GoPro Releases GoPro CineForm Studio

“This announcement represents a significant milestone in GoPro’s efforts to provide a complete camera-to-software solution for 2D and 3D productions for its entire customer base,” said David Newman, GoPro’s Senior Director of Software Engineering. “The updated GoPro CineForm Studio software line has huge implications, not only for consumers and enthusiasts, but for professional cinematographers and filmmakers who are increasingly embracing new camera technologies to help them tell their stories in ever more exciting and unique ways. The new software maintains an intuitive user interface for basic tasks but also provides sophisticated Active Metadata-driven capabilities that slipstream into the most advanced production pipelines in the industry.”

What’s New in the GoPro CineForm Studio Product Line GoPro CineForm Studio Available for both Mac and Windows platforms, GoPro CineForm Studio enables users of every skill level to adjust aspect ratios and instantly correct distortions or ‘image stretching’ that typically occurs when resizing images. And for high impact, dramatic time lapse sequences, GoPro CineForm Studio now enables users to add keyframes anywhere in the video, and add effects such as pan and zoom to introduce movement and drama to time lapse sequences. Other new features include:

Litepanels Ships Hilio LED Fixtures

VAN NUYS, CALIF.: Litepanels said its Hilio high-intensity LED lighting fixtures are now shipping. Daylight color balanced Hilio is a small-footprint LED fixture capable of emitting 5600-degree K illumination over a 20¹ to 25¹ (6.1 - 7.6 M) distance without requiring a ballast.

Early users of the Hilio compare the new Litepanels fixture favorably to the venerable HMI fixtures used by the television and motion picture industry, but without the HMI disadvantages such as heat generation, power hunger, short bulb life and required down time before restrike. The new high output Hilio draws just 115 W (while providing comparable illumination to a 575 W HMI) and offers a bulb life of 50,000 hours while operating from 100-240VAC 50/60 Hz, or 24VDC battery.

Theo Angelopoulos , NYtimes By MARGALIT FOX

Theo Angelopoulos, a renowned director whose films explored the human condition in general and the condition of modern Greece in particular through haunting imagery rooted in myth and epic, died on Tuesday of injuries suffered in a traffic accident near Piraeus, Greece. He was 76.

Christophe Simon/Agence France-Presse Mr. Angelopoulos was struck by a motorcycle earlier that day while crossing the street, police and hospital officials told The Associated Press. He was on location near Piraeus, the port of Athens. The driver of the motorcycle, who was injured in the accident, was later identified as an off-duty police officer.

$25 DIY Dual Shoulder Mount

The new Nikon D4

The new Nikon D4 digital SLR builds upon the legacy of the proven Nikon flagship D-SLRs before it, engineered to give today’s professional multimedia photographers a new apex of speed and accuracy with unparalleled image quality, low-light capability and Full HD video. The Nikon D4 hosts a multitude of advanced new features and useful functions that deliver speedy performance and amazing image quality.

Every aspect of the new Nikon D4 D-SLR has been designed to emphasize rapid response and seamless operation to help professional photographers consistently capture incredible content. Nikon’s proven 51-point AF System has been further enhanced for maximum speed in a variety of challenging shooting situations, even at 10 frames per second (fps). Considered the new Nikon flagship, the D4 renders supreme image quality, a feat accomplished with a new 16.2-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor, coupled with the latest generation of Nikon’s EXPEED 3 image processing engine to help produce images and videos with stunning clarity and color. Photographers are also able to shoot in even the most challenging environments and lighting conditions with the assistance of Nikon’s new 91,000-pixel 3D color matrix meter and a broad ISO range from 100 to a staggering 204,800 for low-light capture like never before. The Nikon D4 is engineered for the modern professional and incorporates never before seen HD-SLR video features for those who also need to capture multimedia content from the field.

THE MERLIN 2 CAMERA STABILIZER MAKES ITS DEBUT

THE MERLIN 2 CAMERA STABILIZER MAKES ITS DEBUT The Tiffen Company unveiled the brand-new Steadicam® Merlin 2 camera stabilizer system at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at booth 31133. Developed using the same Steadicam engineering ingenuity that powers the $60k feature-film models, the new Merlin 2 system offers everyone from the video enthusiast to the professional shooter an ultra-smooth, elegant handheld camera stabilizer system with unparalleled performance and precision.

GoPro's Hero Cam - Magnanimous Media

GoPro's Hero Cam - Magnanimous Media from Magnanimous Media on Vimeo.

