News

After Effects CC 2015 13.6 update is now available, incl. the Character Animator Preview 3. This update brings many advances to After Effects, including performance and user interface improvements for previews, multi-touch gestures, optimizations for small and high-resolution screens, improved color fidelity, new importers, scripting additions, the ability to search and license stock video from within After Effects, and streamlined Creative Cloud Libraries workflows. The Character Animator Preview 3 update adds “sticks” to control rigidity of the puppet mesh, multi-touch gestures to control character limbs, the ability to share rigged puppets, increased recording flexibility, performance improvements, and much more. For details, see this page.

If you’re a Creative Cloud subscriber, you can download the new version by checking for updates through the Creative Cloud desktop application.

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that Joe Finley of LA based post production facility Chainsaw, a SIM Group company, is grading HBO’s Emmy Award-winning series “Game of Thrones” with DaVinci Resolve Studio. Joe has graded the series with DaVinci Resolve Studio since 2012, and with season five’s finale in June, anticipations are already high for the season six premiere in 2016.

Based on the bestselling fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, HBO's “Game of Thrones” is an epic story of treachery and nobility, set on the continent of Westeros, where summers and winters can last years.

Joe explained that the use of different color palates takes you on a journey and allows the viewer to know exactly where they are throughout the seven kingdoms of the realm.

Joe relies on DaVinci Resolve’s custom curves, secondaries, keyer and compositing to help create the nuanced looks and colors of the show. And he is able to show different looks in real time. “Resolve is fast, and this is part of why I love using it. It works in real time with no rendering, which is very helpful if I have to show different looks,” said Joe.

While nuanced color is important for distinguishing between locations and storylines, for the overall look of the show, Joe is tasked with delivering a very rich film look. “Regardless of the theme of the episode and whether we are going for a vibrant or muted color, I always give the footage a real film look. The highest possible feature look you can get without actually shooting on film,” said Joe.

“When working with LOG material, you need a great starting point to give it a film look. The ability to use the LOG rhythmic side of color correction in harmony with linear, regular color correction to manipulate the whites and the blacks is a tool in Resolve that I use constantly,” Joe concluded. “DaVinci Resolve never hinders you creatively, it only enhances.”

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

About SIM Group

Backed by Toronto-based investment firm Granite Partners, the SIM Group is a leading supplier of production equipment, workflow and post-production solutions, with offices across the US, Canada and China. Our diverse services can be utilized on any production at any stage. In Canada, our offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax service grip and lighting from PS Production Services and can be complemented with SIM Digital cinematography and playback equipment for any production’s needs. Bling, Chainsaw, Pixel Underground, Tattersall Sound and Picture and Post Factory NY provide an array of services from dailies, to online and offline editing, to final color/DI and visual effects, to sound editorial and mixing. Bling’s services, which include a comprehensive workflow solution, are offered at all offices across the US and Canada, as well as off-site service through POD (Post on Demand). Chainsaw’s full-service facility in Hollywood provides creative editorial and extensive finishing services with some of the top colorists in the industry. Rounding out the family of companies are Pixel Underground, a Toronto-based post-production company, and its associated service, StationEX, which provides physical and file-based media fulfillment and encoding/distribution services, Tattersall Sound and Picture, a provider of sound editorial and mixing for motion pictures and television and Post Factory NY, one of the East Coast’s top independent post-production facilities. For more information, visit simgroup.com.

SoCal Rentals fron Burbank, California, recently invested in an additional four Panasonic AK-HC3800 HD studio cameras, bringing its total to 20 units. The company also purchased a pair of VariCam 35 4K Super 35mm camera/recorders, and added AW-HE40 integrated full HD pan/tilt/zoom cameras to its extensive Panasonic PTZ inventory. According to CEO Eric Broderson, SoCal Rentals has witnessed the growing popularity of the HC3800 in both the broadcast and A/V markets. “This is round three of our HC3800 purchases; the camera has been a winner for us on projects ranging from major network broadcast shows to tons of events and festivals. Features like the HC3800’s 23.98 recording support and its internal 2x digital extender originally convinced us that the camera was a solid performer, which has been confirmed by increased customer demand,” he continued. “The HC3800 is very reliable, easy to ship, rugged beyond belief and stable in the rental market.” He noted that the most recent purchase of HC3800s included AK-MSU935 master control set-ups for the company's custom camera flypacks, and for broadcast video control and studios that require this option. Broderson said that SoCal Rentals bought the two VariCam 35s specifically for a two-year deal on a network television show and he is hoping to expand this inventory over the next year. With the addition of the HE40 cameras, the company now has more than 50 Panasonic PTZs available for its clientele.

New Desktop Video update from Blackmagic Design adds H.265 encoding to UltraStudio 4K Extreme as well as general performance and stability enhancements for all Desktop Video products. The new drivers officially support Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite and Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks, 64-bit versions of WIndows 7, 8 and 10 as well as Linux 2.6.18 or higher (Ubuntu 10.04 - 14.04, Debian 6 - 7, Fedora 15 - 20, CentOS 5 - 6, and OpenSUSE 12.3 - 13.1). The software also supports various 3rd party applications, including DaVinci Resolve 11 and 12, Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014 and 2015, Adobe After Effects CC 2014 and 2015, Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 and 2015, Apple Final Cut Pro X and Apple Motion 4 (Mac only), Autodesk Smoke 2013 (Mac only), Avid Media Composer 7 and 8, Avid Media Symphony 6 and 7, Avid News Cutter 6 and 7 (Windows) and 11 (Mac OS), Sony Vegas Pro 9 (Windows only), Fusion 7, The Foundry Nuke, Cyberlink Power Director (Windows only), Nero Video 2014 (Windows only), and Avid Pro Tools 11 and 12 (Mac only).

Steinberg updated the TOOLS for CI2/CI2+, UR242, UR44, UR28M and UR824 audio interfaces. The new version provides full compatibility with the new Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

TOOLS for CI2TOOLS for CI2+
TOOLS for UR242
TOOLS for UR44
TOOLS for UR28M
TOOLS for UR824