Posted – July 13th, 2011
under Links, Technology, Visual Effects
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Arri Alexa

 
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We are working on visual effects for some major feature films  (stereo and mono) shot on the Arri Alexa. As we are starting to offer complete post production solutions in China (for digital movie projects) I did some research on the specific work-flows for this camera. I am sharing some interesting and useful links, if you consider shooting on Arri Alexa or do post-production:

Press Release from Arri (no lies;):

After much anticipation, ARRI is pleased to unveil ALEXA — the first model in a new generation of digital cameras for feature, television, commercial, documentary, music video production and more. Compact, ergonomic and lightweight on one hand, robust with ARRI’s legendary reliability on the other, ALEXA’s new Super 35 format sensor delivers amazing images with a base sensitivity of EI 800, low noise and an unsurpassed dynamic range of 13.5 stops. ARRI Imaging Technology (AIT) captures organic, film-like images unlike any digital camera, with natural color rendition and pleasing skin tones.
The unique Dual Gain Architecture (DGA) design of ALEXA’s CMOS sensor ensures the same wide exposure latitude across a range of sensitivity from EI 200 to EI 1600. This creates opportunities in post-production, where it is easier and faster to get the most out of the rich, captured images. Good detail in both highlight and shadow areas as well as a very low noise level help the colorist to reduce time, effort and thus, cost in grading. ALEXA’s excellent signal to noise ratio and clean color separation are particularly effective for greenscreen and VFX work.
The ALEXA system represents the most versatile and quickest workflow from the set, through post to distribution. This is achieved through ALEXA’s efficient Shoot To Edit (Shoot > Edit) workflow with a multitude of output options, complete metadata and integrated color management.
ALEXA is unique in that it can simultaneously record Apple QuickTime/ProRes files, output uncompressed HD video and uncompressed ARRIRAW data.

Posted – May 19th, 2009
under Articles, Featured, Logbook, Project Management, Technology, Visual Effects
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Shotgun – web-based visual effects production tracking

 
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Shotgun Software announced their visual effects production tracking application, after 3,5 years of development, as a private beta.

I had the chance to test shotgun in production on two smaller projects in our studio. We used it to track tasks and versions between three branches. I would like to give you an idea about the capabilities of the application.

First some key features:

  • Cross platform/Web-based
  • Rapid task creation with customizable task templates
  • Flexible scheduling including giant-charts
  • Integrated messaging
  • Issue and bug tracking
  • Customizable home pages and project dashboards
  • Custom reports of live data
  • Tagging for fast and flexible organization
  • Customizable Page, Entities, Relations
  • Open Python API provides full CRUD access to all data

Shotgun allows you to track every “entity” of a typical visual effects production (shots, assets, versions etc.). There are a couple of predefined entities but you also have the possibility to create your own and link them to every other item in the system.

The heart of shotgun is the schedule which allows you to manage tasks linked to entities, which can be assigned to people or groups. The powerful filtering functionality allows you and everyone in the studio to look at the data and the schedule in the way you want to work with it.

Integration

Shotgun is the most open (out-of-the-box) production tracking application that we tested so far. It is really easy to integrate it into a pipeline. The application provides a python api but you can also access and write data using a xml-rpc interface. The api is well documented and allows access to all fields in the database. In a quick test, our r&d department was able to connect our versioning tools with the database in less than one day.

Usability

As I mentioned before, the application is extremely customizable. You can easily create own pages from entities (e.g. shots) and just add every possible connected date field to it (e.g. status summary).

Unfortunately the interface is not really self-explanatory yet. You definitely need some guidance to use the full potential of the application. They published some really nice tutorial videos on their website.

Conclusion

I think the current version is just the starting point. It seems like the  developers concentrated on building a reliable and especially adoptable and customizable system as a foundation to build on top of it.

In fact, it is one of the most customizable and flexible web applications I have ever used. It feels much more like a database management system, in which you can create your own application, then like an out of the box package.

The coolest thing about the application is the team behind it. Talking to the people who created it, feels like they really love what they do!

