Archive of the Workflow Category

Automatic sync solution assembles recordings made by fans
 
Vancouver, British Columbia — April 11, 2012 — Outlisten, an innovative new platform for crowd-sourced concert videos that Wired Magazine called ‘a new music format’, has chosen CloudEyes™ —a media synchronization technology that lets producers and contributors share and mine footage remotely—as the foundation for their offering.
 
“At concerts, everyone has a camera in-hand. We asked ourselves—what’s the best way to share all that footage?” said Jeff Ponchick, CEO. “Uploading disconnected pieces of video to the web isn’t good enough. We wanted multi-camera live concert videos that were fan-made, fan-sourced, and fan-edited, and with an interactive viewing experience. We were thrilled to discover CloudEyes, a fantastic technology that makes it not only possible, but easy.”
 
The automatic synchronization technology of CloudEyes is used by video editors thousands of times every day to create everything from wedding videos to commercials to indie films. Like Singular Software’s family of post-production tools, it syncs without the need for timecode, clappers or any special preparation, and automates the most time-consuming of media preparation tasks—except now, all those production benefits have moved from desktop to cloud.
 
“Outlisten is aspiring to a new wave of crowd-sourced video production, and it’s exactly the kind of collaboration that we wanted to enable,” said Bruce Sharpe, Singular CEO. “CloudEyes will allow them to not only participate, but lead that charge.”
 
CloudEyes is based on the same multi-award winning technology that powers the popular PluralEyes® and DualEyes™ products that sync audio and video clips for multi-camera and dual-system audio applications.
 
About Outlisten
Outlisten is dedicated to a deeper connection between musical artists and fans through live concerts. Outlisten organizes fan-recorded videos, and stitches together any overlapping moments, turning an artist’s fans into their very own cameramen. Fan-recorded content already makes up a vast amount of an artist’s visual presence. Outlisten’s goal is to take that content, organize it through their product, and allow artists and labels to leverage and capitalize off it while engaging their audiences in an entirely new way.
 
About Singular Software
Since 2008, Singular Software has pioneered workflow automation for audio and video professionals. The breakthrough innovations of PluralEyes and DualEyes automate and simplify multi-camera, multi-take and dual-system audio productions, and integrate with the industry’s most widely used video editing software. For more information about Singular Software, please visit: http://www.singularsoftware.com.
 
PluralEyes, DualEyes and CloudEyes are trademarks or registered trademarks of Singular Software Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
 
CloudEyes Availability
Developers interested in learning more about CloudEyes can find out more at
http://www.singularsoftware.com/cloudeyes.
 
Press Contact
To schedule a press briefing or request a product review, please contact Janice Dolan at:
Zazil Media Group
Janice Dolan
(p) +1 617 817 6595
(email) janice(at)zazilmediagroup(dot)com
 
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– Customers Now Embracing Unique Benefits of LTFS When Combined with Complete Convenience of Award-Winning Archive Appliance Platform –

Morgan Hill, Calif., April 11, 2012 – Continuing to extend its leadership position in developing products that support the LTFS (Linear Tape File System) format, Cache-A Corporation has built a significant track record with this emerging technology. HBO, Safeway and Offhollywood are among the first companies to deploy Cache-A’s enhanced LTFS technology with their archive appliances.

“LTFS is a great idea, but many early implementations need work,” said Pliny, CIO of Offhollywood in New York. “Cache-A’s solution is the rare exception; our Pro-Cache appliance handles LTFS beautifully. We recently started partnering with HBO to archive certain digital media assets to LTFS LTO-5, and we couldn’t be happier with the workflow.”

All of Cache-A’s LTO-5 based products include LTFS capability, including the company’s flagship product — the award-winning Pro-Cache5, the high-performance Power-Cache and the quiet, desktop Prime-Cache5. Cache-A is featuring all of these products at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB 2012) in Las Vegas, NV (Booth SL10508).

LTFS is particularly relevant for media and entertainment companies that need storage solutions that effectively safeguard their content, increase data mobility and share content organization-wide.

“At the two previous NAB shows, we were one of the first companies to demonstrate and begin shipping complete LTFS-enabled products that are easy to use and provide complete functionality,” said Phil Ritti, Chief Executive Officer of Cache-A. “Now, at this year’s NAB, we are proud to extend our leadership by being among the first companies to have customers using our LTFS-enabled products – helping them find, share and manage files on a daily basis.”

Based on open software, LTFS enables users to interchange content across different operating systems, software applications and physical locations. It leverages the economy, robustness, high density and low power of tape with much of the functionality and usability of a hard drive by allowing tape to be accessed through standard file systems.

Cache-A enhances LTFS to overcome the following limitations:
• LTFS has inherent characteristics that can cause long waits when used with file management tools like Windows Explorer or Finder
• With LTFS, restoring more than a few files at a time with Explorer or Finder can be very slow
• LTFS cannot be used by itself in a network or multi-user environments because the open code or “base level” deployment requires that the LTO drive be dedicated to a single computer
• LTFS looks like, but does not behave like random access disk. Due to the inherent linear nature of tape, accesses must occur over all files in the order they were written, potentially causing long delays

Benefits of the Cache-A interface that specifically enhance LTFS include:
• File Manager Utility — File moving that avoids issues with Finder/Explorer
• URL Encoding — Allows archiving of file names with illegal characters
• Networked — Makes LTFS volumes available across a LAN
• Indexed — Every tape is searchable and can have additional metadata for every file, folder and tape
• Easy Formatting of Media — No shell command line is required
• Easy Mount and Unmount — No shell command line and no locked eject due to folders in use
• No Client-side Software — Every computer can instantly work with it

