketplace to discover, trial, and purchase SCRATCH Lab, as well as third-party software and selected hardware accessories, continues to build its creative arsenal for DITs and post-production artists with the addition of two LightSpace color management tools from Light Illusion. LightSpace CMS provides fully-integrated, facility-wide color management for on-set, post-production, and broadcast workflows, and gives SCRATCH and SCRATCH Lab artists the confidence that a matched look is present at every point in both production and post-production. Light Space CMS is available now at the ASSIMILATE Store, priced at $4,495 (USD). Also available now on The Store is its subset product, LightSpace CMS – Main Component Only, which is specific to LUT conversion and ripping, and priced at $825 (USD).

Take Control of Your Color with LightSpace CMS Tools
LightSpace CMS is capable of visualizing film images on digital displays, as well as accurately matching different displays, which allows operators, colorists, supervisors, DPs and directors to be confident that a matched final look is accurately portrayed across a wide range of target environments. Key features and options include the following.

LightSpace CMS

· Main Component (LUT building, conversion, adjustment, ripping, preview, and graphical 3D LUT display)

· LUT Burn-in

• Color Space Conversion

• Calibration Interface

• LUT Manipulation

• Display Profiling & Profile Management

• ASC CLD Tools

LightSpace CMS – Main Component Only is available separately for those who only require the following…
• LUT Building

• LUT Conversion

• LUT Adjustment

• Ripping LUTs

• LUT Preview

• Graphical 3D LUT Display

“More and more key third-party partners are joining the ASSIMILATE Store because it’s the ideal marketplace for the SCRATCH and SCRATCH Lab community to discover and buy the products they need to build their workflows” says Steve Bannerman, VP Marketing at ASSIMILATE. “We’re excited by the addition of Light Space CMS and the power, ease of use and quality that it brings to our artists. Color management is a crucial component of our artists’ workflows, and nobody brings a better reputation to the market than Light Illusion.”

SCRATCH Digital Workflow Tools
ASSIMILATE’s SCRATCH and SCRATCH Lab deliver the industry’s most comprehensive toolset for data-centric digital cinema and broadcast productions for 2D and 3D stereo projects at up to 5K resolution and beyond. New 6.1 versions of both software, running on Mac OS X and Windows 7, feature SDI output via AJA Kona 3G graphics cards, wicked-fast dailies rendering, improved metadata and timecode handling, and enhanced RED workflow support.

Price and Availability

Available immediately on the ASSIMILATE Store, LightSpace CMS from Light Illusion is priced at $4,495. Click her for more information: http://store.assimilateinc.com/products.php?product=LightSpace-CMS

LghtSpace CMS – Main Component only is priced at $825. Click here for more information: http://store.assimilateinc.com/products.php?product=LightSpace-CMS-%252d-Main-Component-Only

SCRATCH Lab is available on the ASSIMILATE Store, priced at $5990; for a trial version, see www.assimilateinc.com. For SCRATCH reseller and pricing information see www.assimilateinc.com.

ASSIMILATE is the premier provider of digital workflow and post-production tools, that have proven essential to the successful creation of thousands of studio and independent features, television shows, music videos and corporate video productions. The company’s SCRATCH products, running on Windows and Mac OSX, are the heartbeat of today’s most demanding digital post-production and dailies workflows for 2D and stereo 3D productions. They equip Directors, DPs and Artists with the state-of-the-art, intuitive, data-centric solutions they need to meet the continual challenges of increased creativity and productivity amid ever-shrinking budgets. ASSIMILATE’s SCRATCH data-centric DI system, is the most comprehensive, end-to-end cinema and broadcast imaging tool for playback, conform, editing, color grading, compositing and finishing of RED and other digital workflows. SCRATCH Lab delivers a comprehensive toolset for the review, versioning, color correction, conform and output of on-set or VFX dailies. ASSIMILATE a privately held company, with headquarters in Santa Clara, California, USA, offices in London, UK, Groningen, NL and Beijing City, CN and markets its products worldwide via a global reseller network. To learn more please visit www.assimilateinc.com

Immersive Entertainment Demos, Product Premieres, and Oscar-nominated Talent

(Burbank, CA) Createasphere’s Spring Entertainment Technology Expo – the top gathering of entertainment and media professionals, technical innovators, and content experts on the West Coast showcasing emerging media trends in production, post, animation, VFX, advertising, and streaming content – wrapped a full day of innovative technology reveals, trend-setting keynotes, and informative immersive demonstrations on March 1st at the LA Center Studios. The event kept attendees booked with end-to-end events and opportunities throughout the day and into the evening reception.

