Noise Industries is a major manufacturer of FX plugins for both compositing and non-linear editing software. They are perhaps best know for their FX Factory software, a plugin management software that gives the user a central application for adding and controling FX plugins. FX Factory is available as a free download, and additional plugin packages for FX Factory may be purchased separately. These plugins range from title generators such as MoType which I reviewed earlier this year, to pattern generators, photo montage tools and many more. Recently they announced their new Volumetrix 2.0 and HUD plugins. Here is a quick look at what these new products offer.

This plugin offers the psuedo-volumetric lighting look, ever prevalent in film trailers. There are both straight filters which can be applied to text or footage, and transitions. All parameters are fully keyframeable and even though the presets are a little cheese-ball with a little tweaking you can create some great looks. Personally I love volumetric lighting so this is a great plugin for me. Volumetrix 2 is pretty configurable, in fact you can do light rays, glows, glints and distorts. One element missing for me was the ability to map gradients to light as opposed to simple colors. This Plugin is also well suited for building light wipe transitions and such. This was a fun one to play with and really felt at home in my After Effects tool kit. Existing volumetrix users can upgrade to 2.0 for free. For new users the license is $49.

Yanobox Motype Review
by Kendal Miller
www.yanobox.com
$99 USD

Yanobox Motype software is designed to be a motion titling application that piggybacks on the FX Factory framework within Final Cut Pro, Motion, After Effects, or Final Cut Express. The first step in the process is to download and install the FX Factory framework on your system. After the installation of FX Factory is complete, you may then install Motype through FX Factory.

Motype offers twenty-six different presets to get you started on the right foot. With several quick clicks you can access Motype through your host application and select a preset and voila! Your custom text is fit into the preset and instantly animated. Beyond the custom presets Motype offers several parameters for further customizing your motion graphics; 3D Camera movement, Motion Mixer, Per Letter Particles, Cyclorama, and Random Characters as well as a full range of color, font, and timing parameters ensure you can tweak to your hearts content. All parameters are keyframeable allowing even further animation. After Effects gurus with experience will probably find the parameters to be somewhat limiting. However in the event you need just a quick and dirty title Motype will get you there quickly. My personal opinion is that Motype offers several nice graphics packages although a few of them feel rather basic and could be easily replicated in After Effects, or Motion. There are a number of presets that with some minor tweaking can look very good. It terms of usability the process for customization is very easy.

I do have a few minor complaints about the software in general. My first titles in FCP rendered out all the text as white blocks when exported through compressor. I re-exported as a QuickTime file from FCP and they all rendered correctly. This problem only occurred one time and subsequent efforts to render through compressor worked flawlessly so I’ll chalk the initial error  up to the software gremlins. Secondly the user interface only has a single field for text input which can make it rather difficult to properly layout multi-line text elements. This is a pretty big limitation in my opinion and near impossible to work around, for multi-line text.

While Motype offers a pretty strong suite of tools, it appears to be aimed mostly at those with weaker motion graphics backgrounds. At a price tag of $99, power users will probably prefer to spend that money on other plugins more suited towards their skillset. However, those looking to quickly and easily create motion titles that can be customized with very little effort will find the money well spent. You can find more information and download a trial version of Motype at www.yanobox.com.

That is right guys until the 26th of December this phenomenal series is $279 rather than the $399 list price. If you are not familiar with this series its on my top ten resource list. Whats it all about? Well this six DVD set is all about high end camera blocking and I strongly suggest you check it out.

The primary goal of The Master Course in High-End Blocking and Staging is to do the most effective blocking with the highest production-value, and to build a vast repertoire of techniques to make Directing more expressive — and ultimately more fun. The course also deals with the problem that blocking often grabs so much of our attention that we’re forced to choose between doing camera work or nurturing great performances. If we choose acting, the camera work suffers. If we choose camera work, the actors are often left to direct themselves. One of the key goals of the course is to have great camera work become so automatic that we can do both at the same time.