From Magnanimous Media

Canon EOS C300: Review & Short Film

13:59 from Mario Feil on Vimeo.

Maxon Relaunches Cineversity Website

Maxon Computer, Inc. has re-launched Cineversity, its online training and education resource for Cinema 4D users. The redesigned site takes advantage of the latest Web innovations to provide users with a more intuitive interface, improved search and filtering capabilities for easier access, the ability to create custom playlists, and an interface for teachers to interact with their students.

Digital artists and educators depend on the Cineversity site for tutorials that sharpen their 3D skill set as well as videos that highlight the latest Cinema 4D features. The Cineversity website was launched in 2006 with 100 tutorials.

New Shuttle Settings for Avid Media Composer 6‏

New Shuttle Settings for Avid Media Composer 6

Avid Media Composer 6 settings are now available for the ShuttlePRO (v2 and v1) and ShuttleXpress! The buttons perform the following functions with the ShuttlePRO v2: 1. Cmd R - Redo 2. Cmd Z - Undo 3. V - Insert Edit 4. B - Overwrite Edit 5. A - Go to Previous Edit 6. Cmd J - Reverse Play 7. Cmd K - Stop 8. L - Forward Play 9. S - Go to Next Edit 10. D - Clear In Point 11. F - Clear Out Point 12. T - Mark Clip 13. esc - Toggle Source to Monitor Window 14. I - Mark In Point 15. O - Mark Out Point Visit the Contour Design Shuttle Forum to download these and other new settings!

Boris Continuum Complete 8 AE Now Available

Boris FX announced that Boris Continuum Complete 8 AE (BCC 8 AE) is now available. BCC 8 AE delivers 200+ VFX filters to Macintosh and Windows versions of Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro CS5.5, CS5, and CS4.

New flicker reduction and videoscope tools, OpenGL hardware acceleration, 32-bit float support, deeper After Effects integration, and

NewBlue Releases Title Tool For Avid And Adobe NLEs

NewBlue has released Titler Pro software for Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer on Windows.

The titling solution provides 2D and 3D titling capabilities with tight integration with GPU-accelerated realtime effects. The release follows a version for Sony Vegas Pro that was released in October. Support for Edius and all platforms on Mac will be available early in 2012. Priced at $299.95, Titler Pro provides a native host plug-in workflow, 2D and 3D fonts, drag-n-drop animations, and character style and animation presets. There are also features for stereoscopic 3D output. The tool is 100 percent GPU accelerated and provides raster-based effects and transitions as well as realtime previews. Titler Pro is compatible with Avid Media Composer 5 & 6 (32-/64-bit) and Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, CS5, CS5.5 (32-/64-bit). http://www.newbluefx.com

Grass Valley EDIUS Adds More Functionality

With each new release, Grass Valley™ EDIUS® multiformat nonlinear editing software continues to get better and better, and more popular with editors the world over. The latest version (6.06), adds significant increases in system performance and valuable new third-party compatibility that make an editor’s job faster and more efficient.

There’s also a new and improved workflow for P2 camera/source deck users, giving them the ability within EDIUS to create waveform files in a project folder –not on the removable media –and delay creating waveform cache files until required.

New 'Titanic 3D' Trailer Released by Paramount Pictures

Grass Valley Adds 3D Support to EDIUS

Grass Valley has unveiled a new 3D toolset for its EDIUS multiformat nonlinear editing software and has added 3D support for editing peripherals that provides users with a complete stereoscopic 3D postproduction workflow.

The STORM 3G and STORM 3G Elite editing platforms are both supported via the EDIUS timeline with stereoscopic 3D I/O through a single 3G SDI source and/or dual 3G SDI signals.

AJA Video Systems announced support for the latest releases of Avid Media Composer 6.0, NewsCutter 10.0 and Symphony 6.0 with all of AJA’s newest desktop solutions and mobile I/O devices.

AJA Video Systems announced support for the latest releases of Avid Media Composer 6.0, NewsCutter 10.0 and Symphony 6.0 with all of AJA’s newest desktop solutions and mobile I/O devices. The current family of KONA cards, KONA 3G, KONA 3, KONA LHi and KONA LHe Plus, will all support Avid Media Composer 6.0, NewsCutter 10.0 and Symphony 6.0 with the addition of Avid Open I/O enabling support for third-party audio and video interfaces. AJA’s Io Express portable video I/O device already supports Avid Media Composer and NewsCutter, offering HD/SD capture, monitoring and output; AJA’s recently announced Io XT will offer a similar feature set for Thunderbolt-enabled workflows.

