Home Authors Posts by Carly Barnes

Carly Barnes

608 POSTS 0 JOBS

Express capture and playback

Carly Barnes
-
0

With so many of its products now including Thunderbolt technology, BlackMagic Design wanted to create a compact and portable capture and playback product that’s powered from the Thunderbolt connector and has the flexibility to bridge between consumer and professional connectors.

Says Blackmagic Design’s Grant Petty: “We have achieved this with the new UltraStudio Express and being Thunderbolt-powered it’s more portable as it powers from the user’s computer’s battery.

“UltraStudio Express also includes two breakout cables – one has RCA connectors to allow capture and playback with consumer equipment, while the professional breakout cable includes BNC and XLR connectors plus genlock and deck control for connection to professional equipment.’

He notes that the UltraStudio Express is fully compatible with all popular software including Final Cut Pro X; Final Cut Pro 7; Adobe Premiere Pro CS6; Avid Media Composer 6; Adobe After Effects CS6; Adobe Photoshop CS6 and more, plus it includes BlackMagic Design’s Media Express software.

UltraStudio Express includes all the latest technology including 3 Gb/s SDI, HDMI and analogue video in and out.

Blackmagic Design also recently announced a ProRes Software Update for HyperDeck Studio that adds Apple ProRes codec support for recording and playback.

The software can be downloaded and the user can select between 10 bit uncompressed, Avid DNxHD and Apple ProRes. HyperDeck Studio records in the format of the user’s NLE software no matter what software is preferred.

This software is free of charge and can be downloaded from
http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/

Forever Film

Carly Barnes
-
0

The year-round selection process for the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) sees festival manager Nashen Moodley viewing a staggering 600 films or more.
“I’m delighted to say that we have an excellent selection this year – quite an edgy group of films in fact,’ says Moodley, whose search for the best in world cinema takes him to festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Toronto, Pusan and FESPACO.

He notes that DIFF has a broad sensibility: “Basically we look for films that excite us. We do seek some level of geographical representation and while we want films from established filmmakers, DIFF is also keen to show audiences new talents. I think it’s sad that there is such limited exposure in South Africa to different styles of cinema. That’s why festivals are so important.’

A special focus at DIFF 2011 is Indian cinema, with six films from the late, award-winning Satyajit Ray and five new films from fresh talents, as well as a documentary on Bollywood.

This year Moodley saw many wonderful films from Canada, which has resulted in a special Canadian focus at DIFF 2011, led by Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee, Incendies (brought to DIFF courtesy Ster-Kinekor).

In a coup Moodley managed to secure a number of films from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, namely the Palme d’Or winner, Tree of Life (Brad Pit and Sean Penn), brought to DIFF courtesy of Nu Metro. Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which opened Cannes, will screen at DIFF courtesy of Videovision Entertainment. There is also the Swedish coming of age film, Play, and the French film, The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Fresh from Cannes is South African writer/director Oliver Hermanus’ Skoonheid. Says Moodley: “This was the first ever Afrikaans-language film to be selected for the Cannes Un Certain Regard competition and won the Queer Palm award. I think it’s magnificent and Oliver and his cast will be at DIFF.

“Our opening night film is another South African production, Sara Blecher’s fascinating Otelo Burning. Among the other local films are Charlie Vundla’s stylish film noir, How to Steal 2 Million, and John Barker’s striking heist film, 31 Million Reasons.’

There is also Faith Isiakpere’s taut police brutality drama, The Algiers Murders; the hilarious comedy Taka Takata by Damir Radonic; The Dream by Zuko Nodada; Mukunda Michael Dewil’s psychological thriller Retribution; Eldorado by newcomer brother and sister team, Shaldon and Lorreal Ferris, and Black Butterlies, Paula van der Oest’s moving Ingrid Jonker biopic.

African cinema is represented by DRC filmmaker Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s unique Viva Riva!; Nigerian director Andrew Donsunmu’s visually beautiful Restless City, Justin Chadwick’s uplifting Kenya-set film The First Grader, and Ebrahim El Batout’s Hawi, a project at the inaugural Durban FilmMart in 2010.

MovieMart’s first Mediatech Africa

Carly Barnes
-
0

Distributor and retailer MovieMart, which caters for the professional film, television and media markets, will exhibit for the first time at Mediatech Africa with a formidable arsenal of quality brands and products.