With Cache-A’s implementation of LTFS, the tape both looks and behaves like a disk, and all tape operations are handled transparently in the background by the archive appliance and delivers a solution that is:
• Self-contained: Platform neutral to stand the test of time
• Interchangeable: Easy to distribute and interchange assets
• Extensible: Scalable to meet future needs

As a complete archive solution for digital media professionals, Cache-A appliances simplify operations, improve manageability and meet their long-term data retention requirements. Self-contained, easy to deploy with no assembly or installation required, Cache-A appliances know where every file lives on each tape and organizes restores for efficient linear access. They also allow users to employ hard disk caching for file transfers, which protects them from the latencies and access issues associated with linear tape. In addition, they include full remote support and software updates ensure that users always have the latest LTFS version as well as the latest Cache-A features. To download a white paper that explains further how Cache-A archive appliances utilize LTFS to deliver long-term archival stability and ease of use, please go to http://cache-a.com/paperform.php.

“Cache-A’s LTO-5 based products with LTFS make an ideal archiving and interchange solution, enhancing both production and post-production workflows as well as improving asset management and interchange,” said Mark Ostlund, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cache-A. “Because LTFS makes the contents of the tape compatible and accessible to any facility with an LTO-5 tape drive, it provides a self-contained content delivery system as well as a highly reliable archive format.”

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

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

New Media Asset Management Platform with Business Process Management Workflow Engine Delivers Greater Operational and Business Visibility
 
Powered with several key new features and applications, including a new graphical user interface and Dalet One Cut fully integrated video editor. Dalet Galaxy will be available later this year.
 
Levallois-Perret, France – April 11, 2012 – Dalet Digital Media Systems today unveiled plans for Dalet Galaxy, the latest and most advanced version of the company’s enterprise Media Asset Management (MAM) platform. Born from a decade of experience in building MAM solutions for our broadcast and media customers, Dalet Galaxy includes a high-value, BPMN 2.0-compliant workflow engine that dramatically boosts productivity and agility while also improving operational and business visibility across the media enterprise. The release will offer many additional features including a new modern-looking graphical user interface; Dalet One Cut, a built-in, multitrack video editing framework; more customizable data models; advanced tools for searching and indexing; increased interoperability with NLEs; and support for upcoming industry standards such as AS-02 and FIMS. Dalet Galaxy will become the foundation for the company’s enterprise MAM solutions, which include the purpose-built workgroup packages Dalet Media Life for program prep and archiving, Dalet News Suite for news production and distribution, Dalet Sports Factory for live event and sports production, and Dalet Radio Suite for multiplatform news and music programming. Dalet Galaxy and the portfolio of Dalet solutions can be previewed during NAB 2012 in Las Vegas, April 16-19, 2012, at the Dalet booth (SL4615).
 
“Dalet Galaxy takes our Dalet Enterprise Edition MAM platform to the next level and will offer many benefits to our customers. With Dalet Galaxy, we’ve incorporated an advanced, industry-standard Business Process Management workflow engine into our core MAM product and tailored it to meet the needs of broadcast and media companies. Dalet Galaxy adds important new dimensions to the MAM, making it the first open and fully integrated platform for managing media and workflows in a convergent world. With the capability to manipulate any type of digital object, including video, audio, text, and graphics, the possibilities are endless,” says Stephane Schlayen, Chief Operating Officer, Dalet. “All the operational and business processes are now fully visible and monitored across the enterprise, in real-time. Advanced reporting capabilities provide the means to improve efficiencies and workflows based on actual metrics coming from the system. Customers can control their processes at all levels — horizontally and vertically. This kind of insight and agility will be increasingly important in our fast-changing business environment.”
 
The new BPM workflow engine in Dalet Galaxy includes tools for designing and modeling workflows, and for orchestrating human tasks as well as automated processes (transcoding, file transfers, etc.). This comes with contextual “To Do” list capability, which adds even greater productivity to the workflow and transparency to the operators. Managers can prioritize and re-assign tasks and make sure deadlines are met.
 
“This breakthrough technology goes well beyond automation. With BPM, you can see the totality of the workflow, and at the same time, you can identify the internal progress of each workflow step at a granular level — see where assets are in the workflow, check statuses, change priorities and pinpoint bottlenecks. Other business sectors have already benefited greatly from BPM, and now we are bringing the same potential to the broadcast and media industry,” explains Kevin Savina, Director of Product Management, Dalet. “There will also be many new and significant workflow enhancements in Dalet Galaxy, such as the new user interface and Dalet One Cut, our fully integrated multitrack video editor. We’ve also expanded capabilities for video and metadata exchanges between our MAM and leading NLEs; the Dalet Xtend module, which already supported Apple Final Cut Pro, now supports Avid NLEs and will soon support Adobe Premiere. From start to finish and in many different ways, Dalet Galaxy will truly make your business smarter and more efficient.”
 
Highlights of Dalet Galaxy
 
Advanced Media Asset Management Platform unifies diverse systems to provide an end-to-end, cross-system metadata, content and workflow management solution.
 
