AVATAR - stereoscopic grading on DaVinci Resolve

Taking 3D to the Next Level
"We cut it like it was a 2D movie without thinking about the 3D," Cameron said. "We could concentrate on making great editing decisions from shot to shot based on the drama of the moment and the on-screen performance. Convergence could always be fixed later by adjusting the post-convergence of the two left and right images in the DaVinci Resolve system from Blackmagic Design that we set up in the Robert Wise dubbing stage on the 20th Century Fox lot. Since we filmed in 16:9 format, but it is intended for a 2.35:1 'scope release,' with the help of digital intermediate colorist, Skip Kimball from Modern VideoFilm, we had considerable latitude to adjust either the stereo space convergence or the head room for each shot."


Full article on TV Technology here.

Online Backup Solutions for Mac Users

A great article about the online backup solutions for Mac users, and why they are better than backing up to an external hard drive.

Bright Systems Asia-Pacific Reseller Training

The Media Village is pleased to host the above training, held from 7 to 11 December 2009, with representatives from resellers in India, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong making their presence. The training focussed on the new G2 BrightDrive servers with Oliver Au and Brad Brighton from Bright Systems covering sales and technical topics respectively.

The Foundry Recognized as Leading British Innovator

November 19, 2009

Source : The Foundry

This week Lord Drayson and James Caan joined industry leaders in celebrating companies at the leading edge of science, technology and innovation.

The iawards ceremony at the Science Museum saw the teams behind this year’s best British innovations rewarded for developing practical solutions to some of today’s big challenges.

The Foundry, a leading developer of visual effects (VFX) software whose products have been used to make recent ‘must see’ movies including District 9, Terminator Salvation and Transformers, won the “iaward for entertainment and media”, sponsored by The British Library and presented by John Seargent.

The award was given in recognition of The Foundry’s development of Ocula, the first set of dedicated software tools for 3D film post-production, which address common problems experienced with stereoscopic imagery.

Chair judge, Dr Lincoln Wallen, Head of Research and Development for DreamWorks Animation SKG, said:
“The Foundry’s Ocula is likely to have a significant impact on the film industry and as such we are proud to announce it as the winner of the 2009 iawards ‘entertainment and media category’. We look forward to seeing the results in many upcoming films that have benefited from the use of this technology.”

Bill Collis, CEO, The Foundry, said:
“We are thrilled to have won the iaward for entertainment and media. It’s fantastic for us to be acknowledged as a leading innovator by such a distinguished panel of judges. We are extremely proud to be a British company succeeding on a global level within the film industry. Thank you to the organisers and judges of the iawards for this incredible recognition.”

Hosting the event, Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Drayson said:
“The iawards winners epitomise the best of British innovation that will drive the future growth of our economy and make Britain a better place to live and work. I’m delighted to be part of an event celebrating British success.“

Co-host, business entrepreneur, James Caan said:
“All of the finalists have demonstrated that Britain is home to some of the best innovators in the world. I’m privileged to be part of the iawards and recognise and honour all finalists for their expertise and vital contribution they make to our economy. I’d like to say huge congratulations to all of the winners who have helped bring the deserved attention to these new technologies and innovations.”

District 9 - VFX compositing in Nuke

Video showing details on how Nuke was used for complex VFX shots in District 9.

Watch here...

Nuke walk-through by rise|fx

Florian Gellinger, vfx supervisor at rise | fx Berlin, shows off the work they did in Nuke from previs thru finish for the film "This is Love".

watch video here...

Coloring a New Dimension - Translating 2D color grading to a 3D environment.

About a year before Colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld here atCompany 3performed the color-grading work on Disney's 3D featureG-Force, a group of us under him started preparing for the industry's movement toward 3D production. The specifications of a 3D image as it's projected in a theater are very different from those of a 2D image, and that goes far beyond the obvious fact that there are two images (the left and right eye) being put on a screen simultaneously. The projector brightness is considerably less; the screen reflectivity, at least in the RealD process we used for G-Force, is considerably more; and the glasses people wear in the theaters have a tint to them. Those factors alone considerably alter the way color and contrast must be treated between 2D and 3D presentations. More:
http://digitalcontentproducer.com/dcc/revfeat/3d_coloring_1030/index.html

Foundry Acquires Katana from SPI for Nuke

The Foundry have acquired the technology of Sony Pictures Imagework's (SPI) Katana 3D lighting & compositing package. Katana's hardcore lighting node based technology will be integrated into an upcoming version of the Foundry's Nuke 2D package. We spoke to both companies about why SPI would part with such a great in house tool and why the Foundry needs another compositing lighting system, in this online exclusive.

Read more...

Cine-tal : Display Processing Solutions

A very good presentation by Cine-tal which discusses digital display dilemmas and the challenges encountered when trying to match different display devices. It also explains how the various hardware and software solutions offered by Cine-tal can be deployed to address these issues.

