Category Archive: Post Production

News from the Post Production industry

Avid Media Composer 8.7 Now Available

Categories:

Post Production, videomag

December 15, 2016

(Taken from Avidblogs.com)

Avid team has prepared a shiny new version of Media Composer. This new update (8.7) is packed with great new features that will accelerate the way you tell your stories. Here’s a detailed overview of what’s new in Media Composer 8.7 — now available!

mc8_7-dupe-detection

Dupe Detection for Audio and Data Tracks

The Dupe Detection feature lets you visually track duplicate frames of audio and data tracks. Previously, Dupe Detection applied to Video tracks only. The colored bars that distinguish duplicate frames in the sequence appear automatically above the frames in the Timeline.

mc8_7-match-frame

Match Framing to Titles and Matte Keys

With this release of the editing application, when editing a title or matte key into a sequence, the sequence will track the original clip used so that it can be match framed. This applies to newly edited Titles or Matte keys (Media Composer v8.7 or later).

mc8_7-grid

New Safe Area and Safe Title Options

In the Grid Settings dialog, it is now possible to set the Safe Area/Title to RP-2046 (safe area 93%, safe title 90%) and EBU R95 (safe area 96.5%, safe title 95%) standards.

mc8_7-audio-punch

Extended Audio Punch-In

In Media Composer 8.7 you can extend Audio Punch-In beyond the end of the sequence or the Mark Out.

mc8_7-multicam

Controlling the Track Shown in Split View

A new setting to the Composer Settings window in the Multicam tab allows you to control which track is shown in the split view when you press Play. You can choose between V1 or the monitored track.

mc8_7-default-pan

Audio Default Pan Update

This update provides two new menu items in the Clip mode of the Audio Mixer tool that allow you to commit and remove pan effects whose values are the same as the default for their respective tracks.

mc8_7-frameflex-rotation

Rotation Presets in FrameFlex

The Source Settings FrameFlex tab includes rotate left and rotate right buttons to help you when adjusting the Framing parameters when you are setting new dimensions of the framing box.

mc8_7-clip-info

Clip Info Shortcut

The Clip Info shortcut Alt+Ctrl+I has been added to the editing application. Select the clip or multiple clips and press Alt+Ctrl+I. The clip(s) information appears in the Console window. This is helpful if you want to copy a text version of the clip information.

mc8_7-default-bin

Set Default Bin View

The new Set Default Bin View option in the Bin Settings window allows you to set a default bin view when creating a new bin.

mc8_7-close-all-but-active

Close All Bins But Active (Windows only)

A new option has been added to the Windows menu. When you select Close All Bins But Active, all open bins will be closed except the bin that currently has focus. (This is currently working on Windows systems only.)

mc8_7-locked-bins

Skip Prompt to Save Locked Bins on Auto-Save

The new option “Skip prompts to save locked bins on Auto-Save” in Bin Settings window allows you to disable the prompts that appear when saving locked bins during Auto-save. You will receive the following warning if you choose “Skip prompts to save locked bins on Auto-
Save.”

mc8_7-hybridlog

Hybrid Log Gamma Color Space

All references to  AribB-67 have been changed to HybridLogGamma across the editing application. This change is seen in the color space selection, as well as color transformations in the Source Settings.

mc8_7-timecode

Timecode Burn-In Effect Local Frame Count

In a previous release, the editing application allowed you to set the starting frame count at 0 or 1. With this release, you can set the starting frame count at any value. This value will also be reflected in the Frame Count Start bin column entry.

mc8_7-list-tools

List Tool Update

With Media Composer, you can now create a cut list or change list for multiple sequences.

Support for Sony XAVC-LongG Format

This release of the Avid editing application supports the Sony XAVC-Long GOP format. The formats listed below are available for media creation and linking. You must have the latest Sony Plugin installed to Link to XAVC-Long GOP. See http://www.avid.com/plugins/ama-plugins.

XAVC-L-HD 50 (720p/50, 720p59.94, 1080i/50, 1080i/59.94)
XAVC-L-HD 35 (1080i/50, 1080i/59.94)
XAVC-L-HD 25 (1080i/50, 1080i/59.94)

Media Composer 8.7 is now available for all customers who have a Subscription, Floating or Perpetual License with an active Upgrade and Support plan. As soon as you connect to the internet, your Avid Application Manager will notify you about the availability of this new version. If you don’t have an internet connection on your system, just download the latest version from your Avid Account or the Video Download Center.

