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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Watch a New York Minute Filmed Entirely in HDR on the RED Epic

Colby Moore presents a montage of New York scenes all shot in high-dynamic range on the RED Epic. He explains on his Vimeo page, "A short and creepy montage of scenes shot around the ever-photogenic island of Manhattan -- filmed entirely in high-dynamic range and comprised of some HDR Timelapse footage I shot, along with a collection of slow-motion and normal 24fps footage processed from Red Epic-X RAW video that I recently captured and then exported as -2,0+2 TIFF stacks to be tone mapped in Photomatix using a batch processing workflow. Please note that none of this was shot using HDRx -- only normal exposures from the camera post-converted into HDR using the traditional faux-HDR method of pushing and pulling the RAW file to create bracketed images...the idea here is to give you an idea of what can be captured with a workflow similar to this, as well as to hint at what might be possible once in-camera HDR technology improves to the point of capturing at least three exposures simultaneously without the added detriment of having to push and pull in post, which as stated before, adds quite a bit of grain."

Watch below.

See the Best Visual Clips from This Year's Best Cinematography Oscar Nominees

Fandor Keyframe has compiled an interesting 8-minute video: two scenes from each of the five films nominated for Best Cinematography at this Sunday's Oscars. Each film gets no more than 90 seconds of screen time and the whole thing is presented without sound to put full emphasis on the visuals.

So, based on this, who do you think should win: Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln or Skyfall? Watch below.

Boris FX Rolls Out New Boris Continuum Units Product Family

Boris FX announced that each category of Boris Continuum Complete filters is now available as a separate Boris Continuum Unit, allowing artists to choose toolsets that are geared towards their specific needs.

Boris Continuum Complete delivers the most comprehensive VFX plug-in suite ever created. Over 200 comprehensive filters across 16 categories of effects include 3D particles, image restoration tools such as Noise Reduction and Flicker Fixer, lens flares and lights, chroma keys and mattes, color correction tools, blurs, glows, and film effects. Each of these 16 categories of filters is now available as a Boris Continuum Unit that may be purchased separately for Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, and Sony Vegas Pro.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Matrox Video Over IP and Video Wall Products at DSE

Matrox Graphics will feature Matrox Maevex video distribution over IP devices and Matrox Mura MPX video wall controller boards working individually and in tandem at DSE 2013 (Las Vegas Convention Center, Feb. 27 - 28, Booth #133).

Visitors will see the Full-HD encoding performance of Maevex and an array of Maevex hardware and third-party software decoding options. Using the Maevex PowerStream remote control software, parameters like frame rate capture and bit rate targets can be adjusted to create a balance between network bandwidth consumption and image quality, while maintaining a cost-effective solution.




Matrox Maevex


The Matrox Maevex Series delivers one-to-one unicast or one-to-many multicast of Full-HD quality video extension over standard TCP/IP networks.



Attendees will also have the opportunity to use the Matrox MuraControl for Windows or MuraControl for iPad apps to test drive the latest presentation effects on the Matrox Mura-powered video wall. A combination of streaming network sources, local media players and Blu-ray content can be captured, scaled, switched, rotated, cropped, framed, tagged and repositioned with high visual quality.

The Matrox Maevex video distribution over IP solution delivers one-to-one unicast or one-to-many multicast of Full-HD quality video extension and playback over standard TCP/IP networks. Maevex Encoders and Decoders capture, stream, and decode video from a variety of sources, and allow for software-based decoding on non-Maevex devices. Matrox PowerStream software offers several user-defined management features enabling administrators to control the Maevex network, streams, and devices.





Matrox Mura MPX video wall controller boards 



Matrox Mura MPX video wall controller boards are designed for use in collaborative video walls and wall matrix management.
The Matrox Mura MPX Series output/input boards feature flexible, universal input channel support for both digital and analog (DVI, RGB/VGA, Component, S-Video & Composite) video signals. Mura MPX’s ability to capture and display uncompressed data ensures high-quality text, video, and graphics. Mura MPX high-density analog video capture cards provide additional NTSC/PAL/SECAM input channel support, while the Mura MPX-SDI board includes support for two 3G SDI video inputs and two DVI outputs.

RØDE VideoMic Updated with New Mount and Rycote Suspension

RØDE has updated its popular VideoMic, which now uses the Lyre suspension system from Rycote. The new orientation has lowered the microphone profile, and the plastic shoe mount has been replaced with a billet all-metal shoe for extra reliability.
Rode VideoMic
The RØDE VideoMic features a high-pass filter at 80Hz and is designed for use with HDSLRs and other video cameras that offer a 3.5mm mic input. the VideoMic is powered by a 9-volt battery, which RØDE estimates will provide 100 hours of runtime.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

High Speed, Low Drag: WD MyBook VelociRaptor Duo Thunderbolt Drive Review

by Eric Reagan 

WD Velociraptor Duo

The Western Digital VelociRaptor Duo Thunderbolt drive is a power-user’s dream external drive kitted out with two 10,000RPM VelociRaptor drives. Inside the box, WD includes a Thunderbolt cable (a $50 accessory), which was missing from the original WD My Book Thunderbolt Duo.

The drive has two Thunderbolt ports, which allows you to

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

New software release for the GV STRATUS

Grass Valley® announces a new software release for the GV STRATUS® nonlinear production solution. With more than 1,500 seats sold worldwide, GV STRATUS non-linear production solution delivers greater workflow efficiency by enabling users to work collaboratively and accomplish tasks in parallel.

The new release includes powerful new tools to

LightWave 11.5 Now Available

The LightWave 3D® Group, announced LightWave 11.5, the newest version of its award-winning 3D modeling, animation and rendering software for artists and designers, is now available for purchase. A no-charge upgrade to LightWave 11.5 is available to all registered LightWave 11 customers via the LightWave 3D website.

LightWave 11.5 includes new features and functionality that enhance creativity and streamline productivity for everyone—from individual artists and designers to large animation or visual effects studios. Some of the many new features in LightWave 11.5 include the Genoma character rigging system with modular presets, predator and prey Flocking capabilities, per-object Instancing control, and soft-body Bullet Dynamics with support for FiberFX. Also included are Interchange Tools supporting Adobe After Effects cameras and Pixologic’s Zbrush, stereoscopic and depth-of-field motion blur in the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR), major workflow enhancements, and more.
“Leveraging the rich collection of new tools in LightWave 11.5 allows us to continue to deliver movies on time and on budget,” said Scott Wheeler, visual effects supervisor at Rogue State and LightWave beta team member. “No other software gives us the scalability to do small team projects while still being capable of handling major studio effects movies quite like LightWave. It’s a must have in our CG arsenal.”

Some of the new features and enhancements in LightWave 11.5 include:

Friday, February 1, 2013

BBC freelance cameraman tests Super 35mm 1080p on the Canon 1D C

Cinematographer Johnnie Behiri tests out Super 35mm at 1080p on the Canon 1DC in the video found below. Observes EOSHD, "It is a very good Super 35mm 1080p camera, but only 8 bit. It also lacks the built in ND and other handling niceties of the much cheaper C100. If you’re happy to use an external recorder there are better options for Super 35mm out there for less money."

Read their full take here.

Boris Continuum Complete 8 FxPlug Now Available for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Some news I missed back during the CES 2013 onslaught was the release of Boris Continuum Complete 8 FxPlug for Final Cut Pro X. Boris Continuum Complete 8 FxPlug offers the popular Boris effects, graphics, templates and transitions to FCP X.

BCC 8 FxPlug is available for $995 direct from Boris. Owners of prior versions of BCC FxPlug can upgrade for $295.