• Integrated, single database solution with centralized, multimedia content catalogue with highly customizable data model
• Enterprise search engine for indexing and searching for fast, easy content sharing and repurposing
• Built-in tools for key operational tasks (ingest, production, distribution, etc.)
• Highly scalable, based on open standards in broadcast and IT
• Integration tools (Web Services APIs, MXF, XML, etc.) for building a cross-system, end-to-end solution linking together traffic, graphics, post-production, automation and archive
 
Workflow Engine – Added to Dalet MAM core and adapted for media businesses, this powerful, non-proprietary workflow engine follows the BPMN 2.0 Business Process Management standard.
 
• Adds visibility to your enterprise by exposing operational processes/workflows to business layer
• Greater clarity in the process chain adds value to the business enterprise
• Improves agility to react to industry and competitive shifts
• Orchestrates and automates IT processes and human tasks for greater productivity and efficiency
 
Design Tool for Modeling Workflows allows you to graphically design your workflows.
 
• Visual modeling based on BPMN 2.0 standardized notation helps define roles, responsibilities and processes. Precise, graphical representation helps identify and correct gaps, redundancies and inefficiencies
 
Real-time Data for Business Reporting
 
• Audit trails improve accountability with easily traceable paths for key actions in production chain
• Accessible in customized reports or available as raw data for complex analysis
• Data can be used to build Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for ongoing Business Activity Monitoring
 
Contextual To Do Lists streamline the workflow and ensure compliance with established procedures. Tasks are prioritized and assigned to individual users or user groups. When operators accept a task, the tools needed to complete the task (video editor, metadata form, etc.) automatically open on the user’s desktop. There is no doubt about which tool to use, what asset to work on or how to proceed as user prompts drive the task to completion.
 
The New Graphical User Interface is completely updated to meet modern usability standards and will provide a consistent look across all applications. The GUI also features different “skins.” Either a light or dark background can be applied to particular functions or workgroups in order to make the desktop tools easier to see and navigate. For instance, the dark background might be applied for technical operators who perform tasks in low-light environments such as gallery control rooms, while the light background might be more beneficial for users focused on text, metadata entry, indexing and logging.
 
Dalet One Cut is a real-time, multitrack video and audio editing platform. One Cut is the ideal tool for multimedia journalists and content prep operators. The system can be configured to match the complexity of different tasks and the proficiency of the users. Clips can be stored in the Dalet Clip Bin where they can be shared, assembled and storyboarded.
 
Dalet Xtend for Avid NLEs and Adobe Premiere – This module provides for seamless exchanges of videos, shot lists, EDLs and their metadata between NLEs and the Dalet MAM and is now available for Avid Media Composer and Avid NewsCutter in addition to Apple Final Cut Pro. The module will shortly be available for Adobe Premiere editing systems.
 
Enterprise Search and Cataloguing including glossary, thesaurus and genealogy for faster searching and content sharing.
 
Dalet WebSpace and Google Gadgets – Dalet Galaxy now makes content and tools even more accessible. With Web Space, authorized local and remote users can share content and access Dalet toolsets via a standard web browser. It is also possible to expose content and tools such as Dalet Preview, Media Logger and Storyboarder directly onto customer portals using Google gadget technology.
 
Dalet Workflow Solutions
 
Dalet Media Life
MAM and workflow automation for program prep, promos and archives
 
Dalet Media Life leverages IT standards and infrastructure to meet the complex production and asset management needs of multiplatform content providers such as networks, thematic channels and promo departments that deal with high volumes of video and audio programming — from movies, documentaries and TV series to cartoons, promos and jingles. Media Life has a flexible, comprehensive data model; support for managing all types of media, including still images; and a workflow engine for managing human and automated tasks. A complete set of functional tools for pre-editing, storyboarding, subtitling, captioning, versioning, etc., is accessible from the same user interface. Media Life is designed to integrate with third-party systems such as NLEs, automation devices, archives and business systems. Media Life is an open platform with a variety of data exchange and integration paths, including using SOA-compliant tools such as Web Services APIs.
 
Dalet News Suite
MAM-driven News Production and Playout
 
Dalet News Suite, the only integrated, end-to-end, MAM-based newsroom production system on the market, improves efficiency, productivity and collaboration with its advanced design and smart tools. With fully integrated desktop scripting, video, graphic and multimedia tools, journalists are engaged in a smooth and intuitive workflow that allows them to concentrate on producing high-quality content for broadcast and new media outlets. Content and metadata are enriched at every step — from ingest through automated playout, archives and multiplatform delivery. Dalet News Suite facilitates story-centric production and fosters collaboration between different departments — from the news desk, planning and production to the control room and new media units. The Dalet MAM platform tracks it all, and the workflow engine automates many background tasks. With full media and metadata tracking, the MAM platform provides a robust framework for managing assets and leveraging content to take advantage of new business opportunities.
 
Dalet Sports Factory
Sports production tools with built-in MAM
 
Dalet Sports Factory offers fast sports production tools, fully integrated within an enterprise MAM platform. Sports Factory’s highlights and replay components cover logging, play-by-play highlights and playback, and instant replay with multiple camera angles and slow motion. Media are logged once and immediately available for use in programs and packages. Unlike typical sports production products, Dalet Sports Factory integrates production archives and media management, ensuring all enriched media assets are at your fingertips during and after the game. Designed on the open Dalet MAM platform, Sports Factory integrates with industry-standard NLEs and other broadcast and sports production systems to provide a cohesive, fluid workflow.
 
