Sponsor News

March 23, 2023

The Rebel Fleet Envisions Powerful Video Assist, DIT, and Dailies Workflows with AJA Gear

As high-resolution, high dynamic range (HDR) workflows have continued to evolve in recent years, innovative video assist, DIT, and dailies solutions offered by companies like The Rebel Fleet have become essential. Founded in 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand, The Rebel Fleet provides these services across New Zealand, Australia, and the Asia Pacific region and recently expanded its offering to include post production in New Zealand. Its clients span high-profile episodic, film, and commercial productions. Clients typically approach The Rebel Fleet for custom workflow solutions, often with a specific camera in mind. Its team then works closely with each client to develop a custom pipeline and deploys a host of AJA gear to envision solutions that align with their unique production environment, budget, crew sizes, DP and director visions, studio requirements, and more.

The kit behind the design

The Rebel Fleet team depends on gear like AJA KUMO 1616 and KUMO 3232 routers, the KUMO Control Panel, and AJA Mini-Converters to build on-set video assist and DIT workflows for clients. Company CEO Mike Urban shared, “AJA KUMO routers and Mini-Converters are built so great and offer solid warranties, which are paramount in the fast-paced environments we work in. We need equipment we can trust, and the AJA kit gives us peace of mind.”

QTAKE software is also central to The Rebel Fleet’s video assist service offering. It integrates seamlessly with AJA KUMO routers through the KUMO’s network interface. The team can quickly and easily establish predefined router settings, so if a client wants all the monitors to display playback or live footage, they can preconfigure it, load it up with their Stream Deck, and changes are reflected across the routers. According to Urban, this provides a massive advantage over making changes manually. He shared, “Being able to bring all this control into the network ecosystem of the rig via KUMO gives our clients more free time to try out fancy ideas. I also love that KUMO routers run off 12-volt batteries.”

When working with clients, The Rebel Fleet occasionally deploys a custom flypack affectionately dubbed the “Danny Box” after the team member who built it. Typically placed on set, it is housed in a Pelican Case and features two AJA HD SDI splitters, two camera inputs, and four camera outputs. According to Urban, the setup supports clients looking to distribute a feed to more monitors or extend a signal because the SDI BNC run is longer than 100M. He said, “Knowing we've got reliable equipment from AJA inside the box that we can literally just drop on set and will work without fail is amazing.”

Managing HDR on set and beyond

As HDR continues to play a more prominent role on set, The Rebel Fleet is deploying more HDR gear across projects, including the AJA FS-HDR and AJA HDR Image Analyzer. Paired with Colorfront, these tools help ensure its client’s desired look stays consistent as footage moves from acquisition through dailies. “HDR equipment costs remain a key hurdle to broader adoption of full HDR workflows, which is where tools like AJA FS-HDR have been great. We can easily convert between SDR and HDR and retain a high-quality image,” Urban explained.

When The Rebel Fleet deploys monitors on set, the FS-HDR gives its team the confidence that they’re displaying HDR correctly if they receive a log signal from the camera. Depending upon client needs, they can then route different paths to HDR or SDR. Compatibility with Pomfort Livegrade Pro also enables them to use the device as a dynamic LUT box. HDR Image Analyzer then allows Urban’s team to monitor HDR on set with scopes that match what it’s seeing in Colorfront. He added, “With FS-HDR, we get one rack-mounted device that does everything we could possibly imagine. HDR Image Analyzer also allows us to look at the scopes when monitoring, which is huge for ensuring consistency in dailies.”

Building a workflow for HDR finishing on set

With on-set HDR finishing always a part of the plan for one of The Rebel Fleet’s latest projects, the ability to easily switch between SDR and HDR in the dailies pipeline proved crucial. DPs and other stakeholders needed to know what the HDR looked like during high light or outdoor scenes with high dynamic range, and with every shot effectively a VFX shot, metadata was key. Starting from the cameras – ARRI ALEXA LF cameras with DNA and other smart lenses – The Rebel Fleet designed the workflow so all the metadata from the camera and the lens through the on-set pipeline could be easily read.

“AJA FS-HDR could read all the metadata we brought into the DIT cart. We could then combine it with the notes and information the DIT created for whatever needed to be passed down to the pipeline and marry it with the information coming from QTAKE. We were then able to give the team on set the ability to add metadata directly to a live database for viewing on iPads and other devices,” explained Urban.

All that information ultimately served dailies through Colorfront before making its way into editorial. This color-consistent pipeline meant that editorial could start working faster. The team worked in the same HDR color space (P3-D65) in post production that they’d monitored on set.

I/O was another important consideration on the project, for which Urban and team deployed AJA Io 4K Plus. He shared, “Io 4K Plus is an amazing output device; it gives us the confidence that what we're seeing on set matches what we're seeing in dailies, which is super helpful.”

Being able to switch between HDR and SDR analyzing with the AJA HDR Image Analyzer also gave the main DIT confidence that they were providing the DP with the most accurate picture information. As The Rebel Fleet continues to service clients on high-profile projects, innovating its HDR workflow and remote pipelines remains a priority, with AJA gear a crucial part of the design.

About AJA Video Systems

Since 1993, AJA Video Systems has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high quality, cost effective products to the professional broadcast, video and post production markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.

March 20, 2023

Hash Pixel Saves Time and Money in Production with AJA Gear

Founded in 2020, Hash Pixel develops and implements workflows for streaming and broadcast projects. Based in Beijing, China, the technology and services provider helps clients deliver polished video to a range of end points, and also offers DIT support for commercials. With a handful of technicians addressing an ever-shifting range of project requirements, Hash Pixel values gear that’s versatile and stable, making AJA technology a core workflow component across applications. As HDR production demand has taken off, the AJA ColorBox converter has proven essential for high-performance color management across Hash Pixel’s live broadcasting, live event production, and post-production projects.

“We learned about ColorBox through our AJA distributor, Esan, and are honored to be one of the first ColorBox users in China,” said Hash Pixel CTO Hugo Wang. “ColorBox really fits into our workflow, the price is reasonable, and it supports 12G-SDI. It is an all-in-one ideal solution.”

