Skateboarding over the Great Wall: Telling Danny Way's Story "Waiting for Lightning" Growing up in Palo Alto, CA, Jacob Rosenberg had a passion for skateboarding. As the years progressed, Jacob also discovered he had a passion for filmmaking. When the opportunity to combine the two presented itself, Jacob jumped at the chance. As Partner, Chief Technology Officer and Director of LA based Bandito Brothers, a full service media company that creates, produces, manages and distributes audio/visual content, Jacob seized the opportunity to spearhead and direct the sophisticated, heartfelt and visceral documentary "Waiting for Lightning" about longtime friend and skateboarding legend Danny Way. ...Read More »

FlyingS3D sets Le Crazy Horse on Fire with Pablo FlyingS3D opened its doors early in 2010 as France's first dedicated stereoscopic 3D post production facility. FlyingS3D is the brainchild of managing director Audrey Bourdiol, who had spent her career up until then looking after the technical side of one of France's largest post houses. With already more than 30 major S3D projects under its belt, in 2012 FlyingS3D won the full post production for 'Feu' (Fire) - a 3D film by Le Crazy Horse - one of its most ambitious projects to date. Le Crazy Horse cabaret was founded in 1951 by the avant-garde artist Alain Bernardin and has delivered its own special brand of glamour entertainment to millions of men and women for more than sixty years. 'Feu' is designed to bring Le Crazy experience to cinema audiences worldwide; 3D was "the natural choice" to achieve this aim, says Audrey Bourdiol. ...Read More »

Right on Schedule with The Delivery Men and DaVinci Resolve 9 for Andy Roddick Foundation The Andy Roddick Foundation (AFR) believes talent is universal but opportunity is not, which is why the nonprofit's goal is to provide all children with a support system that gives them hope for a brighter future. To achieve this goal, ARF has raised more than $10 million since inception to fund programs improving the daily lives of thousands of children. While ARF runs and supports programs that enhance educational and economic opportunities for thousands of children throughout the United States, the nonprofit is headquartered in the city Andy Roddick calls home: Austin, Texas. To help increase awareness and support for its local initiatives, AFR turned to Austin based production company The Delivery Men to create the "This Is" promotional film for its 2012 Andy Roddick Foundation Gala in Austin. ...Read More »

DaVinci Resolve Provides Color Correction for Short Horror Film 'Dead Man's Lake' When colorist Patrick Inhofer was first contacted by the filmmakers for the short film horror anthology website BloodyCuts.co.uk, he knew right away that he wanted to be involved. The Bloody Cuts team shares a love and passion for horror films and has presented the anthology online as a free web series. As an accomplished colorist, and the founder of the website Tao of Color Grading.com, Patrick realized that he could put his professional skills to work, both by grading their films and by using them to teach aspiring colorists how to grade using the latest developments in color correction. ...Read More »

DaVinci Resolve 'Elementary' in Color Grading Hit CBS Crime Solving Television Show While it may take Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson just 60 minutes to crack a case on an episode of the hit CBS television show "Elementary," Tony D'Amore can do it in less. As the Senior Colorist at LA based post house Encore and lead colorist for the wildly popular series, Tony is responsible for color correction and grading the weekly show, and he relies on DaVinci Resolve color correction software. ...Read More »

It's Hell on Wheels at FuseFX The second season of Hell on Wheels continued its epic story of post-Civil War America, focusing on Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier, and his dramatic journey west as he struggles to leave his past behind. The building of the transcontinental railroad serves as the backdrop to the entire series. The scope and challenges of the expanding railroad were critical to the storytelling and couldn't be achieved without the resourceful use of visual effects provided by FuseFX. At the center of the traveling town are the trains. Production built full scale replicas of the period trains and laid down a few hundred feet of track to support tight shots and moments when the train isn't moving. But almost all shots showing wider perspectives and moving trains was achieved with CG models of trains and railroad tracks composited into live action backgrounds. ...Read More »

Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" Commercial Rockets to Life with DaVinci Resolve Coca-Cola's 2012 Euro Cup "Spirit of the Euro" commercial is an animated wild ride that captures the excitement, fun and craziness of the soccer tournament and its fans. In the spot, a very passionate fan zooms through the sky in a Coca-Cola powered soccer boot, releasing soccer ball bubbles in its wake that turn all they touch into deliriously enthusiastic soccer fans. Produced by Portland, Oregon based BENT IMAGE LAB and directed by Carlos Lascano, "Spirit of the Euro" is a highly creative and exciting commercial that required equally intense and vibrant color to bring it to life, which was achieved thanks to Jalal Jemison, BENT's lead colorist, and Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve color correction software. ...Read More »

Australia's RMIT University Leads the Way in 3D Research with the Creation of an Uncompressed 3D HD Video Library When Alex Joseski and Jonathan Burton first met at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, they were simply two friends who shared a passion for filmmaking. Fast forward five years, and you'll find the pair at the helm of Alex and Jono Films, a Melbourne based concept to completion video production company that specializes in cinematography, direction and post production. With a variety of projects under their belts, such as music videos, feature and short films, advertising campaigns, promotional materials and corporate productions, the duo jumped at the chance to act as stereographers and directors of photography for their alma mater's RMIT3DV project: the creation of an uncompressed stereoscopic 3D HD video library. ...Read More »

