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NAB 2002 Roundup
Written by David Tames on May 16, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Editing, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition, The Media
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The annual conference of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is the largest electronic media show in the world and provides an opportunity to see in one place what is new in production and post. Attendance was off about 16% this year, but no surprise...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Odds and Ends
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Editing, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition
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There is a new compact 10-40mm T3.95 zoom lens available from Fujinon specifically designed for the A-Minima. More and more films are using digital intermediate (DI), the days of film opticals are numbered, yet the little A-Minima comes at a good time when you can...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Digital projection takes a leap forward
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition
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While the performance of DLP based projectors in theatrical settings is impressive, we still have a ways to go before digital projection is ready for prime time, all the hype and George Lucas’ dream not withstanding. JVC was screening a variety of clips...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Viper offers view of cinematography’s future
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition
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By far the coolest thing on the show floor was the Viper camera, which according to David Bancroft of Thomson Multimedia, “transfers every detail from CCD to post.” The camera puts out an uncompressed digital signal that’s simply a digital version...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Apple Shakes up Mac effects capabilities
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Events & Screenings, Filmmaking
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At the show Apple was demonstrating a preview of Shake (a popular cross-platform compositing system for high resolution visual effects) on OS X. In February Apple acquired NothingReal, the developer of Shake. This package has earned an impressive reputation...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Digital Cinema Summit charts future of digital cinema
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition
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NAB, SMPTE and Digital Cinema Magazine hosted a two day Digital Cinema Summit exploring the technologies, methodologies and standards for digital motion pictures. SMPTE is playing a key role in documenting digital cinema standards. Members of the SMPTE DC28...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Film gamma upgrade enhances the Panasonic Varicam
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition
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Panasonic showed a new option for the AJ-HDC27 Varicam HD camera that extends the camera’s usable dynamic range, especially in highlights. “Cine Gamma” provides a closer approximation of film’s ability to gently compress extreme highlights....  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: DVCPRO and DVCPRO HD video decks will learn to talk FireWire
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Editing, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking, High Definition
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Panasonic and Apple announced they are working together to add FireWire (IEEE 1394) capability to new models of Panasonic’s DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD video decks. This will eliminate the need for specialized capture cards. Macintosh systems will be able ...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: 24P for the rest of us
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Camera, Events & Screenings, Filmmakers
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Panasonic announced the AG-DVX100 24P mini-DV camcorder. They showed a non-working prototype in the booth. This little critter incorporates three 1/3 inch, 410,000 pixel, progressive-scan CCDs delivering a 480-line progressive-scan image with a 4:3 aspect ratio ...  Continue Reading...

NAB 2002: Cinema Tools brings 24fps editing to Final Cut Pro 3
Written by David Tames on May 15, 2002
Filed Under Editing, Events & Screenings, Filmmaking
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Apple announced Cinema Tools (the software formerly known as Film Logic) for Final Cut Pro 3 which provides support for 24fps editing, film cut lists, and 24fps video EDLs for both standard and high definition video. With Cinema Tools Final Cut Pro can be...  Continue Reading...