2D/3D CAD software leader OptiTex, and DAZ 3D, a developer of professional quality 3D models and software, are pleased to announce a new Dynamic Cloth Engine plug-in for Mac OS and a coinciding upgrade to the OptiTex Windows plug-in, which now enables it to support 64-bit architecture.
Enhancing the existing capabilities of DAZ Studio 4, OptiTex’s virtual clothing solution allows anyone to load in a DAZ 3D figure of their choice and apply dynamic clothing sets to them. With this tool, creativity can be brought to life through real-world cloth simulations and a user’s ability to quickly alter any clothing’s fabric type, garment size, or stylistic variation. Mac users, in particular, have awaited this new release with great anticipation; a testament to the quality-first focus that has been a boon to the 3D community ever since DAZ 3D and OptiTex joined forces four years ago.
Since the vast majority of new personal computers come standard with 64-bit Windows 7 or Mac OS X, accessing the power of a 64-bit computing is essential to maximizing the DAZ 3D Studio 4 package. Thanks to the newly upgraded OptiTex software and the proprietary OptiTex physics engine, DAZ 3D software can now fully utilize all 64-bit hardware for better performance on both platforms.
Available for free download, DAZ Studio provides an ideal solution for budding 3D artists as well as professional 3D designers, photographers, filmmakers, animators and illustrators. With the addition of this new dynamic clothing plugin, users can work with virtual actors to create images and animations of any genre with a level of realism that was previously unavailable to the general public.
Flanders Scientific is happy to announce the release of firmware version 9.42, which adds some very useful new features to FSI’s already capable monitor lineup. Three of the main additions found in this firmware release are:
1. HD Anamorphic De-Squeeze. This powerful feature gives you the ability to de-squeeze HD signals coming from cameras utilizing anamorphic lenses that may not have a built in de-squeeze feature of their own. This can be particularly useful in applications outside of post production, especially onset monitoring, where de-squeezing such signals in realtime may otherwise not be possible. The de-squeeze modes available are 1.3, 2.0, and 2.0mag. This feature is in addition to, and not a substitute for, the SD anamorphic and PAL SD FHA modes offered by our SD Aspect function.
2. AFD (Active Format Description) Reader. This new function gives you the ability to instantly toggle on/off a sophisticated AFD reader that will present you with the AFD code and AFD code frame, active image, positioning, and alternative image information. Additionally, the areas defined by the AFD reader will be shown onscreen with corresponding markers.
3. New Custom Markers. Two new user created custom markers have been added to the Marker Menu entitled Discovery and WS-SAFE-A-T. Keep in mind that FSI allows its users to generate custom markers via a 1920×1080 bmp file, which after being submitted to FSI will be rolled into future firmware updates at no charge. If you have a custom marker that you would like to see added to our list of marker selections send us your files (Support@FlandersScientific.com) and we will be happy to integrate them into our marker selection menu.
In Addition to the new features listed above some of the other features that have been updated or changed include:
New SD Enhancement Toggle on Video Menu for SD video signals.
New Default Scope Intensity Level at 75% of Max instead of 50% of Max.
RGB and GBR Parade indications moved right to avoid overlap with scale on left
Pixel Position toggle moved from function key to Rotary Knob to free up additional function key position
All new FSI monitors will now ship with this latest firmware version and as usual these updates are now also available for free to current FSI Monitor owners. Additional updates, features, and bug fixes have also been added in this firmware release. For complete details on these changes see the firmware release notes after logging into the firmware update site http://www.flandersscientific.com/index/Firmware_Updates. If you have forgotten your login information simply reregister your monitor. After registration you will be redirected to a page with your login information (make sure pop-up, redirect blockers are disabled).
New Color Critical 9″ Field Monitor Now In Stock!
