American Cinematographer - January 2012 - 94

Sony Upgrades Vegas Pro Sony Creative Software has introduced Vegas Pro 11, the latest upgrade to the company’s nonlinear editing software. Vegas Pro 11 adds significant performance improvements courtesy of OpenCL and highly optimized GPU hardware acceleration for video processing and rendering. Other new features include Nvidia 3D Vision support for single-display 3-D computers such as the Vaio F Series 3-D laptops and L Series 3-D desktops, an enhanced video stabilizer tool, and new software tools for creating animated titles. “Sony continues to be a leader in developing professional content-creation applications that are extremely powerful, yet easy to use,” says Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software. “With the addition of GPU acceleration, Vegas Pro 11 streamlines the video-editing experience by providing smoother previews and faster rendering times, ideal for industry professionals who work on tight deadlines where every second counts.” Vegas Pro 11 adds native format support for stereoscopic 3-D MVC and MPO files from Sony camcorders and DSLRs. Other natively supported codecs and formats include XDCam, XDCam EX, HDCam-SR, N XCam, AVCHD, AVCCam, Red .r3d, Red Epic, and AVC-based .mov and raw files from popular DSLR cameras. Native P2 support is also available with an optional plug-in. Vegas Pro 11 also offers users the option to render to the AVC/MP4 file format, which includes progressive file download support for streaming purposes. Vegas Pro 11 easily handles complex projects with multiple formats and mixed resolutions, from standard definition to 4K. Vegas Pro 11 is available now for a suggested price of $699. For additional information, visit www.sonycreativesoft ware.com. Avid Releases 64-bit Media Composer, NewsCutter, Symphony versions Avid has introduced Media Composer version 6, N ewsCutter version 10 and Symphony version 6. The updated editing systems boasts new levels of openness, performance, collaboration and
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productivity, enabling users to complete their work faster, work together more effectively and reduce costs through greater productivity. With these new versions, Media Composer, Symphony and N ewsCutter have all been rebuilt from the core on an entirely new, open, 64-bit architecture. Avid has also introduced a sleek new user interface designed to speed workflows while simultaneously preserving the same functionality users have come to expect. “Time and creativity [are] money for our customers, and they are looking for solutions that can help them continue to advance the art of creative storytelling without adding technological complexity,” says Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of products and solutions at Avid. “As we debut the most open, accessible and highest-performance versions of Media Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter ever, we are thrilled to take a significant leap forward in providing our customers with new industry standards in speed, ease and access that can help them do their jobs more effectively.” Avid’s new Open I/O enables support for popular video and audio cards from AJA Video Systems, Blackmagic Design, Bluefish444, Matrox and Motu, allowing users to leverage existing hardware investments and easily add the Avid systems into their current workflow configurations. Users can also maintain a familiar and trusted editorial process with new 3-D stereoscopic workflows as well as a deep toolset, with title and conversion control. Editors can also easily export metadata into Avid or other thirdparty finishing systems for grading and high-end effects. The Avid DN xHD 444 high-quality HD codec allows users to preserve full color information from HD RGB 4:4:4 sources without compromising system performance or storage. Avid DNxHD 444 can help significantly enhance real-time HD production productivity with the highest color detail possible. The updated systems eliminate timely transcode, re-wrap, and log and transfer processes through expanded Avid Media Access, which now offers native support for AVCHD and Red Epic as well as the ability to encode Apple ProRes (on Mac
American Cinematographer

OS-based systems only). The systems also support the Avid Artist Color control surface, offering greater power and flexibility in high-performance color correction. For additional information, visit www.avid.com.

Tiffen Digital Filters Go 64 bit The Tiffen Co. has announced that its Tiffen Dfx v3 digital filter suite is now compatible with Avid 64-bit systems. In addition to 64-bit support, the updated Dfx v3 plug-in features enhanced filter control and adds support for 16 Sony camera models. “We are always looking for ways to enrich the Tiffen Dfx capabilities, whether it is qualifying new editing system releases such as Avid’s 64 bit, or expanding our already comprehensive list of cameras we support,” says ASC associate Steve Tiffen, president and CEO of The Tiffen Company. “Our customers can count on Tiffen to keep pace with the changing technology and continue to take advantage of their Dfx investment.” Tiffen Dfx v3 is a powerful, robust video and still-image editing-effects suite. Compared to previous versions of the software, v3 boasts enhanced multi-processor acceleration for faster interaction and rendering of images, more than 10 new filters for optical effects, updated host support, interface improvements and more. Other features of the digital filter suite include more than 120 filter effects, more than 2,000 presets, digital versions of Tiffen filters, specialized lens-correction tools, film grain, film stocks and color correction. For additional information, visit www.tiffen.com.

http://www.avid.com http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com http://www.tiffen.com

American Cinematographer - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - January 2012