Dalet Sports Logger features one-button logging and “intelligent” team rosters for fast highlight creation. One click denotes the type of play (goals, penalties, etc.) and the start of the highlight. Add player info with a single click on the roster display. Plays and metadata are accurately entered into your pre-configured MAM fields, adding value and consistency to game logs. Highlight starts can be set a few seconds before mark-ins, so that you’ll never miss a key play; all clips are immediately available in Dalet Hilites Espresso for fast assembly of multiple playlists.
 
Dalet Radio Suite
Radio … and more
 
Dalet Radio Suite is the only radio production and automation software that incorporates music workflows including music rotation, news workflows, media asset management and multimedia distribution within the same system. Designed for the era of media convergence, Radio Suite is built on Dalet’s powerful Media Asset Management (MAM) platform and streamlines every aspect of the digital production chain for news and music channels. Stations can optimize their programming efforts for traditional over-the-air broadcasts as well as other outlets with automated multiplatform delivery including podcasts, iTunes, EPG and DAB.
 
Combined with modular, task-specific tools, Dalet Radio Suite meets the comprehensive demands of large-scale newsrooms as well as the needs of multichannel music networks. Journalists have an integrated newsroom computer system and all the desktop tools they need to ingest audio, create scripts, record and edit audio, and build and manage rundowns. DJs can exercise their creativity with easy-to-use playlists, the One Cut multitrack editing systems and Carts for jingles and liners. Remote voice-tracking tools facilitate contributions by off-site talent. Dalet OnAir is a proven and highly reliable automated solution used in some of the world’s largest multichannel operations. Dalet Radio Suite is designed for outstanding scalability with hundreds of simultaneous users.
 
About Dalet
Dalet solutions enable broadcasters and media professionals to create, manage and distribute content to traditional and new media channels, including interactive TV, the Web and mobile networks. Dalet combines into a single system a robust and proven Asset Management platform with advanced metadata capabilities, a configurable workflow engine and a comprehensive set of purpose-built creative and production tools. This integrated and open environment enables end-to-end management of the entire News and Sport and Program content chain, and allows users to significantly improve efficiency, and to maximize the use and value of their assets. Dalet’s solutions are delivered through a dedicated Professional and Integration Services Department to ensure the highest possible standards.
 
Dalet systems are used around the world by many thousands of individual users at hundreds of TV and Radio content producers, including public broadcasters (ABS-CBN, BBC, CBC, DR, France TV, RTBF, RFI, Russia Today, RSR & TSR, RT Malaysia, VOA, WDR), commercial networks and operators (Antena 3, Canal+, FOX, eTV, Mediaset, Orange, Time Warner Cable, Warner Bros., Sirius XM Radio) and government organizations (Queensland JAG, Canadian House of Commons, The European Commission). Dalet is traded on the NYSE-EURONEXT stock exchange (Eurolist C): ISIN: FR0011026749, Bloomberg DLT:FP and Reuters: DALE.PA.
 
Dalet is a registered trademark of Dalet Digital Media Systems. All other trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
 
For more information on Dalet, visit www.dalet.com.
 
Press contact:
Janice Dolan
Zazil Media Group
(p) +1 617-817-6595
e) janice(at)zazilmediagroup(dot)com
 
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Asia TV USA to implement Actus Rating Analyzer multi-module, multi-national, monitoring system and automatic advertisement detection; Latest Actus installation connects monitoring for Zee operations around the world
 
Tel-Aviv, Israel – April 11, 2012 – Actus Digital, a developer of web-based media monitoring, content repurposing and verification solutions for broadcasters, cable and satellite providers, IPTV, media and monitoring agencies, governments, regulators and content producers announced today that Asia TV USA, a distributor of Zee TV channels in the USA, has selected the enterprise Actus Ratings Analyzer solution to automate monitoring of ratings performance across multiple channels. “Zee TV has been a longtime Actus customer, ordering its first fully digital TV compliance and rating analyzer system several years ago,” comments Sima Levy, CEO, Actus Digital. “Based on the success of the existing installation, its USA channel distributor, Asia TV USA, purchased an Actus system, totaling many dozens of channels, to support the expansion into worldwide coverage.” The new Actus installation will feature the Actus Rating Analyzer Microsoft Silverlight infrastructure, a new fully-automated detection of content (commercials) on Asia TV USA’s own channels and on other relevant channels, and a fully-automated clip creation system for re-purposing feeds to Internet and mobile phones.
 
“In addition to the proven performance of the Rating Analyzer system installed at Zee Networks, Actus is able to provide a path for us to connect monitoring and analysis across multiple operations globally. This will allow staff to look at the performance of Zee Networks programs as a whole,” says Unmesh Khadilka, Asia TV USA. “Having all of the data in one place will allow us to better understand program performance and how we can leverage program content to enhance viewer satisfaction throughout the world.”
 
With its ability to connect monitoring with Zee international operations, Actus will eventually provide an integrated global monitoring solution for Zee Networks and its channel distributors. Levy adds, “Actus was selected following a competitive technical evaluation, and the deployment of the various systems on three continents will occur gradually until the end of 2012. Actus web-based architecture will allow Zee to link their various offices worldwide into one shared system.”
 
