Continuing our coverage of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas (4/8-13), the concept of divergent as opposed to convergent media emerged during the show, as reflected in feedback from leading postproduction house artisans (see Postproduction Special Report story, p. 26).
Meanwhile, assorted companies introduced a mix of hardware and software at NAB. Heres a rundown of some key developments:
Tewksbury, Mass.-based Avid Technology dispelled concerns that it was moving away from the Mac platform. The companys upcoming Media Composer, version 10, will have full features available on both the Macintosh and Windows NT platforms.
Alias|Wavefront, a wholly owned, Toronto-headquartered (with offices in Seattle and Santa Barbara) independent software company of SGI, unveiled its fifth major release of Maya 3 professional 3-D software. Among Maya 3s myriad detail enhancements and new features are perhaps most notably a Trax non-linear motion compositor and integrated subdivision surfaces. The latter enables users to pinpoint areas where detail needs to be further defined, providing an element of control and focus thats key in the creation of sophisticated, believable imagery, including advancing the cause of so-called synthespians, or virtual actors. The motion compositor is able to marry different movements into scenes, thus providing artists with a wider range of combined motion for their animated creations. Alias| Wavefront also introduced a new plug-in for Adobe After Effects 4.1 and Maya Fusion 2 that, for the first time, allows motion graphic artists to take advantage of Maya Paint Effects technology within desktop compositing applications.
Maya could also be seen at the booth of Newbury, U.K.-based Quantel. During last years SIGGRAPH convention, Quantel and Alias|Wavefront announced they had entered into an OEM relationship whereby Mayas 3-D imagery could be integrated with 2-D background plates in Quantels Editbox, Henry or Infinity. Demonstrated at SIGGRAPH, this marriage of 3-D and 2-D is now readily available from Quantel for those with version 8 editing software.
Montreal-based Discreet unveiled combustion, which, in the high-end commercial field, could be deployed as an offline visual effects system, enabling artists to experiment in a paint, animation and 3-D compositing environment before executing the final vision on Fire, Inferno or Flame. Combustion could also be deployed by agencies for pre-visualization of effects scenes. Combustion is slated for June release at a price point of $3,495; it operates on Mac as well as on Windows NT.
Manhattan Transfer, New York, has broadened its reach into the hi-def market with the acquisition of a C-Reality telecine system from Cintel, the U.K.-based manufacturer with a Valencia, Calif.-headquartered U.S. office. Don Edmonson, president/CEO of Cintels North American operation, said that Cintel has more than 20 C-Reality systems in place at post facilities worldwide. Manhattan Transfer is slated to take delivery of the high-end system in June. The New York post house also purchased Cintels recently unveiled URSA upgrade package, Callisto, which adds HD capabilities to Cintels URSA Gold and Diamond lines (SHOOT, 3/3, p. 11).
Meanwhile, the C-Reality is playing catch-up in terms of market penetration, compared to Philips Spirit Datacine. More than 150 Datacines have been sold thus far.
Softimage Co., a Montreal-based subsidiary of Avid, showcased its Softimage XSI, a 3-D non-linear animation system. Expected to ship in May, XSI was formerly known as Sumatra.
WAM!NET, Minneapolis, made several announcements, including the unveiling of Layered Media Services and the signing of a joint marketing agreement with Sony. While WAM!NET currently offers low-end video streaming as a way to view compressed files, the company has now increased its capabilities to allow for most forms of video and audio-including hi-def and uncompressed files-to be sent across a network, enabling video to be viewed at any time around the world. WAM!NET also said that it will partner with Oak Park, Mich.-based postproduction house GTN to test real-time collaboration, an upgraded form of Layered Media Services. The test will serve as a pilot for the technology before it is rolled out in other markets, including New York and Los Angeles. The upgrade is billed as being able to allow a postproduction facility and an ad agency to edit in real time, from their respective desktop computers, with both parties seeing the video and audio on screen and adjustments occurring instantaneously. According to Dan Ritzman, director of entertainment services, more than $1 million in business was written at NAB from the sale of Layered Media Services and the companys animation and special effects outsourcing service, ROD! (Render on Demand). And as part of the aforementioned deal with Sony, WAM!NET purchased Sonys PetaSite DMS-8400 mass storage library and DTF (Digital Tape Format), which the two companies will jointly market. The deal allows for a ready-made digital storage service, enabling users to access data on an as-needed basis via the Internet or a WAM!NET private network.
Waltham, Mass.-based ICE debuted Final Cut Pro on ICE, which turns a Power Mac G4 into a high-end professional desktop finishing solution by integrating into it Ultra BlueICE hardware, a BlueICE SDI Video card, ICE effects and a digital audio system. The top-of-the-line Final Cut Pro On ICE-which works in a real-time, uncompressed environment-lists for just under $11,000, and is scheduled for release in June.
A SHOOT Staff Report
