lower thirds

IRIDAS Teams Up with Channel Partner, MelroseMAC, at SIGGRAPH 2010 to Demonstrate Newest Stereo 3D Playback Innovations

  

IRIDAS Executives On-Hand in the MelroseMAC Booth #1113 to Showcase 

4th Generation Stereo 3D Toolset, DualStream NX

Munich, DE (July 26, 2010) -- IRIDAS (www.iridas.com) today announced it has teamed up with its channel partner in the LA-area, MelroseMAC, to demonstrate IRIDAS’ newest advancements in stereo 3D workflow in the MelroseMAC booth #1113 at SIGGRAPH 2010 this week in Los Angeles.

During the conference, IRIDAS director, Steve Crouch, will be available to attendees to demonstrate the Company’s acclaimed 4th generation stereo 3D toolset, DualStream NX, which debuted at the recent NAB 2010 show in Las Vegas.  DualStream NX represents a significant advancement beyond basic playback and stereo adjustments and includes automatic alignment and color matching; this 3D production breakthrough greatly simplifies the creation of stereo dailies on location and the task of prepping footage for offline.

DualStream NX: A 3D Production Breakthrough

IRIDAS has been on the forefront of stereoscopic review since it first developed its groundbreaking DualStream NX technology in 2003.  Now in its 4th generation, IRIDAS has refined its innovative stereoscopic 3D toolset to meet the requirements of today’s burgeoning 3D production, post production and 2D-to-3D conversion market opportunities.  IRIDAS’ DualStream NX technology includes advanced features for work on stereoscopic movies and is based on the native stereo timeline already integrated into all IRIDAS products.  DualStream NX adds sophisticated tools to automatically correct geometric misalignment and eliminate color differences between left and right eye streams - this is a breakthrough and a first in the 3D production market.  DualStream NX adds even more value for users as it also includes a full suite of creative S3D tools, such as keyframeable parallax adjustments, floating window and a complete stereoscopic color grading feature set.  Additionally, DualStream includes comprehensive S3D workflow functions, such as stereo conform and automatic and manual handling of left/right eye assignments.

About MelroseMAC

MelroseMAC is a family owned business located in both Hollywood and Burbank, California, the epicenter for the creative community. MelroseMAC is an Apple Authorized Sales and Service Center, and we have a working staff of Audio/Video Professionals. We carry the Specialist moniker from Apple, which means that we abide by the highest standards mandated from Apple to bring you the highest level of service available. We specialize in catering to the Pro Audio, Video, and Graphics Community. Our specialists are highly trained individuals in their respective fields to bring you a premier level of product, service, and knowledge.  Our mission is clear, to provide the greatest, most innovative beautiful piece of technology at a great price and above all, with unbeatable service.  For more information, please visit www.melrosemac.com. 

About IRIDAS
With the introduction of FrameCycler in 2001, IRIDAS redefined the way artists viewed digital footage. In 2002, IRIDAS introduced the first stereoscopic review tools for the post industry. In 2003, SpeedGrade, the first GPU-based color grading application, brought new levels of performance to color correction and a unified way to communicate color in production workflows. The introduction of RealTime RAW in 2007, brought instant playback and color correction to RAW camera pipelines. Today, IRIDAS aims to streamline production and post from on set to finishing, and helps make stereoscopic moviemaking an everyday reality.  For more information, please visit www.iridas.com. 

Cinedeck EXTREME: Shooting Tools

This is part one of a four-part series focusing in on some of the key features of Cinedeck EXTREME.  This week, we're taking a closer look at shooting tools.  Check it out:

Headed to SIGGRAPH 2010 Next Week? Check Out Imagineer Systems

 

So if you're headed to SIGGRAPH next week in LA, be sure to check out Imagineer Systems' mocha:

SIGGRAPH 2010: Booth #138

For Immediate Release

Imagineer Systems To Demonstrate mocha Planar Tracking Solutions at SIGGRAPH 2010

