News

November 8, 2013

Blackmagic Design announced the release of DaVinci Resolve 10, available now for download free of charge for all existing DaVinci Resolve customers. DaVinci Resolve 10 is a major upgrade that includes innovative on set tools, new editing features, support for OpenFX plug-ins and more.

Also available for download is the free DaVinci Resolve Lite edition for both Mac OS X and Windows. DaVinci Resolve Lite now includes the addition of Ultra HD resolutions and additional GPU support.

DaVinci Resolve 10 has been developed to simplify the integration of different software tools used in the film and television industry, allowing timelines to be moved into and out of DaVinci Resolve and other edit software such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Premiere Pro.

As workflows have changed, more post production is now started on set during the shoot. Lighting and other aspects of the shoot are also often verified based on color correction checks and DaVinci Resolve 10 has new powerful tools to manage this process. The new Resolve Live feature allows color grading direct from the video input live with full creative power such as primaries, secondaries, power windows, custom curves and more. Grades can be stored and then relinked when the camera files are loaded.

DaVinci Resolve 10 includes enhanced editing features and allows online finishing of edits performed in other popular editing software. This means multiple users can submit scenes in large complex jobs from the applications they prefer to use, and DaVinci Resolve 10 can finish online from the original camera RAW files for dramatically better quality than would be available when finishing in a standard NLE software package. If any scene needs additional editing, it can be moved back to the NLE software letting editors use the tools they love.

New editing features include full multi track editing with 16 channels of audio per clip and unlimited video and audio tracks in the timeline. Audio can be synced or trimmed and dragged independently to the timeline. Other new editing features include extensive ripple, roll, slide and slip clip trimming support which display dynamically on the timeline and viewer. The viewer also allows split screen display to show in and out points of adjacent clips.

A good example of the online editing process is when an edit has been completed in Final Cut Pro X that includes mixed frame rates, mixed media types, multiple audio tracks and even color corrections. DaVinci Resolve 10 will support import of that project via XML and will online it including full translation of all these elements while rendering the master from the original RAW camera files. This means that Final Cut Pro X editors can use DaVinci Resolve 10 as the tool to online their work for cinema release and generate the Digital Cinema Package file directly from the camera RAW files.

Editing in DaVinci Resolve 10 also includes a powerful title tool with static, lower third, scroll and crawl titles with multiple fonts, size, drop shadow and XY positioning. Timelines in DaVinci Resolve 10 also include the support of compound clips with multiple elements including multiple video and audio tracks. Also, DaVinci Resolve 10 can be used for stereoscopic 3D projects with full support for left and right eye clips in the media pool and the edit timeline. Using timecode and reel name, DaVinci Resolve 10 will automatically associate the left and right eye of the stereoscopic clips.

Color correction features have been upgraded in DaVinci Resolve 10, including support for industry standard OpenFX plug ins with an unlimited number of plug ins per clip. There are now unlimited power windows per corrector node and the new Gradient PowerWindow™ lets colorists quickly add a gradient across the image. Other new color correction features include copy and paste of tracking data, motion effects including spatial and temporal noise reduction and motion blur effects.

For project delivery, DaVinci Resolve 10 includes full audio track visibility in the deliver window timeline as well as EasyDCP integration so users can render directly from their project timeline into a Digital Cinema Package for release to theaters. Because DaVinci Resolve 10 allows rendering from the camera RAW file directly to the Digital Cinema Package files in the highest quality 32 bit float, there is simply no better quality possible for a cinema release master. Customers simply need to purchase a license from EasyDCP to enable this feature.

DaVinci Resolve 10 also supports additional media types and continues to be the industry leader in file based workflows because it operates with virtually all video file types available. New formats include JPEG 2000 decoding and encoding, AVI clip decoding, playback and more.

“We’re extremely excited to be releasing DaVinci Resolve 10 today, which has been a massive update with the addition of new editing, temporal processing, OpenFX plug-ins and powerful onset tools,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “We have received incredibly positive feedback on this new release and some of the worlds leading post production facilities are now editing major work on DaVinci Resolve 10. With over 50 new features in DaVinci Resolve 10, this is the most exciting update in the entire 30 year history of DaVinci.”