AJA Ki Pro Finishes First for Digital Garage Formula 1 (F1) Drivers Lewis Hamilton, Bruno Senna and Heikki Kovalainen recently took to the race track, except this time, the race was digital. Codemasters, developer of the new F1 2012 video game, brought the drivers together for a promotional event during the Italian Grand Prix, where they raced on a digital track using Sony PS3 consoles. The BBC was onsite to record live action footage of the event, while UK reseller & systems integrator Digital Garage Group Ltd. used AJA Ki Pro digital video recorders to capture gameplay from the developer versions of the game consoles. All footage was edited and used to create a BBC segment that aired during the Singapore Grand Prix. ...Read More »

DaVinci Resolve 9 to the Rescue! Founded in 1973 by Surf Life Saving Australia, the WWestpac Rescue Helicopter service is the longest serving search and rescue helicopter service in the world. Each year, Westpac saves an average of more than 2,000 lives and has carried out more than 22,000 flights, ranging from medical emergencies to search and rescue missions, during its 39 years in operation. Westpac decided to debut a public service announcement (PSA) about its efforts and called upon well known sponsors Reinhold and Jamie-Lee Habeler from Concept Creative Communications to handle the production. The Habelers then turned to The Film Bakery's Ben Allan and Clara Chong as the cinematographer and director team on the project. ...Read More »

SONY Announces New Upgrades And Versions Of Award-Winning Vegas Pro Software Sony Creative Software announced the latest upgrade to its Vegas editing technology. Vegas Pro 12 adds dozens of substantial feature enhancements, performance improvements and workflow innovations to the award-winning NLE, significantly expanding the creative toolkit for editors and content creators at every level of the post-production market. Combining a familiar track-based editing interface with a fluid, interactive approach to media production, Vegas Pro 12 is the perfect choice for a new generation of creative professionals looking for a no-compromise, cost-effective and straightforward way to express their artistic vision without the complexities and learning curve typically associated with other solutions. ...Read More »

A look at films to come this fall By GrabNetworks After a less-than-stellar summer at the box office, film studios are banking on star-driven films, as well as trusted franchises to carry Hollywood through to the new year. John Russell reports. ...Read More »

Q&A with Animation Supervisor Brad Schiff I have many proud moments from this film. Most of them revolve around the success of the animation team. While it seems like it's all fun and games, what we do is incredibly difficult and taxing...mentally and physically. It takes great skill, concentration and confidence to animate at this level. Witnessing the animators on this film shoot the greatest shots of their careers on ParaNorman has proven to be most rewarding to me. ...Read More »

"Sling Baby" Is A Winner at Super Bowl XLVI Burbank's Blacklist Productions was a part of the process from beginning to end, providing the rented Red camera "Sling Baby" was shot on, and handling color grading and finishing in house with DaVinci Resolve. The one stop shop, which has essentially grown their entire business around the color correction system they purchased last year, considered Resolve to be the instrumental tool in making "Sling Baby" look like a million bucks. ...Read More »

Building Broadcast Communities: From Public Access to Educational Institutions in New York State with Blackmagic Design One project was the creation of an HD studio for Albany Public Access, which was recently completed by CineDV Productions. Albany Community Television "brings transparency to the Capital District" by streaming programming, which includes weekly live broadcasts of City Hall meetings, on cable and online, with the help of a Blackmagic Design ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher. The ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher was a high quality solution that provided Albany Public Access with a wide range of inputs, outputs and effects. It gave them a switching network that rivaled larger broadcasters, for less than $3,000. ...Read More »

Building Broadcast Communities: From Public Access to Educational Institutions in New York State with Blackmagic Design One project was the creation of an HD studio for Albany Public Access, which was recently completed by CineDV Productions. Albany Community Television "brings transparency to the Capital District" by streaming programming, which includes weekly live broadcasts of City Hall meetings, on cable and online, with the help of a Blackmagic Design ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher. The ATEM 1 M/E Production Switcher was a high quality solution that provided Albany Public Access with a wide range of inputs, outputs and effects. It gave them a switching network that rivaled larger broadcasters, for less than $3,000. ...Read More »

NAB 2012: Sony Creative Showcases New Technology The latest additions to the Sony Creative Software product line include: Spectral Layers, an audio editing platform featuring precise sound shaping capabilities and a unique visual workflow; and ThemeBuilder for Vegas(tm) Pro, a plug-in that enables intelligent template building for professional video projects. Both products are scheduled for technology demonstrations in the Sony booth. ...Read More »

Adobe CS6 Release Delivers Major Innovations for Design, Web and Video Pros Powerful new releases of 14 CS6 applications and four Creative Suites - Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design & Web Premium, Adobe Creative Suite 6 Design Standard, Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium, and Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection - drive home Adobe's continued innovation across creative markets. A new subscription-based offering, Adobe Creative Cloud, will provide users with the ability to download and install every Adobe CS6 application* announced. ...Read More »

Principal Photo Takes Flight with HyperDeck Shuttle The Lockheed T-33 is an aircraft with history, entering into the United States Air Force in 1948 as America's first operational jet fighter and trainer, and seeing service in a variety of countries over the next three decades. Though it has been retired from most active service, T-33's around the globe are still flying and the plane has become a featured performer in a number of air shows around the globe. Acemaker performer Greg Colyer decided to create a promotional marketing video in order to prove the T-33 is still a sight to behold. ...Read More »

Brainy Branding in HD with Unichrome and DeckLink HD Extreme Clients and projects vary by extremes. A day of work at Unichrome could involve a promotional video for a high tech gadget, or perhaps a 60 second television commercial for baby food. Add a music video for a reggae band to the mix and even then, the possibilities are still endless. Having worked with household brands such as L'Oreal, San Pellegrino, Nescafe and Hasbro, the company knows what it means to deliver high quality, creative work that meets demands and exceeds expectations. In fact, they've earned a reputation for it. ...Read More »