Remember you’ll need an active Upgrade and Support plan to use the latest features in Media Composer 8.7, so be sure your Annual Upgrade Plan is current—renew your plan now in your Avid Account.

Get more details on these features, changes and improvements in the ReadMe and What’s New documents on our Media Composer Documentation page.

source

 

Technicolor PostWorks creates colour for Café Society

Categories:

Articles, Post Production, videomag

August 17, 2016

Technicolor PostWorks New York completed the finishing on Café Society, Woody Allen’s first digital motion picture as a director, which was captured by legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. The film opened the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States last month.

Set in the 1930s, the story charts the rise of the naïve young Bobby Dorfman (played by Jesse Eisenberg) from his humble origins in the Bronx before seeking fame in Hollywood and returning to New York in triumph. Storaro, working with senior colourist Anthony Raffaele, created looks that reflected the major locations, each in need of a distinctive visual style, and the development of the main character as he navigates a world of dreams and artifice.

cafe_society1

“When Woody Allen asked me to do Café Society, he had never done a digital capture before, but I knew that I had to jump completely into this new chance we had,” said Vittorio Storaro. “I wanted to see images on set that would be very close to the final result and afterwards on dailies even closer, almost 90% of that way to what we would see at the end – Anthony Raffaele with Baselight was able to offer that.”

Storaro wanted to keep a 16-bit 4K workflow throughout. Due to his previous experience with Baselight – on Majid Majidi’s Muhammad: The Messenger of God – and its ability to work in multiple new formats, Storaro was also insistent that Baselight was the ideal system for both the dailies and DI. The project was shot on Sony F55 and F65 cameras and graded using the ACES standard, with Baselight converting to XYZ to retain quality and to allow high dynamic range output to all the deliverables.

“A real plus of ACES is that you can achieve every colour and density you could ever want,” said colourist Raffaele. “Vittorio always wants a crisp black level. But with digital projection you do not get the same quality black level as you do with print. The full support for ACES in Baselight enabled us to emulate film.”

Because Storaro insisted on the same colourist for dailies and finishing, Raffaele formed a close working relationship with on-set DIT Simone d’Archangelo, exchanging files and notes every day to ensure that what was seen on set was precisely what left the colour suite.

Raffaele made extensive use of Baselight’s layer functionality, including emulating the original Technicolor three-strip process and colour intensity to create strong key looks, identifying each location.

“The Bronx was supposed to be a softer palette. It was poor, lower toned, with muted contrast,” Raffaele explained.  “Los Angeles was more vibrant, new, golden with luminous glow, reflecting the fact that our main character is in a more uplifted place. The New York look was a merging of the two, bringing something back from LA, with a fresher look. Bobby Dorfman has changed his life and so the image is a cleaner colour palette, with more contrasts.”

He used a large part of the grading arsenal of Baselight, such as the DFuse tool to soften out skin, particularly to make the main female characters look more radiant and angelic. The Baselight layering tools helped him complete simple VFX jobs too, such as adding lights to a dawn scene and matting out unwanted objects.

Raffaele also pointed to Baselight’s ability to switch colour spaces readily, allowing him to create the final grade in HDR on HD and immediately apply it to the 4K raw footage inside ACES, then roll out the deliverables to multiple colour spaces.

“Anthony Raffaele is a wonderful colourist. He was with us from New York to Los Angeles, from the beginning to the end,” said Storaro. “That’s something I’m used to doing in Italy and I really love it, to have the same colourist doing dailies and doing the DI as well, following the movie through its entire journey.”

Storaro had a clear vision of the complete movie, including references to classical painters and photographers, and he also had a very strong understanding of the technologies involved to achieve what he wanted. He went through the exact same process as shooting in celluloid.

“Vittorio is an absolute perfectionist. He’s extremely technical and a great storyteller. He is also the most collaborative cinematographer I’ve ever worked with,” added Raffaele. “Plus he insisted on a Baselight grade – and that day the stars aligned for me.”

http://www.filmlight.ltd.uk

 

via @videomageu

 

Marquis Announces Avid Certification for Project Parking

Categories:

Post Production

May 18, 2016

(Via @videomageu) Marquis Broadcast, experts in content workflows and media integration software, has announced that it has been selected as an Avid® Alliance Partner and that Marquis’ Project Parking, which is used around the world to cost effectively manage Avid storage, has been certified by Avid and will be distributed through Avid’s sales channels.