When shooting, we also too often abandon many great shots we had planned. When we’re under pressure, we far too often revert to tried and tested techniques like two reverses and a master. Even if we know plenty of techniques, we often only use the ones we know extremely well, and another key goal of the course is to know techniques so well that we use them.

The higher purpose of the course is to do as meaningful and expressive camera work as possible. While the course spends a lot of time getting good at technical things like complex line-issues, the deeper goal is to have a profound understanding of the how and why of everything. Ultimately, the goal is to have as clear and precise an emotional impact as possible. All the hot moves we can create (and we do create a lot) are really means to that end.

Snag it here while the getting is good!!

Okay guys you know how much we love Imagineer’s stuff!! Well here is the scoop on a GREAT sale tomorrow only.

From Kevin Bourke:
Just got word from the Imagineer Systems team; they’ve launched a one-day only, crazy-scary sale for Halloween. Aimed at students, freelancers and small shops (they’re saying shops of no more than 3 people tops!) can take advantage of some serious deals on several Imagineer Systems VFX tools. Here are the details:

IMAGINEER SYSTEMS 1 DAY SALE: OCT 31st only!
SUPER SCARY PRICES for Students, Freelances, Small Shops!

90% off planar tracking, removal and rotoscoping tools:
monet, mokey, mocha or motor! If you have never checked out these tools, this movie is a great one to watch: http://www.imagineersystems.com/support/tutorials/movies/

TO PURCHASE:
Visit Imagineer’s on-line shop http://www.imagineersystems.com/store/index.html to buy your discounted license.

1) Add a mokey, monet or motor nodelocked license to the cart
2) Go to Checkout
3) Fill in the customer information page
4) On the order details page add the following coupon code: imagineer_halloween
5) On the summary page, enter the Host ID of the workstation you want to run the software on.

To qualify for discount, you must be a freelancer, student or from a company with 3 or less employees. Larger companies that abuse the promotion will force us to stop the promo!

Offer expires: October 31, 2008

Well Red gains yet another foothold in the post-production world with Avid support via cineXML.

The cineXML advantage

Any multi-layer sequence with speed ramps, effects or dissolves is supported. Just render the used media, import and relink. It’s that simple.

Download the Mac beta now!
Key Features

* Works with Red Media prepared with RedRushes, Metacheater and RedcineXSLT.
* First light with image control in RedCine.
* Online in Media Composer, Symphony or DS or other professional finishing tools.
* Easy relink to high resolution media after batch import with ALE with optional handles.
* Media indexing allows the footage to be archived or moved before the online.
* Render on multiple computers with subdivided XMLs for fast turnaround.

A typical 30 second commercial takes less than 15 minutes from offline to online with the cineXML workflow. This includes rendering on an 8-core computer.
A cineXML license is just $79. Coming Soon!

If you were to ask me what the difference between an amateur and a professional was, I would have to say the biggest determining factor is consistency in producing stellar results, regardless of the occupation.  For example, in our industry it is possible that over the course of an Indie film project, a budding director would have several brilliant scenes most often interspersed with some dismal failures. A truly professional director would have much higher degree of consistency in achieving those same results.

Lets look at the job of an assistant cameraman. Who is more professional in your opinion, the AC who can consistently perform his job in any set of variable and challenges routinely hitting marks and pulling focus? Or the AC who is pretty good occasionally blowing focus and getting thrown by challenging shots, and dolly moves? How about the makeup artist, do you want someone who can do good makeup regardless of face, skin tone and effects required of them? How about DPs; do you want someone who can light any of the sets you throw at them, and technically handle any camera system required? For me, these are areas I look for in whether someone is worth their pay scale on my crew.