Attendees to See Firsthand Benefits of mocha’s Planar Tracking, Seamless Export to Nuke, Innovative 2D-to-3D Conversion Workflows, Significant Performance Gains While Working with Multi-Layer Film Resolution Projects

GUILDFORD, UK (July 15, 2010) -- Imagineer Systems (www.imagineersystems.com) today announced it will demonstrate the newest version of its award-winning planar tracking and roto solution, mocha, at SIGGRAPH 2010 later this month in Los Angeles.  During the conference, Imagineer Systems will demonstrate for the filmmaking, VFX design and post production community the numerous benefits of mocha, including seamless export capabilities to Nuke, drastically improved performance and support for multi-layer film resolution projects, as well as insight into mocha and its role in 2D-to-3D conversion workflow, increasingly in demand in Hollywood, India, and other 3D conversion hot-spots.  

Executives from Imagineer Systems will be on hand in booth #138 to demonstrate mocha v2.0.2 and its latest performance gains and features most important to the SIGGRAPH community, including 64-bit support, a newly enhanced, streamlined user interface, improved licensing activation, and support for Nuke 6.0, Nuke X and Apple Motion.

World renown master trainer, Steve Wright, has been delivering visual effects compositing, Nuke and Shake training for artists in the VFX industry around the world for over 20 years and has become known world-wide as the leading expert on Nuke. Steve travels to VFX facilities around the world to train the staff in skills and compositing techniques gleaned from those years of production experience as well as to improve the facility's 2D/3D production pipeline productivity.  Steve recently added mocha to his took kit and had this to say about its impact on his work:

“After 20 years of VFX production doing roto by hand, I was blown away by mocha and its planar tracker that has revolutionized the roto process. Each roto shape ‘rides on the back’ of an amazingly effective planar tracker which gives the shape an initial smooth and accurate motion. The roto artist just has to refine the shape's control points here and there. Exporting either tracking data or the roto shapes themselves to Nuke is a snap. mocha is a major improvement in both productivity and quality for all my Nuke compositing.”

"SIGGRAPH 2010 will be an important show for Imagineer Systems as it gives us an opportunity to personally connect with VFX design artists and filmmakers and talk to them about the issues that are most important to them,” said Ross Shain, chief marketing officer for Imagineer Systems. “We’re seeing significant increase in demand for mocha world wide in several hot new areas in production and post production today, including 3D conversion workflows and high demand for integration with applications like Nuke.  We’re going to show the SIGGRAPH community all the benefits that mocha brings to the table for all the workflow challenges they face."

Built on Imagineer’s award-winning 2.5D planar tracking technology, mocha has earned a reputation in Hollywood and throughout the VFX industry as an innovative must-have solution for solving complex, labor-intensive tracking and roto challenges and has quickly become the industry’s most popular and powerful stand alone tracking and roto station with over 25,000 registered users worldwide.  Designed to complement any compositing and finishing environment. mocha's unique planar tracker and streamlined interface allows artists to easily track shots where point trackers fail: shots with noise, shots with motion blur and shots that go offscreen or are obscured. 

Additionally, as demand for 3D content has been steadily rising, there has been a subsequent steady stream of 3D films driving an accelerated 3D production schedule for new films, as well as uncovering new opportunities to take existing film libraries for conversion from 2D to 3D.   As isolating and extracting objects is at the heart of all visual effects compositing and 2D to 3D conversion projects, mocha's advanced ability to create accurate roto shapes with less manual keyframing greatly aids the complex 3D conversion process.  mocha’s powerful planar tracking and roto capabilities make it the ideal utility to assist all VFX post productions, from feature films to broadcast television productions.

Pricing and Availability:

mocha v2 is available immediately and supports Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Pricing is as follows: 

• Upgrade pricing: Upgrades to mocha v2 for existing owners of any Imagineer product are priced at $499 for nodelocked licenses.  
• New nodelocked licenses are priced at: $1095
• Cross platform floating licenses are also available at additional cost.