Hash Pixel projects include large-scale events, such as HUAWEI CONNECT, as well as streaming HUAWEI PGC e-commerce, TikTok’s “You Came with the Light” concert, the gaming finals for JJ Cup Doudizhu (Fight the Landlord), feature film “Sacrifice,” and an announcement for Chinese bicycle-sharing service Hellobike. The company’s streaming events usually require video distribution to an internet platform, like TikTok, BiliBili, Douyu, and WeChat.

Typically, the Hash Pixel team will connect ColorBox with the PGM signal from a video switcher, convert color, and transmit the output to its recording and broadcasting department. Since ColorBox supports a full series of HDR and SDR conversions, the DIT can easily download, adjust, and save the settings. The signal’s metadata is preserved in ColorBox’s SDI output, so the team can easily use it in conjunction with QTAKE video assist software. For remote IP production and SD-WAN, the company leverages its own IP video solutions, which allow them to remotely adjust the color of content via ColorBox. Having kit like ColorBox that supports 12G-SDI has become essential to Hash Pixel as 4K streaming and recording in live production workflows have become more common.

“With ColorBox, it’s easier for us to manage different color grading needs across versions of content and higher resolution productions, thanks to the frame store function. This function allows us to screenshot directly from the lens and capture metadata. In film production, live 4K monitoring for DIT is also enabled,” Wang explained.

In addition to ColorBox, Hash Pixel taps a wide range of AJA gear, including Ki Pro Ultra 12G, Ki Pro GO, Ki Pro Rack, KONA 4, Io 4K Plus, Io X3, UDC, Hi5-4K-Plus, U-TAP SDI, U-TAP HDMI, KUMO 1616, and FS-HDR. With FS-HDR, Hash Pixel completes color conversion, frame synchronization, and AES, Madi, and SDI audio embedding and dis-embedding, serving different functions in one single device. The company leverages Hi5-4K-Plus to correctly transmit SDI HDR signals from its color software to HDMI reference monitors for HDR production, with users able to easily view signal input and output from the Mini-Config managing software. Using Io 4K Plus with QTAKE on Mac, Hash Pixel can carry through SDI-embedded metadata, like HANC and VANC, across different video camera brands. The team often uses Io 4K Plus alongside AJA’s slim KUMO 1616-12G router, among other AJA solutions.

“AJA products are extremely stable. I have a KONA 3G that I bought in 2012 and it is still working today. Because of this, purchasing AJA products ultimately saves you time and money. Each product consistently surprises us with its versatility,” Wang concluded.

About ColorBox

AJA ColorBox is a compact, high-performance converter for color managed workflows designed to meet the conversion needs of broadcast, live events, and on-set applications. Supporting Standard Dynamic Range (SDR), High Dynamic Range (HDR), and Wide Color Gamut (WCG) signals, it utilizes 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 for singer wire 4K/UltraHD HDR up to 4:2:2 10-bit 60p or 4:4:4 12-bit 30p with a unique color processing pipeline. ColorBox includes processing pipeline modes from Colorfront and NBCU LUTs, as well as a powerful AJA Color Pipeline. ColorBox also offers licensable upgrade options for advanced color managed workflows, including BBC HLG LUTs and the ORION-CONVERT engine. www.aja.com/colorbox

About AJA Video Systems

March 1, 2023

Time in Pixels’ Nobe OmniScope and AJA I/O Technology Advance Video Analysis

Access to accurate information about the color and exposure of source footage is crucial to the color workflow on any production, making video scopes essential to modern grading suites and digital imaging technician (DIT) carts. Recognizing a need to address persistent information gaps, Time in Pixels Founder Tomasz (Tom) Huczek developed Nobe OmniScope, a software-based suite of scopes that help creative professionals analyze a broad range of video sources and imagery with standard post production tools. An AJA Developer Partner, Time in Pixels worked closely with AJA to deliver Nobe OmniScope support for AJA desktop and mobile products like KONA 4 and Io XT, in addition to AJA U-TAP and T-TAP Pro. KONA 5 and Io X3 integrations are planned to support future customer demand.

Specializing in building tools for filmmakers, colorists, and post professionals who work on high-profile cinematic, commercial, and episodic projects, and, increasingly, photographers, Time in Pixels launched Nobe OmniScope in 2021. Huczek and team initially designed the software – which supports industry-standard post applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, LightRoom and Photoshop, Apple Final Cut Pro, and Assimilate Scratch, among others – with colorists in mind. Upon launch, demand quickly rolled in from other creative disciplines, including DITs, as well as live and virtual production professionals and monitor calibration specialists. Color scientists have also leveraged the technology to verify some of their theories or to experiment with formulas.

“All the customer feedback we receive is invaluable, and we do our best to accommodate it. This includes requests for support for popular audio and video I/O technology from AJA Video Systems,” Huczek shared. “Requesting a Developer unit from AJA was a smooth process, and the SDK was easy to follow, which made the integration seamless. It’s been a pleasure collaborating with AJA on the integration.”

A typical Nobe OmniScope setup in a facility or on a DIT cart includes a color grading workstation equipped with a computer, a high-quality monitor, and a color grading panel; the software; and an audio and video I/O card or box. Although the software supports a range of I/O tools, Time in Pixels regularly recommends AJA’s I/O devices to customers. “AJA gear is easy to use and install, and it’s durable,” noted Huczek. “We’re confident that it’s going to work as promised for our customers, with high color accuracy and low latency, so we know they’ll be happy with it.”

With the continued rise in demand for HDR production and post in recent years, Time in Pixels has received several customer inquiries about best practices for monitoring HDR content. “When it comes to a question of HDR with Nobe OmniScope, we often recommend AJA KONA 4 for I/O because it’s well-suited for this application and is future-proof,” Huczek added. “It works well for HDR and virtual production environments.”

As the industry continues to rapidly evolve, Huczek and team remain optimistic and are prepared to address emerging technology developments. “I think we’ll continue to see new and interesting advancements in XR, virtual production, HDR, and more, and we’re tailoring our roadmap accordingly. AJA also has a track record of releasing products that address emerging market needs, so I’m confident there will be more AJA tools to come that bring interesting new opportunities for both AJA and Time in Pixels,” Huczek concluded.

