IBC2012, the premier annual exhibition for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of electronic media and entertainment content worldwide, runs from 7 to 11 September at Amsterdam RAI. Here is a taste of some of the technology that will be on show.
On 24 July 2012 Blackmagic Design announced its acquisition of the assets of Cintel International, one of the world’s leading researchers, designers and manufacturers of motion picture film scanners.
According to Stuart Ashton, director of Blackmagic Design, EMEA, this acquisition gives Blackmagic Design the ability to combine its vision and expertise with Cintel technology to provide the best technology for artists using film, create more efficient and affordable ways to bring film into a digital workflow, and offer better ways to archive and restore existing archive film worldwide.
“Cintel products are among the most trusted names in the film scanning business, and the incredible design expertise that has been built into every one of the Cintel products is amazing. Their film scanner and telecine technology is used worldwide and there is more than 80 years of design experience built into the current generation of products,’ comments Ashton.
As per the deal Blackmagic Design owns the intellectual property (IP) and all aspects of Cintel’s entire portfolio of film scanning products. This includes all of the IP, name and brand ownership and product development rights for the Cintel diTTo and dataMill digital scanner lines, URSA, C-Reality, DSX, and Millennium telecine lines, as well as imageMill data management products.
Ashton stresses that Blackmagic Design will not be selling past models of Cintel products.
“We will research the Cintel product lines to establish which ones we want to continue with. Customers who would like to purchase an existing Cintel product, or spare parts for older Cintel products, are asked to contact Cine Solutions Inc or Cine Solutions UK, which currently have an inventory of older products.
“As part of the acquisition agreement, Blackmagic owns the IP for all Cintel products, and Cine Solutions was able to purchase the remaining inventory of spare parts for old Cintel products. Cine Solutions will not be manufacturing any new Cintel products, and will only be able to sell inventory of existing Cintel products and spare parts,’ explains Ashton.
In addition Cine Solutions will also provide service and support for existing Cintel customers which will be handled by UK based Cine Solutions Ltd. and US based Cine Solutions Inc. Both are independent of Blackmagic Design and will supply replacement parts and repairs, provide expert engineering services as well as a 24/7 maintenance help line to all users of equipment previously manufactured and supplied by Cintel International.
Ashton notes that the Blackmagic Design team has always loved film. “We feel that the industry is still very much alive and thriving. Blockbusters including Black Swan, Wrath of the Titans and The Hangover Part II are all recent examples of movies shot on film.
“Although it is currently in the middle of some big changes, the film market continues to evolve and the way in which film is used on a daily basis changes all the time. What hasn’t changed is the acknowledgement that film is an extremely creative way to capture images.’
Screen Africa magazine – August 2012
