Cineplex Entertainment upgraded Galaxy Cinemas Brockville Ontario with 3D. The theatre has been equipped with a Christie Solaria 2K series projector and RealD 3D technology. Brockville residents are going to love the bright crystal clear images of digital presentations says Pat Marshall vice president communications and investor relations Cineplex Entertainment. With the addition of RealD audiences will be able to enjoy an incredibly immersive 3D experience with the great line-up of 3D movies scheduled to be released this year.” Toy Story 3 was the theatre’s first 3D presentation. Cineplex Entertainment www.cineplex.com ,1801
Civolution Adds Validation Program to its NexGuard Techonology,2010-06-28, Civolution has introduced a formal validation program for its NexGuard forensic marking technology used in digital cinema systems. The new validation tools enable Civolution’s partners that make digital cinema equipment that meets Digital Cinema Initiative specifications to verify and confirm activation and operation of the watermarking technology and correct embedding upon in-theatre projection.
Forensic marking is essential to help identify the source of illicit in-theatre recording of motion pictures ’’ says Michael Karagosian of MKPE Consulting. This new validation process is an important step in ensuring that fully functional and effective marking is taking place in digital cinema equipment. When implemented in accordance with the DCI specification digital cinema forensic marking provides seamless content tracking for cinema owners and movie studios beyond that available today with film prints.’’
Along with the certification procedure Civolution provides a quality check software tool that allows easy checking of the NexGuard - Digital Cinema watermarking behavior implemented in a vendor’s server or media block ’’ says Jean-Michel Masson senior vice president watermarking operations Civolution. The new procedure will facilitate product validation and DCI certification for all of our partners and provides transparency to the industry.’’ Civolution www.civolution.com ,1802
Documenting the Great Los Angeles River Clean Up,2010-06-28, Filmmaker Kathy Kolla president of Cola Kat Productions of Beverly Hills California recently shot a short-form documentary about the great Los Angeles River clean up also known as “La Gran Limpieza.” The Los Angeles River Project (working title) will be shown on the festival circuit especially at many of the environmentally themed film festivals that are gaining in popularity and impact in the U.S. and internationally.
The documentary was independently produced by Cola Kat to raise awareness about trash in the river and how much of it eventually winds up in ocean waters. Running over 50 miles long the Los Angeles River flows through 14 cities and countless neighborhoods from the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley to the ocean in Long Beach. She shot it with a Panasonic HPX170. Director/screenwriter/environmental advocate Kolla has previous experience with Panasonic HD cameras having shot her award-winning comic short Another Day Another Dime (Best First Film the International Film Festival South Africa; Audience Choice Award Flint Film Festival) with the Panasonic VariCam HD cinema camera. She owns the HPX170 P2 HD handheld which is her main camera for field production.
“The HPX170 and P2 format in general played an integral role in the Los Angeles River project ” says Kolla. “Utilizing the solid state camera and 64GB P2 cards allowed for continuous shooting while in the river which has steep concrete banks and can be quite treacherous. The camcorder’s light weight helped in that regard as well.”
The one-camera shoot including interviews with Friends of the Los Angeles River staff and location work across Los Angeles took place throughout May with the May 8th annual clean-up event as the centerpiece. “We shot primarily 720/24pN ” Kolla says “though we did some under-cranked time-lapse footage of freeway traffic at sunset at 12-fps. The HPX170’s choice of up to 20 different frame rates is invaluable.”
The documentary is currently being edited in Final Cut Pro 7.
Cola Kat Productions www.colakat.com
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CopterStudios Outfits its Mini-Helicopters with new JVC Cameras,2010-06-28, CopterStudios a specialty production company based in Santa Rosa California has outfitted two Halo remote-controlled helicopters with JVC GY-HM100 ProHD camcorders for close-range aerial cinematography. The Halo-based helicopters have captured footage for cable network programs movies and TV commercials as well as promotional footage for Sonoma and Napa Valley wineries real estate properties and golf courses.
CopterStudios owner Darin Huard founded the company five years ago because he recognized the valuable and incomparable cinematic perspective these mini-helicopter camera systems could capture. With the ability to hover or fly with precision the Halo can get unique shots 50 to 100 feet off the ground which would be too difficult or expensive to get from a full-size helicopter camera boom or crane.
Built by PhotoShip One in Mesa Arizona the two Halo remote controlled helicopters were designed and built specifically for close range aerial cinematography. “Once we took delivery of the helicopter systems it was up to us to outfit them with our choice of cameras and wireless transmission systems ” says Huard. “We chose the JVC GY-HM100 because it offers features that are mission-critical to this application.”
Besides outstanding HD picture quality Huard says the GY-HM100s are ideal because they are lightweight extremely compact and include a built-in Fujinon 10x lens. Plus the camcorders can shoot both HD and PAL video in a variety of frame rates and feature 3-CCD image capture along with built-in image stabilization.
“The 3-CCD chips in the JVC GY-HM100s also play a critical role. CCD imaging tolerates the vibrations of the helicopter better than CMOS sensors can ” Huard says. “Also when the helicopter moves abruptly CMOS imagers can leave an unacceptable waviness in the picture whereas CCDs don’t seem to have that problem.”
CopterStudios maintains a five-man crew for each production: a pilot for the remote controlled helicopter; a camera operator who uses an IR remote control to adjust camera functions; two safety assistants who warn the pilot of obstacles in the flight path; and a set coordinator who works with the director or producer to plan the shots. While remote-controlled helicopter camera systems may seem like very sophisticated toys ” Huard says “it takes considerable technical skill and knowledge to operate them with the precision and predictability big-budget productions require.”
Usually the remote controlled helicopter is airborne and shooting between three and 10 minutes. The director or producer can watch the video in real time on a monitor on the set. SD video is transmitted from the JVC camera via a live video microwave downlink to a directional patch antenna which feeds the reference monitor on set.
CopterStudios also takes advantage of the GY-HM100’s use of SDHC solid-state media and native Final Cut Pro recording. “We have a table set up with an Apple MacBook Pro laptop running the latest Final Cut Pro software ” Huard says. “When we bring the cameras back down we simply transfer the QuickTime files from the solid-state media cards directly into the laptop and Final Cut Pro to review our footage. Having this tapeless workflow right on the set is very fast and truly indispensable to our operations.
We’re extremely pleased with the reliability performance and affordability of our two JVC GY-HM100s and the technical support we’ve received from JVC. The JVC GY-HM100s provide all the features and functionality demanded by this unique application.”
JVC www.pro.jvc.com
Galaxy Cinemas Brockville Upgrades to 3D
