Archive for the ‘Digital Cinema’ Category

Final Cut Pro is long overdue for a real upgrade

Many complained that FCP vers. 7 was not really worthy of a new number but belonged in the vers. 6 family.  In my opinion Apple has always been trigger happy with upgrades to all their software but nevertheless much of their brain trust has been noticeably absent when it comes to improving their editing platform.  It has been assumed that the tech wizards were otherwise engaged in the cash cows of iPhone and iPad.  This new version is long overdue.

Apple’s Final Cut Pro made its debut at NAB in 1998 before being released as a product the following year. The software has a history of April releases, though its last major version came in July 2009. The software itself hasn’t been a standalone product for quite a bit longer though, instead being wrapped up as part of Apple’s Final Cut Studio suite, which bundles together Final Cut Pro with Motion, DVD Studio, and Soundtrack Pro, as well as the Color and Compressor applications.

Reports began circulating in late February that Apple was nearing completion on a complete overhaul of the software that would bring Final Cut Pro into the 64-bit era and more importantly a release this spring. That report from Tech Crunch which cited anonymous sources, said that the design was both under the hood and sporting a new user interface.
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A new report from ProVideoCoalition says Apple plans on “taking over” the 10th Annual SuperMeet event taking place on April 12 to announce a new version of the software.

It may be time to break out the champagne.

Dodge College now offers Feature Film Label

Shingle to fully-finance micro-budget films

By Rachel Abrams

In a rare move for a film school, Chapman University has launched a feature film production and distribution label, Chapman Entertainment.

The shingle will fully-finance micro-budget films in the $250,000 – $625,000 range from a mix of equity partners and private donors.

Bob Bassett, the dean of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, will head the program, which, he says, will be open to both alumni and the filmmaking community at large.

“We really will take stories or scripts from anybody,” Bassett told Variety, adding that the group is actively pursuing two scripts, only one of which originated with an alum. “(But) the key aim is to help our alumni make a transition into the business.”

Bassett emphasized, however, that Chapman Entertainment will only be making fully-realized movies, not student films.

“In most film schools, the students make short films,” he said. “But that’s really not the currency of the business.”

Film schools do not normally enter in the film production and distribution business. The move, says Bassett, has much to do with teaching not just how to make a film, but how to get the film to an audience. To that end, Chapman is also one of the few schools which teaches marketing and film publicity to help teach students that just creating a film won’t make people want to see it, an idea he says is “rampant” in many schools.

“Part of our aim is to do something bold and to directly connected to the business.”

In a statement, the company says it will select projects based primarily on their appeal to a “younger demographic” and will look to release films through traditional independent channels.

Contact the variety newsroom at news@variety.com

From the LA Times:

In a high-stakes bid to raise its academic profile and help its alumni launch careers in filmmaking, Chapman University is creating a for-profit film production company that will make, own and distribute five to 10 feature films a year, college officials announced Wednesday.

The new company, Chapman Entertainment, will be run by the school’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. It’s being billed by the liberal arts college and professional school, located in Orange, as the first venture of its kind associated with an academic institution.

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“Our students are production assistants all over Hollywood right now, but we want to do something that’s going to put them in the driver’s seat,” said Bassett, who oversaw the establishment of the college’s $42-million Marion Knott Studios, a 76,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art studio complex.

“It’s not for students, it’s for alums,” Bassett said Wednesday. “It’s for people we’ve already trained and who have the chops.”

Under the arrangement, the company will make commercial movies in the so-called micro-budget range of $250,000 to $625,000. The films will lean toward youth-friendly genres such as comedies, thrillers and horror films, and will be aimed at a youthful demographic “that is more likely to embrace and access new media distribution channels,” according to a school-issued statement on the new venture.

Employing a combination of Dodge College post-graduates and industry professionals, productions will be funded by equity partners as well as philanthropic donors, the school said. Filmmakers whose projects are selected will be able to use the college’s production facilities and equipment for rates that will be factored into each project’s budget.

Screenplays will be solicited from a variety of sources, including major talent agencies, Bassett said. And although Chapman graduates will get priority consideration, scripts and project proposals may be submitted by anyone.

Bassett predicted that the new enterprise would help distinguish Dodge from older, better-known college film schools such as USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts’ Kanbar Institute of Film and Television. He said the company would function like a professional film studio, “in a very modest way.”