Taking the stage in the Beaudry Theater, Oscar-Nominated Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, opened up to the audience about his experiences as Director of Photography on visually stunning feature films including “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network,” and “Fight Club.” In an engaging conversation moderated by Peter Caranicas, Deputy Editor for Variety, Cronenweth shared his point of view as one of today’s leading visual storytellers, a talented artist who blends technology and creativity to produce amazing images. With a career that also includes over 500 music videos, from Celine Dion to Nine Inch Nails, and top rated commercials in addition to major motion pictures, Cronenweth dug into the how and why behind the scenes in his career. The Keynote was followed with an extended Q&A with the DP.

Creative visionary and technologist Ed Lantz, founder of Vortex Immersion Media and recognized transmedia, fulldome and digital media expert, delivered an eye-popping keynote to a standing-room only audience in the Vortex Dome. Vortex creates immersive entertainment venues in spots around the globe as well as a number of related products and services that serve a growing immersive entertainment community. Recently, Vortex built an immersive dome theater for Super Bowl XLVI and a number of other marquee clients. The Vortex Dome is an R&D development site for Vortex, semi-permanently in place at LA Center Studios. During the presentation, Lantz focused on the growing role that immersive entertainment will play in the future for studios, networks, venues, and content creators across the spectrum, and was followed with presentations of real-world immersive projects.

Increasingly, Createasphere’s Entertainment Technology Expos are seen as a go-to venue for the announcement and first-looks at new products from leading manufacturers. HP Workstations and Intel made their Hollywood debut during a hands-on intensive with its groundbreaking HP Z1 Workstation.

Canon presented the first public screening of “When You Find Me,” a 25 minute short – produced by Ron Howard, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Help,” “The Twilight Saga – Eclipse”) – shot in 2K. Following the screening, cinematographers Andre Lascaris and Bruce Dorn (who screened his film, “Playing with Fire”) joined Canon’s Tim Smith in demonstration and exploration of the C300.

Upcoming for Createasphere in 2012 is a broad spectrum of in-person events, education, and online engagement including its community news portals; ProVideo Coalition and DAMCoalition; the DAMMY Awards, Digital Asset Management Conference in New York and The Hague; Executive Marketplace in Chicago and Los Angeles; Post Production Master Classes in New York and Los Angeles; and the Entertainment Technology Expos in Los Angeles. The next Entertainment Technology Expo is set for November 7th and 8th, 2012 at the Burbank Marriott.

For further information about Createasphere offerings and events, please visit www.createasphere.com, or call 818.842.6611.

About Createasphere
Createasphere is the premier business development partner for technology enabled entertainment, marketing, and communications organizations. We advance careers and technologies by connecting world-class professionals globally online and in person.
Createasphere was founded in 2001, and over the past decade has grown into a global company that in 2011 produced seventeen events over three continents as well as five websites. Createasphere became part of Diversified Business Communications in 2008, and now drives their entertainment, media, technology strategies and properties division. Currently, Createasphere produces the Entertainment Technology Expos in Los Angeles; the Digital Asset Management Conference in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe; The DAMMY Awards in New York; the Executive Marketplaces for Houses of Worship in Los Angeles and Chicago; Post Production Master Classes in New York and Los Angeles, and the online news and content portals ProVideoCoalition.com and DamCoalition.com.

Connect with Createasphere on:
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/createasphere/120410987973181)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/createasphere)
LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/createasphere)
Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/createasphere)

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

Get into the groove with MAXON at SXSW 2012 – the singular event taking place in Austin, March 9th – 15th, where music, film and interactive initiatives support one another to inspire creativity and innovation.

MAXON returns to SXSW to exhibit at both the 2012 SXSW Trade Show and SXSW Interactive, a collection of conferences, expos and festivals that invites SXSW registrants and the general public to preview the world of creative technology and explore the latest trends in the digital media industry. Whether you are a motion graphics artist creating games for the console, PC or mobile; live concert events; music videos; visual effects for film or broadcast, the movement towards interactive 3D motion graphics to create visually engaging designs is growing, and here to stay.