About Actus Solutions
Actus Digital delivers industry-leading technology solutions for video content logging, tagging, monitoring, analysis and repurposing. Actus’ easy-to-use web-based solutions are answering the broadcast media management needs of broadcasters government agencies; cable, satellite & IPTV providers; advertising, media agencies & content producers; around the world. Actus Digital provides user-friendly solutions, which support an unlimited number of channel inputs, thereby facilitating greater functionality, efficiency, and saving costs, while providing enhanced video productivity across our clients’ organizations. Actus’ solutions enable media monitoring and reporting; analysis of content, ads and ratings; legal compliance; and extensive automated exporting tools for repurposing and rebroadcasting linear broadcasts to the Internet and mobile.
 
About ZEE TV Americas
ZEE TV – the name that has become synonymous with unparalleled quality in entertainment – has been a dominant player in broadcasting content for more than 17 years in the national and international space. As an Indian channel, ZEE TV is committed to supporting the values and traditions that appeal to South Asians across the globe.
 
In July 1998, ZEE TV expanded its presence in the international space by establishing itself as a mainstay in American households, reaching more than 2 million viewers. ZEE reaches over 600 million viewers in about 168 countries.As the undisputed leader in the market for over 12 years, ZEE TV has successfully evolved its content to meet the changing needs of the market across genres and languages. The network caters to a wide audience with a growing number of channels, including ZEE Cinema, Zing, ZEE Business, TEN Cricket, ZEE Marathi, ZEE Kannada and Alpha ETC Punjabi.
 
About Asia TV USA Ltd.
Asia TV USA Ltd. is a premier distributor of a wide variety of television, entertainment and media content in the United States across DTH, telco, satellite, broadband and cable platforms and offers viewers more than 300,000 hours of original, entertaining content. The company has become the leading provider of South Asian entertainment channels with television and film programming in a wide range of genres, including soap operas, costume/period dramas, reality shows, Bollywood movies, musicals, suspense, comedies, culinary, children’s entertainment and lifestyle. The Asia TV USA Ltd. portfolio includes nine leading South Asian entertainment channels. The ZEE brand is the undisputed leader in the South Asian entertainment space in the U.S. with the largest number of channels by any South Asian broadcaster and the first to be Nielsen rated. These include ZEE TV, ZEE Cinema, Ten Cricket, Alpha ETC Punjabi, ZEE Business, Zing, ZEE Kannada, ZEE Marathi and ZEE Smile.
 
About Actus Digital
Actus Digital, a subsidiary of Taya Media Group, Israel’s premier video, media and visual communication content and technologies company, is a developer of web-based media monitoring, content repurposing and verification for broadcasters, cable and satellite providers, IPTV, media and monitoring agencies, governments and content producers. Leveraging emerging web technologies and IT standard hardware, Actus solutions are highly scalable systems ideal for cross-organizational content analysis and content repurposing. Actus next-generation solutions compliment any broadcast workflow, empowering operators with purpose-built tools for acquiring, viewing, analyzing and re-purposing transmissions from channels around the world. Their impressive customer list includes global media conglomerates among the likes of AirTel, FOX, SKY and Zee Networks. For more information, please visit: http://www.actusdigital.com.
 
Press Contact
Janice Dolan
Zazil Media Group
janice(at)zazilmediagroup(dot)com
(cell) 617.817.6595
(fax) 617.812.7683
(skype) janicedolan
www.zazilmediagroup.com
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Revolver provides modern digital studios with a powerful new way to review, iterate, and collaborate on work at any time, from any location, on any device.

Shotgun announced it has teamed up with Tweak on a new product called Revolver that provides digital studios with an all-in-one review toolset. Revolver combines production tracking and review, making it easy for teams in any location to view their latest work in context of the cut, browse and compare iterations, annotate on images, write notes, and collaborate on work in real-time. A web-player provides access to the work from any browser or mobile device, and Tweak’s high-end native player RV is deeply integrated to provide real-time playback of high res frames from local storage at the desktop or in the screening room. Additional players like an Alembic viewer from Fabric Engine will be offered as optional apps, allowing studios to customize their ideal review pipeline.

Shotgun and Tweak will be exhibiting Revolver at NAB, April 16-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in booth #13416; visit for a live Revolver demonstration or go to http://www.shotgunsoftware.com/revolver for an online preview.

“Shotgun has become the fabric that ties our industry together,” said Seth Rosenthal, CEO of Tweak Software. “They have already done a brilliant job of foreseeing the collaborative, social, connected future of production. Revolver is the inevitable next step–we seriously hope it will help our friends and colleagues in the industry spend more time making great images and less time fighting with outmoded tools.”

“We’re working with Tweak to take review to a new level. A level where review is so seamless that studios dealing with spiking complexity are finally freed to focus on the work instead of wasting time dealing with the logistics of managing media, documents, time-zones, and data”, said Don Parker, Shotgun’s CEO. “The result is like having a personal screening room on every desk, and on any device, catering to your every need at any time of day.”

Powerful Features

– Visual browsing of assets, shots and playlists across multiple projects.
– View the latest work in context of the cut, with or without handles.
– Integrated search and visual filtering.
– View one or more versions in the timeline, or compare them at the same time.
– Annotate right on the images or write notes that go directly back to the artists.
– View what will be or has been seen in dailies.
– Supports media stored on a local file system or media uploaded to Shotgun managed cloud storage.
– Smart Playlists create filter-driven “in-boxes” of work based on saved filters.
– Playback on any screen, from screening room to desktop to mobile device.

Built on the Shotgun Platform
Revolver is built on the Shotgun platform, providing a powerful and flexible cloud-based framework for production tracking, collaboration, and integration. Revolver leverages much of the platform, including the customizable database, Python API, event stream for event-driven automation, advanced user account and permission management, and custom web-based interfaces for advanced layout control. Revolver will be made available as an add-on for Shotgun clients or a stand-alone product.