Watch here : Cine-tal Presentation

Mokey Remove Sign Video Tutorial

Creature Effects on District 9

Compositing supervisor Shervin Shoghian details the work carried out by Vancouver's Image Engine on District 9, creating aliens in Maya and compositing them using The Foundry's Nuke

...more

Grant Petty discusses The Future of Davinci

Article focus : Blackmagic founder Grant Petty says that the company's purchase of DaVinci systems actually fits exactly what they have done all along: build the kinds of products they have needed for their own postproduction business, and being the kind of company they'd want to do business with. While important details are still being worked out, Grant has some very clear visions about how these practices can help rebuild one of the industry's most respected brands

....more

Leading Post Production Company Smoke & Mirrors Buys 2 DaVinci Resolve R360 systems

AMSTERDAM--(Business Wire)-- Blackmagic Design announced today that world leading post production facility, Smoke & Mirrors has purchased two DaVinci Resolve R360 systems at IBC 2009.   One DaVinci Resolve will be installed in the company`s London facility and the other DaVinci Resolve will be installed in their New York facility. Smoke & Mirrors will be using their new DaVinci Resolve R360 systems for cutting edge television commercials and music videos, keeping the company at the leading edge of creative workflows in their international markets.   Ben Eagleton, Smoke & Mirrors' Head of Color, comments, "It`s the best system out, that`s designed for colorists by colorists and we`re thrilled!" 

...more

Blackmagic Design buys da Vinci Systems

Interview with Peter Barber at IBC 2009

3D Hits Home: Snap Judgments on 3 Different Technologies

With the the big 3D push coming in 2010, I planted my eyes on three types of 3D technologies displayed at CEDIA (home theater expo) that you may have in your next TV...and passed some judgments without pulling any punches.

It should be noted, all designs require glasses. (More technical background on the types of glasses here.)

More...

Free FCP Plugins: Inside-Outside Matte, etc

Alex Gollner, a FCP editor, has created several useful plugins and posted them on his blog to share with other FCP users.
He has several helpful FCP tips and tricks on his blog.

Ten Stereoscopic Tricks I Learned From Pixar

Written by Mike Seymour for fxphd, "After watching UP again at a Sydney VES preview event, here are my 10 tips for better stereo 3D imaging, or what I like to call Lessons I learned from Pixar after watching the best 3D I have seen yet."

Blackmagic Design acquires da Vinci Systems

Black Magic Design (BMD) has bought daVinci color grading systems. Black Magic known for it world class signal convertors and hardware boxes. daVinci, makes of Resolve and Revival, has been based out of Florida, but interestingly, software R&D for some time has been based in Singapore – also home to Black Magic’s head office. With this move, the new company will be increasing – almost doubling or tripling – their R&D staff on the Resolve and Revival products. What is changing is the companies reliance on custom build in house Hardware. daVinci will be showing some incredible new technology at IBC next week that extends and changes the companies technology focus. For all current daVinci customers there will be no break in support, development or service. There has been a reduction of US staff as part of the move but this is linked to R&D changes rather than a contraction of the companies activities. daVinci and other companies have been hit with the global economic climate, and changes in the DI industry – notable the expansion of DI to a wider audience and the withdrawal of some major houses from DI altogether, recently for example Framestore in the UK closed its whole DI department, (although Framestore’s Digital Lab was not primarily a daVinci house). Industry insiders point to how well this positions BMD to compete at an even higher level – while simultaneously allowing daVinci to service a wider market.

More information here: http://www.fxguide.com/qt/1448

RED One vs Canon 5D Mk II vs Panasonic Lumix GH1

Red One, Canon 5D Mk II, and Panasonic Lumix GH1 Footage Comparison from Birns and Sawyer on Vimeo.

Five Minutes to Watch 100 Years of Visual Effects

Compilation of some incredible moments in the history of visual effects, from silent films to recent blockbusters.

Singapore Lights Time Lapse

Singapore Lights Timelapse from Weehan Yeo on Vimeo.

Shot for a couple months with an assortment of Canon DSLRs and EF lenses. Post production was achieved in Final Cut Pro 6 and Color was used for grading.

District 9: Behind The Scenes

VFXWorld has a great article on the VFX companies involved and their contribution.

HDCAM, XDCAM & DVCPRO HD: Some Questions Answered

A great article by Creative Cow about the technical differences between the various HD tape formats and why HDV is not a true HD format.

Nuke Presentation in Manila, 30 July 2009

The Media Village and The Foundry were proud to present, for the first time in Manila, a presentation and demonstration of Nuke. The event brought together the industry's leading post production houses and vfx artists.

Held at The Columns, the event attracted a great crowd and Matt Plec from The Foundry kept them enthralled as he went through the various features of Nuke.

We held private demo sessions at some of the leading facilities in Manila, including Underground Logic (above)

At Post Manila, Matt does his demo next to a coffee machine in a pantry. Great stuff!