About AJA Video Systems

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February 6, 2023

VStream Media optimizes cloud-based remote production with AJA Ki Pro GO

Founded in 2019, Singapore-based VStream Media has provided remote live production services since before they became an industry standard in their market. The company offers technical AV planning and workflow design, along with on-site training and systems integration, to ensure live event streams align with each customer’s unique vision. As demand for remote productions increased, VStream Media added the AJA Ki Pro GO multi-channel H.264 recorder to its workflow. The device has enabled its team to achieve redundant, multi-channel recording and simplify its content delivery path.

VStream Media considers H.264 recording best suited for cloud-based workflows. For most events the company takes on, remote speakers call in via a video conferencing platform using a webcam that has 720 or 1080 resolution. The VStream Media team then sends multiple SDI feeds out to AJA Ki Pro GO for recording to off-the-shelf solid-state-drives (SSD), with another SSD as a backup. This approach ensures redundant, multi-channel recording. Post event, the VStream team can quickly upload the files to the cloud. This gives the client’s editorial team near instant access to the file, so that they can download the footage quickly, regardless of where they are based or if they have a limited internet connection.

Commenting on the workflow, Adarsh Mohan, VStream Media Co-founder and Managing Director, shared, “Ki Pro GO brings simplicity and flexibility to our workflow. When it comes to remote live event production, we need to be sure that all equipment can perform well, and based on our experience, AJA products provide that.”

In addition to Ki Pro GO, VStream Media leverages a host of other equipment, including an internally developed multi-video broadcasting platform, PTZ cameras, and several other AJA solutions. Additional AJA equipment deployed across VStream Media workflows includes: the AJA KONA 4 I/O card with a breakout box and other AJA Desktop I/O Solutions, AJA U-TAP SDI and HDMI USB 3.0 capture devices, and the AJA FiDO-2T-12G two-channel 12G-SDI to single-mode fiber transmitter. Adarsh Mohan added, “Our experience with AJA gear has been great across the board. AJA promises a very stable workflow, and you get more than what you pay for.”

Adarsh Mohan and co-founder Ang Ming Song established VStream Media with a vision to maximize the use of technologies to provide clients forward-thinking processes and solutions. Using PTZ cameras and NDI technology in productions was the primary focus, and they’ve since continued augmenting workflows with new additions. Its internal research and development team works alongside the operations team to explore and push technological possibilities. Once proven in the research lab, they implement these workflows in real-world scenarios to take productions to the next level.

This innovation has always allowed VStream Media to stay one step ahead. Because of its continuous passion for innovation, the company was more than prepared for the sudden pivot to virtual events. Adarsh Mohan concluded, “We have clients and AV partners coming in daily to discuss new production ideas, so we have to constantly think on our feet and come up with creative solutions that align with our customers’ visions. AJA products like Ki Pro GO are essential to achieving that; it helps us to create a cleaner, more effective workflow.”

About AJA Ki Pro GO

Ki Pro GO Is a portable multi-channel H.264 recorder offering up to 4-channels of simultaneous HD and SD recording to off-the-shelf USB drives and/or network storage with redundant recording capabilities. 4x 3G-SDI and 4x HDMI digital video inputs with flexible channel assignments provide connections to the latest video sources, including cameras and DSLRs. Incoming video sources do not have to be genlocked due to Ki Pro GO’s input frame syncs. Ki Pro GO also features AJA’s high quality de-interlacers on each input so progressive recordings can be made from interlaced inputs. High quality 2-channel embedded audio or balanced XLR analog audio can be assigned to any recording channel. Multi-Channel Matrix Monitoring enables multiple video channels to be viewed on any single HDMI or SDI display, and Enhanced Super Out offers timecode, media status and audio meter overlays over the SDI and HDMI monitor outputs. Designed to be either portable or rackmountable with a half rack wide, 2RU dimensions, Ki Pro GO is well suited for use in any environment. www.aja.com/ki-pro-go

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high-quality, cost-effective products to the professional, broadcast, and post-production markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.

December 20, 2022

Tokyo’s Nouvelle Vague Streams 25th FUJI ROCK Festival with AJA Gear

Streaming is ubiquitous across entertainment, enabling event organizers to reach wider audiences through hybrid event formats. For the 25th anniversary of FUJI ROCK, the largest outdoor music festival in Japan, the live broadcast experts at Tokyo’s Nouvelle Vague Inc produced the event’s official YouTube stream, which reached a remote audience topping hundreds of thousands. To pull it off without a hitch, Nouvelle Vague Vice President & Director Masayoshi Ikeda and his team developed an efficient, reliable live production workflow comprising AJA solutions deployed at the event venue (Naeba Ski Resort) and Nouvelle Vague’s main control center.

Ikeda shared, “We used AJA’s FS4 for converting video feeds to 29.97p for ingest and streaming, KUMO 6464 for routing signals, Io 4K Plus for editorial I/O, Ki Pro Ultra 12G and Ki Pro GO for redundant recording of Apple ProRes and H.264 files, OG-DANTE-12GAM for audio embedding, and disembedding utilizing Dante, T-TAP Pro for output from the playout system, and BRIDGE LIVE for SDI encoding and RTMP streaming outputs.”

For the three-day festival, Nouvelle Vague developed a workflow to capture performances from the venue’s four main stages and produced the official festival stream, which 200,000 remote viewers tuned into. While stream quality was paramount to the success of the hybrid event, the team also wanted to capture the highest fidelity audio across performances since the recordings would also serve as demo materials for the artists.

Having produced the stream for the 2021 festival, Nouvelle Vague joined the 2022 event six months before showtime to refine the live workflow. The company’s on-site staff consisted of 25 crew members working across two teams; one managed infrastructure setup, while the other handled technical and editorial aspects of production. The infrastructure team arrived to set up and configure the streaming system three days ahead of the show. One day prior to the event, the technical team then showed up, and the crew conducted an equipment rehearsal to test the full streaming workflow.

For the festival’s on-site system, Nouvelle Vague transmitted SDI 59.94i feeds from each of the four venue stages to FS4, which converted the signals to 29.97p for ingest and streaming purposes. To route the converted signals, they used KUMO 6464, which provided the flexibility required to distribute a single video feed to multiple channels. The ingest system included Apple Mac Studio with Softron MovieRecord to capture and continuously record three channels for all four stages (totaling seven sources) to NAS storage. To prepare for any NAS network issues, the crew used Ki Pro Ultra 12G for redundant recording and simultaneous baseband capture without a network connection. They also recorded feeds from all four stages with Ki Pro GO as a backup.