Optional Apps: 3d Alembic File Review from Fabric Engine
A web-based Alembic player created by Fabric Engine will also be available as an optional add-on, allowing studios to review and annotate on 3d alembic files.

“We were amazed how fast the integration came together and how cool the results are” said Paul Doyle, CEO of Fabric Engine. “The next generation of tools for artists should look a lot like what we’re doing here. This type of mash-up that provides huge value to studios is exactly the type of work we’re hoping to make possible with our tools.”

Beta Tester Buzz
“The ability for any artist or supervisor to bring up our latest versions within the context of the cut on their own workstation is a fantastic boon. It frees them up to view dailies at a time that suits them and frees up the review suites, which are always in demand for time.”

Andrew Bunday, Head of Pipeline, Baseblack

“Revolver enables us to finally set up a review pipeline between different production places all around the world in a unifying interface. Having a studio in China fill in versions and footage, based on a Shotgun project developed in Berlin and being reviewed by a director in Munich becomes a breeze. Everyone can just fire it up, start reviewing and get the notes-work done with unprecedented speed and ease.”

Frank Lenhard, Managing Director, PiXABLE STUDIOS GmbH & Co. KG”

“With Revolver the industry finally has an off-the-shelf solution for a professional and flexible revision pipeline as well as a simple and effective publishing workflow. The visual shot browsing and review round-trip is easy to set up and a perfect stepping-stone into a professional production environment. What used to tie up a lot of development time, yet not always deliver the desired results, is now available as a ready-to-roll package built specifically for production.”

Frank Rueter, VFX Supervisor, OHUfx

Pricing & Availability
Revolver is currently in private beta with more than 30 studios and will be released publicly in early summer. Revolver will be available with a range of options to help studios customize their review pipelines. Prices start at a $19 subscription fee per user per month, or studios can opt to purchase instead. Revolver can be used with existing licenses of RV, or customers can purchase low-cost monthly RV subscriptions directly through Shotgun.

Learn More about Revolver
To learn more about Revolver, watch the video tour, or sign-up for updates and the private beta, please visit http://www.shotgunsoftware.com/revolver

About Tweak Software
Tweak Software was founded in 2007 to develop tools that address real-world production needs of VFX and animation professionals. The Tweak partners Jim Hourihan, Seth Rosenthal and Alan Trombla spent many years at Industrial Light and Magic where they developed tools and techniques still in use at that facility today. Jim Hourihan is the recipient of two Sci-Tech Academy Awards and is best known for developing Dynamation, the first commercial particle system that was subsequently incorporated into Autodesk’s Maya software. http://www.tweaksoftware.com

About Shotgun Software
Shotgun Software was founded in 2006 by a group of visual effects professionals to build production tracking and pipeline solutions. The founding members worked together on a major studio animated feature and developed Shotgun to fill the mounting industry need for a commercially viable system for managing complex projects spread across multiple locations. Shotgun has more than 350 animation, visual effects and game development clients including Digital Domain, Double Negative, Reliance, Framestore, Pixomondo, Playstation, Blizzard and Zoic Studios. For more information and an online demonstration visit http://www.shotgunsoftware.com

Portland, OR (April 11, 2012) – Red Giant announced today that its nine minute short film, Plot Device has been nominated for the Best Editing category in the 16th Annual Webby Awards. The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. The short film can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/24320919.

Plot Device is a nine minute short film directed by indie filmmaker, Seth Worley, and executive produced by Red Giant’s Aharon Rabinowitz. Aharon and Seth co-wrote the film to showcase the tools in Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Suite 11 with humor and over-the-top visual effects. The entire film was made for under $10,000.

As a nominee, Red Giant is also eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted online by fans across the globe. From now until April 26th, Red Giant and Plot Device fans can cast their votes at http://pv.webbyawards.com/ballot/94.

“The entire team here at Red Giant are truly humbled and honored that a film we helped create is considered notable among the fantastic content being produced by the community of visual artists, for whom we work so hard to support,” said Aharon Rabinowitz, executive producer of Plot Device and director of communities for Red Giant.  “It’s one thing to make software that your customers love and use in telling their stories. It is really gratifying to share a story with those same creative people and have it pass muster. We’re totally floored by the reaction to Plot Device.”

“Editing is one of the fundamental elements of filmmaking and storytelling in general, and it often gets taken for granted,” added Seth Worley, director of Plot Device. “It’s awesome that there’s a Webby Category to recognize editing, and I’m grateful to even be considered for the award. There are so many talented people out there making cool stuff – I’m just glad someone made a mistake and added my name to the list.”

“Nominees like Red Giant are setting the standard for innovation and creativity on the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. “It is an incredible achievement to be selected among the best from the nearly 10,000 entries we received this year.”

About the Webby Awards

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising & media, online film & video, and mobile & apps. Established in 1996, the 16th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Yahoo!, Vitamin T, MLB Advanced Media, Rackspace Hosting, JWT, The Atom Group, Financial Times, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Guardian News and Media.

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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Feature-packed Cinedeck MX to be introduced at NAB 2012, Cinedeck Booth #SL13417

Cinedeck LLC (www.cinedeck.com), pioneering developer of mobile capture systems for motion picture and broadcast production, today announced the debut of Cinedeck MX, a new multi-channel recorder offering unparalleled codec versatility and extreme workflow performance to broadcast and post production facilities, at NAB 2011 (Cinedeck Booth #SL13417).