1) Consistency and Promptness Pays
If you have a large crew working on a budget, you can’t have individual crew members performing their jobs inconsistently. One crew member mis-staffed can blow an entire shoot and derail the project from day one. I recall an instance where a makeup artist on a particular project I was on nearly cost us the project. We were on a one day commercial shoot that was tightly scheduled, we had allocated half an hour for a makeup artist to do some touch up. After showing up late, she took around 45 mins to do the same job, throwing our already tight schedule off by nearly an hour we absolutely didn’t have. This leads me to another area of consistency, promptness on set. A professional will be consistent in arriving on time. They realize their job description is a part of a larger machine that requires them being on time and ready to work. Showing up late one or two days and being on time the rest of the time is one of the most frustrating things. I will not hire crew I cannot count on to show up on time consistently, there is too much potential for problems. Learning the discipline of being prompt and consistent is one easy way to set yourself apart from the crowd.

2) The Well: Drawing from Experience
Whether you have ever thought of it this way or not, consistency in producing stellar results is a major trademark of a true professional. In my opinion this is true for several reasons. First, a professional has a deeper well of experience to draw from in solving problems on set. When a problem is encountered, rather than guessing and trying multiple solutions that eventually lead to stumbling upon a solution that works, a professional can cross-reference the problem with a library of solutions that they have already proven to work in the past and immediately choose a workable solution. Experience in and of itself gives a working professional a vast headstart in creating consistency.

3) Learn to Learn, and Do Your Homework
The second thing true professionals do is homework. No experience level can be comprehensive, especially in our creative field. A professional will seek to expand their areas of consistency by filling in their experience gaps and doing their homework. For example, a DP unfamiliar with a particular film stock will probably shoot several tests to flesh out his experience level in order to know how to work with the stock on set. An actor or actress, who really needs to be consistent on set, may perform extensive character research to know exactly how to pull off a performance consistently throughout a range of scenes. It is always amazing to me that the people with the least experience to draw from often seem the most reluctant to do their homework. You would think it would be the other way around, seeing as their library for problem solving isn’t as deep.

4) Know Your Role and Be Aware
Consistency in performance can be increased by knowing your job description and learning to listen on set. No director or department head enjoys constantly giving orders, reminding someone of what their job is. A true professional learns how to hear what is going on, and realizes what his or her job in the big picture is. For example a DP may mention to the camera op that the next shot is moving to a dolly. A good dolly grip would hear that and immediately begin moving the dolly into position. Meanwhile the AC overhearing the same comment would begin to move the camera off the sticks. There is nothing more refreshing than turning to call for a piece of gear only to have it placed in your hand by an attentive crew member who knew their job and was listening. A career AC once told me you can tell a seasoned crew by watching them on short breaks; they always face into the set so they can still see what’s going and be immediately ready to move quickly.

5) Taking it All Personally: Advice for Indies
“Well,” you say, “That’s great! I would die to work with a crew like that, but I’m on a tight budget and I can’t afford to hire professionals on set. So I guess I’m stuck working with non-professionals.” Okay so let’s figure out what we can do to work most efficiently with non-professionals. The first thing is to realize that working with non-professionals will undoubtedly equal inconsistency in job performance. This is not by itself a bad thing, it just means you have to plan accordingly. When scheduling, you must schedule time for errors and mistakes. It’s that simple, inconsistency doesn’t mean something cannot be accomplished, it often just takes significantly longer to reach the end goal. Don’t put a professional schedule and demands on a non-professional crew. You will start your project by setting them up for failure, which erodes trust and creates all sorts of crew issues. Instead, start by compensating for lack of experience by giving ample time for your crew to work. If it’s your first time scheduling, I would say figure the longest time you could see a shot taking and add 20%. Ironically this will also help compensate with your lack of experience in the scheduling department. This goes for crew call times as well; assume some people will show up late and plan for it accordingly.