During the month of July, 2010, Imagineer Systems is offering a 20% discount on mocha, and is offering mocha shape plug-ins free, as part of this special promotion.  Imagineer Systems also offers educational discounts for students and schools. 

For more information, please visit www.imagineersystems.com.  

About Imagineer Systems 

Imagineer Systems Ltd innovates and markets next-generation visual effects solutions for film, video and broadcast post production markets.  Imagineer Systems has made its mark on such marquee Hollywood blockbuster productions as Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, Shutter Island, Invictus, G-Force and the Harry Potter series. Imagineer’s desktop product line consists of monet - placement station, mokey - removal station and the mocha family of tracking and roto products: mocha, mocha for After Effects and mocha for Final Cut.  Imagineer Systems was founded in 2000 and its headquarters is located in Guildford, United Kingdom.  For more information visit www.imagineersystems.com.  

IRIDAS Announces Immediate Availability of SpeedGrade OnSet 2010

I've known the guys from IRIDAS for a couple of years now, watching them as they continually innovate and develop some very impressive workflow solutions for the marketplace.  So I'm very pleased to be working with them now to help them spread the word far and wide.  With all that's going on these days with 3D, stereoscopic, etc, you can be sure that IRIDAS will be leading the pack with some impressive new solutions.  So stay tuned in the coming weeks and months; there's more to come -- much more!

Today, IRIDAS announced the immediate availability of SpeedGrade OnSet 2010.  The debuted at NAB this year to high acclaim, and now it's available! Here's the press release that crossed today:

Media Contact:

Kevin M. Bourke, BourkePR

508.259.6018

kbourke@bourkepr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IRIDAS Announces Immediate Availability of SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 

Newest Version Adds Support for TCube Fig, Enabling DPs, DITs to Pull Reference Images from Live HD-SDI Feeds; Interactively Design, View Looks During Production in Real Time

Munich, DE (June 30, 2010) -- IRIDAS (www.iridas.com) today announced the immediate availability of SpeedGrade OnSet 2010.  Making its industry debut at NAB 2010, SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 adds significant previs innovations with new support for TCube Fig, which enables real-time, interactive color manipulation of HD-SDI signals.  Since its introduction to the market in 2006, SpeedGrade OnSet has become one of the most widely used previs solutions for cinematographers and production crews worldwide.

With this announcement, SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 also adds a new user interface based on the Merula display engine, and updated file format support for RAW cameras, including the ARRI Alexa, RED M-X , Silicon Imaging SI-2K and SI-3D and WEISSCAM HS-2 RAW formats. Additionally, through CinemaDNG, SpeedGrade OnSet now supports the Ikonoskop A-Cam DII camera.  To optimize workflows on the production set, IRIDAS continues to leverage its partnership with Cine-tal and the Cinemage monitor series, enabling SpeedGrade OnSet users with direct preview and interactive manipulation of looks on a live video signal.

“In many ways, SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 represents so much of our mission at IRIDAS - to provide our customers with innovative solutions that streamline their production workflow, and transform it to a real-time, interactive experience,” said Lin Sebastian Kayser, CEO of IRIDAS. "We work closely with industry leaders like Tcube and Cine-tal to make SpeedGrade workflows viable for even more productions. SpeedGrade OnSet is all about communicating the DP's creative vision to stakeholders on set and onto post. We believe that SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 is a significant milestone in this regard."

SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 and TCube Fig; Streamlining the Production Workflow

By simply connecting the TCube Fig device to any laptop running SpeedGrade OnSet 2010, DPs and DITs can instantly pull reference images from live HD-SDI feeds directly into the application and interactively design intended looks, in real time. The creative decisions are then saved to the IRIDAS' .Look format, which is natively interpreted by all IRIDAS applications and has been widely adopted by third party software. While the look is designed, SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 automatically updates the 3D LUT in the Fig device, and color changes are reflected in the live HD signal.  Since the LUT is non-destructively applied, the production team can record the unprocessed material to preserve the optimum latitude for post, while still watching the creatively graded materials live on their monitors during the shoot.