Cinedeck MX is a tapedeck replacement

As the entertainment industry transitions to tapeless workflows, Cinedeck MX represents the ideal, cost-effective replacement for the traditional tapedeck, while delivering the full advantages of file-based workflow. Cinedeck MX will fit directly into existing facility architectures, and a single system can be configured to supersede multiple tapedecks.

Cinedeck MX is a rack-mountable, solid-state recording, monitoring and playback system. It is built on the successful technology pioneered by the award-winning Cinedeck EX and Cinedeck RX recording systems, and is packed with the latest features to maximize file-based production and post.

Cinedeck MX bears the Cinedeck-brand hallmark of unmatched native codec capture diversity to eliminate time-consuming ingest and transcode processes, multiple encodes per input channel, the most flexible connectivity and editorial workflow options, a small physical footprint, plus ground-breaking versatility on multi-camera, 2D/3D stereo projects. Cinedeck MX also combines Cinedeck’s renowned intuitive touchscreen interface with familiar manual controls, reducing training time and speeding deployment.

The development of Cinedeck MX was inspired through collaboration with customers, including All Mobile Video, NY, which recently integrated multiple Cinedeck RX systems into its fleet of OB vehicles. Taking this feedback, and building on Cinedeck’s modular software and technology platform, the development cycle of Cinedeck MX – from concept, to NAB showcase, to the scheduled shipping date in July 2012 – is expected to be just six months.

“We love how Cinedeck RX has streamlined our OB production workflows, and the cost benefits we can now pass on to customers, but wanted even more horsepower and features to realize a fully-tapeless workflow into post-production,” said Eric Duke, President of All Mobile Video. “It’s amazing to see how fast Cinedeck has responded to our additional needs with the new Cinedeck MX.”

Cinedeck CEO, Charles Dautremont, commented. “The low cost, feature-set and sheer performance of Cinedeck MX place it in the perfect position to replace the traditional tapedeck. The collaboration with customers, such as AMV, over its design and function, combined with our own modular architecture mean we can deliver Cinedeck MX to market quickly, and offer OEM systems partnerships very cost effectively too.”

Advantages of Cinedeck MX over tape:
Cinedeck MX provides dramatic costs savings over the purchase and installation of traditional tapedecks, and the other ancilliary equipment typically used in a machine room.

Occupying 4RU rack-space, a single Cinedeck MX can be easily configured to undertake the tasks of two tapedecks, thereby reducing overall spend on machinery, and saving physical space, and transportation costs.

With its sheer range of codec choice, multiple realtime codec delivery options, plus realtime up/down/cross conversion capabilities, Cinedeck eliminates time-consuming and costly transcoding processes.

As material is delivered to post production in the appropriate ready-to-edit codec, or direct to a playout server in the transmission-ready format, Cinedeck MX slashes the time and cost of getting material from production to post to air.

Cinedeck MX has in-built waveform, vectorsope, histogram monitoring and focus tools, doing away with expenditure on supplementary devices. It also consumes minimal power.

Cinedeck MX product highlights:

Operation & Controls: Cinedeck MX combines Cinedeck’s renowned and easy-to-operate 7” touchscreen interface with familiar manual Jog/Shuttle and deck controls. It can also be remote-controlled via popular RS-422 VTR/DDR protocols, and supports third-party control devices via USB connection. Cinedeck MX will ship with Cinedeck Controller, a TCP/IP based application enabling multiple Cinedeck MX systems to be managed from any PC, or via a browser, with no additional hardware requirements.

Record: Cinedeck MX has eight removable SSD drives, with in-built redundancy for security of assets, with capture resolutions including HD – 1080i, 1080p, 1080PsF, 720p, HD – 2K, 4K, and SD – PAL/NTSC, 480. It offers mix and match encode, with up to four camera/channel inputs and multiple encodes per channel. It can also be configured to record stereoscopic 3D material in any of the supported codecs.

Codec support: Cinedeck MX delivers unparalleled codec support for Avid, Apple and a wide range of other popular standards, so that footage is immediately ready for editing in popular editors such as Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas and GV Edius. Codec support includes: Avid DNxHD and DNx444, Avid Meridien JFIF; Apple ProRes 4444, CineForm and uncompressed 444 (10-bit) or 422 (8- or 10-bit); AVC-I 100/50; XDCAM HD50/XDCAM EX35; DVCPRO-HD; H264 and DPX.

Monitoring: Cinedeck MX monitors video in realtime via a high-resolution, 7″ touchscreen display. It provides users with a comprehensive array of image analysis tools – including edge enhancement for focus assist, clipping, waveform, vectorscope and histogram.

Playback: Users can review shots instantly in realtime, and in any order, via the touchscreen display, or external HD-SDI or HDMI monitors – allowing instant QC.

Security: Redundant file creation on separate local discs and redundant hot swappable power supplies protect material during capture.

I/O & Connectivity: Cinedeck MX can be deployed in any post-production or broadcast environment, via a wide choice of video, audio, and IT connections including SD, HD, Single and Dual Link, 3G and 3D stereo. It supports realtime up/down/cross conversion, enabling the painless transition to different production formats. For 3D stereo, it captures via HDMI or HD-SDI, and offers the widest variety of codecs for stereoscopic recording in one device, with footage immediately available for editorial and VFX post production.

