American Cinematographer - March 1993 - 84

Clockwise from
left: the MDrive Digital
Motor Speed

puter-aided design
and 3-D modelling

near

for animation, archi¬

Controller from
Allen Products

tecture, and spe¬
cialized medical ar¬

Co.; Tobin

eas.

Cinema

Three propri¬

Systems' TXM-9
multispeed

etary high-resolu¬
tion video cameras
are
used
by
FlashPoint to cap¬
ture 3-D coordi¬
nates from actual

built-in BL

crystal; the
Nettman MiniMote remote
camera

system.

objects. The coordi¬
nates can then be

for 3-D models

ROM PDS data sets.
CadShots al lows the designer to
a

shaded 3-D CAD file in proper per¬

metal.

spective and lighting over any digitized
background scene with optional animation,
envisioning any object or group of objects
at any stage of completion. It uses an intui¬
tive menu structure to achieve quick render¬
ings on a wide range of systems, starting
with a minimum configuration of an IBM

The

higher, hard disk, and VGA card.
For
information:
Digital
ChoreoGraphics, 1763 Orange Ave., Costa
Mesa, CA 92627, Phone (714) 548-1969.

2487.

lems

Press have

published Digital Nonlinear Ed¬
iting: New Approaches to Editing Film and
Video, by Thomas A. Ohanian. The book
examines new developments in digital non¬
linear editing technology for the film and
video postproduction industry. Included are
an examination of the relationship of tradi¬
tional film and video editing processes to
those of digital nonlinear editing; a walk¬
through of a nonlinear editing session; and
descriptions of all currently available sys¬
tems, outlining their strengths and weak¬
nesses.

To order the book, call (800) 366-

Motor
M-Drive is

82

other factors in the drive chain vary.
The M-Drive has a sealed

key¬
pad consisting of two panels, one for set¬
ting day-to-day operating speeds, the other
for programming functions. It also has an
RS-422 port for interfacing with a host com¬
puter. And with a suitable feedback loop,
such as an encoder counting gear teeth on
a pacer shaft, accurate control can be
achieved and monitored via digital readout.
The drive is designed for both stand-alone
control of a single motor or as part of a
multi-motor drive system.
For information: The Allen Prod¬
ucts

Company, 180 Wampus Lane, Milford,

Speed Drive

The Allen Products
cessors

by continuous and automatic adjust¬
ment of voltage to a processor's motor as

CT 06460, Phone (203) 878-7454, Fax (203)
877-6346.

2665.

a

Company's

digital speed drive for film

American

Cinematographer

3-D

Digitizer

Multi-speed Crystal
Systems' TXM-9
multispeed built-in BL crystal offers all con¬
ceivably useful crystal speeds - 23.976,
24,25,29.97 and 30 frames per second, plus
a stabilized variable range of 18 to 50 fps.
It replaces the 16-BL bloop panel on the rear
of the camera, using only a screwdriver. No
special adaptations are needed.
The variable range has calibra¬
tions around 18 and 36 fps for filming from
a
computer monitor, 20 fps for
undercranking, and 50 fps for slow-motion.
Intermediate speeds are accurately set us¬
ing the camera's built-in tachometer. An
out-of-sync warning light shows if crystal
or variable speed is not being maintained
for any reason. As the variable speeds are
now stabilized, the effect of various speeds
can be seen through the finder without run¬
ning film, and the speed will be duplicated
Tobin Cinema

after

loading the magazine.
The BL must be

Pixsys has introduced FlashPoint,

pro¬

which solves speed control prob¬

is accurate to bet¬

digitizing ob¬
jects with volumes of up to one meter
cubed, and its digitizing range can be ex¬
panded up to three meters cubed. The sys¬
tem is easy to assemble and pack up.
For information: Timothy Feaver,
Pixsys, Phone (303) 447-0248, Fax (303) 441 -

or

Guide to Digital Editing
Avid Technology, Inc. and Focal

scanner

ter than half a millimeter for

PC/AT, 286/386/486 with 640K, MS-DOS
3.3

used as the basis
real-time positioning.

Capturing 3-D information is accomplished
by moving a handheld probe containing two
LEDs over the object to be digitized, then
touching and clicking. Within six millisec¬
onds, the selected point is recorded by the
computer. Since FlashPoint is an optical
system, it can digitize metal objects and its
accuracy is not affected by the proximity of

LANDSAT, EOSAT and EROS and other CD-

view

or

a

3-D

digitizer for applications such as com¬

March 1993

the BLE

or

equipped with

EMP universal motor and 24 fps
American Cinematographer - March 1993

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - March 1993
