Studio Monthly articles from April 2009

Studio Monthly archives from April 2009

What twitter has taught me.(editor's note)
April 1, 2009... Regular readers of this column know I'm rarely at a loss for words here. But the available time in a 24-hour-day to think analytically, reflect widely and deeply, and create content--given everything else we do now--is evaporating. I want to...

Matrox Rackmount.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... The 2RU-sized Matrox MX02 Rack is a new version of the Matrox MX02 \/0 device for the Mac that is designed for broadcast news operations, OB vans, and other environments where equipment must be rackmounted. The MX02 product line is designed to...

Boris FX has a new BCC AE for NAB (say that 10 times fast).(gear up)
April 1, 2009... Boris FX has added BCC 6 AE (C54 and CS3) to its Continuum Complete product line. This new release features 13 new filters including Extruded Text, Extruded Spline, Type-On Text, Layer Deformer, Smooth Tone, DV Fixer, and Pixel Fixer. In...

Rocking out your cameras with classic style.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... Spider Support Systems is introducing the Ringo Head. The Ringo Head is a camera accessory that lets you mount any professional video camera at 90 degrees. It allows an operator to easily mount his or her camera at a right angle and operate it...

Angle wider.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... Schneider Optics is introducing a new line of Century Pro Series HD lens accessories to complement and enhance the performance of 43mm front lens thread camcorders like the Canon HV20/HV30 and Panasonic AG-HSC1U. To expand the wide-angle...

Financially sound audio.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... To address both the technical and financial issues, Linear Acoustic, the leading authority in loudness control and upmixing solutions for digital television, has started shipping the compact AERO.one DTV audio/loudness manager and is announcing...

New light goes Dim.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... Sachtler, a Vitec Group brand, is introducing the Reporter SLEDim. This new on-camera LED lighting fixture can be dimmed continuously from 100 to 30 percent, to provide just the right amount of light for any shooting situation, particularly for...

Far and wide.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... At this year's NAB, Fujinon (Booth 8141) will introduce the industry's first three megapixel, vari-focal lens designed for day/night operation, the YV2.1x2.8SR4A-SA2. The new model has a focal length range of 2.8 to 6mm, an aperture range of...

Steady improvement.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... OConnor, a Vitec Group brand, has announced an upgrade to its Ultimate 2575 Fluid Head, the new "D" model. Improvements include ergonomic changes to controls and more pan bar mounting points. The 2575D retains the counterbalance specifications...

Fresh mocha.(gear up)
April 1, 2009... Imagineer Systems announced two new developments for the After Effects Community: the company is adding significant workflow enhancements to its popular mocha for After Effects, and is introducing an entirely new VFX plug-in solution, mocha...

Blackmagic Design Multibridge Pro: this format wizard will ease your workflow.(ROI reviews)
April 1, 2009... Time is money. Being a content provider these days means wearing several different hats and being ready for anything. When working with digital assets, such as high-definition video, it is important to find a workflow that, well, works....

Miller DS20 tripod system: steady support for your shots.(ROI reviews)
April 1, 2009... Few things are more important in a videographer's or filmmaker's kit than a good tripod system. There's really no replacement for the smooth, steady shots that it can give you. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] That said, with today's low cost of...

Izotope RX and RX Advanced: spring clean your audio archives.(ROI reviews)
April 1, 2009... iZotope, makers of finely crafted audio plug-ins and software, has a very cool forward-thinking application called RX, that they dub as the "Complete Audio Restoration" software. A pretty bold claim at first read, but one that I think the...

Create Streaming cell phone videos for a 24/7 Streaming channel.(how)
April 1, 2009... STEP 1 ADD A VIDEO To add a video file for encoding, navigate to your Bookmarks, select a file and drag it onto the Job Batch. The file I'm encoding is called Fish02.mov and is a 720 x 480 DV QuickTime Source. [ILLUSTRATION...

Disintegrate geometry objects using Frantic Films Krakatoa and Autodesk 3ds Max.(train up)
April 1, 2009... STEP 1 LOAD AND RENDER A MODEL While this approach is applicable to any geometry object, in this example I use a Lamborghini model downloaded from www.turbosquid.com. First, delete any existing animation of doors and wheels. Create a...

The year of magical thinking: wonder when you'll ever be able to upgrade your gear? These surprisingly affordable, format-bending and workflow-changing options, premiering at NAB, will get you thinking creatively again.(NAB SPECIAL REPORT)
April 1, 2009... There's no sense wallowing in it. Times are tough all over. More than likely, your clients haven't all dried up and business is decent, if not good. Even if you've closed one shop, you're ready for round two. After all, you've still got a lot...

Mantra meditates on the next big thing.(hot house)
April 1, 2009... When The Creative Group formed its motion graphics design studio, Mantra, they reached out to Fred Salkind, a veteran of Sony Music Studios, who had spent years as an editor for The Image Group, working mainly for clients from MTV Networks and...