Dan Sherlock has been named president of Cinedigm Software. Sherlock will report to Cinedigm COO/CFO Adam Mizel and will be responsible for all aspects of the operations at Cinedigm Software including production technology business development sales and marketing. Most recently Sherlock was president of Baseline a comprehensive film and television database with a robust subscription and syndicated content client base comprised of all the major studios agencies production companies and some of the largest fortune 500 companies owned by The New York Times Company. Previously Sherlock held numerous executive roles with The Walt Disney Company most recently as vice president and general manager of Movies.com. With both technical and marketing expertise Dan is perfectly suited to lead and grow our robust software business said Mizel. In the last year we have invested considerable resources to expand our product lines to support our international expansion and to successfully add significant new customers and Dan's addition will further bolster our market leading position. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the incredible team of talented creative people at Cinedigm Software as we seek to advance our clients’ business objectives using the industry's most innovative software solutions said Sherlock. Cinedigm software stands at the nexus of the digital exhibition transformation -- serving the needs of top distributors and exhibitors worldwide – and I look forward to being part of this exciting technological revolution.” ,3791
Cinedigm Names Hassell VP of Theatrical Distribution,2013-01-16,Cinedigm Digital Cinema has announced Tom Hassell has been named vice president of theatrical distribution. Hassell will be responsible for all aspects of theatrical distribution for Cinedigm the leading strategic indie film and alternative content distributor that utilizes digital distribution and targeted marketing to cost-effectively release films. Some recent high profile theatrical acquisitions for Cinedigm include Arthur Newman (with Colin Firth and Emily Blunt) Violet and Daisy (with Saoirse Ronan and James Gandolfini) and the acclaimed documentary The Invisible War. Hassell’s career in major motion picture distribution spans nearly three decades and is built upon experience with films ranging from the internationally commercial (Ghostbusters) to the art-house specialized feature ( The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; La Vie En Rose) and includes positions at Columbia Pictures Polygram Filmed Entertainment Destination Films New Market Films Picturehouse Films and Film District. Tom brings expertise savvy and world-class business instincts to Cinedigm said Susan Margolin co-president of Cinedigm’s entertainment group. In the last year we have made tremendous strides in our entertainment efforts distributing films from five-screen targeted releases to 20-screen day-and-day releases to films spanning 1 000 screens - and we have many more projects slated for 2013. Tom will play a critical role in releasing these films in the Cinedigm way – putting producers first being good partners to the exhibition community and bringing compelling content to demanding audiences. I am very excited about joining such a forward-looking company of smart and innovative people said Hassell. I look forward to being part of what is and will be a compelling force in the changing landscape of the entertainment business. ,3792
An Inside Look at Human Trafficking,2013-01-16, Cinequest Picture the Possibilities line-producer Marcela Villegas Castanon’s newest documentary is called Life Is Love. The project which is an inspirational film about young women who have been freed from the world of human trafficking and have been transformed through the work of Somaly Mam in Cambodia takes the audience through their past and present to show the possibilities of their future. Castanon chose Litepanels Croma LEDs as their main lighting.
“Our DPs have used Litepanels LEDs before and they told me these lights would be what we needed as we entered dim and small areas (brothels small houses) for specific interviews ” says Castanon. “So we chose four on-camera LED Croma Litepanels one for each of our DP’s Canon C300 cameras because they are portable (no outside power) and powerful they wouldn’t take much room and took little time to set up. Their durability and adjustable color temperature was also a plus as we were shooting both inside and outside.”
Throughout the documentary there were three distinct situations where Litepanels provided the perfect lighting support. “We had two difficult scenes inside brothels where we interviewed clients who partake in the industry and another with the women who work within the brothels ” she explains. “The rooms were small dimly lit and bland in color. The Cromas allowed for some depth and color for the interviews and for the rooms themselves. And when we were filming the clients outside they were the perfect fill light to eliminate shadows on the men’s faces.”
The second situation where Litepanels Cromas were a plus was when the small company filmed at a health clinic. “We were shadowing one of the survivors who now volunteers her services in assisting women with medical advice ” Castanon explains. “We had very limited time for set up hence the on-camera Litepanels were easily accessible and quick to attach onto the camera. They provided just the right amount of light for the dim and small clinic room.”