For audio embedding and disembedding, the team relied upon eight OG-DANTE-12GAM cards – an openGear® 12G-SDI embedded audio to Dante IP audio bridge. They used two cards for audio disembedding at each stage, two for playout, two for embedding the program output, one for disembedding looped play videos (to be broadcast during intervals of the YouTube stream), and one for backup.

During the festival, editors cut together performances for the stream immediately following capture, with Io 4K Plus used to ingest network recordings into DCCs. For playout, the team generated the final edited videos generated with Softron’s OnTheAir solution for live production, with T-TAP Pro handling output. BRIDGE LIVE managed encoding and simultaneous YouTube streaming with three RTMP channels.

Ikeda shared, “When it comes to integrating new technologies into our live workflows, we’re always looking for the newest and most innovative products that support workflow flexibility, like tools from AJA.”

Nouvelle Vague began transitioning to IP workflows last year and developed an audio system that uses Dante to easily handle large-scale networks, helping to reduce system costs. The team integrated OG-DANTE-12GAM to eliminate the process of converting from SDI to analog audio while also minimizing sound quality deterioration. For a flexible streaming solution that works with HLS, SRT and RTMP, the team integrated BRIDGE LIVE. Ikeda added, “We chose BRIDGE LIVE because we prefer AJA products for offering compatibility and broadcast-grade stability.”

Ultimately, the stream for FUJI ROCK 2022 was a success, with improved network bandwidth and the addition of Mac Studio to record up to eight channels at 60p, offering greater system stability. In the near future, Nouvelle Vague is looking to further integrate IP workflow technologies into its system and expand capabilities to offer SRT transmission with on-site operations. By linking sources from event venues to its nOOb Studio in Tokyo, the team will further develop a remote workflow for recording, editing, and streaming, while reducing production costs. “The important thing is to consider all the possibilities for your production environment and implement new technologies or products to innovate your workflow and produce world-class content,” added Ikeda.

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions, openGear and IP products, bringing high-quality, cost-effective products to the professional, broadcast and post-production markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.

December 14, 2022

IDC Streamlines Data Processing with AJA Diskover Media Edition

Preparing new and legacy entertainment for global audience distribution has grown increasingly complex between the widespread implementation of remote workflows, ongoing cybersecurity threats, and increasing media file sizes. To this end, secure and reliable post production and digital media processing services, like those offered by IDC, are essential. Between its New York and Los Angeles offices, the company works on projects spanning episodic series and films and master QCs. To best serve its global roster of clients, the bicoastal shop has developed automated data processing workflows, with AJA Diskover Media Edition data management software a key part of its infrastructure.

“Our clients are our top priority, and a lot can happen in the render that might get missed in post, so our job is to spot those issues and fix them before the file reaches the client,” shared IDC-LA COO Rosanna Marino. “This often translates to a massive volume of data processing, which is where technology like AJA Diskover Media Edition pays off. It’s helped us meet this demand and enhance our offering so that we can stay competitive without a huge upfront physical infrastructure investment.”

It’s not unusual for IDC-LA to deliver more than 20,000 files a month to clients globally. As projects arrive, the team must know where each client file lives and its contents. To automate this process, Marino and team developed intelligent workflows built with Diskover Media Edition and MediaPulse. These workflows ensure that every file lands in a designated folder and determine the initial path a file must take until a team member steps in to set up profiles, create files, or complete QC.

To speed up media processing and project turnaround, especially for projects containing data-rich content, the team creates profiles and accesses them from their Telestream Vantage system, and leverages the Colorfront Transkoder. Diskover Media Edition is leveraged in a variety of ways, depending on the client. Files generally roll in electronically and are fielded to a landing zone, at which point the appropriate team members are notified. Depending on where the files land, an automated backup might be generated in the cloud for disaster recovery. IDC producers then use Diskover Media Edition to signal to the team that it’s time to move the files to their next locations and alert relevant team members of their arrival.

“We knew Diskover Media Edition would be a great fit with built-in automation tools and ties to MediaPulse, and it exceeded our expectations. The software has also made file scanning so quick and automatically indexes all our file systems every 30 minutes,” noted Marino.

On the backend of IDC-LA’s AJA Diskover Media Edition index is the powerful and widely adopted ElasticSeach engine. “The ElasticSearch engine in AJA Diskover Media Edition is so powerful and lets us search for nearly anything, from tags to file names or parts of file names. We can even search for a client, and the software interface will present everything from that client, and we can then narrow the results,” explained Marino. “It also scans our cloud for disaster recovery, so our client service reps can search the index, easily find an asset they need, and send in a work order to pull it back down from the cloud when required.”

IDC-LA’s automated workflows have streamlined operations, giving its customer service representatives more insight into the data they’re working with and presenting it in clear and concise reports that can be shared with relevant stakeholders. There’s no need to ask the client where the files live because all the information is available in one centralized, easy to access location, whereas before, finding the file, sending it to an operator, pulling it up, and digging up the required info took a lot of back and forth.

Marino concluded, “We aim to strike the right balance between thinking out-the-box and not reinventing the wheel. Simplicity and efficiency are key, and we’re continuously looking at new technologies like AJA Diskover Media Edition software that allow us to do things differently in a more streamlined way. We also love working with companies like AJA and Diskover, who are continuously improving the technology and are transparent about the product roadmap. The conversation is two-way; they’re willing to explore new requests with us, which is rare today.”

About AJA Diskover Media Edition

AJA Diskover Media Edition is an intuitive data management software solution designed to give users more control over media storage across an entire organization, regardless of where it is physically located. Use high-speed, cutting-edge searches, cost analysis, tagging, and other sophisticated tools to empower all levels of an organization to make informed data decisions, enhancing file-based production and monetization. AJA Diskover Media Edition lets users more efficiently curate existing assets and prevents file loss. For more details about AJA Diskover Media Edition, visit www.aja.com/aja-diskover-media-edition.

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.

November 3, 2022

OWC Announces Atlas Pro and Atlas Ultra Series Memory Cards and Card Reader for Photographers, Videographers, and Content Creators

OWC®, a leading customer-focused creator of innovative solutions for over 30 years that have enabled individuals, businesses, creative professionals, and educators to get maximum usefulness from their technology investment, today announces the all-new OWC Atlas Memory Cards and Reader.

