News

If you are a film production professional or a fan of film technology, we would like to invite you to a unique presentation event. We will be showcasing, among others, the high-end cameras RED Epic Dragon, Panasonic VariCam 35, Blackmagic URSA, Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, Blackmagic Studio Camera, Sony PXW-FS7 or Panasonic DMC-GH4! Of course, there will be no shortage of top-of-the-line Angenieux Optimo Style 16-40, Optimo Style 30-76, Optimo 19.5-94 or Optimo 24-290 film glass, or the best camera monitors, including smallHD DP7-PRO OLED, smallHD AC7, Blackmagic SmartView 4K, or BON models BSM-093N3G, BEM-242, BSM-182i and FM-073SCH. Among the tripods, the Cartoni MAXIMA fluid head film model will be represented. See the world through professional film lenses and experience the best of modern camera technology!

When: 20 March 2015

Where: Panavision Prague
Kříženeckého nám. 322/5
Barrandov Studio (premises)
152 00 - Prague 5

Number of participants is limited, please book your participation at: zbynek.louda@syntex.cz

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that Venezuela based Promar TV is using ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, Universal Videohub and Teranex 2D Processors, as well as a number of other Blackmagic Design products, as the backbone of its new OB truck. Promar TV is using the truck to broadcast every single game of the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional (LVBP), South America’s largest professional baseball league.

Promar TV is Venezuela’s largest production company and television station. It recently became the official production company for the LVBP, managing the production of all games for national and foreign networks and channels, including Fox Sports, ESPN and every major television station in Venezuela. Each game is captured in HD, and stations are offered up to four format options for their individual broadcasts. Promar TV also works with each station and network to customize broadcasts to match each individual on air brand.

To support this, Promar TV built a 23 foot tactical OB truck equipped with a Blackmagic Design ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher, Universal Videohub 72x144 router, four Teranex 2D Processors, seven HyperDeck Studios to record games, several UltraStudio 3D I/O devices to help with editing and monitoring and numerous UltraScopes and Mini Converters.

Jorge Santiago Kossowski, engineering manager at Promar TV, explained: “We need to manage up to four TV stations and networks broadcasting the same game, and of course, each of them wants their own commercial inserts and branding. They also want to have their own commentators report on the game from the stadium press boxes as well as from the field. Each commentator setup requires its own camera feed on game day.”

In addition to taking care of the individual station and network needs, Promar TV provides in game support with individual feeds to press boxes and game umpires. “This year we had a new rule in baseball: a manager can challenge the umpire’s decision. For this, the umpire needs to review the play from multiple angles, and it’s Promar’s responsibility to capture and provide the instant replay just for the umpires.”

In order to manage the multitude of deliverables, Promar TV relies on the ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, which sits at the heart of the OB truck.

“The ATEM was the first choice for us. Its versatility provides exactly what we require. The aux busses allow us to easily separate the broadcasts for different stations, and the ease of changes between different transitions, like stingers, DVE wipes and so on, give each station control over the look they want for their broadcast,” explained Jorge. “This season, we expect to work with eight directors, all with their own style and all who like to arrange the cameras, VTRs, Multiviewer and such, to fit that style. The ATEM gives us the flexibility to do this without compromising the workflow or the quality of the broadcast.”

To accommodate the number of feeds coming in and out of the new truck, Promar TV uses the Universal Videohub. “It’s very compact, which makes it ergonomically ideal for our new OB truck. But the main reason for purchasing the Videohub was that we were able to put all 216 cables through one piece of equipment, making cabling a lot easier. Before, we had cables running everywhere. When there was a hiccup and we didn’t know what caused it, we’d have to troubleshoot 144 cables. That’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. With the Universal Videohub, everything is centralized, and if we need to find something, we know it’s going to be there,” said Jorge.

Promar captures the games in HD, offering each station and network up to four format options for their broadcasts thanks to the powerful conversion capabilities of the Teranex. “In Venezuela not all broadcasts are in high definition (HD). We still have 4:3 broadcasts, which is standard definition, and 16:9, which is the wide angle screen. To manage all of the conversions, we use Teranex. It’s so simple. One push of a button and you have the change. And in live event production where time is money, this type of fast transaction is critical.”

To ensure content meets various broadcast standards, Promar TV uses Blackmagic’s UltraScope. “It’s a very simple video output controlled by a computer, so we can easily send it through a dedicated satellite feed for the stations and networks to monitor directly. Each station can see the levels for video, audio and more, so they’re confident that what we are outputting is top notch. Since we implemented this, I’ve had a 100 percent success rate. UltraScope has saved me a lot of hassle and a lot of phone calls with technicians,” concluded Jorge.

Press Photography

Product photos of ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, Universal Videohub, Teranex 2D Processor, HyperDeck 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.