Pricing and Availability

SpeedGrade OnSet 2010 is available immediately on both the Mac OS X and Windows platforms, and is priced at $750.00 US ($99.00 upgrade).  For more information, or to purchase SpeedGrade OnSet 2010, please visit www.iridas.com. 

About IRIDAS
With the introduction of FrameCycler in 2001, IRIDAS redefined the way artists viewed digital footage. In 2002, IRIDAS introduced the first stereoscopic review tools for the post industry. In 2003, SpeedGrade, the first GPU-based color grading application, brought new levels of performance to color correction and a unified way to communicate color in production workflows. The introduction of RealTime RAW in 2007, brought instant playback and color correction to RAW camera pipelines. Today, IRIDAS aims to streamline production and post from on set to finishing, and helps make stereoscopic moviemaking an everyday reality.  For more information, please visit www.iridas.com. 

Cinedeck EXTREME is Shipping!

 

Cinedeck LLC - the guys who created the amazing new ultra portable monitoring, recording and playback device that has blown people away at NAB, Cine Gear Expo, Broadcast Asia2010 and KOBA - just put an announcement on the wires that they are now shipping in quantity.  This is big news for any DP, cinematographer, camera crew - really anyone involved in creating content for television, commercials, independent films and high end major motion film production.

Here's the press release that crossed earlier today:

Media Contact:

Kevin M. Bourke, BourkePR

508.259.6018

kbourke@bourkepr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cinedeck LLC Announces Immediate Availability of Cinedeck EXTREME 

Award-Winning Ultra-Portable Monitoring, Recording, and Playback Device 

Now Shipping in Quantity

NEW YORK, NY (June 22, 2010) -- Cinedeck LLC (www.cinedeck.com) today announced the immediate availability of Cinedeck EXTREME, the industry’s first extremely portable, cinema-grade on-board recording, monitoring and playback device designed for use at every level of television, commercial, independent or major motion film production.  Cinedeck EXTREME recently made its US debut at NAB 2010, where it swept the coveted NAB 2010 Best of Show Awards, and was enthusiastically received in its Asian market debut at Broadcast Asia2010 in Singapore, and KOBA 2010 in South Korea last week.

“Today’s announcement marks another major milestone for Cinedeck,” said Alan Hoff, vice president of product management for Cinedeck LLC.  “Since our launch in February and our debut at NAB this year, we’ve taken careful strides along the way, listening closely to our users and partners to deliver a solid device that will transform the way cinematographers and production crews create their art in the field.  From the most rugged and seemingly impossible production environments, our users are already realizing the power, versatility, reliability and convenience of Cinedeck EXTREME.”

Cinedeck Key Feature Highlights

Cinedeck boasts a number of features combined in a unique, ultra portable footprint that delivers highly-desired capabilities for anyone who has endured production in the field using unwieldy, expensive and unreliable equipment.  These features include:

• Monitor: Cinedeck monitors video in real-time, much like a standard on-camera focus monitor and possesses a collection of image analysis tools such as on-screen histogram/waveform/scopes for ensuring proper exposure.  Audio is monitored via on-board headphone jack and recording levels can be viewed on-screen.

• Record: Cinedeck captures edit-ready, 10-bit 4:2:2 or 12-bit 4:4:4 CineForm files in MOV format, as well as other industry standard codecs and formats, that eliminate time-consuming ingest and transcoding when entering post-production.  Ingest occurs via HDSDI or HDMI and files are recorded to highly reliable, rugged standard 2.5” solid state drives for maximum compatibility, reliability and cost effectiveness.

• Playback/Review: Cinedeck plays back shots instantly via on-screen transport controls. Gestural-based touch screen controls enable selected playback of just the portion of the clip to be reviewed.