6) Say What?
Another consequence of working with non-professionals is that people tend to not know their jobs and responsibilities on set. In addition Indie productions are often forced to have crew members cross departments and work in multiple roles. The director has to make even more of an effort to be a great communicator on set. Assume nothing, make sure orders are given clearly and often, provide the guidance needed to facilitate the lack of experience on set. To facilitate communication on set when people are crossing department lines, try to communicate through clear channels from the top down.  If orders are given from just anyone and people are crossing departments you wind up very quickly given the same person multiple jobs. Few things are more frustrating then being given multiple jobs on a short staffed crew, only to be dressed down for overlooking something you had to drop to do something else for another department. Try and establish a chain of command and a priority for departments and try and stick with this throughout the production as much as possible.

It is even more important that you to do your homework and prepare yourself. The tone for a production is set from the top down. If the director is unprepared and not communicating clearly, those problems will often ripple down to the rest of the crew. This is especially true with a less experienced crew. They will all be looking to you to help guide them so your level of preparedness is critical in successfully completing the project. You owe to yourself, your cast, and your crew to be the as prepared as you can possibly be.

Whether you are managing a production set or working on one, I hope the aforementioned tips will help you avoid common pitfalls and help you achieve your goals. And if you enjoyed this article, please take a moment and pass it on to a few friends. Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone you all know how much I love Celtx for preproduction etc… Its one of the best free software’s available so Celtx team thanks for such a phenomenal product and PLEASE lets all donate a little cash to keep this project open and free! Well enough about that, today Celtx is even better with a full new update including new iPhone support and other awesome features and tools. Grab the download here.
Via (BlipTV)

Celtx 1.0 new features include:

1. Adapt To - a single click now converts a fully formatted script of one type into a fully formatted script of another – for example a Stageplay to a Screenplay – displaying instantly the multi-media potential of your work.
2. Comic Book - a new editor to write properly formatted Comic Books, and a common framework for collaboration between writer and artist.
3. iPhone - now view your Celtx projects from just about anywhere with a display optimized for your iPhone.
4. Catalogs - a new organization and searchable dashboard view of all your story’s elements and production items.
5. Sidebar - annotate and break down each scene with notes, media (images, audio, and video clips), and production items through an easy to manage, thoroughly upgraded new sidebar.
6. Project Scheduling – has been vastly upgraded to fully integrate with the script breakdown and provide a Call Sheet and a host of new shooting reports.
7. Storyboarding - you can now choose from a variety of ways to view and manage your images, create a storyboard outline based on your script, and add shot descriptions to each image.

Visit the below links to preview a short video on the version 1.0 key feature “Adapt To” or the extended key features video:

Link: http://blip.tv/file/956302 (short version)
Link: http://blip.tv/file/948797 (extended version)
In addition, below please find a link to the Pixel Heads podcast on Celtx 1.0:
Link: http://www.pixelheadsnetwork.com/2008/06/09/tip-43-celtx-new-features-in-version-10/

Digital Cinema Course
Reviewed by Kendal Miller, FreshDV Contributing Editor
MSRP: $439-$529
Fresh Score: 4/5

Fresh Points: This series provides an incredible wealth of information previously attainable only at school or on set. The price places it firmly in the reach of most independent filmmakers making it readily accessible.

Stale Points:
At times the presentation runs long, and I would like to see more first person presentation of the material rather than continual voice-over. I also often found myself craving more advanced, high end setups with more elaborate lighting etc.

Film School on a Budget
It has been said that when you are through learning, well, then you are through. This is especially true in an industry that is as rapidly evolving as ours. I tend to subscribe to this philosophy myself and make every attempt to set aside time routinely for professional development. Whenever I’m on set I always make a concerted effort to take aways some new trick, or tip doesn’t matter if its the Assistant Director, the Gaffer, or a Production Assistant. I want to sharpen my skills and therefore my marketability.