There are a couple of things I would love to see in future releases (mostly for producers and the management):

  • Printing features! (customizable layouts, etc)
  • Bidding and change order management/tracking
  • Costs management & controlling
  • Time-sheets (partly implemented)
  • (Management) summaries across projects
  • Resources leveling like in MsProject
  • Additional editorial features: edl import, scan orders, counts sheets, etc.
  • Project wiki and/or wiki pages per entity
  • Personal dashboards to present eg. all tasks and related notes accumulated on one page
  • Project dashboard with summarized data from several entities on one page (not spread over tabs)

 

Links

http://www.shotgunsoftware.com
Shotgun Tutorials

Posted – February 21st, 2009
under Links, Logbook, Technology, Visual Effects
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Random Links – Visual Effects Pipeline Design and Production Databases

 
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A crowing collection of interesting articles about the technical and conceptional aspects of visual effects pipeline design and production databases:

APIs/XML/Integration

XML Services at Framestore CFC
This presentation illustrates the real-world deployment of a complex XML-RPC service architecture within one of Europe’s largest visual effects houses, ranging from integration with Filemaker Pro, to driving 35mm Laser Film Recorders.

EDDIEOFFERMANN DOT COM 
“XML is like violence. If it doesn’t solve your problem, you’re not using it enough.”

Digital Asset Management

DAM: good solutions;
Post pros want asset management integrated with project management

Specifications

Collada
COLLADA is a royalty-free XML schema that enables digital asset exchange within the interactive 3D industry.

OpenEXR
OpenEXR is a high dynamic-range (HDR) image file format developed by Industrial Light & Magic for use in computer imaging applications.

Products

Temerity
“Temerity Pipeline is the industry’s first complete production control application.  Designed for studios in the film, television and game industries, Pipeline provides seamless control over assets, revisions, archiving and job handling.”

Articles on workflows

Wikipedia: Workfow
“A workflow is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, work of a simple or complex mechanism, work of a group of persons,[1] work of an organization of staff, or machines. Workflow may be seen as any abstraction of real work, segregated in workshare, work split or whatever types of ordering. For control purposes, workflow may be a view on real work under a chosen aspect,[2] thus serving as a virtual representation of actual work.”

Pipelines: Plumbing for the next web
For the purposes of this paper, a pipeline is a metaphor for a series of tasks or operations that run in sequence. In their most abstract form, pipelines are made up of pipes. These pipes can be tasks, processes, actions, etc. Each pipe has an input, a middle, and an output. The middle definition really depends on the context in which the pipeline exists.

An activity based Workflow Engine for PHP
A computer application contains a number of different ‘tasks’, ‘transactions’, ‘programs’ or ‘modules’, each of which performs a particular function. Sometimes the processing of one particular task is supposed to be followed by one or more other tasks in order to complete some higher process. 



Posted – December 23rd, 2008
under Links, Technology, Visual Effects
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3D workflow & pipeline research

 
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-> 3D workflow & pipeline research

Posted – July 6th, 2005
under Technology
3 comments

Formac Watchandgo

 
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87

Gerade kam – nach etwa 3 wöchiger Verspätung – meine neue Fomac Watchandgo DVB-T Karte an. Naja, was soll ich sagen? Das Fernsehen hat mich wieder – aber dazu später mehr.
Hier ein erster Eindruck von der ersten “bezahlbaren” DVB-T Lösung für den Mac.

88

Das Äussere
Eine eher umspektakulär daherkommende PCMCIA Karte mit einem nach vorne gerichtetem Antennenanschluss … so weit war das zu erwarten, und so sah auch das Produktbild bei Cyberport aus. Warum das Bild die Antenne mit ihrem improvisiert wirkendem Metallfuß und dem nach Amateurfunk aussehendem Kabel nicht zeigt ist mir jetzt klar! Eine selbsgebaute Parabolantenne aus Salatschüssel und Alufolie hätte mehr Scham. Nicht gerade Mac-Like!

 

 

85

Die Software
Welcher Held hat dem Entwickler des Interfaces erzählt, daß man erst mit den Großen (Delicous Library?) spielen darf wenn man Buttons jenseits jeden Standards einsetzt?

