Litepanels has signed an agreement to be acquired by the Vitec Group supplier of products and services for the broadcast entertainment and photographic industries. Litepanels provides LED (light emitting diode) lighting systems for the television broadcast video and film industries. Its lighting products are a complementary addition to the Vitec Group Broadcast Systems Division which includes such brands as Sachtler Vinten Autoscript and Anton/Bauer.
The Film and Video Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian requested that the award-winning The Sand Creek Massacre documentary film be entered in its 14th Native American Film + Video Festival to be held in New York City March 26 - 29 2009. The festival features films and video productions of all genres from North Central and South America and Hawaii.
Dolby provided technical services and digital cinema technology systems to the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival for the 15th year in a row. The 33rd TIFF was held September 4-13 at venues throughout Toronto. Digital technology is now prevalent throughout the entire ecosystem of moviemaking-from shooting and editing to postproduction making digital playback an ideal solution for festivals and theatres alike says Bill Allen senior director production services Dolby Laboratories.
IndiePix the Internet-based distributor of independent films has formed a partnership with American film distributor the Cinema Guild. The partnership enables The Cinema Guild to offer a number of its films through IndiePix’s patented Download-to-Own technology. This is the first time that The Cinema Guild has ever utilized the Internet as a model to electronically distribute its award-winning titles as part of a collection. The Cinema Guild has been distributing both documentary and fiction films for over 35 years – but never used the Internet as its distribution channel.
Bennett Fogel has joined National CineMedia as senior vice president of sales development and integrated marketing in New York. In his new position Fogel will be responsible for developing new business strategy and introducing new advertisers to the cinema medium.
Aardman Animations has taken delivery of its third Maximum Throughput Sledgehammer HD!O file server and real-time multi-format video device. XFTX a Maximum Throughput reseller based in London is providing sales and integration support for the project. Aardman Broadcast and Commercials a division of Aardman Animations will incorporate the new unit into its existing production workflow at its Gas Ferry Road facility where it will be exclusively used for the production of TV commercials.
Atlantik Film a Hamburg-based branch of CinePostproduction has migrated to a tapeless workflow. The core of the new tapeless workflow is a DVS-SAN for use as an online and near-line storage system complemented by a SpycerBox. Existing and new systems are integrated via switches and data connections. Atlantik Film's goal had been to increase the performance efficiency and throughput rate of its projects while simultaneously achieving a maximum level of data security.
Band Pro has announced a special Lease-to-Own program for select Sony equipment and Zeiss DigiPrime and DigiZoom lenses purchased from Band Pro. This flexible program offers customized financing choices on approved credit including zero down and zero interest for 12-months zero down and 2.88 percent for 24 months or zero down and five percent interest for 36 months.
Schneider Optics has introduced a full array of professional Century HD lens accessories to complement Sony's HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270OU camcorders. These 72mm lightweight optical attachments provide high resolution image clarity while enabling the camera to go wider reach further and move in closer than the lens alone will allow. New Century accessories for the HVR-Z7U include the .6X HD Wide Angle Adapter (HD-06WA-Z7U) Fisheye HD Adapter MKII (HD-FEAD-Z7U) .3X HD Ultra Fisheye Adapter (HD-FE3X-Z7U) and 1.6X HD Tele-Converter (HD-16TC-Z7U).
The decision by Warner Bros. not to release Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this November but rather release it next July created something of a mini-storm in the mainstream consumer media. But does it mean anything significant to exhibitors? First a full disclosure: I am an avid Harry Potter fan and am personally upset that my Thanksgiving holiday will not include the latest movie installment. Truthfully though there will be football games and leftovers. I’ll survive.