Roadrunner Network is one of the first Nuke users in Manila.

welovepost may be Manila's newest post facility but are set up by a team of industry veterans. Their vfx platform of choice is Nuke.

Giant Sponge Digital is a stylish up and coming boutique post house and have also just purchased their first Nuke license!

Lowry Digital Restoring Apollo 11 Footage

Studio Daily Blog » Lowry Digital Restoring Apollo 11 Footage

In July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended the ladder of the Apollo 11 lunar landing module and walked on the moon. Those iconic B&W images are now being restored at Lowry Digital, which was commissioned by NASA to do so as part of the celebrations marking the 40th anniversary. The on-going restoration is scheduled to be completed in September.

Quest for Fire: Look for Searing Visual Effects on the Next Harry Potter

Movie studios spend billions to morph strings of code into giant robots, flying superheroes, and apocalyptic mushroom clouds. Still, the toughest f/x challenge turns out to be the most elemental: re-creating Mother Nature.

8mm film scanner made out of Lego Mindstorm!

Homemade 8mm film scanner made out of Lego Mindstorm, Epson flatbed scanner and Vuescan software...brilliant idea.


More info here...

Weta Digital buys Nuke site licence

Leading visual effects software developer, The Foundry, today announced that Weta Digital, New Zealand’s premier multi-award winning VFX studio, has purchased a site licence of Nuke to enhance its in-house pipeline.

More info here

Broadcast Asia

Broadcast Asia kicked off on Tuesday and we've been pleasantly surprised by how busy we've been over the last few days. Here are some highlights from the show:

Warren Eagles demonstrated a da Vinci Resolve R350 with the new Digital Powerhouse option. Note, he's using the new and highly impressive Impresario panel. Warren is a freelance colorist based in Brisbane, Australia. He's also the co-founder of the International Colorist Academy, an organisation that creates customised colorist training courses.




Nuke proved to be a big hit, with Matt Plec of The Foundry being kept busy throughout. A lot of visitors were really impressed with the depth of features and the power that Nuke has to offer.


Peter Lambert, VP Worldwide Sales at Bright Systems with Dave Hukom, COO of Post Manila catching up on things at the stand.


Dave McClure of MTI Films takes a breather between demos and looking like he needs some good, strong coffee.


The Blackmagic Design setup, showing their entire range of cards, routers and converters. Probably the busiest stand at our booth.

HDCAM, XDCAM & DVCPRO HD: Some Questions Answered

A great article explaining the various recording technologies and compressions used by them.
Read about it here

How Do LCD Monitors Work?

A great 3M video tutorial on how do LCD monitors work and the display technologies.

A Rare Tour Of The IMAX Factory

Why we need IMAX and a rare tour of the IMAX factory by Gizmodo.

Codec and Effects Limitations For 10 Bit Online Workflow With FCP 6

An interesting article about the limitations of RGB and YUV rendering in FCP 6, as most plugins and transitions do not support 10-bit rendering.
Read more here

Trailers of 2009 Summer Movies

AWNtv has compiled a list of trailers of movies to be released this summer.

NAB 2009 Day 4

3D Stereoscopic editing has arrived for Final Cut Pro...through Cineform Neo3D.

Never got the chance to sit upstairs.

MTI Control Dailies Digital Acquisition being demonstrated by the main man !

Brightsystem's BrightDrive Gen2 being shown for the first time...can't tell from the outside...it's what's inside that matters !

Who's this bloke ? Oh it's Mr.Woz with his Bones Dailies and his...woo...Wave panel !

And who is she ??? On closer look at her badge...Michelle from Lasergraphics making her short film.

Beauties and the Beast...yes the Director scanner from Lasergraphics is a beast when it comes to performance !
And new to the show is the self-aligning stereo sound-head option for the Director that allows for simultaneous scanning of print film soundtrack and image directly to QuickTime movie files.

Dr.Stefan Demetrescu of Lasergraphics and Peter Barber of Blackmagic Design

NAB 2009 Dinner

Dinner with our principals and customers

Clokwise starting from the checkered shirt guy : Brian Adams (Brightsystems), Ben Cheng (Media Village), Ton That Diep (Pixelsgarden), Steve Klenk (Lasergraphics), Peter Chamberlain (da vinci), Warren Eagles (Int'l Colorist Academy), Allan Jaenicke (Imagineer Systems)






Left to right : Brian Carlise (Lasergraphics), Calvin Koh (Singapore Exhibition Services), Peter Chamberlain (da vinci)


Left to right : Voravit Laongjit (The Post Bangkok), Peter Lambert (Brightsystems), Dave Hukom (Post Manila)

Multiple choice questions...is Ben :
(a) hit by jetlag again and in deep sleep
(b) trying to explain 3D stereoscopic
(c) hung and rebooting
(d) all of the above