Traditional animation's a discipline devoted to the illusion of movement, but for many, trying to dig into digital animation software out of the box can stop them in their tracks. Capilano University animation department founder and instructor Don Perro proves that the process doesn't have to be daunting, however, with five simple tips on getting started in an industry standard: TVPaint. In this tutorial, Don covers setting up a Cintiq tablet for natural and intuitive animating, plus gives insights into how you can customize your TVPaint interface to get animating as quickly as you can say "digital art." Get started using TVPaint with five pro tips, in this video:

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera was used to shoot “Watches & Wonders” promotional videos for Swiss luxury watch maker Vacheron Constantin. These promos were produced by Verawom, a leading social creative company based in Shanghai and part of digital media and communications firm Dentsu Aegis Network.

The four promos produced for Vacheron Constantin feature special guest interviews and product displays at Watches & Wonders 2014, the second edition of the Asia Haute Horlogerie (Fine Watchmaking) Exhibition in Hong Kong. The exhibition provides the latest information on the luxury watch maker and showcase its exceptional new models that combine technical mastery and aesthetic elegance. The four promos were completed within three days by a one man crew consisting of director Yu Gang.

This was the third time that Yu Gang shot exhibition promos for Vacheron Constantin. Based on his experience filming the previous two projects, he was well prepared for his third opportunity. “All of the equipment for the promos were taken from the Jiangsu province to Hong Kong, so every piece of equipment had to be perfect,” Yu said. “For the previous two exhibitions, I shot with a DSLR camera, which was portable but the image quality was not good enough. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera features both a compact design and excellent image quality, so I decided to use it this time.”

Yu assembled a dual camera rig for filming with two Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras at the same time. On the rig, there was a Pocket Cinema Camera equipped with a Metabones Speed Booster and a Canon 24-70mm f2.8 lens and a Pocket Cinema Camera with a Panasonic 7-14mm f4 MFT lens. Also added to the rig was a common 12V 9800mAh polymer battery, which could support ten hour non stop operation of the two cameras.

“The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras were so light that it was very easy for me to carry two cameras and all the gear around the exhibition hall for two straight days,” said Yu. “We need to analyze the characteristics of the project and keep the tools as simple as possible accordingly to ensure our mobility. The more mobile you are, the more chances you will capture good shots.”

Yu got started on post production at night after he was done with shoots during the day. The following morning, the finished promo would be taken to the exhibition hall where it would be reviewed, revised if needed, and put on the Internet once the client approved. With a fast paced workflow, Yu finished the first overview promo on the first night and three more on the second night.

All footage was shot in film mode to take advantage of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera’s 13 stops of dynamic range and recorded to 1080HD 25p in Apple ProRes LT.

When grading the flat footage shot in film mode, Yu used the LUT he created in DaVinci Resolve to color the film efficiently. “I imported a shot that could represent most of the scenes into DaVinci Resolve, made adjustments until the footage had the same tone as Vacheron Constantin’s logo and then exported a 3D LUT. When finished with editing, I applied the LUT to the timeline and did some tweaks when necessary to produce the look that matched Vacheron Constantin.”

“The client was happy with the promos and we will continue our cooperation for Geneva Time Exhibition 2015,” Yu concluded.

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and DaVinci Resolve 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.

Press Release

Transform any HDMI camera into an HD live streaming device, affordably, and with wireless capabilities.

Livestream, the Brooklyn-based technology company streaming 300,000 live events to 40 million viewers a month, launches its newest product, the Livestream Broadcaster mini™.

The all-new Broadcaster mini is Livestream’s newest addition to its line of live streaming encoders. At about ? the size of the original Broadcaster™, it is small enough to fit in a pocket, and despite its size, it features the top notch specs that Livestream users have come to expect -- fast and reliable 5Ghz WiFi, streaming up to 1080p, an internal rechargeable Li-ion battery, full control and setup via the free Livestream app for iOS or Android, and more.

What really makes the Broadcaster mini stand out are its price and wireless capabilities.

“Today’s launch marks the latest in Livestream’s efforts to democratize live video and it offers a wireless solution to mobile live streaming at a more affordable price. Without having to be tethered to a wall with an ethernet cable, users are free to broadcast live from more locations, and more places within those locations,” said Livestream CEO and Co-founder, Max Haot.

The Broadcaster mini is priced at $295 US, well under comparable encoders on the market. To operate it, the user simply needs to connect the Broadcaster mini to an HDMI camera, pair it with the Livestream app, and be ready to go live to millions of viewers on any device. The Broadcaster mini is available for pre-order and ships March 16th. Visit livestream.com/broadcaster-mini for more information and locations where to buy one.

Additionally, Livestream will soon release an update to the original Broadcaster unit, now three years old. The Broadcaster Pro will make its debut in April 2015, keeping many of the great features of the original Broadcaster, with improved specs.



About Livestream

Livestream’s mission is to connect people and live events. Livestream offers event owners a complete set of hardware and software tools to share their events with a growing community online. More than 40 million viewers each month watch thousands of live events from customers including The New York Times, Facebook, ESPN, SpaceX and Warner Bros. Records. Founded in 2007, Livestream is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles, London, Ukraine and India. www.livestream.com.