The Digital Cinema Course, produced by Rush Hamden, offers the possibility of learning a lot of information, 18 DVDs and 24hours worth to be exact. The course is divided into four parts which I will refer to as modules. The command pack consist of four modules Gear Guide (DCT-GG07), Basic Production (DCT-BP), Movie Production (DCT-MP), and Lighting Set (DCT-LS). There are several other optional courses things such as audio production, green screen, and compositing available as well. First lets examine the aims and goals of this course, an overview of the course and then what will you learn, what you won’t .

The Aim and Purpose

” The Digital Cinema Course is the first fully-comprehensive film-school on DVD. The course is designed to educate novice and experienced filmmakers alike, either for entering the production world or getting more from it. The course has something to offer everyone. It’s been praised for focusing on the “physical” filmmaking production process and avoiding much-discussed “business” subjects such as financing, marketing, and publicity. It plainly teaches you how to physically write and direct a movie, not how to produce it. The course has been described as covering a year’s worth of classroom instruction for 2% of the cost of attending a University. For a fraction of the price of a single college course, it ventures deeply into Scriptwriting, Formatting, Editing, Camera Operation, Lighting, Exposure, Audio recording and mixing, Cinematography, Green/Blue-screen keying and Directing. It’s over 30 hours of filmmaking savvy, wisdom, examples, demonstrations, tips and tricks, by people who work in Hollywood day in, day out. The entire course is resolution- and format-agnostic: Concepts apply no matter what format you shoot in (Film, HD, DV, Analog, 16:9, 4:3) The gear used in the video is easily accessible on a microscopic production budget. The advantages and disadvantages of each piece of equipment is discussed. The course is pragmatic, and tries to reach every viewer. It is pure at heart, devoid of pretense or precocious tone. Unlike other film-school-in-a-box courses, it exists purely to serve the student rather than showcase the talents of the producers.” -Digital Cinema Course

Overview
The course begins basically by showing a short film project shot pretty much entirely on the JVC HD-100/ Panasonic AG-HVX200 series cameras. The Director then begins to work backwards starting with the screenwriting process and begins to give you an insiders view into how the short was created. Each finished scene is then shown and then deconstructed from a lighting and camera perspective behind the scenes. This is the heart of the Basic Movie Production Module. Other modules follow each offering insight into a different aspect of production. The one module that took me most off-guard was the gear guide. I anticipated a dry explanation of film gear explaining its use. Instead what I found was in-depth information on how to use gear provided by industry experts, and manufacturers. It was really very informative. One thing I would have liked to have seen more of was the interaction between the crew during the process and spend a little more time on set etiquette and protocol. A lot of information is provided by voice over and narration and I would have liked to see a more hands on approach as the DP explains his process as he walks you through it. There are several segments where this presentation style is adopted for a short time, although sometimes the presenter failed to give thorough explanation on screen so we come back to the voice over to provide more in depth in formation. Generally I found the segments presented in first person to be a more engaging presentation style. However, I must ad that at no point did I feel removed from the learning process due to the presentation style. At times the material ran long and could have been explained in a more concise manner, but it gets the point across that filmmaking can be a tedious process. There is no way to explain in depth what each module teaches so I suggest you visit www.DigitalCinemaCourse.com to find out in depth what is covered. The breadth of this course is simple too wide breakdown each DVD individually.

This course covers a lot of information and I honestly think for someone wanting to learn filmmaking this isn’t a bad place to start as a beginner. The information is presented in a manner that easy to grasp and at a mere fraction of the cost of a semester of film school. While it doesn’t teach you everything you need to succeed as a cinematographer it will give you a firm footing to begin to find your way, and equip you with tools you need to become comfortable on set. There is value in the DVD presentation format as well, bringing the ability to watch, pause, rewind and re-watch at your convenience. Lets face it, we creative types lead pretty hectic lives so the ability to process this information a piece at a time is well appreciated.