The full range of Arri, Ari Lighting, Vitec and other premium brands such as FilmLight, DVS, Front Porch, Outsight and The Foundry will be on show.
Says MovieMart’s Marc Eckstein: “MovieMart is not only establishing itself as a leading distributor and reseller but we have committed ourselves to giving the best technical support to all our customers.

“With access to the best qualified Arri trained technicians in South Africa and the most qualified facilities-based infrastructure team in the business, MovieMart is set to take on the demands of this constantly changing and converging industry.’
Eckstein notes that MovieMart keeps a sufficient stock of spares on site for repair and sales, to ensure that turnaround times on servicing are kept to a minimum. All spares can be ordered through MovieMart.

Latest news is that MovieMart is pushing ahead with two retail stores in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Says Eckstein: “We see a growing demand from a sophisticated professional customer base wanting to invest in cameras, lighting, hard drives and software. A selection of consumables will be available off the floor in the stores.

“We understand that the discerning professional needs unique and specific accessories to go with his investment and MovieMart will be there to provide the best advice and support to those making important purchasing decisions.’

Products offered include: tapes and markers; hardware products; Arri sales; Alexa cameras and camera accessories; lighting and lighting accessories; Arri digital and post-production equipment; camera accessories; lighting accessories; Vitec products; O’connor accessories; Lite Panel equipment; petrol bags; sandbags, apple boxes; foil; and filters.

MovieMart stand number: C19

Calling all cinephiles!

Carly Barnes
-
0

From 21 to 31 July fans of discerning world cinema can revel in South Africa’s largest and longest running festival, the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). Running alongside DIFF are the 2nd Durban FilmMart Co-production and Finance Market (DFM) and the 4th Talent Campus Durban, as well as an extensive programme of seminars and workshops aimed at developing the local film industry.

With principal funding from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, this year the DIFF line-up comprises 83 feature films, 48 documentaries and 44 short films. Festival director Peter Rorvik is delighted to report a strong South African crop among these, namely 11 feature films, 23 documentaries and 24 shorts.

Says Rorvik: “The challenge for our audiences is how to pick and choose from such a fantastic selection. I’m very excited about the quality of films this year, particularly as we were fortunate enough to secure a number of last minute films from the recent Cannes Film Festival.

“DIFF has for many years presented films that conscientise audiences about environmental issues and with the COP 17 conference taking place in Durban later this year the 2011 Eco-Lens strand is extremely strong. High profile films are led by The Big Fix (about the devastation caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and subsequent cover-ups) and Countdown to Zero (nuclear threats and disarmament challenges). Into Eternity is about a facility deep underground in Finland that is expected to house nuclear waste for 100,000 years.’

A special guest of the festival is acclaimed Burkinabe filmmaker, Gaston Kabore, one of the founders of FESPACO and head of the Imagine Institute in Ouagadougou. Kabore will present a master class at Talent Campus Durban, which features nearly 50 emerging filmmakers from various African countries.

Another guest is renowned Canadian environmental activist, Paul Watson, the Greenpeace Foundation co-founder, and current director of Sea Shepherd Society – DIFF will screen the documentary Eco Pirate – the Story of Paul Watson.
Rorvik notes that, just like Talent Campus Durban, the creation of DFM was a logical trajectory for DIFF and adds a very important dimension. “DFM facilitates industry growth and the production of African films. This year DIFF will screen the Egyptian film Hawi, which was in last year’s DFM, and we fully expect the process to deliver more great films for screening at DIFF and other festivals in the future.’
The Royal Hotel will once again serve as the hub for DIFF, DFM and Talent Campus Durban, and the festival has added a dedicated screening venue within the hotel complex. DIFF has brought in a specialist from the Netherlands to help with technical issues around the wide spectrum of digital formats (including HD) submitted to the festival.

Now in its seventh year, the Wavescape Surf Film Festival has been a very successful component of DIFF and will kick off on 25 July with an outdoor screening at the Bay of Plenty on Durban’s beachfront and then run for five days at Ster-Kinekor Musgrave. Many of the films feature South African surfers and locations.

Pro-Sales has the experience

Carly Barnes
-
0

With combined experience of 47 years, Gauteng based Pro-Sales has supplied a wide range of products from the first Sony reel to reel video recorder to the latest card recording camcorder. Pro-Sales will exhibit a selection of its products at Mediatech Africa.