Pricing and Availability

Cinedeck EXTREME is available immediately with support for the following formats and frame rates: 

• 8/10 bit 4:2:2 recording via HDMI/HDSDI 
• 12bit 4:4:4 recording via dual link 1.5G HDSDI or single link 3G HDSDI
• HD Format Support: 720p50, 720p59.94, 720p60, 1080PsF23.98, 1080p23.98, 1080PsF24, 1080p24, 1080PsF25, 1080p25, 1080PsF29.97, 1080p29.97, 1080PsF30, 1080p30, 1080i50, 1080p50, 1080i59.94, 1080p59.94, 1080i60, and 1080p60.
• SD Format Support: 625/25 PAL, 525/29.97 NTSC, 525/23.98 NTSC and 480p (plus realtime up/down conversion with hardware de-interlacing and 3:2 pulldown removal, and 23.98 --> 59i on playout options)

*Not all frame rates available in all codecs/quality settings, and results may vary depending on recording media.

Cinedeck EXTREME is priced at $9,995 US MSRP.  An available Hi-Brite display option for maximum readability in bright sunlight is available for an additional $995.  For more information, please visit www.cinedeck.com. 

About Cinedeck LLC

Founded by cinematographers in the heart of New York City, Cinedeck is redefining mobile, digital cinematography by delivering the industry’s first extremely portable, affordable camera-mountable cinema-grade recording and monitoring device, Cinedeck EXTREME.  Cinedeck was recently honored at NAB 2010, winning both the “2010 TV Technology STAR Award” and the “2010 Vidy Award.” For more information, please visit www.cinedeck.com.

Cinedeck EXTREME at Broadcast Asia2010

 

Cinedeck LLC is bringing their ultra-portable recording and playback marvel to Singapore next week for the 15th annual Broadcast Asia2010 conference.  Since their appearance at NAB in April, the buzz about Cinedeck EXTREME is spreading like wildfire.  Here's the announcement with the details:

Media Contact:

Kevin M. Bourke, BourkePR

508.259.6018

kbourke@bourkepr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Broadcast Asia2010 Booth #8J4-02

Cinedeck LLC Continues World Tour with Cinedeck EXTREME, Demonstrating Award-Winning Ultra-Portable Recording and Playback Device at Broadcast Asia2010

Cinedeck EXTREME Makes Asian Market Debut; Attendees to Experience Touch-Screen Simplicity, Hot Swappable SSDs and Cinema-Quality Recording in an Ultra-Portable Solution

NEW YORK, NY (June 11, 2010) -- Cinedeck LLC (www.cinedeck.com) today announced it is continuing an aggressive world tour, demonstrating the latest advancements to its award-winning, ultra portable touch screen recording, monitoring and playback device -- Cinedeck EXTREME -- at Broadcast Asia2010 next week in Singapore.  Following its successful US debut at NAB 2010, where Cinedeck EXTREME swept the coveted NAB 2010 Best of Show Awards, Grady Sellards, Director of Systems Engineering for Cinedeck LLC, will be on hand in the AV8 Media booth #8J4-02 to demonstrate the real world benefits of Cinedeck EXTREME’ s field-ready features.

Broadcast Asia, in its 15th year, is Asia’s largest event serving the digital multi-media and entertainment technology industry.  Exhibitions are open to the public from June 15 - 18, 2010 at the Singapore Expo.

“We’re amazed and humbled by the reactions to Cinedeck EXTREME that we’ve received at conferences throughout the US and Europe.  Now we’re extending our world tour to Asian markets at the premier event for the region,” said Alan Hoff, vice president of product management for Cinedeck LLC.  “User reaction and feedback is critical to the ongoing development of Cinedeck EXTREME, and the perspective of customers at Broadcast Asia2010 will be invaluable.  To date, we’ve learned that features like upgradeability, rugged hot swappable SSD storage, simple, direct and intuitive touch-screen navigation and cinema-grade image quality in an ultra portable device are exciting for users, but we’re looking forward to connecting directly with users at the show to learn even more.”