Swing by the MAXON booths at the Screen Burn Arcade, “..the gaming culture arm of the SXSW Interactive Festival…” (Booth #231) and the SXSW Trade Show (Booth #304), the two destinations where MAXON will showcase its popular line of 3D content creation tools including demos of CINEMA 4D R13, the latest version of its industry-leading 3D motion graphics, visual effects, painting, and rendering software application. Among the recent compelling entertainment projects that relied on the motion graphics powerhouse include the films, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Tron:Legacy, Tower Heist and Arthur Christmas; the hit game series, The Empress of the Deep; and the multi-award winning TV series, Boardwalk Empire as well as countless campaigns and television commercials for leading national and international brands.

MAXON staffers Mathias Omotola and Josiah Hultgren will also be on hand to reveal the company’s newly re-launched education and training website, Cineversity, featuring more than 2000 tutorials and an abundance of resources to help and inspire anyone involved in 3D content creation get the most from CINEMA 4D and the latest 3D trends.

Meetup with MAXON and Austin Motion Graphics

This year MAXON is again partnering with Austin Motion Graphics (AMG), for its second annual SXSW Meetup. If you are involved in 3D graphics you won’t want to miss this amazing event featuring dynamic presentations from two motion graphics “super starz” – Nick “the Greyscale Gorilla” Campbell and David Lewandowski, and a chance to unleash your inner mo-graph party animal with other like-minded individuals.

During the event MAXON will raffle a chance to win a copy of CINEMA 4D R13 Broadcast along with t-shirts and other prizes. To register, visit: http://www.meetup.com/Austin-Motion-Graphics-Meetup/events/49452662/
[Note: You must RSVP for the event and be present in order to be eligible to win prizes…]

For details on how to connect with MAXON at SXSW 2012, see CINEMA 4D demos, and attend the party, visit: http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120301005242/en

Angel Entertainment needed a durable, lightweight, highly mobile 3D system to document the Le Mans International Race – so they choose the 3D Film Factory’s new 3D Bullet Rig.

Sebring, Florida – For the first time in history, a 3D film crew will document first-hand the trials and tribulations of a GT2 racing team as they power thru the gruelling 24 hour Le Mans Race. To do so, German based Angel Entertainment needed a 3D system that was durable, lightweight, highly mobile and completely self-contained. After researching all the available systems they choose the new 3D Bullet Rig from the 3D Film Factory.

For this particular application, the crew decided on the Bullet Rig, the most versatile, mobile rig available today. It can be used in handheld mode (grips and shoulder pad included), or used with Steadicam, EasyRig, jib or just simple tripod filming. Priced at a fraction of other professional 3D rigs (under $6K), this affordable beam-splitter rig is the perfect solution for location, reality, or action 3D filmmaking. Its features actually surpass that of other more expensive rigs.

The Bullet rig utilizes solid rails (not rods) to provide total rigid support for loads up to 50 lbs. and more. The rig also features a sturdy carry handle that can be used to mount on-board 3D monitors, led light panels, and fits perfectly into the EasyRig adapter for all-day, mobile use.

“The 3D Bullet Rig is going to take 3D production to a whole new level. I love this rig. It’s incredibly light, rock steady not like the rod system rig. This rig shoot from your shoulder, or tripod. It’s a 3D filmmakers dream, very versatile“, said veteran stereographer Keith Driver. “Most 3D rigs are bulky, expensive and worst of all – tripod bound. They require a crew to operate. We’ve shot 3D projects in Africa, the Middle East, Hollywood soundstages, you name it we’ve done it in 3D. And we realized we needed a more mobile 3D rig. A 3D rig you could just pick up and shoot with.”

The 3D Bullet Rig makes handheld 3D filming effortless and smooth by transferring the weight to your waist and shoulder. Each Bullet rig includes a shoulder mount system which includes an adjustable shoulder pad and handle grips. The result is hours of mobile, handheld 3D filming capability. In addition, the rig features a standard tripod mounting plate (¼-20 and ?-16 holes).

Weighing approx. 15 lbs. (5.8 kgs.) the Bullet Rig accommodates the Red Epic, Canon DSLR 5D, 7D, XF105, XF305, XH-G1, Sony F3, EX3’s, HDCP1, X5U, Z1U, Panasonic AF100, HPX250 and many other professional HD cameras.

The rig also features custom camera mounts that easily lock and load cameras into place using a standard quick-release plate from Bogen/Manfrotto. The horizontal camera mount offers IO (inter-ocular) adjustability from 0” – 3.5” (0 – 89 mm) and simple convergence movement from 0°-3°. Both functions are easily controlled using smooth, accurate finger knobs, with calibration markings. The vertical camera mount adjusts for perfect stereoscopic picture alignment by elevating and performing full x-y-z rotation (yaw, roll, tilt).