The camera team often used the Litepanels as backlight or fill light during sit-down interviews. “The locations at times were too compact to insert c-stands and larger lights ” she explains. “So these Cromas were very convenient to place behind the subjects acting as backlight. We also conducted interviews outside in which many cases there were trees that cast shadows. The Cromas were perfect to brighten and fill the interviews.” Life is Love is slated for completion February 2013 in time to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The project will also be submitted to Toronto Sundance and be showcased at the company’s own Cinequest Film Festival in 2014. The company has also struck a worldwide distribution deal for various other festivals in an effort to raise awareness of this issue. The film will also be used by the Somaly Mam Foundation to boost their fundraising.
Cinequest Picture the Possibilities is set do to another awareness project involving a youth empowerment program the company conducted in Mexico City and New York late in 2012. They will also use Litepanels’ Croma LEDs as their main source on this project. ,3793
Codex Played a Key Role in Life of Pi Production,2013-01-16,The production of Ang Lee’s Life of Pi spanned four years and more than half the globe. Shooting locations included Montreal Canada; Pondicherry and Munar India; and a giant custom-built water tank in Taiwan where open water scenes were staged. All of the live action was shot natively in 3D. 3D specialist Cameron Pace Group supported Lee through the creative process by supplying expertise equipment and an on set workflow for screening dailies. A number of different camera systems were considered for use with the rigs with cinematographer Claudio Miranda ultimately selecting the then new Arri Alexa camera for its sensitivity to details such as light reflecting off water. Codex recorders were used on the set to capture dual streams of data from pairs of Arri Alexa cameras used to shoot the movie. Additionally Codex digital laboratory systems were employed near-set to manage and backup the enormous amount of data generated by the stereo production. Cameron Pace Group co-chairman and CEO Vince Pace noted that Codex recorders were the obvious choice to capture data from the Alexa cameras. “Life of Pi was not an easy film ” he said. “You had a production crew traveling to India. There was a set up at a defunct airport in Taiwan. As a result we made a choice to throw the best technology at it in order to support the creative portion throughout the filmmaking process…and that’s where Codex shined.” Codex recorders provided a way to record data without compression and with 100 percent reliability. Additionally they greatly simplified the process of recording 3D through their unique ability to record dual streams from paired cameras in perfect synchronicity. “Codex treats dual streams as if they are one negative ” Pace explained. “That really benefits you when you want to playback scenes in 3D. It is far superior to using two recorders as that would require external equipment to play them in sync.” “Codex provided critical links in a chain that allowed us to present results to the director ” Pace said. “It is a powerful tool that was transparent to production.” During the production individual Codex recorders were used with each of three camera pairs. When the recorders were full they were taken to a near-set laboratory and off-loaded to Codex Digital Labs. The Digital Labs were employed to make LTO back-up media and to load media onto a DVS Clipster system that was used to prepare 3D dailies media for review editorial visual effects and post-production purposes. The off-loading process was overseen by CPG’s Derek Schweickart the production’s 3D Workflow Supervisor. Schweickart said that Codex’s system for managing 3D data also simplified his task. “Codex’s ability to record clips that are the same length is really important ” he said. “It made it very easy to manage the left eye and right eye. When I offloaded the data to the Digital Lab and then onto the Clipster there was very little data management to do. I simply dropped in the left eye and right eye timelines. That allowed us to focus on other tasks such as color correction and matching the footage to script notes. That was a huge advantage.” “Codex also allowed scene and take information entered on set to be used in the file naming for post ” Schweickart added. “That meant that the footage didn’t need to be logged in a traditional manner. Clips were the same length and properly named when delivered to the lab. That saved us time with syncing and naming.” Pace said the Codex technology was part of a network of cutting edge technologies extending from the camera systems through post-production all of which had to be carefully calibrated and maintained by a team of talented professionals. He credited 20th Century Fox vice president of Post Production Steve Barnett with assembling an exceptional team. “If you look at this from a business perspective and see how daunting it was you would have thought that something had to give…but nothing gave ” he said. “When you take on a project like this you don’t think about ‘vendors ’ rather you assemble a team of professionals who are all going after a creative result.” ,3794