Arne Sack elaborates: “The main products on display will be Secced, Cosmo Light, Swit, Sony, Panasonic, Cartoni, Basson, Q-Gear, Draka, Newtek, Focus, Cavision, Genus, JZW, Marenius, Matrix Switch Corporation, Rode and Sennheiser.

“Pro-Sales has been very busy recently – we’ve just supplied four complete Triax Camera chains to the entertainment industry. I’ve found that there is a new enthusiasm in the industry and we are approaching sales figures similar to those prior to the recession.’

As far as Mediatech Africa is concerned Pro-Sales will have overseas representatives on the stand. “We expect to welcome guests from Panasonic, Newtek, Focus and Draka,’ adds Sack.

Pro-Sales stand numbers: C7, C11 & D9

Visual Impact SA is fully rigged

Carly Barnes
-
0

Visual Impact SA is the leading provider of digital and high definition (HD) broadcast solutions in Africa and for productions originated in South Africa. They not only sell and rent out video cameras but all the required broadcasting equipment as well.

“We will have a wide variety of products on display at Mediatech Africa,’ says Juanne Whyte, head of sales. “These include items from Atomos Ninja, Sony Broadcast, Convergent Design, Gemini, Sound Device Video and Audio, Go Pro, Sony PMW F3 3D rig, Zacuto, Ianiro, Dnacore and other LED light solutions, Rode, Edirole and Zoom. As you can see it should be an exciting display and I would encourage visitors to spend some time at our stand.’

The Sony PMW F3 3D rig will be manned on the stand by Russell Bowden, a renowned 3D specialist who can demonstrate the capabilities of this device.

Visual Impact stand number: A17

Harambe meets the needs

Carly Barnes
-
0

New products and technologies from Ikegami Electronics, Evertz Microsystems, Orad Hi-Tec Systems, Audemat and Elti will be on display on the Harambe Technologies stand.

Audemat’s portfolio includes RF and data monitoring equipment and mobile field strength meters for analog and digital radio, digital test and measurement equipment, audio processors, world-class RDS encoders and an extensive range of facility remote control solutions.

Orad Hi-Tec System’s virtual augmentation solution, RealSet, recently enabled Spike TV to integrate in real time 3D virtual objects and animations to precise locations anywhere on the stage in its Video Game Awards. Meanwhile, leading Turkish broadcasters TRT, TV8 and Haberturk relied on Orad’s interactive virtual graphic capabiities for their broadcasts of the Turkish General Elections on 12 June.

The Harambe stand will highlight several new Ikegami HD flat-panel LCD monitors, cameras and production switchers fresh from this year’s NAB show in Las Vegas. The 3G-SDI 1080/60p HD studio camera, the HDK-97A (or Unicam HD) is a 16-bit portable companion-camera that employs new AIT CCD imagers and an all-new digital video processing system for superior picture detail and accurate rendition of colour gradations.

The new Ikegami Four-Thirds GFCAM™ camera is equipped with a 4/3-inch optical format Aptina 4K CMOS sensor for high resolution digital filmmaking. Ikegami’s HiMotion2 Super Slow-Mo HD features a unique three-CMOS sensor camera head with built-in memory, delivering greater than 10 x speed for thrilling super-slow-motion playback of HD sports action.

Elti digital transmission technology products at MediaTech Africa will include the sky digital transmitter, arx digital repeaters, halo digital SFN repeaters and analogue digital repeaters, which provide an all in one solution for smooth analogue switchover. Elti products are DVB-T/T2 and DVB-H compatible.
Denis Saruga, Elti CEO and Elti senior manager: Sales & Marketing, Velmir Toimic, will be on the stand.

Evertz Microsystems is one of the flagship brands at Mediatech Africa as they provide end to end broadcast solutions package from monitoring and control solutions, fibre optics, management software, routing systems, processors, production / post-production, multiviewers, RF products and the latest addition to the Evertz family, the media asset management system.

Harambe Technologies stand number: E9

Spreading the risk

Carly Barnes
-
0

Insurance on films and commercials is critical as it protects productions from potential losses that may occur.

Ken Cubberley of Johannesburg-based Film and Media Adjusters, which specialises in the film and entertainment industry, says: “Feature film budgets today can reach figures of $200m plus, while daily budgets for commercials can comprise anything from R25 000 to R1.5m. Therefore production companies need to be covered in the event of an incident that may result in a fairly substantial expense – such as a re-shoot, additional post-production costs or abandonment – it all depends on the event.’