The light-weight, mirror box housing is constructed using space-age plastic that’s durable, corrosion-free and substantially cooler than a metal matte box. This ensures your beam-splitter glass with its expensive coatings will stay cool on hot days. The rig itself is hand-milled employing a nearly indestructible aluminium alloy frame.

Perfect for traveling light, the entire 3D Bullet Rig is ingenuously designed to set-up and break down in a matter of minutes, packing into a small, water-tight pelican case.

As a bonus, the horizontal rail easily detaches, along with the camera mounts, transforming into a side-by-side rig 3D for wide and landscape stereography.

Our opti-prime, 50/50 beam-splitter glass is optimized to meet the demands of 3D filmmaking. See specs. Within the matte box, a simple adjustment tool allows stereographers to fine tune the glass angle from between 44° to 46°.

The outcome is simply the world’s most affordable, professional handheld 3D rig.

It should be noted that using our simple Lanc system camera operators can now synch start/stop, focus, alignment, lens shift and many other vital functions thru both cameras or individually.

The 3D Film Factory offers a complete line of 3D beam-splitter rigs intended for HD camcorders, as well as larger ENG and broadcast style camera. In addition, we offer several inexpensive side-by-side rigs and real-time 3D viewing solutions. To learn more about 3D camera rigs, 3D viewing systems, 3D production services, or 3D training workshops visit – www.3DFilmFactory.com

About the 3D Film Factory
Established in 2008 by award-winning filmmakers and veteran stereographers, the 3D Film Factory has been the worldwide leader in professional, affordable 3D camera rigs and stereoscopic production s. We provide a host of 3D production services worldwide including, stereographers ‘for hire’, 3D camera rig rental, 3D viewing systems, and 3D post, as well as intensive 3D training workshops. Former clients include ESPN, NASA, Disney, HD Cinema, Pinewood Studios and Discovery. For more information visit http://www.3DFilmFactory.com

Manchester based dbn Lighting has supplied a custom LED and control solution to the city’s Whitworth Art Gallery which will run for three months as part of the “Cotton : Global Threads” exhibition – a compelling story about the production, consumption and global trade in cotton.

The light work is designed by artist Liz Rideal and involves the illumination of nine large windows on the top storey at the front of the building, with video material from a film – ‘Light Curtain’ – which is played back via a media server also supplied by dbn.

Challenges included having to fit all the necessary LED lighting equipment to light the windows into a 30 cm deep space, keeping each window’s physical lighting installation completely self-contained within its recessed space.

dbn’s Nick Buckley is project managing. dbn has worked for the Gallery several times in the past, and this project started last year when they were asked to look at how the windows could be lit from inside to create the specific colouration, texturing and effects that Rideal had in mind.

A number of options were explored, from which they chose the most practical and reliable, involving Chroma-Q DB4 LED battens and Chroma-Q ColorSplit fixtures – the latter offer a double bank of RGBA LEDs.

First, the windows were all masked precisely with frosted gel.

There are four of each type of fixture per window. The ColorSplits are positioned at the bottom of the window on the ledge with diffuser lenses lighting the lower half of the surface area. They are focussed and angled to minimise any hot spot areas.

The DB4s are rigged onto crucifix shaped pieces of scaffolding, and highlight the top half of the window. The metalwork is propped into the window area with scaffold-jacks and all contained within the 30 cm depth of the window frame.

Each window is about three metres high and 1.5 metres wide, and all the lighting fixtures have been optimised to produce the smoothest, most even coverage of the target surface.

The installation took two days to complete, and was diligently executed. Another requirement was that it did not damage or impair the glorious Victorian fabric of the building – which is listed – in any way. However, dbn is used to working under these exacting conditions.

Limited power was also a challenge, but one of the beauties of using LEDs is that the entire installation runs on three 13 Amp sockets ….. with plenty of headroom.

Rideal’s films are also being projected onto two screens in front of the building each evening, bringing the vibrancy, suggestion, detail, colour, textures and movement of cloth production and the creation of saris to the imagination of viewers.

The same footage is played back via a Hippo Critter media server through the LED units, animating the windows and enhancing and extending the visual impressions, perception and experience of the work to encompass the whole building.