"OWC is the leader in workflow solutions that professional photographers and videographers depend on daily," said Farshid Tabrizi, Sr. VP of Flash Memory & Media Development. I am thrilled to release our new Atlas Pro and Atlas Ultra memory cards that provide flexibility and choice for photographers and videographers based on their camera and how they use it."

Performance and reliability have been OWC's priorities as a leading developer of flash storage for over a decade. Our Atlas memory cards line-up is developed and tested under the most aggressive settings each card type is designed to handle. You can trust Atlas memory cards with your irreplaceable content while delivering the performance and reliability you expect. Go from ingest to edit with the portable bus-powered Atlas FXR CFexpress card reader with built-in support for both Thunderbolt and USB, SD and CFexpress card reader equipped with OWC docks, and OWC storage solutions. No matter your need, Atlas is one stage of an empowering OWC ecosystem that will rocket you onward and upward from Capture to Completion™.

"It's super important to have equipment that doesn't limit me in any way," said Jake Chamseddine, Tour Photographer. "From cameras to lenses, all the way down to the memory cards I use. Having the peace of mind of knowing my cards are not only going to keep up with me while I'm shooting but also safely transfer images to and from my camera is the reason I love OWC’s Atlas memory cards so much. Couldn't recommend a card more."

Atlas Pro SD V60
Ideal for your most common photo and general video capture uses, including high-resolution RAW photography at moderate burst rates and up to 4K video recording. The OWC Atlas Pro SD V60 offers the perfect balance of quality, speed, and affordability to general prosumers, business content creators, social media influencers, and pro photo and video creatives using DSLR and mirrorless SD card-based cameras.

Atlas Ultra SD V90
When you have a high-end SD memory card-based workflow or want to use your camera's maximum video setting allowed by an SD card, the Atlas Ultra SD V90 lets you take it to the Ultra level—built and designed to meet professional content creators' most advanced use cases, including high burst image sequence RAW photography and high bitrate 4K and 6K video recording. Built for action sports, outdoor/wildlife photographers, individual pro photo and video creatives with advanced cameras and camcorders, and independent/small film production companies using DSLR and mirrorless SD card-based cameras. With a minimum of 90MB/s sustained recording speeds guaranteed, you don't have to worry about dropped frames or missing footage.

Atlas Pro CFexpress
Whether you're a photographer using a firmware updated XQD camera or a filmmaker using the latest camera, there's a capacity for your need. The OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress is the cost-effective choice for most professional workflow needs, including fast burst RAW image sequences, high bitrate video recording up to 6K on 512GB, and higher capacities. The OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress is perfect for intermediate action sports photographers, intermediate outdoor/wildlife photographers, individual pro photo/video creatives with advanced capabilities, and film production companies using DSLR and mirrorless CFexpress card-based cameras.

Atlas Ultra CFexpress
Perfect for your most demanding video recording and extreme action photography settings. With minimum sustained write speeds of 1300MB/s, you can reliably capture 8K RAW video with your top-of-the-line cinema camera. If you're an advanced sports or wildlife photographer, the 165GB version is the fastest, most cost-effective solution to clearing your camera buffer and shooting continuously in burst mode. Built for advanced action sports photographers, advanced outdoor/wildlife photographers, professional video content creators, film production companies, and feature film studios using DSLR and mirrorless CFexpress card-based cameras. Both the OWC Atlas Ultra 325 and 650 are RED APPROVED for V-Raptor and V-Raptor XL Cameras.

Atlas FXR
Revolutionize your capture to ingest CFexpress memory card workflow with Flexible compatibility, Xtreme speed, and travel-Ready convenience. Transfer video footage and photos to virtually any computer or tablet with Thunderbolt or USB port up to 1600MB/s speed. Sized like a debit card and bus-powered, Atlas FXR easily fits into your smallest gear bag. Made for intermediate to advanced action sports photographers, intermediate to advanced outdoor/wildlife photographers, professional video content creators, film production companies, and feature film studios using DSLR and mirrorless CFexpress card-based cameras.

Pricing & Availability

OWC Atlas Pro SD V60 is available now in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities starting at $27.99 on Macsales.com

Atlas Ultra SD V90 is available now in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities starting at $74.99 on Macsales.com. 512GB will be available in December

Atlas Pro CFexpress is available now in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB capacities starting at $94.99 on Macsales.com

Atlas Ultra CFexpress is available now in 165GB, 325GB, and 650GB capacities starting at $174.99 on Macsales.com

Atlas FXR is available now starting at $149.99 on Macsales.com

About OWC
Other World Computing (OWC), founded in 1988, is committed to supporting and inspiring the imagination of Mac and PC enthusiasts worldwide through sustainable innovation, exemplary customer service, and American design. An entire spectrum of easy, DIY upgrade and expansion possibilities await Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC Docking Solutions,Network Attached Storage, Memory Cards and Readers, Software Solutions and Performance Upgrade Kits solutions. All are backed with step-by-step videos and a global support team. Our dedication to excellence and sustainable innovation extends beyond our day-to-day business and into the community. We strive for zero waste, both environmentally and strategically. We have a long-term outlook on everything we do and believe in making a better world. From the home desktop to the enterprise rack, the corporate backup to secure medical data, the recording studio to the motion picture set, and beyond, there should be no compromise, which is why OWC is here. OWC established the branch office of OWC Asia in January 2019 to provide local service to various Asian partners and end-users.

September 1, 2022

AJA Unveils ColorBox for Color-Accurate Broadcast, Production and Post

Device ensures color accuracy across productions with advanced algorithmic and LUT processing using HDR/WCG transform tools

Grass Valley, CA (September 1, 2022) – AJA today debuted ColorBox, a portable, high-performance device with unprecedented inline algorithmic color transforms and LUT processing capabilities delivering precise and accurate color space conversions for live broadcast, live events, on-set production and post production. ColorBox enables a range of HDR and SDR conversions and allows DITs to easily load, modify, and save looks, and create reference images for dailies to ensure color accuracy across all production stakeholders and creative vendors.