 

Meiner Meinung nach, ein Paradebeispiel für schlechtes Interfacedesign.

Timeshift ist ne’ nette Idee wenn man ‘mal kurz aufs Klo muss. Doch eigentlich wurde doch dafür die Werbung erfunden, die man mit dieser Funktion leider nicht überspringen kann.

Der EPG liefert eine kurze Übersicht über die folgenden Sendungen auf dem gerade laufenden Programm … leider auch nicht mehr. Die Produkte von Elgato scheinen das eleganter zu lösen und bieten eine komplette Programmübersicht die bei Watchandgo erst nach einem etwa 5 min. “Scan” zu Verfügung steht.
Ach ja, in den ersten 2 Stunden “Fernsehgenuss” ist die Software 4-mal abgestürzt.

89

Der Empfang
Vielleicht wohne ich ja gerade in einem Funkloch aber dafür das wir in Darmstadt eigentlich perfekten DVB-T Empfang genießen sollten, Ich bin vom Empfang in Darmstadt echt enttäuscht. (Vom Empfang am Arbeitsplatz in Pfungstadt ganz zu schweigen)
Die mitgelieferte Antenne verhilft zu höchstens 4 guten Kanälen (den ZDF “Derivaten”?) und zu 14, mit viel Optimismus als höchsten befriedigenden zu bezeichnende Programmen. Gerade Rhein/MainTV – naja wer will das auch sehen – und die anderen dritten Programme (wie RTL und Sat1 ;-) lassen extrem zu wünschen übrig. Bildfehler und Tonaussetzer versauen jede montagmorgige Gerichtssendung. Naja, werde das ganze wohl mal mit einer aktiven Aussenantenne versuchen müssen.

Die “Fernbedienung”
Pfiffige Idee! Das Handy – in meinem Fall das SE T630 – wird automatisch, via Bluetooth, als “Fernbedienung” erkannt. Mann kann das Programm wechseln, die Lautstärke ändern und die Timeshiftfunktion aktivieren. Nett!

 

Das Fazit
Obwohl die Software in Puncto Bedienungsunfreundlichkeit ihresgleichen sucht, erfüllt die Formac Watch&Go, angeschlossen an eine aktive Zimmerantenne wahrscheinlich Ihren Zweck. 99€ wirken im Vergleich zu den fast 300€ teuren Elgatoprodukten fast wie ein Schnäppchen und lassen die Nachteile schnell verschmerzen. Das Paket wurde aber offensichtlich mit sehr heißer Nadel gestrickt und wirkt doch sehr zusammengestückelt. Wer eine wirklich mobile Lösung zum Empfang ausserhalb der DVB-T Zentren für den Mac sucht, schaut leider immer noch in die Röhre …

Positiv:

  • – verhältnismässig günstiger Preis
  • – einfache Installation (naja, am Mac eigentlich Standart ;-)

Negativ:

  • – unübersichtliches Userinterface
  • – “selbstgebastelt” wirkende und vor allem hässliche Antenne
  • – aufgezeichnete Videos haben nur eine Größe von 544×408 Pixeln. (Ist mir bezügliche des DVB-T Standards etwas entgangen?)
Posted – June 6th, 2005
under Technology
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Intel im Mac? Jetzt werd ich auch nervös ;-)

 
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… und deshalb habe ich jetzt – wie es sich für einen richtigen Mac-geek gehört – mein mac-tv abo reaktiviert.

Nachtrag: Ich habs nicht gewusst! ;-)

An Macs mit Intel-Prozessoren wird gearbeitet, diese sollen 2007 erscheinen. IBM hat die 3Ghz-Marke verfehlt und es nicht geschafft, einen PowerBook-Prozessor herzustellen. Seit 5 Jahren wird alles Cross-Plattform entwickelt. Apple zeigt gerade ein Intel-Basiertes System, auf dem bereits alle Funktionen von OS X laufen. Apple gibt an, dass dies der nächste große Übergang sei.
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