American Cinematographer - April 2013 - 112

Shotgun Combines Products
Shotgun Software has combined three of its previously independent products —
Shotgun, Revolver and Tank — into a single package. The Shotgun package now features
production tracking, scheduling, review and approval, and asset management.
“Our mission is to provide every studio in the world with the essential collaboration,
management and pipeline tools they need to deliver mind-blowing work while maintaining
a healthy bottom line,” says Don Parker, CEO of Shotgun Software. “Hundreds of studios
have invested in helping us build and refine these tools on thousands of productions over
the last seven years. We are pleased to invest back in their success and the future of the
industry.”
The previous Shotgun model was already a leading production-management system
for the visual effects, animation and game industries. Shotgun Software said it surveyed
more than 300 studios to arrive at the combined package model, which is priced at $49.00
per seat, per month.
For additional information, visit www.shotgunsoftware.com.

Krakatoa, Thinkbox Software’s volumetric particle renderer, was previously available for the Autodesk 3ds Max 3D software.
It is CPU-based, multi-threaded and can be
used on most hardware running Windows
or Linux operating systems.
Krakatoa My connects Autodesk
Maya with the Krakatoa renderer and
provides a number of features designed to
accelerate artists’ workflow when manipulating millions of particles. Those features
include point or voxel representation of
particle data, simultaneous support of both
additive and volumetric shading models,
support for various light scattering algorithms, high-quality self-shadowing and
occlusions from both geometry and DTEX

Thinkbox Releases Krakatoa My
Thinkbox Software has released
Krakatoa My, a high-volume particle
renderer for Autodesk Maya 3D software
running on Microsoft Windows and Linux
operating systems.
112

April 2013

American Cinematographer

maps, particle partitioning tools for caching
multiple versions of the same simulation to
combine into high-density particle clouds,
and repopulation for render-time conversion
of low-count simulations into high-count
particle clouds.
“Versatility and performance have
made Krakatoa a favorite tool among
studios of all sizes for years,” says Chris
Bond, founder of Thinkbox Software. “With
the release of Krakatoa My, we are thrilled
to bring Maya users access to an efficient
pipeline for particle-effects creation, something they have been requesting for some
time.”
For additional information, visit
www.thinkboxsoftware.com. ●

Thinkbox image courtesy of Adam Guzowski/Evermotion.

HD TVs and such 4K camera systems as
Sony’s F65 and F55 has prompted more television productions to capture in 4K, which, in
turn, has created a growing demand for 4K
post services, according to Bob Bailey, Colorworks’ senior vice president. “Sony Pictures
Entertainment and Colorworks are supporting the growth of 4K television by providing
producers with a seamless solution for
mastering their shows in the format of the
future, 4K,” says Bailey. “Our new television
facility has been designed and built to move
and process 4K data as easily as HD.”
Colorworks 4K Television will work
closely with other units on the Sony Pictures
lot, including picture editorial, sound editorial, sound mixing and visual effects, to
provide productions shooting on the lot and
elsewhere with an efficient, one-stop solution. Special packaging is available for
productions taking advantage of inclusive
services.
“The ability to collaborate across all
segments of postproduction makes the solution that we offer unique,” says Ben
Benedetti, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s
executive director of Sound and Digital
Services. “Additionally, our experience with
Sony during the development of the F65 and
F55 cameras makes our facilities uniquely
well qualified to service 4K television.”
The Colorworks 4K Television facility
features two 4K color-grading suites and a
4K editorial finishing suite. The facility
employs the latest 4K imaging technology,
including FilmLight’s Baselight Eight colorgrading systems. Each room also includes 4K
Sony projection systems, high-resolution
digital monitors and support gear required
by high-level postproduction.
Grading and finishing suites are
directly connected to Sony Pictures’ Television Backbone, providing colorists and
editors with immediate access to original
production media, metadata and other critical production and post data.
For additional information, visit
www.sonypicturescolorworks.com.

http://www.shotgunsoftware.com http://www.thinkboxsoftware.com http://www.sonypicturescolorworks.com

American Cinematographer - April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - April 2013