ColorBox arrives as more productions are standardizing on 4K/UltraHD HDR, with color and LUT management proving essential to creating and achieving looks for live and scripted content. Designed to support a wide range of look management approaches on-set and in live production environments, ColorBox features 12G-SDI in/out and HDMI 2.0 out for up to 4K/UltraHD 60p 10-bit YCbCr 4:2:2 and 30p 12-bit RGB 4:4:4 signal support. ColorBox includes AJA Color Pipeline (ACP) Mode with a 33-point 3D LUT processor with tetrahedral LUT interpolation, four built-in user-configurable 1D LUTs, and two 3x3 user-configurable matrices. ColorBox users also benefit from a built-in RGB color corrector and ProcAmp, extensive LUT, matrices and image libraries, powerful capture and recall capabilities, ancillary (ANC) metadata management, and more. All of this is easily controlled via an integrated web browser-based interface.

In total, ColorBox offers five Modes with one active at any given time.

AJA Color Pipeline (ACP)
Colorfront
ORION-CONVERT(Optional license - watermarked preview)
BBC HLG LUT (Optional license - watermarked preview)
NBCU LUT

“Powered by the HPA Award winning Colorfront Engine, the new Colorfront Mode in AJA’s exciting new ColorBox offers state of the art conversions between SDR and HDR content,” explained William Feightner, CTO, Colorfront. “As opposed to traditional LUT based processing, the Colorfront Engine’s Human Perceptual Model algorithm assures flawless artifact free conversions. This ensures the preservation of creative intent.”

"ORION-CONVERT was developed out of the need to create bespoke color-managed conversions for our clients at Cromorama. The ease of use and the simplicity of the user interface together with unprecedented highlight control help deliver the most challenging live broadcasting events and episodic file based content,” explained Pablo Garcia Soriano, Cromorama’s Founder and Head of Color. “Now with the implementation of ORION-CONVERT in AJA’s new ColorBox we can finally use optimized floating point processing that provides greater precision than can be achieved using standard LUT solutions.”

ColorBox packs ultra low-latency, high-density 4K/UltraHD processing into a portable device with a robust feature set of SDR/HDR/WCG color transforms for many applications. Extensive frame capturing features include pre-processed image capture or post-processed output capture for reference stills with overlaid metadata, such as video payload ID’s, pipeline configuration, and customizable user text. These frame captures can be saved locally and exported to the configuration PC running the web browser-based ColorBox user interface.

A built-in USB OTG port lets users easily configure ColorBox wirelessly via a 3rd party USB WiFi adapter. 12G-SDI and HDMI 2.0 outputs provide up to 4K/UHD video for local monitoring, and an additional 12G-SDI loop through output is available for connecting the unaltered source to other devices.

ColorBox Feature Highlights

Up to 4K/UltraHD 60p 10-bit YCbCr 4:2:2 and 30p 12-bit RGB 4:4:4 signal support.
12G-SDI in/out, with loop out.
HDMI 2.0 output.
5 Modes available: AJA Color Pipeline, Colorfront, NBCU, BBC HLG, ORION-CONVERT.
Extensive color processing using AJA Color Pipeline: 1D LUTs, 3x3 Matrices, and 3D LUT nodes for image manipulation/correction.
Optional licenses for varying image processing needs, including BBC HLG LUTs and ORION-CONVERT with optimized floating point processing provides greater precision that can be achieved by standard LUT boxes.
Light-weight portable form factor that easily fits on the desktop or up to 4 units in a 1RU rack.
Intuitive and convenient web browser-based user interface with Video Preview for confidence monitoring.4K/UltraHD Frame Store capture and recall of 16-bit .TIFF, .JPEG, or .PNG files.
Powerful built-in test pattern generator for simple setup and signal path validation.
Extensive API/Software Development Kit (SDK) for third-party control of every parameter.
The ability to key information onto a processed output with Overlay for local use or capture with customizable user fields.
Ultra-low latency to ensure sources remain within the timing window of the downstream switcher in live production workflows.
HDMI 2.0 output for 4K/UltraHD HDR enables cost-efficient monitoring on consumer displays.
USB OTG port and third-party WiFi adapter provides wireless access to the web UI when a wired Ethernet connection is not available.
ANC management with a user-defined field that can be overlaid or embedded in frame store .tiff files.

“Reliable, high end color processing and display have become essential to creating scripted and live content that resonates with audiences, and AJA developed ColorBox in response to this demand. Drawing on an extensive engineering background in HDR and conversion technology, as well as third-party partnerships with experts in color science, we’ve delivered an unparalleled and flexible image processing toolset in this device,” shared AJA President Nick Rashby. “ColorBox streamlines color management and display for environments ranging from TV, episodic, film, live event and commercial production to creative, editorial, and finishing studios, and we’re thrilled to bring it to market.”

Pricing and Availability

ColorBox is available today through AJA’s worldwide reseller network for $1995 US MSRP with optional licenses for the BBC HLG LUT pipeline at $145 US MSRP and ORION-CONVERT pipeline at $695 US MSRP. For more details, visit: www.aja.com/colorbox

August 18, 2022

ToolsOnAir Advances Ingest and Post Workflows with AJA I/O Gear

ToolsOnAir turned heads when it launched the first Mac-based client-server ingest, playout, and real-time graphics solutions for broadcast, in 2010 at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention in Las Vegas, NV. Since then, the Austrian solutions developer has expanded its line of products to support live automated playout and live closed captioning, and launched a Linux-based ingest solution. Broadcasters, production facilities, houses of worship, government organizations, and educational institutions worldwide use ToolsOnAir technology to accelerate audio and video ingest and playout for production with an assist from AJA I/O hardware.

“Whether editing a religious sermon, college lecture, highlights reel, or other content, our ingest solutions help customers capture and turnaround content quickly for post. We design all systems with AJA I/O gear to be multi-format, so users have the flexibility to work with industry-standard codecs such as Apple ProRes, XDCAM HD, AVC-I, DNxHD/HR, or H.264/HEVC in the related MOV, MXF, MP4, or AVI containers,” shared ToolsOnAir Ingest Solutions Manager Christian Schabasser. “Many clients also want to play out material to HDMI and SDI devices while simultaneously recording, whether for monitoring or streaming. In this case, we recommend complementary hardware like the AJA HELO Plus H.264 streaming and recording device.”

Depending upon the customer’s preferred operating system, ToolsOnAir solutions are either built by a reseller or systems integrator, or ship turnkey. Mac customers typically acquire the necessary Mac, AJA I/O hardware (either PCI or Thunderbolt), and a Sonnet PCIe enclosure for PCI cards, and ToolsOnAir provides the software licenses.