Cinedeck EXTREME: Award-Winning, Extremely Capable Recorders

Cinedeck EXTREME defines an entirely new category of extremely portable, affordable, and upgradeable cinema-grade recording and monitoring solutions for anyone with an HDMI, HDSDI or LAN camera. Cinedeck EXTREME offers significant investment protection, enabling many legacy cameras with high quality sensors to bypass their low quality on board tape recorders (DV, HDV, DVCPRO-HD).  As a result, Cinedeck EXTREME effectively extends the life of a wide array of camera equipment for production rental houses, cinematographers, and industrial and surveillance users. 

About CineDeck LLC

Founded by cinematographers in the heart of New York City, Cinedeck is redefining mobile, digital cinematography by delivering the industry’s first extremely portable, affordable camera-mountable cinema-grade recording and monitoring device, Cinedeck EXTREME.  Cinedeck was recently honored at NAB 2010, winning both the “2010 TV Technology STAR Award” and the “2010 Vidy Award.” For more information, please visit www.cinedeck.com.

Alan Hoff of CineDeck at Cine Gear 2010

Alan Hoff of CineDeck at Cine Gear 2010.

Alan Hoff of CineDeck at Cine Gear 2010

Amazing Face Replacement VFX with mocha

Earlier this year, Italian director Francesco Calabrese and VFX freelance artist, Fabrizio Bonaga were thinking of ways to collaborate with Amari, an aspiring band from Udine, Italy, with whom they’d become quite friendly with in recent months.  Calabrese wanted to do something funny, creative, challenging, and even a little crazy.  So the idea was hatched to make a film-style music video based on a series of classic science fiction movies and to realistically insert the band members into as many shots as possible.  

With the concept solidified, Calabrese and Bonaga began pouring through as many sci-fi movies as possible, looking for inspiration and ideas on how this project could evolve.  They also carefully reviewed and planned out the process and workflow in detail to ensure they had the most cost-effective and simplest approach.

They started the project by stitching together scenes from multiple movies, successfully finding sequences with enough continuity between the films. Calabrese then created a rough cut of what would eventually become the music video, carefully piecing together scenes based on the actors’ movements, ensuring the least amount of rotation and changes in perspective.  When you’re about to embark on a major face-replacement project, the less ambiguity in each shot, the better!

Original Footage

Amari band member on green screen

Final composite with tracked face replacement

“The biggest challenge was replacing the actors’ faces with the band members’ and creating the most realistic, seamless look possible.  And that’s tough when you’re working with low-quality DivX as your source,” said Bonaga, who was charged with all the visual effects for the music video.  “We knew in the planning stages that tracking these shots with an average point tracker would’ve been impossible. So we decided early on that Imagineer Systems’ mocha was the only way to go.  Even with such low quality source material, mocha worked with extreme precision in every shot.”

“I started the process by making some rough face substitutions; literally roughly dropping in faces throughout the video,” continued Bonaga.  “I specifically started the process this way to give me a sense of where my most challenging shots would be.  But tracking with mocha was so solid and accurate, there was really nothing else for me to do - mocha tracked scale flawlessly.  We did such a good job on the first pass, all I needed to do was track position and rotation; I never even needed to track perspective.  The second pass was really about color matching.  mocha’s tracking was solid, just as we expected!”

Creating a music video with such sophisticated visual effects doesn’t come without its problems, however.  With only one day to shoot the band and capture all the green screen shots needed to begin the face replacement in post, the team was tired.  “At the end of a long day of shooting, we were exhausted.  When we discovered that a few of the shots were the wrong perspective with the faces in the wrong positions, we decided not to re-shoot, but to take advantage of some of the tools in post to fix the problems.  This turned out to be a relatively easy fix.  I simply removed the entire original head from the movie, wiped it clean with a plate created in Photoshop, tracked the background with mocha and replaced the head completely with the band members’ head!”

Original Footage

 

The second major challenge was color matching.  Since many of the movies they selected for the video were older, they had a grainy quality.  So not only did Bonaga have to precisely track each face, but he needed to recreate the lighting and grainy look as well.  “I’m not an expert in color correction,” continued Bonaga.  “But I jumped in with enthusiasm and managed with a very practical approach.  The ability to export my mocha tracking data, and do it in low-rez jpeg compression, I was able to recreate the grainy, squared ‘noise’ that matched the original film perfectly.”