Cooke Optics to Receive Academy Award of Merit,2013-01-16,Cooke Optics will receive an Academy Award of Merit — an Oscar statuette — for its continuing innovation in the design development and manufacture of motion picture camera lenses. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences created the Scientific and Technical Award to honor the men women and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant outstanding and lasting ways to motion pictures. Each year the academy honorees are celebrated at a formal dinner held two weeks prior to the Oscar ceremony. This year’s Scientific and Technical Awards presentation takes place on February 9th at The Beverly Hills Hotel LA. The Academy said that Cooke receives an Award of Merit because it helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century. Cooke lenses are renowned in the industry for the ‘Cooke Look’ which gives a warm natural feel to images on the screen. The British company’s innovations over the years have included zoom lenses for movie cameras the ‘fast’ prime lenses that eliminated the need for bright lights and more recently its ground-breaking /i Technology protocol a system adopted by many leading camera and lens manufacturers that collects crucial lens metadata to provide more accurate information to camera operators and post-production teams. Les Zellan chairman and owner Cooke Optics said “We are thrilled that the company has been recognized by the Academy after 120 years’ continuous service to the motion picture industry; I’m humbled to accept the award on behalf of all the talented people currently working at Cooke as well as the thousands that have gone before. Cooke has been an innovative force in this industry from the birth of motion pictures to the current digital film revolution. Our commitment has always been to enable customers to realize their vision and help them create the films that capture the imaginations of audiences around the world.” Each Cooke lens is hand crafted at the factory in Leicester UK using a combination of state-of-the-art technology traditional 100-year old techniques and personal dexterity that come together to create the unique and famed ‘Cooke Look’. Cooke lenses have recently been used on film projects including A Good Day To Die Hard After Earth Hugo Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Midnight in Paris and My Week With Marilyn and on television productions including World Without End Game Of Thrones Downton Abbey True Blood The Borgias and Chicago Fire. ,3796
Disney’s Kornblum to Receive 2013 CinemaCon Passepartout Award,2013-01-16,David Kornblum vice president of international theatrical sales and distribution Asia Pacific and Russia for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International will receive the 2013 CinemaCon Passepartout Award at CinemaCon’s International Day Luncheon. The award is presented annually to an industry executive whose dedication and commitment to the international marketplace is unparalleled. CinemaCon the official convention of The National Association of Theatre Owners the largest and most important gathering of cinema owners and operators from around the world will be held April 15 - 18 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The International Day Luncheon will take place on Monday April 15 where more than 800 industry executives from the international market are expected to be on hand. “With an infinite passion and love for this great industry and having left his own indelible mark on the world of distribution and exhibition from a global standpoint David Kornblum is the ideal recipient of our annual Passepartout Award said CinemaCon’s managing director Mitch Neuhauser. His dedication to the international marketplace over the past 23 years is unequalled and is clearly evident to everyone in the industry. We are truly delighted to honor such an accomplished professional and to single him out before his peers at CinemaCon 2013. Kornblum has worked for the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International distribution team for more than 23 years. Over the course of his career he has been involved in the distribution of more than 500 titles across all genres throughout the international marketplace including the very successful releases of the record-setting Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Marvel’s The Avengers Alice In Wonderland and Toy Story 3 all of which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide and chart amongst the biggest releases in industry history. In his current role he oversees the international theatrical distribution of all Disney Studios Marvel Pixar Walt Disney Feature animation and Dreamworks titles in 15 markets including Japan Australia Russia South Korea Taiwan Hong Kong Singapore Malaysia Thailand Philippines Vietnam Indonesia New Zealand and India. The APAC-Russia region is the fastest growing region in the world and historically accounts for over 40 percent of the annual international box-office revenues. In addition to his distribution focus on the APAC-Russia region he oversees all international acquisitions for the division and has been responsible for distributing them throughout the international marketplace. CinemaCon www.cinemacon.com
Dan Sherlock Named President of Cinedigm Software