The LM-0950W is Now In Stock and Available for Immediate Delivery
This high resolution 9″ monitor is equipped with an exceptional LCD panel delivering display performance on par with units costing nearly twice as much and it comes with an unrivaled set of features including:
3Gbps/HD/SD-SDI, Component, Composite, and DVI-I Inputs all Standard
Waveform with Intensity Adjustment
Vector Scope with Gain Expansion
RGB, GBR, and RGB Overlay Parade Scopes
YCbCr and YCbCr Overlay Scopes
YRGB Column Scopes
3 Histogram Scopes (Standard, RGB Histogram, and Color Histogram)
Automatic Duck is renowned for improving the interchange between Avid, Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Pro Tools, Smoke, Quantel and other AAF and OMF-friendly apps. This week Automatic Duck announced that it has partnered with Adobe Systems to bring that same interchange functionality to Premiere Pro. To that end, Automatic Duck co-founder, Wes Plate, has joined the Adobe Product Marketing team. Harry Plate, the other co-Founder of Automatic Duck, will be assisting with the technology integration while continuing to focus on supporting other Automatic Duck partners.
Automatic Duck views its partnership with an Adobe as a great opportunity for its customers, as it will finally be able to offer the same best-in-class quality translation interface for Premiere Pro as it has offered in the past for other video editing products. Automatic Duck looks forward to enabling customers to seamlessly move in and out of Premiere Pro in their editing/processing workflows.
The Automatic Duck team is preparing a new, updated website.
GUESTS: Ned Soltz, Karen Everett, Bruce Masters, Mark Pastor, Whitney Lippincott, Sam Thomas, Doug Pircher, and Larry Laboe.
HIGHLIGHTS: Improve your Documentaries with NewDoc Editing, LTO tape for Archiving Projects, The Cambio from Petrol Bags, Removable lenses for iPhone 4, Great products you don’t even know you want, & NewFilm Makers – a unique approach to filmmaking.
Digital Video Expo 2011 at the Pasadena, California, Convention Center, September 20 to 22, provides the chance to “Be Inspired!” And The Digital Production BuZZ takes you right to the heart of the action with interviews and inside insight from the leaders in our industry as the Official Podcast of Digital Video Expo 2011!
Click to listen to the current show:
Digital Production Buzz - September 29[ 1:11:58 ]Play NowDownload
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Join Larry Jordan and Mike Horton as they go live to the trade show and talk with:
Karen Everett is a documentary story consultant. She helps documentary producers figure out how to craft their stories to catch the eyes of distributors and viewers. She has discovered there are two “templates” that are very successful today and, after she gave her presentation at the Digital Video Conference, we sat down with her to learn the highlights of her approach.
Increasingly, producers are turning to LTO tape for archiving projects. In fact, some networks are now accepting LTO for final program delivery. Bruce Masters, Senior Program Manager for IBM discusses Ultrium – the consortium of IBM, HP, and Quantum that are the driving force behind LTO. What is it? How can it help us? And where is it going in the future?
Whitney Lippincott, Business Alliance Manager, HP Storage
Bruce Masters set the scene about LTO tape. Mark Pastor and Whitney Lippincott provide specific examples of how it is being used in the real world. We also spend time talking about specific techniques you can use to be successful using LTO tape to archive and access your projects.
Sam Thomas, Business and Development Manager, Petrol Bags, Division of Vitec Group
Petrol Bags is relatively new to the industry. If you need to carry cameras or other gear from one place to another, these are products you need to check out. Sam Thomas joins us to talk about their newest bag – the Cambio – which provides a built-in tripod and internal lighting system!
Ned Soltz, Contributing Editor, DV and Videography magazines
What can we say? It’s Ned Soltz. Ned looks at the new camera technology on display at DV Expo with an eye on showcasing new cameras and camera accessories and his surprising discovery of removable lenses for the iPhone 4!
Every year at Digital Video Expo, Doug Pircher introduces us to products we’ve never heard of that become part of our regular production tools. This year is no exception – Doug has scoured the earth to find a great collection of intriguing products that can simplify your life — or at least make it more fun.
It is easy, at a trade show, to get totally captivated by technology. But the purpose of filmmaking is to make films that other people want to watch. That’s where Larry Laboe comes in – he heads New Filmmakers – Los Angles, an organization that is part user group and part film festival. And a GREAT place to see films. Join us as Larry explains.
Bringing a new age of motion capture processing to the industry, IKinema LTD announced that the leading VFX house in London, Framestore, has incorporated IKinema technology into its motion capture production pipeline. Chosen for its powerful, fast and remarkably controllable design, IKinema’s inverse kinematics (IK) solver is now the key motion capture solving and retargeting tool that Framestore uses to create special effects and animation for both its broadcast and VFX projects.