Says Nick Buckley, “It is a real pleasure to be working with Luke Lovelock and his team at Whitworth Art Gallery, in a real combined effort as well as with Liz Rideal, whose work is accessible and highly acclaimed. It took some ‘out of the box’ thinking to achieve what she wanted, but the results create something completely unique and different for public enjoyment.”

For more press info on DBN Lighting, please contact louise Stickland on +44 7831 329888, +44 1865 202679 or EMail : louise@loosplat.com. To contact DBN direct, please call +44 161 273 4297 or check www.dbn.co.uk.

AICP Minnesota recently called on broadcast design & animation studio motion504 to create the show open for 3D UNIVERSITY, a day-long seminar gathering world-class 3D professionals under one roof. Presented by AICP MN, Minnesota Film and TV, Minnesota Women in Film & TV, and the International 3D Society, the event featured keynote speakers Buzz Hays of the Sony 3D Technology Center and 3ality Digital Systems Founder/CEO Steve Schklair, among many others.

Conceived by motion504 Creative Director Scott Wenner, the show open aptly introduces the seminar speakers and sponsors, each visually presented through the evolution of 3D gadgetry spanning the early 20th century to present day. The photo-real animated show open screened in full stereoscopic 3D at Showplace Icon Theaters to kick off the event.

The captivating sequence begins in the mid-century era of 3D imaging, observing a metal photo-viewer once used for military ground surveillance. Going further into the depths of bygone dimensions, the nostalgic journey reveals generations of 3D devices and techniques: an ornate leather-bound cartoscope; an iconic turn-of-the-century wood-crafted stereoscope; whimsical ancient peep show boxes; classic view-masters and, finally, a brilliant display of red-blue anaglyph glasses familiar to the modern era’s burgeoning 3D movie industry.

View the flat version of the “3D University Show Open”

Experience the “3D University Show Open” in stereoscopic 3D (*anaglyph red/blue glasses required)

“I wanted the show open to express the idea that stereoscopy has been around for a long time and has evolved through various gadgets, rather than make a definitive history of 3D,” explains Wenner. “The animations explore the experience of 3D-viewing through classic 3D devices. The end-result is a visual experience that’s fitting for the 3D University audience.”

Wenner researched and referenced real cartoscopes, stereoscopes, view-masters and peepshow boxes, utilizing Cinema 4D for rendering, and Photoshop for textures and painting. The photography, stereo-cards and other related imagery were pulled from actual stereoscopes and view-masters found through Wenner’s research. For the peep box scene, which theater audiences experience in 3D as if looking at the glass slides through the device’s viewing hole, Wenner made illustrations inspired by an old-time book of circus clip art. He then sampled, re-drew and cut up the images and incorporated them into the scene.

“I took some liberties here and there to make each piece work, but for the most part, all of the objects you see are actual incarnations of 3D viewing gadgets,” explains Wenner. “For the design and illustration elements, I drew inspiration from each device’s era, as well as classic 3D terminology for the fictional branding of the devices.”

The concept for the show open was heavily inspired by Wenner’s personal passion for steampunk, as well as building and collecting old gadgets.

“Given that the brief offered complete creative liberty, it was exciting for me to combine my fascination with antiques and hand-made technology with my craft as a 3D animator who specializes in making photo-real objects,” concludes Wenner.

CREDITS

Title: 3D University Show Open

Client: AICP Minnesota, on behalf of 3D University
Producer: Mike Tabor

Design & Animation Company: motion504
Creative Director: Scott Wenner
Executive Producer: Eric Mueller

Music & Sound Design: Uproar Music and Sound
Composer: Kent Militzer

Surround Mix and DCP Delivery: Splice
Surround Mixer: Kelly Pieklo
DCP Delivery: Mark Abney
Executive Producer: Steve Fait

About motion504
motion504 is a broadcast design, effects and animation studio specializing in the art of motion. Featuring the talent of senior-level creative directors, designers and animators, the company works for TV, film, music and advertising clients. With its open studio space, motion504 is built upon the idea of collaboration through communication, critique and contribution amongst its artists and clients. www.motion504.com

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Leading UK lighting and sound rental company Entec supplied lighting production for three high profile shows at London Fashion Week – Paul Smith, Mulberry and Moschino. A projection system and media server was also provided for Paul Smith, and all three projects were once again managed for Entec by Adam Stevenson.

