News

Eyeon Software and Trumbull Studios have announced the first public screenings of UFOTOG, a ten-minute technology demonstration of a 4K 3D movie at an astounding 120 frames per second. Directed by Academy Award-winner Douglas Trumbull and produced at Trumbull Studios, this experimental sci-fi adventure demonstrates Trumbull's new process called MAGI, a new cinematic language that invites the audience to experience a powerful sense of immersion and impact that is not possible using conventional 24 fps or 3D standards. Trumbull Studios is committed to eyeon Software, a forerunner in production solutions, as eyeon was the only development firm able to provide the technology required for Trumbull's ground-breaking vision for UFOTOG, enabling the unheard-of impact of 3D in 4K at 120 fps using eyeon Fusion, Generation, Connection, and Dimension. Trumbull teamed with eyeon to create his film and push beyond the current cinema paradigm. UFOTOG premiered at Paul Allen's iconic Seattle Cinerama Theater as the headlining event at the annual Science Fiction Film Festival Sunday May 11, 2014, in conjunction with special screenings of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that UK-based On Set Tech (O.S.T.) Ltd has implemented an innovative color management workflow for digital dailies, based on DaVinci Resolve 10 during the filming of Mathew Vaughan’s “The Secret Service”, set for release in March 2015.

O.S.T. founder and director Joshua Callis-Smith collaborated with the editorial department to develop a DIT cart workflow capable of maintaining a color accurate pipeline right through the entire post workflow; from on set viewing through to editorial and visual effects (VFX). A major consideration when developing the solution was DaVinci Resolve’s new live grade capabilities, which were used extensively during principle photography to set up shots.

Up to four camera sources were captured via a series of Blackmagic Design UltraStudio 4K I/O devices straight to a Compact Videohub router, which acted as a switch and allowed the DIT to change which camera sources were fed into DaVinci Resolve. A live input was then graded with preview LUTs and then fed out via a HDLink Pro on to monitors for viewing by DoP George Richmond. The setup also featured several Blackmagic Design SmartScope Duos for monitoring the waveform from DaVinci Resolve or the camera’s log image, while an UltraStudio Mini Monitor was used to monitor back out of Resolve to a series of OLED screens.

The DIT cart also featured a Blackmagic Design MultiDock, which was used for uploading footage, some of which was shot on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, to and from SSDs to DaVinci Resolve via a Thunderbolt RAID. Each day the DIT would process on average two and half terabytes of data 25 minutes after wrapping for the day, including double delivery; ProRes files for Fox and MXF for the editorial delivery.

“DaVinci Resolve 10 has allowed us to apply primary and secondary grades requested by the DoP and taking this right through our on set post workflow up until the point of grade,” says Joshua. “The way we achieved that was to create stills for every slate. Editorial would then re-transcode everything using those stills knowing that they are applying exactly the same thing we had on set. This meant for example that our VFX shots came back to editorial via a VFX pipeline exactly the same way I delivered them. That is far more accurate than any way I’ve previously worked.”

He goes on to add: “The ability to now apply secondaries on set allowed for a collaboration between myself, George and the gaffer to take place when setting up a scene that up until now has been impossible. Now, we can pre-empt the DoP's thoughts for the DI as we are lighting and get a feel for how the entire image will look on completion before we turn over.”

Press Photography

Product photos of the Compact Videohub, DaVinci Resolve 10, MultiDock, SmartScope Duo, UltraStudio 4K and UltraStudio Mini Monitor 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 film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, 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 stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

NewTek, Inc. announced a free 30-day full feature trial version of ChronoSculpt software. It is now available for download at www.chronosculpt.com. Chronosculpt offers an intuitive way for artists using any professional 3D modeling and animation software on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems to create content with custom morph targets or fluidly sculpt animation performances over time. ChronoSculpt can also be used to review and correct cache animation and dynamic simulation errors using timeline-based sculpting tools. The software’s flexible interface supports leading file formats for all professional 3D software programs, including LightWave 3D, Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya and Softimage, The Foundry’s Modo, Maxon Cinema 4D, and more.

Blackmagic Design plans to release updates for Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Production Camera 4K and Pocket Cinema Camera with new and updated features, including:

1. New debayering for shooting directly to ProRes or DNxHD on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF and MFT.

2. Improved MFT lens support on the Pocket Cinema Camera.

3. Compressed RAW support on the Production Camera 4K.

4. Autofocus support for EF lenses on Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF and Production Camera 4K.

For future updates, Blackmagic Design also plans to add audio level metering and histogram display, formatting of media, and Time Remaining indicator.

The new Sony PXW-X180 camcorder, successor to the popular HVR-Z7E, HXR-NX5E and PMW-150 models, features three 1/3-inch type Exmor CMOS sensors, records HD videos into the XAVC format, as well as AVCHD and DV, features dual SxS memory card slots and an SD slot for proxy recording, and is fitted with a G-Series fixed 25x zoom lens with 26mm wide angle and variable 4-position ND filter. To be available in August 2014.