“With KONA 3G, Avid editors can have access to very cost-effective, high quality video I/O. Avid editors have been clamoring for KONA support for Avid, and we’re thrilled that the Avid Open I/O initiative is making this possible,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “We also have an array of products from AJA for Avid editors that deliver industry proven quality and reliability.”

The Beginning of the End for Adobe's Flash By David Goldman CNNMoneyTech

Adobe is abandoning its Flash software for mobile devices, moving away from its seminal 15-year-old technology to embrace HTML5, a universal standard for displaying rich media on the Web. More»

Why This Matters: For over a decade, streaming as we know it was Flash-driven. The proprietary standard enjoyed massive market share—nearly 90% at one point--and allowed Adobe to push ahead with the streaming paradigm that set the course—everyone else had to adapt and encode. Adopting a universal standard is a big step for Adobe, but most of all it's good news for us. HTML5 promises to make it easier to move content from display devices to handhelds to computers. Content is driving the future of AV so the ability to move it more easily with a technical standard is key to proliferation. –Cynthia Wisehart

From : http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/

Together we will bring innovative technology to friends, families and colleagues everywhere. And now the future possibilities for our customers are even more exciting. We will enable more people to connect in more ways that transform and enhance their lives. And this is just the beginning.

Essential DSLR Gadgets

DSLR: Essential Gadgets

Canon’s 5D/7D Family vs. 35MM Film: A Cost Comparison

Hello loyal readers, it’s Andrea here to discuss the cost differences between 35MM film and today’s easily accessible Canon DSLR cameras in the 5D/7D family. But before we discuss the numbers, let’s take a moment to consider the fundamental differences producing for either medium: Wait for it… There aren’t any. Shocking, I know. Granted, there are significant differences in cost and ease of use when using the Canon 5D/7D, as compared to shooting on 35MM film. But the process of filmmaking is relatively the same.

Or at least it should be. Lets take a minute to go over the process and then we can get into the details in budgeting.

New HD HERO2 camera

GoPro has announced the release of its new HD HERO2 camera. Twice as powerful as GoPro's original HD HERO camera, the HD HERO2 enables consumers and professionals to capture and broadcast their lives most exciting moments in professional quality 1080p HD video and 11 megapixel photos. The new HD HERO2 is now available at GoPro.com, specialty retailers around the world, and at Best Buy for MSRP $299.99.

Arguably the most versatile camera in the world thanks to its innovative mounting system, renowned durability and small form factor, the HD HERO2 surpasses its predecessor with several technology upgrades. The HD HERO2's new processor delivers twice the processing power, taking full advantage of a new high performance 11 megapixel sensor that delivers more than twice the image detail along with professional low light performance. A totally redesigned wide-angle lens was required to take full advantage of the HD HERO2's increased image-processing, resulting in a lens that’s twice as sharp as the previous model. And with the arrival of GoPro's new Wi-Fi BacPac and Wi-Fi Remote products slated for release this winter, the HD HERO2 will enable video remote control via the Wi-Fi Remote, smartphones and devices, tablets and computers as well as enabling live GoPro video broadcast from anywhere there is Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot.

Sony Announces New Upgrade of Vegas Pro Software

Sony Creative Software, a leading global provider of professional editing and authoring applications, has announced the latest upgrade to its Vegas editing technology. Vegas Pro 11 adds significant performance improvements to the award-winning NLE, courtesy of OpenCL and highly optimized GPU hardware acceleration for video processing and rendering. Vegas Pro 11 is the world's first Windows-based OpenCL NLE, broadly supporting the open standard for core video editing operations, video effects and rendering. Other new features include NVIDIA 3D Vision support for single-display 3D computers such as the VAIO F Series 3D laptops and L Series 3D desktops, an enhanced video stabilizer tool, and new software tools for creating animated titles.

"Sony continues to be a leader in developing professional content-creation applications that are extremely powerful, yet easy to use," said Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software. "With the addition of GPU acceleration, Vegas Pro 11 streamlines the video editing experience by providing smoother previews and faster rendering times, ideal for industry professionals who work on tight deadlines where every second counts. Utilizing the OpenCL standard, customers will find that even very affordable GPU solutions from AMD and NVIDIA offer workflow enhancements that provide between two and four times faster rendering speeds, with equally as impressive performance gains during video playback." Vegas Pro 11 Feature Highlights:

Free lessons from video2brain for Adobe Premiere

Free lessons from video2brain for Adobe Premiere Using Blend Modes with Video Clips Adjusting Opacity on the Timeline and mach more here http://www.video2brain.com

Understanding Video Codecs

CODEC is one of those newly invented words that's only been in the dictionary for a few years, yet what it represents may be one of the most important pieces of technology in all of AV. There are at least two derivations of the term codec - some believe it's a contraction of the words "compression/decompression," and some insist it comes from "coder/ decoder." Some people think of the set-top box attached to a videoconferencing display, and some envision a codec as a bunch of programming code. All are correct, and no matter how you interpret the word, a codec is a critical component in the process of digital audio and video signal transmission.