Paul Smith featured the largest lighting rig and was the biggest space, staged in the Lawrence Hall of the Royal Horticultural Halls in Victoria, central London. It also accommodated one of the largest audiences of the whole event. Entec has supplied lighting for Paul Smith’s LFW shows for at least the last eight years, working with several different lighting designers in the process.
Lec Croft was Paul Smith’s LD for this season (and also last), who has an illustrious LFW history dating back to the late 1980s! The creative brief this time continued on from the summer collection showcase in September staged in the same room – and this was to make it completely different and a total contrast.
So, this time around it all went darker and blacker for winter. The show’s creative director Kamran Khavari and producers Miller Khavari wanted to recreate the tone and feel of an intimate one-on-one small studio photo shoot – even though it was a massive space – and this required very precise lighting.
The set – comprising the entrance wall and ‘back’ wall of the square runway circuit – were identical and diametrically opposite – with video / photography platforms at the end of each long run.
A massive 21-leg, seven arch ground support system was installed into the venue to get lighting positions in the required places, which Entec commissioned Actus Events to provide. This was 24 metres wide and 50 long, with 6.4 metres of headroom. Made from shiny, strong mini-beam trussing, it provided a very stylish juxtaposition to the room with its domed ceiling and dramatic curved architecture.
Entec supplied over 200 ETC Source Four Profiles with various different lenses which were placed along the central spines of the trussing, with two banks of front light behind the two photography platforms.
A hundred and twenty of the Source Fours with 50 degree lenses were all tightly shuttered and focused down onto the catwalk, creating the perfect photographic lighting conditions all the way down the two 100 ft ‘long’ sides of the runway. These luminaires were all fitted with linear frost gel to stretch the light that bit extra.
The profiles on the end banks ranged from 10 to 50 degree and these also had ¼ frost to provide a slight softening of the hard edges while still remaining focusable.
The control console was an Avolites Sapphire 2004, which was programmed by Fraser Elisha and run by Lec Croft for the show.
Lec comments, “Entec are really a dream to work with! Nothing is too much trouble and both Adam and Noreen (O’Riordan) really go the extra mile every time to ensure that you have everything you need on site, that all the details are covered and that you’re taken care of perfectly”.
A key part of the brief was to project a series of unusual and off-beat colours onto the entrance and end walls – a pair of identical large flats with Scannachrome printed surfaces and selected splashes of white ‘light’ effects – Entec supplied four Barco R10+ projectors, which were run as two doubled up pairs. Together with content stored on a Hippotizer media server, these were set up and run by Entec’s Ryan Brown.
Brown created masks in the Hippotizer so the content could be fully concentrated on the white areas of the flats for the desired effect, and four bespoke colours were chosen to be projected to match the winter collection.
Entec’s crew were co-ordinated on site by regular LFW crew chief Simon Honnor and consisted of Sven Jolly, Tim Matthews, Andy Emmerson, Steve Clements and John Cope – in addition to Brown and Elisha and a 5 person Actus rigging team.
Also supplied were a quantity of 4-way Kino Flo fluorescent units and stands for the preparation area.
The Mulberry and Moschina shows were staged in Claridges’ Ballroom and 29 Portland Place respectively, and both lit by Simon Tutchener – another LFW maverick designer.
The Mulberry show utilised Entec’s brand new Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash moving lights which were specified by Tutchener, together with ETC Source Fours, and was put together and managed on site by Entec’s Pete “Pepper” Schofield. Simon lit Moschino with a selection of MSR fresnel heads and ETC Source Fours, and this was run for Entec by Andy Mountain.

For more press info on Entec, please call Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679/+44 (0)7831 329888 or Email ‘louise@loosplat.com’. To contact Entec direct, call +44 (0)20 8842 4004 or check www.entec-soundandlight.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denoiser II Cleans Up “Noisy” Footage; Free Upgrade for Magic Bullet Suite Customers Delivers Reliable Performance, Sharp Results for After Effects Users

Portland, OR (February 28, 2012) – Red Giant today released Magic Bullet Denoiser II, a completely re-built version of its popular Denoiser 1.0 tool for removing unwanted noise and artifacts from video footage. Available as a free update for Denoiser 1.0 and Magic Bullet Suite customers, Denoiser II features intelligent default settings that provide immediate clean-up results when first applied to footage. Unlike other denoising tools and methods that can blur fine detail, Denoiser II’s smart default settings, along with advanced noise reducing tools, deliver sharp, clean and professional video results out of the gate.