“Our Mac-based solution supports a range of I/O hardware, but we always recommend AJA Io and KONA solutions. We recently had a Norwegian customer use multiple AJA Io X3 in their setup, and I suspect they won’t be the last,” said ToolsOnAir Head of Operations Manuel Grund. “Io X3 is a perfect I/O box for HD needs with Thunderbolt 3 support and feature additions via AJA Desktop Software updates. It is modern, quiet, and has nearly everything imaginable, including a multi-viewer feature and many audio input options. It’s also easy to get started; you plug it in, install the drivers, and you’re off.”

ToolsOnAir builds its Linux systems in Vienna and the US, and ships them to customers with an AJA Corvid 88, Corvid 44 12G BNC, or Corvid 44 BNC card integrated. “For clients working in HD and UltraHD, we use the Corvid 88, as it offers eight inputs, enabling eight for HD or two for UltraHD via quad-link connection. In other scenarios, where four inputs are required we use a Corvid 44 12G BNC or Corvid 44 BNC,” noted Schabasser. “Overall, our customers are enthusiastic about their experiences with these cards, and we’re seeing more demand for 12G-SDI from customers working in UltraHD.”

“As more professionals are working in high frame rate 4K and UltraHD, especially for sports and prime time productions, 12G-SDI is gaining technological favor. About 90 percent of our clients working in UltraHD are using native 12G-SDI tools,” Grund added. “It gives them the power and bandwidth required to move UltraHD signal content through the cable, still keeping the flexibility to work in HD should the project call for it.”

Considering the prominent role of I/O technology in ToolsOnAir’s line of work, the company has been an AJA Developer Partner since its inception. Grund concluded, “When we first got started, we had long discussions about choosing the proper hardware and SDK foundation to build upon, and that’s what AJA is known for in the broadcast space. Their driver base stood out, but more importantly, as a developer, their SDK allowed us to talk directly to the metal. We knew and still know that with AJA, our customers will be able to see how every single frame that goes through the card looks and can easily process each. Having a solid I/O partner like AJA has made our journey from 2010 through today much simpler.”

Learn more about ToolsOnAir via: https://www.toolsonair.com/. For additional background on AJA’s Developer program, click here.

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high-quality, cost-effective products to the professional, broadcast and post-production markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.

All trademarks and copyrights referenced herein belong to their respective companies

August 11, 2022

ZEISS Cinematography Americas To Sponsor

HollyShorts' 2022 Achievement in Cinematography Award

Held in Hollywood, California August 11-20, 2022

Hollywood, California: For the eighteenth year, HollyShorts (www.hollyshorts.com) will present its Academy qualifying Short Film Festival in person at TCL Chinese Theaters, Japan House Hollywood, and streaming on Bitpix TV.

For the first time, ZEISS Cinematography is pleased to sponsor the new HollyShorts ZEISS Achievement in Cinematography Award and participate in other festival events.

"We are extremely excited to team up with ZEISS, a world-renowned and innovative company that recognizes these goals with their incredible brand and products," commented HollyShorts co-founders, Daniel Sol and Theo Dumont. "We look forward to introducing Zeiss to our 400 officially selected, incredible next generation of artists at this year's festival."

To recognize the latest trend in motion picture optics, on August 14, ZEISS Cinematography team member David Warner will present Creating Flares for Filmmaking. An expert in the field of lens technology, Warner will offer background, insights, and options before opening up the mic for a lively Q&A.

The Festival's finale is the Film Awards ceremony on August 20. A highlight will be the new Achievement in Cinematography Award, presented by ZEISS to give special recognition for the best cinematography chosen from all films presented. Tony Wisniewski, ZEISS Senior Manager of Marketing adds, "We are delighted to partner with HollyShorts to present an award to the winning cinematographer as our way of rewarding their achievement and encouraging filmmakers to tell their stories with inspiring images." ZEISS will also have the honor of presenting the HollyShorts Film Festival Achievement in Filmmaking and Cinematography Award to the esteemed Nancy Schreiber ASC, who's past work has been screened at the Festival.

www.zeiss.com/cine-democenter

www.hollyshorts.com

August 3, 2022

Seabrook Recreates Underwater Rescues with

ZEISS Supreme & Radiance Primes for “The Rescue”

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's film, The Rescue tells the story of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in which twelve boys’ from the Wild Boars Football club and their coach were trapped in a flooded cave complex in Thailand. Documenting the huge risks taken by a team of specialist divers during the rescue, the production combines documentary footage with painstaking dramatic reconstructions shot by top underwater cinematographer Ian Seabrook.

Seabrook’s earliest dives were on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a visual spectacle which prompted him to combine the twin passions of diving and photography and to “focus on one job – as underwater cinematographer.” Initially starting out on documentary and commercial productions, by the late '90s Seabrook was working in narrative as well, and today has an extensive list of underwater credits including Batman v Superman, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell no Tales, Deadpool 2, and Jungle Cruise.

The Rescue began preproduction in 2019, with Seabrook’s experience in both narrative and documentary production immediately crucial. “The filmmakers came to me to recreate the rescue operation, and I was given autonomy with regards to camera, lens, and format selection.” Seabrook chose the ARRI Alexa MINI LF, recording its sensor in open-gate, with ZEISS Supreme Prime and Supreme Prime Radiance lenses.

One reason behind the decision was, Seabrook says, “we thought the film might get an IMAX release due to the subject matter and fact that the directors' prior film, Free Solo, benefitted from an IMAX release. The Rescue is an amalgamation of news footage, interview footage that was photographed in a few countries, and aerial photography from Thailand. I felt that with the underwater portion of it being photographed in open gate, the images would have their own unique look and allow the audience to become immersed in the environment.”

Creating images worthy of the biggest of big screens meant finding the right methodology to illuminate an environment that is oppressively dark. “It was a confined cave environment,” Seabrook says, “and the only illumination were the divers’ headlights. I had several meetings beforehand with the actual cave divers who performed the rescue operation, who told me how things were handled, and what they used for illumination during the dives.”