Under the Film Producers Indemnity Policy (FPI Policy) the items insured depend on the needs of the production. “The FPI Policy covers cast sickness and injury and a medical examination is a pre-requisite. It also covers film negative which includes “the faulty perils’, such as defective cameras, processing and raw stock,’ explains Cubberley.

Other insurable items include props, sets and wardrobe and extra expenses arising from the inability to perform due to loss of property and / or facilities (eg. a road that is washed away preventing the production team from getting to set).
The cover of miscellaneous equipment also falls under the FPI Policy. Says Cubberley: “This covers the production house for its responsibility to the rental house, should loss or damage occur to hired equipment while in their care, custody and control.

“With FPI cover the production company can also request, apart from its direct actual expenditure incurred, additional cover – a mark-up which the majority of insurers accede to. This is usually between 10 and 12%.’

However, the FPI Policy does not cover human error and does not guarantee the ability of crew to perform within the normal specifications of the industry.
Cubberley explains how the claim process works: “When a production house sustains an incident of loss that is insured under the FPI Policy, they notify their broker or insurer. The insurance company or underwriter appoints an independent loss adjuster to investigate the overall circumstances. If he is satisfied that the incident of loss represents a peril insured, he requests the insured to formulate a claim. The adjuster, upon receipt of the claim formulation, proceeds to adjust the quantum. Then a report is issued and settlement is recommended to the insurer or underwriter.’

The most common losses on commercial productions relate to weather day interruption but it is far more expensive than the FPI.

Cubberley says that claims range from veld fires, wind havoc, external sets and theft of equipment to cast claims and sickness. “Our climate conditions can sometimes involve unusual circumstances. For example, recently a camera malfunction occurred due to the degree of static electricity in the atmosphere at that specific geographic location and time of year.’

The ratio of insurance remains constant to the value of the production unless the production warrants a once-off rating due to the possibility of a higher risk and loss – such as filming in the Polar region.

It’s a Case of Connection

Carly Barnes
-
0

The Case Connection designs and manufacturers high performance cases for transport and turnkey solutions of essential equipment.

Says The Case Connection’s David Livesey: “Part of our commitment to providing quality products that suit the varying needs of our customers is keeping up to date with new and improved materials and fittings both locally and abroad.’

The Case Connection recently introduced Honeycomb Polypropylene, a polypropylene – plastic twin-wall sandwich construction which weighs 20% less than equivalent aluminium and 40% less than equivalent wood. The result is a tough flight case that is much lighter than traditional plywood.

“All our products are built to order and fitted with bespoke foam cutouts to protect your equipment. No project is too big or too small,’ comments Livesey.

At Mediatech Africa The Case Connection will showcase its complete range – wood, aluminium, HPP and Polyethylene cases, as well as Nylon padded bags, covers and raincoats.

The Case Connection stand number: E15

Avid’s big show

Carly Barnes
-
0

Avid and its South African channel partners are teaming up for Mediatech Africa to showcase the latest news from Avid and to give users the possibility to connect directly with Avid experts.

At booth E33, AVL Distribution will showcase VENUE. The live sound consoles deliver amazing sound quality, reliability, efficiency and ease of use. Meet the Avid Live Sound Specialist in person and get the latest news about VENUE SC48, Profile and D-Show. Furthermore, visitors can see the Pro Tools audio recording software and hardware. Pro Tools 9 is the world’s most popular, most advanced music and audio production platform with a completely re-architected, open version of Pro Tools software.

MIDI Music at booth C36 will showcase a series of Avid’s live performance and recording solutions for independent musicians looking to take their digital audio creations to the next level. The new tools include Torq 2.0 DJ software, the Eleven Rack guitar recording and effects processing system and the third generation of Mbox family. All these tools deliver innovative, professional features and flexible, open workflows so artists can create distinctive and compelling audio, in the studio or on stage. Walk-up stations include M-Audio Axiom keyboard controllers and many more.

At booth B19 Media IT will showcase Avid’s editing solution Avid Media Composer with Nitris DX and the integration with Sony cameras, ISIS 5000, Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD solutions among others. Avid’s Media Asset Management (MAM) Specialist will demonstrate Avid’s Interplay MAM, a complete portfolio of Enterprise Asset Management tools which enable customers to manage, quickly and efficiently, the entire life cycle of virtually any type of asset, integrate tightly with their business processes and implement tailored workflows to deliver cost and productivity benefits.

1...575859...61Page 58 of 61
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
© Copyright 2017

Pin It on Pinterest