American Cinematographer - December 2014 - 98

audio data, as well as subtitles, in a
uniform format, the Interoperable Master
Package, which is suitable for exchanging
film material independently of manufacturers and devices, and is intended to
save both time and money by using filebased work steps only. IMP is used as a
master/source package for generating a
wide range of various distribution
formats; IMF is intended particularly for
data exchange between various postproduction companies for optimization of
internal exchange.
The Alliance has also introduced a
new Light Field plug-in for Avid Media
Composer. Developed by Fraunhofer IIS,
Light Field technology allows the use of
intelligent algorithms and multi-camera
systems that can provide multiple simultaneous views in order to open new postproduction possibilities. The new plug-in
allows the integration of this functionality within an existing software.
Light Field technology incorporates a multi-camera system in order to
capture several different views in a single
recording. The different views can then
be used in post to recover the creative
opportunities that sometimes go missing
on set.
The processing of Light Field data
provides editing flexibility during post
and mitigates the need for expensive
retakes or additional filming. Previously,
the processing and testing of this data
was only possible with proprietary
programs that weren't conducive to most
fast-paced post workflows. In an effort to
make the technology more accessible,
Fraunhofer IIS has been developing an
auto-calibration method that can correct
geometric distortions in the camera position without test charts, calibration
patterns or special markers.
Depth maps of high pixel density
are calculated based on the scene, and
these depth maps can be used to generate new high-quality views for 2D, 3D or
multi-view displays. In practice, this
means that by intelligent processing of
different views, change in sharpness,
change of perspective, 3D effects or
camera movement in all spatial directions
can be calculated, which in turn allows as
many additional views as necessary to be
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December 2014

generated from the existing views.
The Fraunhofer Digital Cinema
Alliance consists of Fraunhofer IIS,
Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute HHI,
Fraunhofer IDMT and Fraunhofer
FOKUS. The alliance provides a network
of deep expertise and intelligence for
the development of scalable technologies and international standards.
For additional information, visit
www.iis.fraunhofer.de.
ProMax Goes Portable
ProMax Systems has introduced
the Platform Portable, a portable server
that enables mobile collaborative workflows for on-set video production and
postproduction. Platform Portable
allows creative groups to connect their
existing attached storage devices and
transform them into a simple yet
sophisticated shared editing environment.
Answering a call for a shared
editing system with supreme mobility
for easy travel from studio to location,
Platform Portable is able to make use of
existing attached storage devices to
become a powerful shared-storage
system. Workflow-acceleration features
include built-in asset-management
search for groups of up to six users.
Platform Portable offers a versatile,
affordable "bridge" between attached
storage and more extensive sharedstorage systems.
Measuring 18"x12"x2.5", Platform Portable is lightweight and small
enough to easily take on a plane or in a
car to anywhere the production
demands. The system's rugged steel
construction, with anti-shock braces, is
designed to perform in tough outdoor
environments. Every Platform Portable
comes with a shock-absorbent protective travel bag.
Platform Portable is cross-platform compatible (OSX, Windows,
Linux) and supports all common sharedstorage interfaces, including Thunderbolt, USB, FireWire, SAS and eSATA.
Portable also reads all common file
systems, including HFS+, FAT32 and
NTFS. Network connections include up
to 6x 1GbE or 10GbE ports to connect
American Cinematographer

clients,
2x
onboard Gigabit LAN
controllers, and Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
Storage expansion ports include 2x Thunderbolt 2.0 (optional), 8x USB 3.0, 4x
USB 2.0, 2x FireWire 800 (optional) and
2x eSATA. The system can also be configured with an optional built-in 2TB SSD
storage module featuring 2x 1TB drives in
RAID-0 for fast access to media.
For additional information, visit
www.promax.com.
FilmLight Shines with Daylight
FilmLight has introduced the
Daylight near-set color-grading tool, new
products for the Baselight Editions range,
and new functionality for the company's
flagship Baselight color-grading system.
Daylight is designed as a compact,
powerful grading-decision tool to help
cinematographers and directors establish
looks and visualize what they have shot
on set or on location. Key features of
Daylight include AJA SDI output, shot
filtering and sorting, HTML report generation, Red GPU decoding, media consolidation tools and multi-format deliverables.
Baselight Editions, which provide
color within professional editing and
visual-effect packages, now includes
Baselight for Nuke. This Edition allows
users working with The Foundry's Nuke
visual-effects software to interpret and
modify fully featured Baselight grades.
Baselight 4.4, the latest release of
FilmLight's high-end 4K grading and
finishing system, includes a host of new
features, including Apple-certified ProRes
and support for the ProRes 4:4:4:4 XQ
codec. A project-consolidation feature
makes managing media easier, and the
new system is also ready to take on
UltraHD monitoring. Baselight 4.4 also
provides faster GPU decoding of Red
camera files as part of the implementation of the Red SDK, and provides full
support to work in high-dynamic-range
color space using Dolby Vision.
For additional information, visit
www.filmlight.ltd.uk.
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http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de http://www.promax.com http://www.filmlight.ltd.uk

American Cinematographer - December 2014

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