A video codec is a combination of hardware and/or software that creates a binary stream of data that represents the video and audio captured by a camera.

DVI HDMI Signals Over Twisted-Pair Cable

Advances in cable, connector, and driver designs make it possible to send DVI and HDMI signals over longer distances. Now that sending RGB analog video long distance over Cat 5 is well accepted, it seems only fitting that DVI and HDMI are next. Accomplishing such a feat seems almost magical considering the challenge of simply buying a good quality dedicated DVI or HDMI cable. A fundamental understanding of the challenges and guidelines of DVI/HDMI transmission is necessary in order to take full advantage of long distance extender systems.

WHY THE DIFFERENCE IN CABLES?

EDIUS 6 Tutorial - Color Grading

EDIUS 6 Tutorial - Color Grading - Episode 5 of 5 from [MTS]FILMS on Vimeo.

STEVE JOBS 1955 - 2011

Steve Jobs is the Chairman of the Board of Apple, which he co-founded in 1976. Apple is leading the consumer technology world with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, its family of iPod media players and iTunes media store, and its Mac computers and iLife and iWork application suites. Apple recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Steve also co-founded and was the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios, which created some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time including Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars and Ratatouille. Pixar merged with The Walt Disney Company in 2006 and Steve now serves on Disney's board of directors. http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/steve-jobs.html

Free Webinar: Final Cut Pro X Road Blocks

On October 6th, Oliver Peters will be presenting a free 90-minute webinar entitled Final Cut Pro X Road Blocks. The description from FilmmakingWebinars.com, "This webinar will explore the missing elements that have caused FCP X to be considered less-than-ready for the daily tasks currently tackled by Final Cut Pro 7. In addition, we'll look at whether some of these are merely temporary missing features that can be added later - or - whether the inherent design of the application prevents potential future updates that are adequate."

The live webinar will run from 10:00 AM PDT - 11:30 AM PDT. An on-demand version will be made available for $15. Read more and register here.

'Like Crazy': The Romance and Reality of HDSLR Filmmaking .From http://www.dv.com

Director Drake Doremus and cinematographer John Gulesarian initially planned to shoot the indie love story Like Crazy with a combination of RED ONE and Canon EOS 7D cameras: RED would be the primary tool, and the 7D would serve as a B-camera for grabbing shots on the run or getting very close to the actors in small spaces.
7D fitted with ARRI Ultra Prime lenses, however, they decided that they had the look they wanted for the entire feature.
Director of photography John Guleserian
Photo by Fred Hayes
Like Crazy tells the story of Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones), who fall in love while attending college in L.A. and try to keep the magic going after British citizen Anna is forced to return to London. Doremus had developed a style of working with actors on his previous effort (his debut feature, Douchebag) of not formally blocking anything, instead allowing the actors to find their space on their own. Recalling their preproduction period, Guleserian says, "We realized that we could shoot the entire movie on the 7D and it would really add to the aesthetic Drake was after."

(L-R) Director of photography John Guleserian, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones
Photo by Fred Hayes

Apple starts to fine-cut Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 and beyond
Available as an update through the App Store, Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 adds several much-requested features, including support for full XML import/export of both project and event information; intelligent stem export for both video and audio files using a new feature called Roles; and Xsan integration, allowing editors in different locations to work with the same files, events, and projects.

final Cut Pro X has received criticism from professionals for being too iMovie-like, not offering the import/export features of its predecessor. 10.0.1 seeks to improve upon that.
“The professional [editor] is critical to Apple, and it’s a customer we don’t want to lose,” said Richard Townhill, Apple’s director of pro video product marketing, in a conversation with Macworld. Comparing Final Cut Pro X to Apple’s transition from OS 9 to OS X and the switch from PowerPC to Intel processors, he called the June 10.0 release “the first foundation stone in a building that’s going to be assembled over the next ten years,” with Tuesday’s updates providing the next brick.