Officials at USC, the American Film Institute and other film schools could not be reached for comment.

Dodge expects to soon name the first screenplay that the new company will develop. “I have two projects that we’re developing and have equity partners that are interested in them,” Bassett said. “It could be tomorrow or it could be a month from now.”

In interviews conducted on Dodge’s campus in recent months, several current students and post-graduates voiced approval of the venture.

“An MFA in film does not get you a job,” said Brian Faye, a 2010 graduate, “but the fact that they’re talking about funding a few pictures a year, I think that’s phenomenal. That’s the thing you can’t get anywhere else.”

Chapman has tapped Travis Knox, a 1998 Chapman graduate and producer — whose credits include “The Bucket List” and “Hairspray” — to oversee development, production and the company’s daily operations. Barbara Doyle, chair of the college’s film division and a former production associate at Tri-Star Pictures, will serve as executive in charge of production.

Speaking at a faculty meeting last fall, Doyle said the new venture would allow Chapman students to have a fully professional experience in bringing film projects from conception to fruition.

“The idea is not to do guerrilla films,” she said.

reed.johnson@latimes.com

WB is the leader in digital distribution

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD), a market leader in video-on-demand and electronic sell-through, announced it will expand its test offering of movies for rental through Warner Bros. Entertainment’s Facebook Movie Pages. Starting today at 10:00 pm Pacific Time / 1:00 am Eastern Time, consumers will be able to rent five additional titles directly through each film’s official Facebook Page using Facebook Credits. The films include “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “Inception,” “Life as We Know It” and “Yogi Bear.”

To rent a film, consumers simply click on the “watch now” icon to apply their Facebook Credits, and within seconds they will begin enjoying the film. This offering is presently available only to consumers in the United States.

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Fans will have full control over the film while watching it through their Facebook account for up to 48 hours from purchase. They can choose to watch it in full screen, pause the movie, and resume playing it when they log back into Facebook. Consumers will also have full Facebook functionality including the ability to post comments on the movie, interact with friends and update their status.

World Wide B.O. still the champ despite economic downturn and piracy concerns

Studios claim higher budgets and skyrocketing marketing costs leave them in the poorhouse despite evidence to the contrary

LOS ANGELES – The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) today released its annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2010. The report shows that global box office receipts for all films released around the world reached an all time high of $31.8 billion, an increase of 8% over 2009. The U.S./Canada market repeated its peak performance from last year but remained flat at $10.6 billion. International box office increased by 13%, with the largest growth in Asia Pacific which grew by 21%. More than 40% of the Asia Pacific box office growth occurred in China. However, China remains a highly restrictive market for foreign film distribution.

The 3D market was a key driver at the U.S./Canada box office making up 21%, or $2.2 billion of the total, doubling last year’s performance, and compared to just 2% of the box office in 2008. One in three people in the U.S. and Canada saw a 3D movie in 2010. Younger moviegoers are avid consumers of the 3D experience; 64% of moviegoers ages 2-17 viewed at least one 3D movie in 2010.

“It was a strong year at the movies in 2010. Despite a weak economy, shifting business models, and the ongoing impact of digital theft, we had another record year at the global box office driven by growth outside the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. and Canada 3D was the driving force,” said Bob Pisano, President and Interim CEO of the MPAA. “Higher value entertainment continues to make a significant contribution to box office revenues.”

John Fithian, President and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, added: “The domestic theatrical market continues its strong performance. Box office has grown for four of the past five years, setting records in three of them. It has surpassed $10.5 billion for the past two years. The industry’s investments in digital cinema and 3D have begun to show dividends, with 3D releases doubling their share of the box office. Admissions, which are more volatile than box office, continue to hold their own in the face of a prolonged economic downturn. Theater owners continue to offer their patrons the lowest-priced form of out of home entertainment, with the average movie ticket – including premium-priced tickets – costing less than it did in 1970, adjusted for inflation.”

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The number of screens has remained constant over the past five years at around 150,000 worldwide; however digital screens have increased dramatically. Nearly one-quarter of all screens are now digital and over 60% of those are 3D-capable. In 2010, every region in the world more than doubled its digital screen count for an overall increase of 122%.

