Schneider Optics has introduced a line of Century HD lens add-ons for Sony's new PMW-EX3 camcorder. These attachments are designed to expand the capabilities of the Fujinon 14x lens supplied with the camera. Operators can increase the field of view with no loss of ability to zoom instantly shift the focal range to telephoto when needed or enjoy the ultra wide angle of view and remarkable barrel distortion of the widest fisheye.
LaserPacific Media Corporation has announced the formation of a new team and business unit to focus on digital motion picture mastering and re-mastering. With this expanded capability LaserPacific CEO Brian Burr also announced the appointment of Ron Burdett as general manager of the mastering unit and Lou Levinson as the supervising colorist - mastering among others. Burr says the company has added some of the industry's most capable and accomplished operations and creative talent to its team.
Digital cinema service company XDC and ZON Lusomundo the largest cinema chain in Portugal have signed an exclusive agreement for the deployment of digital cinema systems in 180 of ZON Lusomundo's cinema screens in Portugal. The agreement includes the roll out of DCI-compliant projection systems co-financed by the Virtual Print Fee model. The rollout is scheduled to begin in January with an initial commitment of 100 screens throughout the rest of the year.
With the release of the P2 HD Panasonic HPX170 HD camera package maker Zacuto announces nine kits that transform cameras into a camera package for use with the camera or in conjunction with a depth of field adapter. The new HPX170 will work with all existing Zacuto kits.
IndiePix has announced that following its partnership with The Cinema Guild earlier this year The Axe in the Attic a candid documentary that captures the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina just days after it struck is now available to educational institutions. The Axe in the Attic shows the physical devastation as the hurricane hit but also the dignity humor and perseverance of thousands of evacuees who three years on continue to piece their communities back together. It is available to schools universities and public libraries across the U.S.
Winner of the 2009 American Society of Cinematographers Presidents Award Isidore Mankofsky will be given the American Society of Cinematographers President Award when the association gathers for its 23rd Annual Outstanding Achievement Awards in Hollywood on February 15 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. Mankofsky spoke with us. Mankofsky began his career making documentaries and shooting newsfilm at a television station in Reno Nevada. He made over 100 educational films at Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Films before segueing into narrative filmmaking.
The coming year promises in many ways to be a make or break year for digital 3D in movies. Current plans call for Hollywood to release 25 or more 3D titles in 2009. That amounts to a 3D release every other week although the studios being the studios it might be more appropriate to preview this as the Summer of Too Many 3D Movies All at Once. That discussion is for another day. Can all of these movies possibly succeed? Will 3D prove to be a fad yet again? In my mind before we can answer those two questions there are a long list of other questions that must be answered first.
The Problems of Defining When a Movie Can’t Play By Michael Karagosian Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Michael Karagosian as a regular contributor to Digital Cinema Report. Michael is founder and president of MKPE Consulting LLC a Los Angeles-based consultancy in the entertainment industry. It’s fair to say that he is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on the subject of digital cinema. In his first column he looks at the challenges of dealing with ever-changing specifications. The opinions Michael expresses here are his own.
Q-tec Inc. one of Japan's leading video post-production service providers announced that it has completed the first domestic installation of 3D cinema system developed by digital 3D delivery company RealD. Q-tec plans to begin the full-scale operation this month. The number of digital 3D cinema screens in Japan was around 30 at the end of 2007 but there are currently more than 50 screens available as the United States film Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D was released in October. The number is projected to rise with the expectation of 3D films produced and released in Japan.
Chicago-based production equipment maker Zacuto has announced four new mounts including the Zephyr Zacuto's 15mm lightweight support plate; the ZRed an EVF Red One Mount; the Zandy a19mm to 15mm rod mount; and the Zgrip Zandy an articulating handgrip. Zephyr Replacing the Sony and Panasonic ENG style cameras’ V-Wedge plate the Zephyr allows a quick-release from the tripod plate.
