Post production now approaches "the glass" as Cooke Optics, maker of precision lenses for the motion picture
industry, releases its /i Technology and /i dataLink, which allow film and
digital cameras to automatically record key camera data, like follow-focus
information, for every film frame shot and provide it to post production teams.
Cooke chairman Les Zellan said /i Technology is a downloadable, open standard
and "the most value is in post." Zellan sees the Red camera as a
likely beneficiary of his technology, adding, "Red has 'effects' written
all over it. It will be an industry champion."
Autodesk uses Quantum's Stornext 3.0 at
IBC: Some of Autodesk's needs for quickly retrievable content on the IBC show
floor are satisfied by Stornext, in recognition of the system's high-speed
data-sharing workflow solutions. Autodesk also used Stornext at the last NAB
and experienced over 500 MB/sec performance over the LAN using Quantum's new
Distributed LAN Client.
Users flip for AJA's Io HD: AJA's
newest entry in the Io series, which will ship soon, promises HD editing on the
MacBook Pro and Mac Pro over Firewire 800. Io HD supports Apple's new ProRes
422 post production codec natively. Much of the excitement is over the prospect
of editing 10-bit HD video on the laptop. Another of AJA's many new products is
the FS 1 - a universal HD and SD audio and video frame synchronizer and
converter.
Thomson previews a
future color correction plug-in at IBC: Using advanced image-processing and
computer-vision algorithms, the new plug-in will automate a colorist's
"non-creative" tasks, allowing him or her to concentrate on color.
New research focuses on three-dimensional object tracking, de-flickering, color
matching and region filling. On the Viper camera side of the aisle, Grass
Valley's Mark Chiolis says that digital film fans can expect to see a newly-upgraded
Viper around NAB 2008.
Codex Digital fights bottlenecks
between the set and post: Codex is working to smooth the workflow from camera
to post by enabling the recording, playback and direct injection of content
into NLEs from Avid and Apple, as well as other effects and finishing systems,
eliminating time-intensive digitizing. Also, Codex recording systems will
integrate LUTs enabling the look of a production to be applied to all
deliverables while leaving original camera imagery untouched. Codex introduced a
small, lightweight digital film recorder for portable HD, 2K and 4K production.
Designed for run-and-gun, the new Codex disk recorder will record from two 4:4:4
cameras simultaneously - either independently or locked together for 3D
stereoscopic projects.
Tiger Technology is at IBC offering
solutions to many production problems: Tiger's MetaLAN Server unifies data
centers with a multi-point gateway server; StoneGate allows you to read and
write to Autodesk's Stone file systems from the desktop; PoolIt consolidates
storage by aggregating multiple volumes; and Tiger's MetaSAN, says Bernard
Lamborelle, offers high-speed, file-sharing SAN management for workgroup
collaboration.