Once Framestore integrated IKinema into its core motion capture pipeline, the results they had been hoping for began to appear. It is now possible to take tracked and filtered point cloud data from mocap software and easily animate a high-resolution skeleton by assigning their data to a linked set of joints. This process can be scripted via IKinema SDK and reused on every future take, which saves time by producing high-quality results.
For a recent VFX project, it was extremely important for Framestore to obtain the most accurate and truthful reproduction of a particular actor’s motion. By overlaying IKinema’s solver with calibrated witness camera footage, Framestore was able to determine how well the solver matched the actor’s movement. Not only did the solver prove incredibly accurate, but it also gave the studio a newfound flexibility that streamlined the entire mocap solving and retargeting pipeline.
IKinema technology enables users to create and retarget data directly inside Maya, in real-time and for a fraction of the cost of alternative solutions. IKinema converts virtually any skeleton model to a full feature rig while generating fluid and life-like full-body animation for a wide range of characters. Retargeting can also be executed from other models, for rapid customizations of existing assets, or directly from motion capture data such as position markers and joint data. Additional features include real-time links to Vicon and Xsens motion capture systems for real-time streaming, retargeting and recording of data, as well as automatic balance and center of mass control for rapid animation.
Redrock Micro, a leader in affordable professional-grade cinema accessories, announced the release of the new Redrock Micro LiveLens MFT. The LiveLens MFT is the first active lens mount to allow Canon EF lenses to be used with any micro four-thirds camera body, including the Panasonic AG-AF100, Panasonic GH2, and Olympus E-P3. Now, the exceptional sharpness and clarity of Canon optics can be mated with the compact, powerful capabilities of micro four-thirds cameras.
Small Lens Adapter with Big Capabilities – Redrock Micro’s LiveLens MFT provides the required power and electronics to control Canon EF lenses when attached to a micro four-thirds camera body. With the LiveLens MFT’s control touchpad, the EF lens’ aperture can be open and closed in increments as small as 1/3 stop. The LiveLens MFT works with virtually every EF lens available today, including variable aperture zoom lenses, prime lenses, consumer-level lenses, professional L-series lenses and most third party EF-compatible lenses. A marvel of advanced design, the LiveLens MFT is incredibly compact and weighs less than 6oz.
LiveLens MFT uses Canon lens control technology proven for over three years in professional productions. For operators and DPs who have invested in Canon EF lenses and want to extend their investment to MFT cameras like the AF100, LiveLens MFT is an invaluable tool.
As HTML5 looks more and more like the future of multimedia content on the web, Adobe positioned new versions of its Flash Player and AIR software in the 3D gaming market, rather than mainstream content creation. In an announcement touting the Flash/AIR combo as “the game console for the web,” Adobe predicted developers would use a mix of Flash, HTML, and code in creating cross-platform applications that it described as “console-quality.” The new versions of Flash and AIR will be available early next month.
New features in the programs include the Stage 3D hardware-acceleration architecture for 2D and 3D graphics, which is ready for Mac OS, Windows, and Internet-connected TVs and in “pre-release” form for Android, iOS and BlackBerry Tablet OS. Native extensions for AIR — which can now be automatically packaged with downloadable applications — let developers access data from devices like magnetometers and light sensors, and to control tactile feedback like vibration. The new versions support full-frame-rate HD video on iOS using H.264 hardware decoding, and 7.1-channel sound for television viewing.
The announcement came with endorsements from companies including the social games specialist Zynga and the independent Czech developer Amanita Design as well as traditional game-makers EA Interactive and Ubisoft.
Adobe reiterated statistics indicating that more than 98 percent of Internet-connected PCs today have Flash installed, and said mobile devices including iOS would support “Flash-based applications” via AIR. Those apps are being sold through the Android Market, the iTunes App Store, the Samsung SmartTV Store, and BlackBerry AppWorld. Adobe claims that about 70 percent of all web-based games are powered by Flash.
The news came one day after Adobe announced Q3 results that executives said showed it was on track for revenue growth of 10 percent and earnings growth of 20 percent for the fiscal year.
Telestream, the leading provider of digital media tools and workflow solutions, announced a significant release for its popular Flip4Mac WMV Components. Now used by over 10 million people, Flip4Mac WMV allows Mac users to easily import, export, and play Microsoft Windows Media video and audio in native QuickTime-based environments. Version 2.4 adds enhanced support for Apple’s OS X 10.7 Lion operating system, Safari 5.1, Firefox 64-bit mode and Google Chrome web browsers, plus exclusive Windows Media export support for Apple Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5 through Compressor 4.