“Though innovation and technology continue to be a positive force for the theatrical business, driving moviegoers towards higher value 3D entertainment, the continued theft of movies online will have a sustained adverse impact on movie attendance in the coming years. It’s impossible to compete with free,” said Pisano. “We will continue to work with our industry partners to fight for common sense ways, through legislative, enforcement and legal avenues, to vigilantly protect the creativity at the heart of our industry from theft.”

For a detailed analysis of the 2010 MPAA Theatrical Market Statistics please click here.


Roger Deakins may be calling it quits: “Whether I’ll Shoot on Film again, I Don’t Know”

Nine-time Academy Award nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins (The Coen Brothers films, The Shawshank Redemption, A Beautiful Mind, The Reader, Kundun) has seen the future, and it isn’t 35mm. Deakins has worked on film for 35 years. He is the type of veteran whom you would expect to be a film purist. Last year, for the first time in his long history, Deakins decided to shoot a feature length movie (Andrew Niccol’s science fiction thriller Now) using digital video cameras, and he’s not sure he’ll be going back to celluloid.

The technology and how it’s changing and the possibilities that are coming. This film Now, I’m shooting on a digital camera (Arri Alexa). First film I’ve shot digitally, because, frankly, it’s the first camera I’ve worked with that I’ve felt gives me something I can’t get on film. Whether I’ll shoot on film again, I don’t know. [Shooting on Digital] gives me a lot more options. It’s got more latitude, it’s got better color rendition. It’s faster. I can immediately see what I’m recording. I can time that image on set with a color-calibrated monitor. That coloring goes through the whole system, so it’s tied with the meta-data of the image. So that goes through the whole post-production chain, so it’s not a case of being in a lab and having to sit and then time a shot on a shot-by-shot because this has already got a control on it that’s set the timing for the shot, you know?

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The grain is unique, but on this film Now that I’m doing, I’m probably going to add grain for certain sequences where I feel that they would benefit having grain, just the look and the texture of it. Yeah, there are certain things about film emulsion that I love, and for certain projects, absolutely. I would certainly consider shooting film again, but you can add grain to a digital image. And, frankly, it’s not the technology that makes the great movies. I mean, if you went back to see Citizen Kane and you looked at it on a big screen and you looked at the quality of the image, I mean, frankly, some of it is not very…well, good’s not the right word, because technically it’s not as sharp. Some of it is very grainy. The lens quality is not as good as modern lenses. But…[Laughs] it’s still a better film than ninety-nine percent of what are made today. So, you know, it’s not just about technique and equipment.

Interview with David Chen / Slashfilm.com

American Cinema Editors asks Film Festivals to add Editing Category

The American Cinema Editors are asking competitions and film festivals to consider adding a motion picture editing category.

While the role of the editor is a key element in film production production, the best editing is often relatively invisible. Designed to keep the audience in the story, the craft is often referred to as the “Invisible Art.”

To raise the visibility of editors, ACE has sent letters to the Shanghai International Film Festival, New York PictureStart Awards, Durban International Film Festival, Boston Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival. “We are approaching festivals that already honor cinematography and/or production design, but not editing,” explained Academy Award-nominated editor Stephen Rivkin (Avatar), a member of ACE’s board of directors.

The letter sent to those festivals explains: “The Editor creates the first cut as the film is being shot, which requires skills in storytelling, performance and shot selection, structure, rhythm, pace, length, taste and talent. This first viewing of the film is often the most important, as a first impression is formed and it helps the filmmakers to define the task ahead. The Director and Editor are collaborators in the process of refining and trimming, working closely together through completion and delivery of the final film.”

A separate letter was sent to the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA), which puts on the annual Annie Awards, asking for consideration for the unique role of the editor of animated movies.

“Editors on animated films are involved much earlier than in a live-action production,” the letter reads. “They help shape the story using storyboards, building a temp track, working with the Director on script issues, pacing and characters well before the actual production begins. Performance selection, storytelling, pace, rhythm, shot selection, cutting patterns, length are all elements that are common to both live action and animated film editing.”
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The American Cinema Editor’s Eddie Awards will be presented at the Beverly Hilton Saturday, February 19, 2011

For a complete list of the nominees you may go here


source: hollywoodreporter.com

If 3D causes headaches… Drug makers take note!