“This is a major development for Marquis,” confirms Chris Steele, Managing Director, Marquis Broadcast.

“Over the years, we have developed Project Parking to become a complete Avid storage management solution. It has been used around the world to archive, move and restore Avid projects and to analyse and manage media to optimise Avid storage utilisation. Project Parking analyses all Avid projects and media to identify which projects are using up most space and then take appropriate action to transfer, archive or delete. We are delighted now to join the Avid Alliance Partner program to help more customers manage their Avid projects and media.

“We’re committed to working with solutions partners to provide innovative technologies and outstanding interoperability for both our users and to the digital media industry”, explains Alan Hoff, vice president, Market Solutions, Avid. “We are pleased to welcome Marquis Broadcast as an Avid Alliance Partner. Our many joint customers will benefit from the certified integration of Marquis’ Project Parking to facilitate their archive and retrieval workflows.”

“Avid’s certification process lets organisations know that suppliers are working closely together,” continues Steele. “This means upgrades are smoother as major product enhancements are coordinated between manufactures to achieve tighter technical integration for the benefit of our customers.”

http://www.marquisbroadcast.com

 

FilmLight and Avid launch ‘Professional Colour’ bundle for editors at NAB 2016

Categories:

Articles, Post Production, videomag

April 15, 2016

FilmLight today announced a new collaboration with longstanding collaborator, Avid®, which will see both companies introduce a new Professional Colour bundle for editors at NAB2016 (18–21 April, Las Vegas Convention Centre).

FilmLight first showed Baselight Editions on Avid Media Composer® at NAB2012 and since then the two companies have worked closely to improve interoperability between their products, helping editors and colourists to tell great stories through beautiful images. This new venture is yet another example of FilmLight’s commitment to providing solutions that address the growing demands for perfect colour control throughout the professional post workflow.

baselight_avid

The Professional Colour bundle brings together Baselight for Avid – which delivers the world’s most powerful colour grading toolset – with the industry’s preeminent editing system Avid Media Composer in one single package. Immediately available on Mac or Windows for $1,799, the bundle makes it even easier for editors to increase their finishing capabilities, directly within their NLE system.

“Through Avid Everywhere and the MediaCentral Platform, Avid provides the most open, extensible and flexible media environment that integrates with technology from Avid and other providers,” said Avid vice president & chief product officer, Dana Ruzicka. “By working closely with FilmLight, we’re delivering seamless, collaborative workflows that enable creative professionals to work more efficiently and focus on telling great stories.”

Baselight for Avid is a real-time plugin, so colour corrections can be played directly on the Avid timeline. It provides unlimited primary and secondary grades in a single layer, including mattes, automatic object tracking and full keyframe animation.

As well as using modified AAF files to exchange grades, Baselight for Avid shares the same BLG colour metadata as all systems in the FilmLight range, so projects can be transferred and shared between on-set, near-set and the grading suite without rendering, and with the latest grade always available in editorial for a powerful and fast workflow. The BLG format carries sophisticated grading data including secondary colour correction, shapes and tracked objects. And, as the grade metadata is fully modifiable throughout the process, workflow efficiency is greatly improved as corrections and last minute changes can be made directly in Media Composer, with no need to return to the full Baselight suite.

Rob Anderson, finishing editor at BingoLewis in Portland, Oregon commented: “Many of our clients use Avid, and they like the fact that we don’t have to deconstruct their project in order to colour grade it. I can add a grade to any effect they have on their timeline and, using the free version of Baselight Editions, I can send the project back to them via email so they can see my grades on their timeline. It’s incredibly efficient.”

“Editors find it hugely frustrating to work with a mix of graded and raw images, and the cumbersome round-tripping involved in sharing projects between editorial and grading,” said Steve Chapman, CEO and co-founder of FilmLight. “Baselight Editions eliminates that by combining the ability to comprehend and show the latest grade in the edit suite with the optional ability of the editor to adjust that grade to quickly incorporate last-minute changes such as the late arrival of new material. The Professional Colour bundle puts two professional software products together in a single package, to make it easy and cost-effective to get started on the most productive way of collaborative working.”

FilmLight will be exhibiting Baselight for Avid at NAB2016 on stand SL3829. The plugin can also be seen on Avid’s stand (SU902), during the main presentations as well as on every single Media Composer workstation.

www.avid.com

www.filmlight.ltd.uk

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