About DaVinci Resolve

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve is the world’s highest performance on set, editing and color correction solution for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux computers. DaVinci Resolve supports more real time color correction than any other system because it’s not limited by the performance of the computer it’s running on. DaVinci Resolve eliminates this performance barrier because it’s based on a cluster of high performance GPU cards, so all processing is always real time. DaVinci Resolve has the power of a true real time performance solution so handles complex color grades even when using dozens of primaries, secondaries, Power Windows™, multi point tracking, blurs, and more. DaVinci Resolve provides incredible performance in a low cost solution which can be easily upgraded by adding extra GPUs for supercomputer power to handle 4K resolutions, stereoscopic 3D and real time grading direct from raw camera files such as ARRI RAW, RED RAW and Sony RAW files which can be handled with ease.

Availability and Price

DaVinci Resolve 10 is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site free of charge for all DaVinci Resolve customers.

Press Photography

Product photos of the DaVinci Resolve 10, 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 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.

Thanks to the help of a dedicated group of beta testers, Chaos Group has been able to release a new V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max Beta build with new features and fixes. The new beta build comes with an option to exclude the local machine from DR rendering and to automatically transfer and cache render assets to the DR servers, thus making sure every render slave has a full set of assets. A full version of V-Ray Standalone is included in the installation and a new camera type “Spherical panorama” is also introduced in the new V-Ray 3.0 for 3ds Max Beta build. Check out the complete list of new features and improvements. If you are eager to add V-Ray to your pipeline get V-Ray 2.0 now and upgrade free of cost to V-Ray 3.0 upon release!

November 5, 2013

Blackmagic Design announced that Germany's Hannover 96 Bundesliga football team used ATEM Production Switchers as part of its new broadcast studio, delivering live HD broadcasts of match day TV programming directly to stadium and online fans.

Hannover 96, currently fifth in Germany’s Bundesliga, is using Blackmagic Design’s ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher and ATEM 1 M/E Broadcast Panel to form the hub of a flexible, high quality HD production studio, which was developed by an in house broadcast team and built in the team’s HDI Arena. Blackmagic Design’s UltraStudio Express capture and playback device and ATEM Television Studio live production switcher are also being used as part of the new studio, which was upgraded from an SD system previously managed by a third party service provider.

As well as broadcasting live matches to the stadium’s 49,000 fans, the TV programming combines live commentary from two presenters, pre recorded ‘warm up’ footage of the team and post game press conferences, interviews and highlights. Content is also distributed to two big screens in the stadium and around 60 monitors in the HDI Arena’s corporate boxes and VIP areas, as well as on the team’s website after the matches to ensure fans are kept up to date.

Media Technology Engineer, Christian Martin, is responsible for the technical production along with a twenty person production team. On match days, programming is switched between live feeds from four HD-SDI cameras around the stadium and prerecorded content. The resulting content is fed and controlled via Blackmagic Design ATEM production switchers alongside a televised broadcast of the match, giving Hannover 96 a seamless HD broadcast quality workflow.

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic Design ATEM 1/ME Production Switcher, ATEM 1 M/E Broadcast Panel, UltraStudio Express and ATEM Television Studio 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.

The LightWave 3D Group, a division of NewTek, Inc., announced the final release of LightWave 11.6 software for 3D modeling, animation, and rendering. Also announced was the final release of the NevronMotion plug-in for LightWave 11.6, which uses the Microsoft Kinect camera to capture motion in real-time for retargeting to 3D or live-performance characters. NevronMotion also simplifies retargeting from standard motion capture files directly in the LightWave interface. The newly released ChronoSculpt software introduces a new concept of error correction to the animation pipeline - sculpting over time. Chronosculpt offers a revolutionary new way for artists using any professional 3D modeling and animation software to review and correct cache animation and dynamic simulation errors using timeline-based sculpting tools. Its flexible interface supports leading file formats for all professional 3D software programs, including LightWave 3D, Autodesk 3ds Max, Maya and XSI, Luxology Modo, Maxon CINEMA 4D and others.

