Hollywood DI™ in conjunction with Sony Electronics, Avid® and Blackmagic Design™ will provide a technology preview of the Sony SR® Codec workflow at the SMPTE 2011 Technical Conference and Exhibition. Incorporating many of the latest SMPTE standards, Avid Media Composer® editing software and Blackmagic Design‘s color correction software, DaVinci Resolve deliver the benefits of a standards based architecture for increasing interoperability and efficiency. Hollywood DI will demonstrate a cost-effective and robust workflow for editing and coloring SR Codec digital content leveraging its FLOworks™methodology.
Hollywood DI will conduct a technology preview of the interchange of SR Codec footage between Avid Media Composer and Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve. The demonstration footage was shot on Sony‘s F65 CineAlta™ camera and converted to the SR Codec using the SRMASTER™ Recording system. The SR Codec is a native, direct to edit and finishing workflow that encompasses Avid Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve.
Satoshi Kanemura, Vice President of Sony Electronics’ Beyond HD Solutions Group, is pleased with the way the two systems handle the SR workflow. “Sony‘s new open approach to working with strategic alliances to develop software solutions that can deal easily with the SR Codec workflow is progressing well,” said Kanemura. “Our CineAlta F65 and PMW-F3 cameras are capable of recording stunning images and we are looking for ways to ensure that filmmakers, TV shows and post-houses can efficiently process SR Codec dailies, editorial and coloring services. Companies like Avid, Blackmagic Design and Hollywood DI are taking our SDK and SR codecs and testing them in a production environment. Already we can see that the workflows they are developing are efficient and elegant.”
Neil Smith, Managing Director of Hollywood DI, commented on the testing his company had conducted on the workflow between the Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve. “For a modern post-house like Hollywood DI that specializes in file-based workflow for filmmakers and TV shows, it’s imperative that we find the most robust and cost-effective tools to deliver our editing, color correction and finishing services.” said Smith. “Using Avid Media Composer for editing and conforming projects in conjunction with DaVinci Resolve for color correction has proven to be a winning combination. Both systems incorporate many SMPTE standards that facilitate the open exchange of digital content between production and post systems. The two software platforms tie in with our FLOworks methodology of a Flexible, Lean and Open workflow for digital content creation and finishing.”
Vincent Maza, Worldwide Marketing Manager for Avid Post Production services is a strong advocate of the standards approach to technology integration. “Avid‘s editing solutions are at the core of many post-production processes and it is vital that clients are able to deal efficiently with the many digital acquisition and finishing formats,” said Maza. “Avid is a strong supporter of both the Sony technology and the wider creative community and being able to handle the F65 and F3 footage by using .mxf and AMA means that editors can quickly ingest the Sony footage and start editing almost immediately. Once the timeline is locked, editors can send an EDL or AAF to Resolve for easy conform and color correction. The SR files do not need to be duplicated saving time and disk space.”
Peter Chamberlain, DaVinci Resolve Product Manager for Blackmagic Design, said: “We are very excited to be supporting the Sony SR codec natively within Resolve and to show the seamless round tripping between Resolve, Media Composer and the Sony F65 at SMPTE. The Resolve’s ability to round trip with AAF into a Media Composer also brings full featured color correction to any Media Composer editing suite, and when combined with SR codec support will create a perfect workflow for content creators.”
Peter Crithary, Marketing Manager, Production for Sony Electronics’ Professional Solutions of America, has been working closely with Avid, Blackmagic Design and Hollywood DI to ensure that Sony‘s CineAlta cameras and SR Production Platform can be easily incorporated into file-based workflows. “Digital acquisition has arrived in big way in feature and TV production. Sony has a long history of delivering superb cameras and tape decks to the industry,” said Crithary. “In the transition to file-based workflows for our F3 and the soon to be released F65 cameras we have listened carefully to the demands and needs of the filmmaking community. The release of our SR SDK (Software Development Kit) allows software developers like Avid and Blackmagic Design to engineer their products to take full advantage of the efficient compression algorithms of the SR Codec. Post-houses like Hollywood DI are already proving that footage captured on the Sony F3 or F65 cameras can be easily ingested into an Avid and DaVinci finishing pipeline to produce beautifully graded imagery. The SMPTE supported ACES IIF protocols will allow content creators to pass image metadata from the camera all the way through the post pipeline.”
Sony Electronics will be presenting a white paper entitled ‘New Imaging, Storage and Workflow Technologies for 4K Digital Cinematography Applications’ at the Technical Conference Program on Wednesday October 26th at 11am to 12.30 in Salon #1 in the Exhibition Hall.
AVID will be demonstrating the current version of Media Composer in booth #105 in the Exhibition Hall.
HOLLYWOOD DI will be conducting the technology preview of Avid Media Composer and Blackmagic Design‘s DaVinci Resolve with footage shot on the Sony CineAlta F65RS camera in booth #116 in the Exhibition Hall. Sony‘s PMWF3 camera and the new SR Production Platform equipment will also be available at the Hollywood DI booth.
About the 2011 SMPTE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, 25-27 October 2011
By the industry – for the industry, this is THE premier annual event for technology, production and operations in the motion imaging industry.
The SMPTE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition brings together world-renowned technology thought-leaders from the media content business. Join us and network with colleagues in the motion picture studios, broadcast and cable networks, production and post-production community, software companies, systems integrators, manufacturers, display technologies and distribution providers. As an accredited industry standards-setting body, SMPTE is also the industry’s leading nonprofit association providing technology education and information to the motion imaging industry. We’re all about the content – creation, management, distribution and display. We offer three days of technical sessions, a high-tech exhibition hall and unparalleled networking opportunities. Join us – don’t miss this exceptional opportunity!
This year’s event will provide a variety of technical workshops; a technology-focused exhibit hall; an exciting welcome reception in the exhibit hall to allow for in depth focus on our exhibitors; a high profile Industry Keynote Luncheon; the prestigious Honors & Awards Reception & Ceremony and invaluable networking opportunities. For more information on the SMPTE Technical Conference, visit www.smpte.org
About Hollywood-DI
Located on “The Lot” in West Hollywood, California, Hollywood DI provides workflow consulting and post-production services for studios and independent filmmakers worldwide. The facility’s centerpiece is the versatile Fairbanks Theater, a 33-seat DI suite that offers a 2k DLP projector and a 35mm Simplex projector in a precision-calibrated environment. Offering a full RGB 4:4:4 workflow plus a complete range of 2K and HD editing and color correction tools, Hollywood DI provides the ultimate in creative freedom. Hollywood DI‘s FLOworks™ digital content management system provides time and money savings for content creators. ‘Flexible, Lean and Open’ workflows based on SMPTE and international standards allow content creators to leverage the full power of modern distributed computing and cloud based technologies. Visit www.hollywooddi.com for more information.