Pricing and Availability: Cinedeck MX is expected to be available this summer starting at $43,390 USD. To find your nearest reseller, please visit www.cinedeck.com.

Founded by cinematographers, and headquartered in the heart of New York City, USA, Cinedeck manufactures innovative, touchscreen recording systems for use with all popular digital cinematography cameras. Along with on-set monitoring, playback and quality control capabilities, these recorders also unify camera-to-post workflows by offering the industry’s most comprehensive range of edit-ready output formats. Cinedeck EX, the industry’s first camera-mountable device, has proven essential to the workflow on hundreds of TV and cinema productions, and has won TV Technology’s “2010 STAR Award”, the “2010 Vidy Award,” and DV Magazine’s “Award of Excellence”. Continuing this pioneering spirit, Cinedeck LLC has addressed the challenges of the mobile OB broadcaster with its Cinedeck RX rack-mounted, multi-format recorder, monitor and playback system. Cinedeck RX was awarded the prestigious “2011 Pick Hit Award at IBC 2011” from Broadcast Engineering Magazine. The new Cinedeck MX builds on the company’s proven technology platform to offer fully-tapeless workflow for broadcast and cinema entertainment production and post. For more information, visit www.cinedeck.com.

Popular Awards Call Out Industry Excellence in Burgeoning Asset Management Industry

(Burbank, CA) Createasphere has announced the opening of the Call For Entries for the Third Annual DAMMY Awards. The DAMMY Awards are the first honors specifically conceived to recognize excellence in innovative digital asset management technology. In the two years since their launch, the DAMMY Awards have become the standard for excellence in the industry, sought after by a wide variety of companies and individuals at work in asset management. The written submission period is April 2, 2012 – August 2, 2012. The DAMMY Awards will take place on September 28, 2012 at the New Yorker Hotel in New York at a gala luncheon ceremony.

The DAMMY Award winners are chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges who review the written entries. The submissions process is a rare, non-marketing opportunity for entrants to articulate their process, work, and excellence in a concise document for the Judge’s panel. After the submission period ends, and judging has been completed, an abstract of entries will be published prior to the Awards gala in September.

Mary Yurkovic, Manager of the Createasphere Digital Asset Management Conferences comments, “We are proud of the growth of The DAMMY Awards. From the very first year, they have been embraced by the industry and have attracted an incredible caliber of entries from a wide variety of companies, organizations and institutions. We’ve been able to recognize excellence and draw attention to the amazing innovation and thoughtful evolution in the industry and that is meaningful as the discipline moves forward. We are all looking forward to reading the submissions this year, and sharing a bounty of insights with the Createasphere audience.”

Categories include:

Best Storage, Archive, and/or Preservation Solution

Recognizing the most innovative solution for storage, archive, and/or preservation, which could include software, hardware, a specific project, or services. The winner’s solution will demonstrate the most user-friendly option(s), revolutionary design, and maximum return on investment. This must be presented in the form of a case study and include the components of the challenge/problem, solution, examples and results.

Best Strategy or Solution for Digital & Media Asset Management during the Acquisition of Content

Recognizing streamlined and innovative workflow at the content acquisition or creation stage. The winner’s solution must demonstrate core understanding of digital and media asset management through development of strategic processes and implementation of software or hardware. Submissions can include content providers, software, hardware, or consultants. This must be presented in the form of a case study and include the components of the challenge/problem, solution, examples and results.

Best Example of Asset & Media Repurposing

Recognizing a company, organization or technology that has demonstrated profitability with multi-use of assets & media to increase or create an additional revenue stream or product. This must be presented in the form of a case study and include the components of the challenge/problem, solution, examples and results.

Best Strategy Ease of Use for End-User Interface

Recognizing a company, organization or technology that has created ease of use for end users in a DAM System interface reflecting an intuitive user experience. This must be presented in the form of a case study and include the components of the challenge/problem, solution, examples and results.

DAMMY of the Year

Recognizes an outstanding individual that has positively impacted the success & growth of the digital asset industry and community. A well-known and respected individual that exemplifies forward thinking, leadership, and innovation, and has made global contributions to the standards and best practices for management of digital and media assets.

The entry fee for each category is just $55 US and there is no charge for the DAMMY of the Year submission. Past winners across the categories have included ADAM Software; Hallmark Cards; UPS: 5th Kind; Showtime Networks; and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. DAMMY of the year winners, which calls out industry contributions, have included Jason Bright of Media Beacon and Thomas Schleu of Canto Software.

For more information about the DAMMY’s, and complete submission guidelines please visit http://createasphere.com/En/dammys.html or call Createasphere at 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

April 9, 2012 — Markham, ON: Digital Rapids has announced powerful new enhancements to the Digital Rapids Stream software for the company’s StreamZ, StreamZHD and Flux encoding solutions. The same new capabilities are also available as applicable in the StreamZ Live family of live streaming encoders and the Digital Rapids Transcode Manager automated, high-volume file transcoding software. Recently-released or soon-to-ship new features include enhanced Closed Caption support for adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming and support for automated advertising insertion when streaming live with Adobe(r) Flash(r) technologies. more

HOLLYWOOD—MTI Film has added support for the Canon EOS C300 camera to the current version of its digital workflow solution, Control Dailies. Post production facilities and other Control Dailies users can now provide a streamlined solution for dailies processing and digital deliverables generation to feature film and television productions using Canon’s groundbreaking new camera.

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