NEW YORK — From Hollywood studios to Japanese TV makers, powerful business interests are betting 3-D will be the future of entertainment, despite a major drawback: It makes millions of people uncomfortable or sick.

Optometrists say as many as one in four viewers have problems watching 3-D movies and TV, either because 3-D causes tiresome eyestrain or because the viewer has problems perceiving depth in real life. In the worst cases, 3-D makes people queasy, leaves them dizzy or gives them headaches.

Based on an online survey, the American Optometric Association estimates that 25 per cent of Americans have experienced headaches, blurred vision, nausea or similar problems when viewing 3D.

Our eyes track an approaching object by turning inward, toward our noses.  Bring something close enough, and we look cross-eyed. 3D screens also elicit this response when they show something approaching the viewer.

The problem is that as the eyes turn inward, they also expect to focus closer, so the eyes have to curb their hard-wired inclination and focus back out.  This mismatch between where the eyes think the focus should be and where the screen actually is forces them to work extra hard.

“That causes at least part of the discomfort and fatigue that people are experiencing,” says Martin Banks, an optometry professor at U.C. Berkeley.

TV makers do their own testing, but don’t publish results. Samsung warns on its Australian website that its 3D TVs can cause “motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain, and decreased postural stability.” The last part means viewers risk losing balance and falling.

“We do not recommend watching 3D if you are in bad physical condition, need sleep or have been drinking alcohol,” the site says.
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Researchers have begun developing more lifelike 3-D displays that might address the problems, but they’re years or even decades from being available to the masses.

That isn’t deterring the entertainment industry, which is aware of the problem yet charging ahead with plans to create more movies and TV shows in 3-D. Jeff Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc., calls 3-D “the greatest innovation that’s happened for the movie theaters and for moviegoers since color.”

Theater owners including AMC Entertainment Inc. and TV makers such as Panasonic Corp. are spending more than a billion dollars to upgrade theaters and TVs for 3-D. A handful of satellite and cable channels are already carrying 3-D programming; ESPN just announced its 3-D network will begin broadcasting 24 hours a day next month.

Yet there are already signs that consumers may not be as excited about 3-D as the entertainment and electronics industries are.

Last year, people were willing to pay an additional $3 or more per ticket for blockbuster 3-D movies such as “Avatar” and “Toy Story 3.” But that didn’t help the overall box office take: People spent $10.6 billion on movie tickets last year, down slightly from the year before. People went to the theater less, but spent more.

3-D TV sets were available in the U.S. for the first time last year, but shipments came in below forecasts, at just under 1.6 million for North America, according to DisplaySearch. Nevertheless, TV makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Panasonic are doubling down on 3-D and introduced more 3-D-capable models this month at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Those models cost more than regular ones and require glasses, just like in theaters.

Research into how today’s 3-D screens affect viewers is only in its early stages. There have been no large-scale scientific studies.

source: AP/Marketing Magazine

JVC rolls out 3D Camcorder

JVC today announced the world’s first consumer camcorder to offer 3D recording in Full HD, thanks to a new JVC-developed high-speed processor that can produce two simultaneous Full HD images.

The new GS-TD1 uses two camera lenses and two 3.32 megapixel CMOS sensors – one for each lens – to capture three-dimensional images much the same way that human eyes work.  JVC’s new high-speed imaging engine simultaneously processes the two Full HD images – left and right images at 1920 x 1080i – within that single chip.  The newly developed “LR Independent Format” makes the GS-TD1 the world’s first consumer-oriented camcorder capable of 3D shooting in Full HD.  JVC’s new camcorder offers other shooting modes as well, including the widely used “Side-by-Side Format” for AVCHD (3D) and conventional AVCHD (2D) shooting.

The camcorder uses a JVC 3D Twin HD GT Lens that sets a new standard in high-resolution lenses with extra-low-dispersion glass for crisp, high-contrast images, as well as multiple aspherical lenses for fine image reproduction. The GS-TD1 also features round iris diaphragms that enable beautiful bokeh effect (background blurring) shooting of video and stills alike.

Additional highlights include 3D optical 5x zoom, Optical Axis Automatic Stabilization System for disparity control to give depth to 3D images, JVC’s BIPHONIC technology for dynamic 3D sound and Automatic Parallax Adjustment to optimize the 3D-video comfort zone .