November 1, 2013

Blackmagic Design announced that record breaking vocal duo Def Tech’s music video for “Marathon” was graded with DaVinci Resolve. The video for the song is one of Japan’s first Ultra HD in 60p music videos and was color corrected and finished at Tokyo based post production house IMAGICA.

Def Tech is a vocal duo that sold more than 2 million of their debut album as an indie artist and have continued to be one of Japan’s most popular musical groups. “Marathon” is included on their latest album, “24/7.” Def Tech teamed up with IMAGICA to create a high quality music video in Ultra HD 60p that showed the duo singing in a dark environment with strong lighting and various weather effects.

IMAGICA is one of Japan's leading production companies and offers shooting, computer graphics and post production services for all types of visual work. The “Marathon” music video was produced to promote Ultra HD in Japan, as well as the duo’s song itself, and was first shown on an 84 inch Ultra HD monitor at Production Expo 2013 held in Tokyo.

For “Marathon”, the production team used ONSET DOCK, a mobile on set grading system designed by IMAGICA and based around DaVinci Resolve. ONSET DOCK allows a director or cinematographer to create the basic look and feel of a video and then allows the them to check footage against base color schemes created with DaVinci Resolve.

“The director for the music video requested we give it a cool, edgy look,” said Asako Harada, colorist, Data Imaging Team, TV Commercial Production Unit at IMAGICA. “I aimed to show off Def Tech’s faces when they are singing to bring out their charm. With Resolve, I could pull out the details of the high quality images, such as the facial expressions when they are singing and the clouds in the background, while I darkened the black for more contrast.”

The video shoot took place outside with the duo standing in strong lighting and artificial rain, while professional athletes and performers, such as skateboarders and break dancers, performed around them. The performance captured by the 4K cameras and the bluish contrasty look developed in Resolve gave a dynamic image to the music video.

Even though the director changed some shots in the timeline during the grading session, grading took around six hours. “Resolve was very responsive when using the control surface, so it really didn’t matter if I was grading in high resolution images. Rendering was a lot faster than I have expected.”

“One of the unique challenges of this video was the very strong lighting. Initially, I was boosting the level to add more contrast, but then the highlight level of the lighting inverted. But I fixed the problem quickly in Resolve using a tone curve. Resolve has a wide variety of tools I can pick and use so that I can cope well with any problems that come at me like this,” Harada continued. “This music video does not have many colors; however I did not want to give it just a simple monochrome tone. I wanted to show many emotions in the video, so I made many versions to show my client and was able to give the director the exact look he was looking for.”

Kenjiro Yamada of the Data Imaging Team, TV Commercial Production Unit at IMAGICA, said, “With Ultra HD, it is very time consuming and complex work in terms of data management. Ultra HD in 60P is 10 times more data than regular HD 24P material. It takes an immense amount of time to just move data between drives. So initially, we used DaVinci Resolve to make Quick Time files for offline from RAW camera footage. This was a huge advantage for us, since after the conversion and making backups, the rest of the workflow is the same because we use proxies for offline editing.“

He continued, “There are so many types of video formats, and we are expected to handle everything. Resolve helps us because it supports a wide variety of files and codecs, and also it always adds support for new formats as very quickly.”

About DaVinci Resolve

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve is the world’s highest performance on set, editing and color correction solution for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux computers. DaVinci Resolve supports more real time color correction than any other system because it’s not limited by the performance of the computer it’s running on. DaVinci Resolve eliminates this performance barrier because it’s based on a cluster of high performance GPU cards, so all processing is always real time. DaVinci Resolve has the power of a true real time performance solution so handles complex color grades even when using dozens of primaries, secondaries, Power Windows™, multi point tracking, blurs, and more. DaVinci Resolve provides incredible performance in a low cost solution which can be easily upgraded by adding extra GPUs for supercomputer power to handle 4K resolutions, stereoscopic 3D and real time grading direct from raw camera files such as ARRI RAW, RED RAW and Sony RAW files which can be handled with ease.

Press Photography

Product photos of 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 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.