What You Can Expect To Learn
Expect to take away a good fundamental understanding of camera control as it relates to a video camera, screen writing, script formatting, shot composition, set etiquette, and lighting. For the beginning filmmaker you will learn a ton of information in a relatively short time, then its just up to you to put it all into practice. This is easily one of the more advanced courses I have seen, and yet in some ways it feels kind of basic to the more advanced cinematographer, however there is still a lot of things you can take away from here. Let me give you a quick quiz, if you can tell me the color of a double net, the light loss, and how it affects the quality of light over a single silk, then while you will learn a good amount a sizable piece the material will be beneath you. If you answered, “Why do I need a net I’m not going fishing?” then this course takes aim right where your sitting. DCC assumes nothing and walks you through the very basics and set etiquette all the way up to the slightly advanced lighting setups. Now while I say it covers the basics it does so in exhaustive detail, so be prepared to walk with a great understanding ready to build on.

What You Won’t Learn
Because this was intentionally shot with a small crew and aimed at the lower budget indie crowd, what you won’t learn is some of dynamics and protocols of working with a larger crew. You won’t learn techniques for working with film as this course reside firmly in the land of digital video and HD production, and while many principals translate fine, others don’t. Lighting setups while better than most tutorials are still relegated to rather small setups so you’ll learn a large amount of lighting theory but techniques for larger scale scenes and more advanced cinematic lighting are relatively unmentioned. There are however a number of tips and tricks waiting to be uncovered throughout this entire series for even the more advanced user. Finally you will not learn the pre-production side, script breakdown, call sheets etc… the more formal side of filmmaking necessary to surviving on a larger set.

In collaboration with DCC, FreshDV has partnered to bring you the following segments exclusively from the DVD set. I hope it will help you get an idea for the presentation style, if you like what you see then go buy the whole set, you won’t regret it!! Also Rush Hamden has offered FreshDV readers $40 off the DCT-COMMAND Course. Just follow the instructions below.

Directions:
1) Goto www.DigitalCinemaCourse.com
2) Order the DCT-MP/COMMAND-FULL Course
3) Send an email to info@digitalcinematraining.com telling us you heard about the course on FreshDV
4) A partial refund will be sent to you via Paypal

Watch the segments:

 Podcast Video: Download

At NAB 2008, Ikan showed off a unique doorway dolly solution that packs down into a lightweight and compact travel case. We get a look at the design in this video segment, as well as a rundown on the latest HD LCD monitoring solutions. Watch via the attached download link or at FreshTV.

FreshDV’s coverage of NAB 2008 is made possible by the support of the following companies:
Cinevate | DSC Labs | Imagineer Systems | Letus | Redrock Micro | Videoguys | Zacuto

 Podcast Video: Download

In the last six months, Letus has solidified their stance in the 35mm adapter market with the introduction of the Letus Extreme. At NAB 2008 they were also showing their brand new Letus Ultimate, a high-end system that utilizes a spinning ground glass design to deliver improved bokeh rendering. In this interview, you’ll get one of the first looks at the new Letus Ultimate as we talk to the engineers behind the design. Watch via the attached download link or at FreshTV.

 Podcast Video: Download

With Sony’s introduction of two new SxS camcorders in recent months, solid-state media is obviously a big topic for NAB. Indeed it was a theme we saw throughout the show…whether it’s P2, SxS, or CF, it is clear that flash-based media is here to stay. This video segment is a behind the scenes look at the robust nature of Sony’s SxS media. FreshDV spoke with shooter Alister Chapman about his experiences with the tapeless media in the Arctic. Watch via the attached download link or at FreshTV.

FreshDV’s coverage of NAB 2008 is made possible by the support of the following companies:
Cinevate | DSC Labs | Imagineer Systems | Letus | Redrock Micro | Videoguys | Zacuto

 Panasonic Varicam 2008 NAB Video Podcast [10:59m]: Download

At NAB 2008 Panasonic was showing off two brand new Varicam models with P2 and a variety of other improvements. This video segment is a walk-through the new feature set and ergonomics of the new Varicam P2HD camcorders, the AJ-HDC2700 and 3700 series. Watch via the attached download link or at FreshTV.