 Amari band member on green screen

 

   Final composite with tracked face replacement and back plate.

Bonaga also credits Francesco Calabrese’s expertise behind the camera as key to making color correction and matching that much easier.  “After studying the source material closely, Francesco was able to capture such a close look and feel with the on-stage lighting as he was shooting.  This truly made my job easier too!”

One day of shooting, two days of pre-production and approximately 90 hours of post production went into the creation of the Tiger music video for Amari.  The result is nothing short of spectacular, with images so clean and accurate, it’s almost impossible to tell that a major face replacement project took place.  And the result was exactly what Calabrese, Bonaga and the band members of Amari were striving for.

“We wanted a challenge,” concluded Bonaga.  “But we knew we could have never even conceived this project without mocha!”

And here's the finished product; amazing!

Amari - Tiger from Francesco Calabrese on Vimeo.

Automatic Duck Delivers on NAB 2010 Announcements; Pro Import AE 5.0 with Support for CS5 on the Mac is Available Immediately

 Pro Import AE 5.0 Offers 64-Bit and CS5 Compatibility and Support for 

Motion 3 and 4 Project Import

SEATTLE, WA (June 7, 2010) –  Automatic Duck (www.automaticduck.com), the creators of timeline integration software for digital media artists, announced today the immediate availability of Pro Import AE 5.0 for the Mac.  Debuted at NAB 2010 last month in Las Vegas, Pro Import AE 5.0 is a major new upgrade to the industry-popular timeline translation tool for After Effects users that offers compatibility with Creative Suite 5 (CS5) from Adobe, which also launched at NAB 2010.

With this announcement, users can begin taking immediate advantage of Pro Import AE 5.0 and its powerful timeline translation capabilities, as well as new support for Motion 3 and 4 project import.  Additionally, Automatic Duck designed Pro Import AE 5 to continue supporting earlier versions of Adobe’s Creative Suite, including CS3 and CS4.

“It was very important to us that we deliver a CS5-ready solution for our customers as close to the CS5 launch as possible.  Our good friends at Adobe worked closely with us to ensure that we could deliver on our promise and create an enhanced solution that simply makes After Effects users lives’ that much easier,” said Wes Plate, president of Automatic Duck.  “Pro Import AE is one of our most popular solutions, and with the support of our users and beta testers, we continue to find ways to improve the workflow, streamline it, while staying current with all the new evolutions in the market.  And judging from the reactions we received at NAB 2010, we think our customers will be very pleased with what we’ve done with Pro Import AE 5.0.”

Automatic Duck Pro Import AE 5.0 offers users a broad range of enhancements, including support for Adobe CS5 and such new developments as:

• 64-bit compatible plug-in supports After Effects CS3 through CS5;
• Support for Motion 3 and 4 project import;
• Option to replace Final Cut Pro proxy media with R3D files;
• DPX/Cineon sequence support from Final Cut Pro;
• Support for MXF4Mac and other MXF QuickTime components;
• Improved text import with font, color, size and style info (CS4 and later);
• Updated third party plug-in translations;
• New usability improvements.

What Beta Testers Have to Say 

Beta testers have always played a significant role in the development of new products, and as importantly, in the continued development of existing Automatic Duck solutions.  Here’s what beta testers have to say about Pro Import AE 5.0:

“After Effects can work in 32 bit uncompressed space, giving total control to visual effects and color grading. Since my clients work and deliver using Final Cut Pro,  Automatic Duck Pro Import AE is the natural bridge between editorial and finishing in our workflow.”

Joost van der Hoeven, Senior Audio-Visual Designer at Animotion.nl

“As a Colorist with Apple Color, being able to ingest Avid project in Final Cut Pro is a must!  Also, with the lack of compositing in Apple Color, Pro Import AE 5.0 allows me to finish projects with ease, efficiently and with a lot of control.”

