“I‘m a big fan of digital video,” asserts Laura Merians, Director of Photography on the new Lifetime Television/Lions Gate comedy series Lovespring International. “I think it‘s interesting that people ask me why I prefer digital. I respond by asking ‘Prefer it to what?‘ It‘s a fallacy to compare digital to film. They‘re different in every way, both aesthetically and as tools, and that‘s how they should be approached. The genres that I usually work in are very organic and handheld. I love documentary and improvisational content. I love allowing performances to reveal themselves freely. For me, digital is the right tool to work with.”
For Robert Margouleff, the Canon XL H1 HD camcorder is opening new vistas of creative expression in an already long and accomplished career. A former filmmaker and highly successful Grammy-winning record producer, Margouleff is today the CEO of Mi Casa Multimedia, a Los Angeles audio post facility specializing in creating 5.1 surround sound remixes for DVD releases. Noting that DVDs often include bonus documentaries, Margouleff began researching video cameras with an eye toward producing that content as well. “I realized that a camera would be a good investment,” he recalled. “I wanted to get back into doing cinematography and to start moving our company into where we can own content.” more
For Robert Parish, being a one-man video crew used to mean frequent trips to the chiropractor. “Being in pain doesn‘t really help with the creative process,” he recalled. “Portable broadcast cameras used to cause me back problems.”
An award-winning film and video producer based in Cincinnati, Parish currently specializes in corporate videos for Fortune 100 companies, sports shows for national cable networks, and locally broadcast documentaries for public television on such topics as his son Jack‘s struggle with autism. He is also the producer of the culinary show Amy‘s Table and his own local travel series In the Tank Cincinnati. In addition he‘s producing a history series that repurposes news features he originally recorded with Al Schottelkotte, the late, legendary Cincinnati TV anchor. As for Parish‘s back problems, they became a thing of the past when Canon introduced its original XL1 broadcast-quality DV camcorder in 1997. more
“We keep a pretty busy production schedule,” states Clayton Taylor, Vice President of Production at Indianapolis Public Television station WFYI. “We‘re rolling out a major documentary just about every month this year. These things have been a long time in the making.
“We‘re shooting a lot of programs involving arts and cultural organizations in the city,” Taylor elaborates. “We finished up a really nice one-hour documentary about the Indianapolis Children‘s Choir, which is the largest of its kind in the country. We have a documentary coming up this year about Indiana‘s role in the Civil War, and another about Ernie Pyle, the Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II journalist, who was from Indiana. We shot a piece about the humanitarian mission to Morocco by an organization in town called Ambassadors for Children. And we did a nature/social documentary about Indiana‘s Wabash River, which is the largest undammed river in the country. We also have projects underway that involve partnerships with the Indiana Humanities Council that examine the future of our state and how it‘s adapting to the new global economy.” more
Writer I. J. Azimzadeh and director Erik Laibe wanted to make an unconventional film about chasing the American Dream. Their plot revolved around an Iranian soccer player who comes to the U.S. only to be lured away by another professional team. Themes of culture, religion, and family would predominate. Much of the film‘s dialogue was in Farsi. The budget was under $1 million.
Needless to say, Header: The Breakaway Dream was not the standard fare of big-budget Hollywood movies, but better suited to be made as an independent digital production. Fortunately, the filmmakers had several advantages going for them, including the use of a studio that Azimzadeh owns, a full postproduction set-up, and the choice of the revolutionary Canon XL H1 HD camcorder to make this cinematic vision a reality. more
NEW YORK — July 26, 2007 – Genesis Networks, a provider of next-generation global video transmission services, today announced that DD India is using its turnkey fully managed network backhaul service to deliver programming to U.S. viewers via DIRECTV. Genesis Networks’ infrastructure carries the feed from DD India’s New York studio to DIRECTV’s Los Angeles broadcast center. more
Surrey, UK, July 25, 2007 -Nucomm and RF Central, part of the newly formed Vitec Group RF Systems business unit, announced today that they are introducing an industry-leading warranty program designed to cover all of its products. Products sold by Nucomm and RF Central will automatically carry a three-year warranty on parts and labor. This program sets the highest standard for product warranty coverage and further underscores the quality of the products offered by both companies.
On the best-in-class program, Jeff Winemiller, RF Central CEO, comments, “RF Central‘s team is made up of former broadcast professionals who understand the need for top quality and service in ensuring successful content delivery. The Vitec Group RF Systems‘ new warranty policy further strengthens our mission in offering clients the peace of mind that is needed when purchasing and operating state-of-the-art broadcast equipment.” more
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — July 24, 2007 – da Vinci Systems today announced that sto.pp, a full-service creative facility based in Stockholm, Sweden, is deploying the da Vinci Resolve RT® digital mastering suite for real-time image processing and video finishing on a score of popular commercials for major corporations, including Honda, Carlsberg, AMF, Volvo, and Tele2. more
WIESBADEN, Germany — 24 July, 2007 – Panasonic PBITS today announced that Euskal Telebista (EiTB), a Basque Country television group that counts among Spain‘s most vital public broadcasters, has adopted Panasonic‘s P2HD format as the exclusive format for its electronic news gathering (ENG) systems. With the unique P2 solid-state memory, Panasonic‘s P2HD products give EiTB speed, reliability, and flexibility in recording, accessing, and editing content. more
WEST CHESTER, PA - Aviom, exclusive developer of the world‘s premier audio transport technology, A-Net®, is announcing the release of its Pro64 Update Tool.
Supporting the shipping of the new 6416dio Digital I/O Module and the 6416Y2 A-Net Interface Card, the Pro64 Update Tool is a software application designed to update the operating firmware in Pro64 Series products. Files in this release update the 6416i, 6416o, ASI, and MH10 for compatibility with the 6416dio and 6416Y2.
Updating a Pro64 device requires the Pro64 Update Tool application, a Windows PC host computer with RS-232 connection capability, a null modem DB9 cable, and the update file(s) (with .upd extension) for the particular Pro64 device(s) being updated. more
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