NEWS
NAB + NYC = HD-Ready:
A Report from the Show Floor
by Adam Wisniewski
photo by Tomm Carroll
What was clear at NAB Post+ is that while the film industry in Hollywood is
fully tuned into the high definition (HD) evolution, the East Coast production
world is still finding its footing in the HD world. Even though New Yorkers
have had exposure to over-the-air HDTV since 1998, it appears that there has
not been a trickle down effect to the regional videographers and post houses
that aren’t producing content for broadcast television.
Most Post+ attendees, even those producing for DVD, were here to learn about setting up an HD facility and whether they could afford to make the transition…or if they could afford not to make it.
Following are the highlights of the exhibited products.
3D Mirage
Not ready for primetime quite yet, this 3-D display system sold by the 3D Mirage
(www.3Dmirage.com) was interesting nonetheless. Combining a software package
and specially glassed monitor, the system processes recorded footage or live
footage to create a truly deep image that can be seen without special glasses.
When hooked up to multiple cameras, the software interpolates each camera image
into eight camera images, giving a sense of space. And when displayed on the
custom monitor, DVD and recorded graphics looked great, yet still kind of surreal.
As a display tool, it’ll be dynamite, especially with the price discount.
A sign at the booth read: Marked Down from $26,000 to the NAB price of $7,000.
Apple
In a late afternoon, unassuming, back-of-the-floor demo, Apple unveiled a powerful
new piece of pro photography software that should pique the interest of documentarians
working with static images in the Ken Burns mold. Aperture (www.apple. com/aperture)
is a powerful organizational and image processing tool that beefs up the basics
of the iPhoto feature set. Aperture works with digital images in the RAW format,
which offers non-destructive image processing to the actual pixel data captured
by a camera without having to deal with JPEG compression. The software automatically
groups photos together by image data and catalogues them into negative-like
strips called stacks. Individual images can be easily promoted or demoted within
a stack with a click. Metadata options are extensive and the software catalogues
every image in an SQL (structured query language) database. Once photos are
processed, they can be output with a click to an HTML gallery, PDF or web and
print resolution or exported into Photoshop for compositing and layer effects.
At $499, Aperture is available now.
Autodesk
The migration of the Discreet (www.autodesk.com) post-production toolset to
Linux has begun with visual effects Flame. Rhythm & Hues in Los Angeles
has been testing the product. Smoke and Flint in standard definition (SD) and
HD flavors are expected to follow suit in the coming months.
Boris FX
Boris (www.borisfx.com) announced a new version of the Final Effects Complete
(FEC 4.0) plug-in and filter package for Avid Xpress Pro and Xpress DV systems.
This initial release ($795) is currently available only for the Windows OS,
but a Macintosh version will follow. All the classic Boris tools are here: 100-plus
visual effects, animations and transitions. FEC 4.0 is also available bundled
with Boris Continuum Complete, featuring an extra 170 filters and transitions,
motion tracker and motion keyer for $1,295.
Boris, which recently purchased Media 100, also released Media 100sw, a software-only
Mac application which can edit, composite and mix media captured by the Media
100i or Media 100 HD systems to produce content for the Web or DVD. Media 100sw
does not capture or output footage without a Media 100 HDX video board. This
initial release of Media 100sw costs $395. A future version adding FireWire
support will cost $695.
Canopus
A PCI Express version of Canopus’ Edius NX SD/HD editing system ($1,299)
is now available for dual-processor Windows computers. The basic package contains
an I/O (input/output) board and Edius Pro editing software, but the system is
expandable to HD with an expansion kit. Canopus (www.canopus.com) will announce
a new version of its Edius Pro NLE software at NAB 2006 in Las Vegas in the
spring.
Contour Designs
Countour’s two-year-old ShuttlePro media controller ($85) is a nifty piece
of hardware. The ShuttlePro’s software comes pre-configured to fit into
any NLE (nonlinear editing) system, and it even controls other applications
like iTunes, games and audio editing software like Sonic Foundry’s Acid.
With a combination of jog/shuttle and 15 programmable buttons for keyboard strokes
and macros, it works with Windows or Mac machines, and the latest upgrade now
configures it to work with Tiger. Countour updates the ShuttlePro drivers every
month, and any new configurations may be downloaded for free from its website,
www.contourdesign.com.
Leitch
November saw the release of the Velocity 9.1 HD update. A free upgrade for Leitch’s
(www.leitch.com) NLE, this latest update offers support for HDV and Panasonic’s
24fps VariCam as well as live support for extends HD multi-camera editing from
two sources to four.
No new details about Velocity X, Leitch’s new self-contained laptop editor,
were forthcoming––only that it will be available in the first half
of 2006. This software-only NLE can act as an offline workstation or a field
editor.
Globalstor
Data storage manufacturer Globalstor (www.globalstor.com) introduced DVD TransPro,
a Windows XP-based stand-alone recorder/burner seeking to create a market for
lower resolution DVD video dailies by capturing and burning real-time video
onto DVD+/-R discs. Along with capturing timecode, EDL lists can burn scene
and take information onto each chapter (up to 99 per disc). Users can select
and order scenes before burning if they choose. Priced at $17,500, TransPro
features SDI (serial digital interface), component and composite video inputs
and balanced, unbalanced and digital audio inputs.
* * *
If there was a telling moment that described an apparent disparity in interest between those editors working in motion pictures and those who are not, it occurred when Editors Guild Magazine ran into an assistant editor from New York. When asked about what she thought of the show, she stated that she had come to hear the keynote addresses. “As an assistant, it’s inspiring to hear veteran editors articulate their craft,” she said. “And Tim [Squyres] is really good at that.” As for her interest in the show floor? She hadn’t set foot on it.
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