 

Throughout the development process for Denoiser II, Red Giant worked closely with industry professionals to ensure its defaults deliver the perfect balance between noise reduction and sharpness. Denoiser II’s powerful cleanup features work right away, but for difficult noise situations, users can easily fine tune their footage with advanced controls.

 

Denoiser II: Powerful Features for Professional Results

Denoiser II combines data over several frames to separate the noise from the image, giving users a professionally smoothed result that preserves fine details. Options like Frame Sample, Motion Estimation, Noise Hint and Shadow Offset create new sample frames, preserve fast-moving action, reduce chroma blotches, or clean up shadow areas, and are ideal for a number of workflow issues, such as:

 

Motion estimation for high and low motion: High-speed camera movements are different than slow pans, but Denoiser II can preserve detail even in fast-moving action sequences. Its Motion Estimation technology/feature compares successive frames to learn what is natural motion vs noise in the scene.

 

Chromakeying and other fine tuning: Denosier II offers a number of fine tuning features that allow users to minimize over-smoothing, correct green chroma tinge, focus on shadows or de-emphasize highlights, all without losing image detail.

 

Footage shot in low light: Denoiser II helps with low light conditions, making video clean and smooth. Noise Reduction and Noise Hint controls set how much noise you do (or don’t!) want to see.

 

Separate Video and Film modes: Two modes let users characterize the noise so Denoiser II can achieve the most accurate results. Video mode adjusts the Luma and Chroma channels for better smoothing in black-and-white or full color. Film mode has adjustments for Red, Green and Blue channels that are ideal for material shot on film.

 

Joey Morelli is the founder of DigiDojo, a small post production and visual effects shop that handles just about every aspect of post for his clients, from motion graphics design and compositing, to 3D design, animation, color grading and editing. Joey, a long-time Red Giant customer, has been beta testing Denoiser II and had this to say:

 

“As a ‘multi-tool artist,’ I need access to the best applications available – but they have to be affordable. With DSLR shoots dominating our market, noise is commonly introduced into otherwise gorgeous footage, and there just isn’t an efficient, artful, affordable tool to turn to. Denoiser 1.0 worked, but it was finicky and unstable. So while working on the Denoiser II BETA, I picked one of the noisiest clips I could find, dropped Denoiser II on it, and within a few parameter tweaks, my jaw was on the floor! So then I set out to break it. I stacked a bunch of plug-ins like Magic Bullet Looks on it, adjusted the parameters for hours, and it remained rock solid and stable. No crashing! If I could sum up my experience with this tool: QUALITY + STABILITY = Denoiser II. That makes it worth every penny and it’s now my go-to noise reduction tool.”

 

Pricing and Availability

Magic Bullet Denoiser II for After Effects is available immediately and is priced at $99.00 USD for new customers, and is available as a free update for existing customers. Magic Bullet Suite 11.3 including Denoiser II is also available immediately and is priced at $799.00 USD for new customers.

 

For more information or to purchase Magic Bullet Denoiser II, please visit https://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/denoiser-II/. For more information or to purchase the Magic Bullet Suite, please visit http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-suite/.

 

The Red Pledge

At Red Giant, we love working with artists, and we love giving you the tools and resources to help you do great work. We’re inspired by, and share in, your passion because Red Giant is made up of filmmakers, animators and designers just like you. It’s that level of passion which flows through everything we do as a company, and ensures that everything about our relationship with you just works. And that’s Red Pledge – our full-on commitment to your complete happiness. The Red Pledge is our guarantee that we will always be reasonable and fair. We believe in no hassles. Just happiness.

 

About Red Giant 

Founded in 2002, Red Giant (www.redgiant.com) creates an ever-expanding universe of effects tools ranging from plug-in suites, applications and mobile apps to Guru Presets, free products and sharing communities. We provide software for motion design, photography and color correction that is used for everything from major motion pictures to worldwide television programming to web production. Red Giant offers the industry-leading Trapcode tools for broadcast design; Magic Bullet Suite for color correction; and over 60 products that run in After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, Avid, Vegas, Nuke, and Avid Studio. Our effects have enhanced dozens of feature films such as Angels & Demons and The Social Network, and added sparkle to networks like NBC Universal, ESPN, Disney, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV, and TNT. Join us on Facebook (RedGiantSoftware), follow us on Twitter (@RedGiantNews) and get free content at Redgiantpeople.com.

 

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