Flip4Mac uniquely provides transparent access to local or web-based Windows Media content on Mac computers. It also enables Windows Media conversion for playback on iPhone and iPad devices using standard Apple applications. It is the only plug-in that enables Windows Media import into Apple Keynote and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. In 2006 Microsoft selected Flip4Mac as its solution for providing Windows Media on the Mac. Since that time Microsoft has been the exclusive distributor of free Windows Media Components for QuickTime by Flip4Mac.
Click for more information about Telestream’s Flip4Mac WMV.
Dulce Systems Corp., a provider of world-class storage solutions, announced that it is shipping its next-generation PRO DQ Gen2, PCIe x8 lane with x8 lane expansion port.
Building on the success of the previous “PRO DQ” newly redesigned PRO DQ Gen2 (PCIe2) is the only storage array in the industry to provide an x8 lane expansion port. Most competitor’s storage arrays provide an expansion port for added capacity without any increase in performance. The new PRO DQ Gen2 (PCIe2) expansion port allows users to expand capacity and double performance.
The PRO DQ Gen2 uses the 40 Gb/sec PCI-express x8 lane Extender Technology to extend the computer’s PCI-express bus to the PRO DQ Gen2 enclosure. This enables the hardware-based, high performance RAID controller to be housed inside the PRO DQ Gen2 enclosure which allows for exceptional performance and a cooler environment, reducing the heat buildup that otherwise would be retained inside the computer. The PRO DQ Gen2 provides the user the ability to add additional storage through the PCIe x8 expansion port (daisy chain up to 16 PRO DQ Gen2’s); without using any additional PCIe slots in a PC or Mac.
The PRO DQ Gen2 is flexible with high performance and reliability that Dulce Systems products are renowned for. The PRO DQ Gen2 can be configured as a RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 6 or JBOD and supports 6Gb/s SATA, SAS and SSD drives.
The PRO DQ Gen2 is compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, Apple’s Final Cut Studio, Adobe’s Premiere Pro, Avid’s Media Composer, Scratch, Smoke, DaVinci and other popular video editing and creation tools.
Boris FX, a developer of integrated VFX and workflow technology for video and film, announced that Boris RED Version 5 is now available for Grass Valley EDIUS 6. Boris RED is a plug-in application for transitions, professional text, and advanced composites inside of EDIUS and other leading video editing software applications. An indispensable tool for post-production and broadcast professionals, RED offers a wide range of features right on the EDIUS timeline and adds a standalone engine for effects creation and rendering. RED integrates broadcast-quality text generators, paint, rotoscoping, a full suite of tools to create and extrude vector objects, true 3D shapes and animation, and the industry’s most comprehensive image processing filter suite.
Boris RED highlights include:
EDIUS 6 Integration. Boris RED is the only 3D compositing, titling, and effects application to work as a plug-in inside EDIUS. When applied to tracks on the EDIUS timeline, RED automatically links to the media, bypassing importing and exporting. In addition, RED can import media from a variety of formats, including still image files, movie files, or EPS files. Once a composite is complete, it can be rendered in EDIUS, or the project file can be saved to disk and shared with other Boris RED users.
Compositing. RED gives EDIUS editors all tools needed to create seamlessly-blended composites in 2D and 3D space. These tools include keying and matte creation filters, motion tracking, 3-way color grading, and the ability to create custom transitions.
Motion Graphics. RED facilitates sophisticated motion graphics design including text on a path, 3D particles, and true 3D vector objects. Extruded text and objects can be combined with light sources, bump maps, and reflections.
Image and Vector-based Painting. RED integrates a full-fledged animated paint system that gives EDIUS editors the ability to paint color, spray paint, and clone images.
Image Restoration Tools. RED solves many problems introduced by modern video cameras and can help integrate legacy low-resolution footage in new HD-sized projects.
Over 200 VFX Filters. RED includes over 200 comprehensive VFX filters from Boris Continuum Complete and Final Effects complete, including transition effects, multiprocessor-accelerated lens blurring effects, and painterly effects.
Click for a free 14-day trial version Boris RED v5.