FreshDV’s coverage of NAB 2008 is made possible by the support of the following companies:
Cinevate | DSC Labs | Imagineer Systems | Letus | Redrock Micro | Videoguys | Zacuto

 DSC Labs Calibration and Test Gear [11:42m]: Download

At NAB 2008, DSC Labs was showing their latest series of charts and test patterns for video professionals. Michael Kent gave us a walkthrough of their offerings, and talked about who uses DSC patterns and why…from law enforcement, to HD and DV shooters, to VFX applications. We hope that this segment impresses on shooters the need to routinely work with reliable calibration equipment, whether it be for testing or daily shooting in the field. Download the attached video or watch online at FreshTV.

 Zacuto Support Systems and Accessories [14:25m]: Download

Zacuto was showing a lot at NAB 2008, there are a number of new products and updates in their line. In this video segment, Zacuto’s Steve Weiss takes us through the latest gear and accessories they are bringing to market, including the new 19mm support system for RED One shooters. Download the attached video or watch online at FreshTV.

Yesterday Sony announced their latest camera in their hand held Xdcam lineup the PMW-EX3. It looks to be a very promising camera however perhaps a touch high in price. The unofficial word from the press conference places the price somewhere just under $13,000 for the package. We will be at Sony’s booth this morning getting the official word on features and price. You can check out an advanced video posted by Philip Bloom.

Here is a press release via camcorder info.

April 13, 2008 – Sony announced the release of a new camcorder in its XDCAM EX series, the PMW-EX3 ($13,000 MSRP). This is the second model from Sony to use the SxS media format, a flash memory card similar to Panasonic’s P2 card. It is a step-up model from the PMW-EX1. Most of the body is similar in design to the EX1, but the new PMW-EX3 features a removable lens system. At the same press conference, Sony also announced a prototype 32GB SxS card. (View photo gallery)

The PMW-EX3 is 1080i/720P switchable. There are connections for Genlock and Time Code, making it suitable for multi-camera shoots. The camcorder ships with a kit lens, though the initial press information does not offer much information. The photo indicates that it has a maximum aperture of f/1.9, with control rings for zoom, focus, and aperture.

Also included with the PMW-EX3 is the Clip Browser Ver.2.0 software, which will allow XDCAM EX video files to be used in a DV editing workflow. There are optional plug-ins for exporting XDCAM EX files on SxS cards to Professional Optical Disc, and another to allow for simple upload to the web.

Sony clearly has plans to expand and popularize the SxS solid state format. In conjunction with the PMW-EX3 camcorder, they announced the PMW-EX30 recorder/player deck. It features two SxS card slots, HDMI, FireWire (iLink), and HD-SDI in/out ports, along with a color LCD monitor.

To extend recording times beyond the capacity of the SxS cards, Sony rounded out their XDCAM EX announcements with the PHU-60K hard disk recording unit. This 60GB storage device connects via USB, and offers recording times of up to 200 minutes in the highest quality (35Mbps) and 260 minutes in SP mode (25Mbps). The HDD unit features drop protection technology, along with a salvage function that allows content restoration damaged by power or connection disruption. The PHU-60k is powered by battery.

The adoption of the XDCAM EX format appears to be going well for Sony. According to the company, Adobe is set to announce native support for the format on Premiere Pro CS3. Avid is also expected to have support for 35Mbps 1920×1080/60i and 1280×720/60P.

The Sony PMW-EX3 camcorder retails for $13,000. The PMW-EX30 recorder/player unit retails for $30,000. The PHU-60K hard disk recorder price has not been announced. All products are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2008.

FreshDV’s coverage of NAB 2008 is made possible by the support of the following companies:
Cinevate | DSC Labs | Imagineer Systems | Letus | Redrock Micro | Videoguys | Zacuto