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JVC’s other new HD Everio with 3D capabilities is the GZ-HM960. . Similar to other HD Everio models in size and features, the GZ-HM960 is distinguished by its 2D-to-3D output function, which turns any 2D footage into 3D. Output can be viewed without glasses on the camera’s 3.5-inch 3D LCD monitor, or by connecting the camcorder to an external 3D television. Bluetooth® wireless technology enables integration with other devices, such as smartphones, to synch images with Google Maps™.

The GS-TD1 and GZ-HM960 both use Everio MediaBrowser software (for Windows®) for full management, editing and sharing of content. In addition to full-fledged video and still image editing, files can be uploaded effortlessly to social media sites such as YouTube™ or Facebook. In the GS-TD1, the software allows 3D video to be shared on YouTube™.

The JVC GZ-TD1 Full HD 3D camcorder will be available in March for $1,999.95.

The HD Everio GZ-HM960 will be available in February for $949.95.

Chapman 3D Expedition treks to 19,000 feet

Chapman University’s Dodge film school has tapped eight student filmmakers to shoot a 3D documentary on their expedition to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,341 feet.

The students — four male and four female — are set to depart Monday for Tanzania. Chapman said the students were selected after proving to be physically fit enough for the task and eager to climb the highest mountain in Africa.

Each will shoot his or her own expedition documentary, chronicling their experience and each will also take turns operating a Panasonic 3D camera.
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Panasonic loaned the crew a 3D camera for two months in exchange for two minutes of “beauty shots” from Kilimanjaro. Dodge College Professors Jeff Swimmer and Jurg Walther will lead the expedition.

Swimmer said he’s planning a similar journey next year to Antarctica.

source: variety.com

Sony + IMAX = match made in heaven

(Reuters) – Shares of Imax Corp went for a roller-coaster ride on the last day of 2010, climbing steeply on a report Sony Corp or Walt Disney might be interested, but plunging after Imax poured cold water on the speculation.

Britain’s Daily Mail, without citing sources, reported late on Thursday that Sony may be readying a bid for the big-screen movie company at more than $40 per share. The newspaper also named Disney as a possible suitor, citing “industry sources”.

Imax shares jumped as much as 20 percent early on Friday but shed most of those gains after Imax said in a release it was “unaware of any corporate developments” that would account for the rise.

A deal for all outstanding Imax shares at $40 each — a 58 percent premium on Monday’s close — would value the company at more than $2.5 billion.

Traders and analysts put the takeover talk into the speculative basket, suggesting the price mentioned was too high and the year-end timing suspicious.

“I’m not going to bother wasting my time on that,” said one trader. “Too many whispers in the world.”

Investors, while trading in record volumes of Imax stock, also seemed to shrug off at least the suggested price, with the shares jumping to $32.30 early in the Nasdaq session before falling back to $28.06 by 3:55 p.m. Eastern, still a 4.5 percent gain on Thursday’s close.

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Imax’s shares were 4.1 percent higher at C$27.97 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Sony and Disney did not respond to requests for comment on the media report.

An Imax spokesman said: “The first Imax became aware of these rumors was through yesterday’s Daily Mail article. It has been the company’s long-standing policy not to comment on such rumors.”

Any studio takeover of Imax would hamper its growth, according to Eric Wold at Merriman Capital, as other studios would be less willing to show their films on the oversized screens and, in turn, theaters would be less inclined to install more screens.

Imax, which had put itself up for sale in the past, posted a third-quarter profit that blew past analyst expectations, and forecast rapid expansion of its theater network, especially in emerging markets such as China.

The company made a net profit of $19.2 million in 2009 after two years of losses.

Imax shares have risen tenfold in the past two years, as the company capitalized on the popularity of 3D movies such as “Avatar” and “Toy Story 3,” weathering the downturn felt by other theater chains.

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About 3D & Digital Cinema

If you are a tech head, cinema-phile, movie geek or digital imaging consultant, then we'd like to hear from you. Join us in our quest to explore all things digital and beyond. Of particular interest is how a product or new technology can be deployed and impacts storytelling. It may be something that effects how we download and enjoy filmed entertainment. It may pertain to how primary and secondary color grading will enhance a certain tale. The most important thing is that you are in the driver's seat as far as what you watch and how you choose to consume it.