Fred Fleureau, Film & Television Colorist

Pricing and Availability

Pro Import AE 5.0 is available immediately and is priced at $495.00.  For more information, please visit www.automaticduck.com. 

About Automatic Duck

Automatic Duck is the pioneer of Timeline Integration Engine technology and leads the content creation marketplace with powerful solutions for seamless, comprehensive timeline translation capabilities between Avid, Adobe After Effects, Discreet Smoke, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Quantel via XML, OMF and AAF.  For more information on Automatic Duck’s unique Timeline Integration Engine technology, please visit www.automaticduck.com. 

###

News Alert: Imagineer Systems Takes mocha to New Speed and Performance Levels in Latest Release

New mocha Release Boosts Tracking and Rendering Performance By 30%; Delivers Even More Streamlined Workflow, Simplified Export to Nuke

GUILDFORD, UK (June 7, 2010) -- Imagineer Systems (www.imagineersystems.com) today announced that it has continued aggressive development of its flagship planar tracking and roto station, mocha, resulting in a point release (mocha v2.0.1) boasting greater than 30% application performance level increases, more interface improvements and further simplified export to Nuke.  

Since mocha v2 made its industry debut in April at the NAB 2010 exhibition in Las Vegas, the Imagineer Systems development team has been in constant contact with customers, feeding additional user input directly into further optimizing the mocha product code base to deliver significant performance and workflow gains.

"mocha is quickly becoming our most popular product to date,” said Ross Shain, chief marketing officer for Imagineer Systems. “Customers who upgrade to the full version of mocha v2 are absolutely loving the new, improved interface and the increased performance of our powerful planar tracking engine. The major speed improvements for both OSX and Windows now mean that VFX artists, designers and content creators can solve the most difficult tracking tasks in even less time.  They tell us that the upgrade to mocha v2 practically paid for itself in one project!"

Built on Imagineer’s award-winning 2.5D planar tracking technology, mocha has earned a reputation in Hollywood and throughout the VFX industry as an innovative must-have solution for solving complex, labor-intensive tracking and roto challenges and has quickly become the industry’s most popular and powerful stand alone tracking and roto station with over 25,000 registered users worldwide.

What’s New in mocha v2.0.1

In addition to the greater than 30% application performance gains in mocha’s planar tracking engine, roto speed and rendering times, and a further simplified export workflow to Nuke, mocha v2.0.1 also includes all the advancements and benefits of mocha v2, such as:

• 64 bit Architecture: Re-engineered for 64-bit operating system support
• Improved User Interface: New icons and streamlined interface make mocha even easier to learn and master;
• Improved Licensing Activation: mocha users can now easily activate and deactivate licenses for use on multiple systems;
• Stabilize and Smooth Module: Smooth jittery camera footage or lock down shots for effects plates;
• OpenGL Acceleration: Hardware rendering of mattes with motion blur;
• Nuke 6.0 & Nuke X support: Copy and paste RotoPaint and CornerPin nodes from mocha directly into Nuke; 
• Apple Motion support.

Pricing and Availability:

mocha v2.0.1 supports Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Pricing is as follows: 

• Upgrade pricing: Upgrades to mocha v2 for existing owners of any Imagineer product are priced at $499 for nodelocked licenses.  
• New nodelocked licenses are priced at: $1095
• Cross platform floating licenses are also available at additional cost.

For more information, please visit www.imagineersystems.com.  

About Imagineer Systems 

Imagineer Systems Ltd innovates and markets next-generation visual effects solutions for film, video and broadcast post production markets.  Imagineer Systems has made its mark on such marquee Hollywood blockbuster productions as Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, Shutter Island, Invictus, G-Force and the Harry Potter series. Imagineer’s desktop product line consists of monet - placement station, mokey - removal station and the mocha family of tracking and roto products: mocha, mocha for After Effects and mocha for Final Cut.  Imagineer Systems was founded in 2000 and its headquarters is located in Guildford, United Kingdom.  For more information visit www.imagineersystems.com.