With the Supreme Prime Radiance, each light source brought a unique quality of light and subsequent life to the frame. "One of the reasons I settled on the Radiance was due to the unique blue flare patterns that the lenses were designed to create,” Seabrook confirms. “I shot tests underwater with the lenses wide open at T1.5 and also at a more desirable T4-5.6. With some of the divers’ lights, we found that when we shot it wide open, the lights basically bloomed… and there was little to no detail prevalent. I then selected an aperture I wanted to shoot at and tested that with a few different ISO combinations until I arrived at what I found to be the sweet spot for this project. That's one of the main reasons why that lens and sensor combo was spectacular.”

Leveraging the depth-of-field control offered by large format camerawork was just as crucial. “The reason I shot at a certain aperture was to hide the fact that there was less cave structure set than we had access to,” Seabrook says. “We were able to camouflage the fact that we did not have miles of cave to shoot in.” At the same time, the Supreme Primes’ close-focus capability was crucial for a shoot where the camera and subject distance would be in loose proximity to one another.

“The close focus distance on the Supremes was an amazing asset,” Seabrook enthuses. “I didn't have to use auxiliary diopters because the close focus of those lenses was at most fourteen inches. Normally what anyone will require with a dome port is between sixteen and eighteen inches, so the fact that the lens focuses even closer was an enormous benefit. When we were doing re-creation work for the surface portion of the shoot with the vials of sedatives that were injected into the children, I could get close enough to read the names, ketamine and atropine, on the labels.”

To the delight of everyone involved, The Rescue was to get its hoped-for huge-screen finish, and Seabrook saw his images projected at vast scale. “I saw it on an IMAX screen TIFF,” Seabrook recalls, “and the underwater imagery had great detail and, at that size, was immersive.” The real-world story behind those images, meanwhile, created lasting memories. “Working with the actual divers who did the rescue was an honor… such amazing individuals who were selfless and brave. They were able to go into an environment that very few people would even be able to survive in, let alone succeed in doing the impossible. I felt that needed to be represented in the best way possible. And for me the best way was to shoot it with that sensor and those lenses.”

Find out more HERE.

August 2, 2022

AJA Releases Mini-Config v2.26.4

Feature-rich software update streamlines conversion workflows, delivers enhanced flexibility

AJA_2022_Mini-Config_v2.26.4_Update_SM_General_Image_1200x630px.jpg

Grass Valley, CA (August 2, 2022) – AJA Video Systems today launched Mini-Config v2.26.4, a free software update for AJA’s line of Mini-Converters covering a broad range of 4K, HD, and SD conversion needs spanning broadcast, production, post, and proAV. The release brings several user-requested enhancements to AJA’s HA5-12G, HA5-4K, HA5-Plus, HA5-Fiber, Hi5-12G, Hi5-4K-Plus, 4K2HD, 12G-AM, and 12G-AMA Mini-Converters.

HA5-12G and HA5-4K

AJA Mini-Config v2.26.4 adds input signal preprocessing controls to HA5-12G and HA5-4K Mini-Converters, allowing professionals to accept sources with high jitter. All HA5-12G Mini-Converters now also support 12-bit SDI output, include Genlock controls for “HDMI In” and “Free Run” selections, and automatically mute the SDI output if no valid signal is detected on the HDMI cable or it is removed.

HA5-Plus and HA5-Fiber

Via the latest release, AJA has added a simple Frame Rate Converter (FRC) to HA5-Plus and HA5-Fiber Mini-Converters that uses a frame drop/frame repeat methodology to convert integer input video frame rates to non-integer (e.g. p60 to p59.94) or non-integer to integer (e.g. p59.94 to p60). Newly added EDID Emulation allows users to specify a video format for the EDID, and the information is then sent to the source video device. The feature can indicate whether YCbCr formats are supported as well as the number of supported audio channels (2 or 8).

Hi5-12G and Hi5-4K Plus

AJA Mini-Config v2.26.4 adds 12-bit support to AJA Hi5-12G and Hi5-4K-Plus Mini-Converters.

12G-AM and 12G-AMA

Rounding out Mini-Config v2.26.4, a 1.5G-SDI Internal Signal Generator enables 12G-AM and 12G-AMA Mini-Converters to allow the embedder path to function without the need to connect a source to the SDI input. HDR and Colorimetry metadata are now also displayed for these models in Mini-Config.

“Media and entertainment professionals need to be able to seamlessly move signals between various equipment in the field, which requires reliable, high-quality conversion. AJA develops a broad range of Mini-Converters to support these needs, and we continue to advance our Mini-Converter feature set to help professionals adapt to whatever scenario the job might pose,” shared AJA President Nick Rashby. “AJA Mini-Config v2.26.4 brings a host of powerful new features and improvements that we’re excited to share with users.”

Additional enhancements for AJA 4K2HD, Hi5-12G, Hi5-4K-Plus, and 12GM Mini-Converter models are also available via Mini-Config v.2.26.4. AJA recommends all AJA Mini-Converter users download the free update today from the Mini-Config Support Page. For more details about AJA’s Mini-Converter products, visit: www.aja.com/family/mini-converters.

July 14, 2022

CineGear LA Technology Achievement Winners Announced & Atlanta Registration is Now Open

It's official—October 7-8, 2022 the industry's most renowned southern industry event will return to Atlanta Georgia’s Trilith Studios (same studio, new name). Signups for attending the Hollywood-meets-southern-hospitality CineGear Expo are free at: https://www.cinegearexpo.com/atl-expo/atl-registration/

CineGear Expo is also pleased to announce the LA '22 Technical Achievement Award recipients. CineGear’s team of expert judges, representing multiple industry disciplines, examined each product submitted at the June CineGear Expo in Los Angeles. After weeks of extensive deliberation, they have selected worthy new motion picture gear in 12 product categories.

The win in Camera Technology went to Sony Electronics for the SONY VENICE 2 camera system. In the Camera Accessories category, the award was given to Moonlighting Industries (designers: Miko Lazic, Henrik Lander, Oscar Thörn, Jonas Nockert, Andreas Persson, Andreas Wallberg, Mathias Farnebo, Örjan Söderberg, Lars-Olof Berg, and Michel Cardoso Teixeira) for the Moon Smart Focus rangefinder.

In the hotly competitive Optics category, the main award went to Angenieux for the Optimo Primes – Integrated Optical Palette (IOP) designed by Arnaud Esbelin. An Honorable Mention went to ZEISS for their Supreme Prime Radiance lenses.

The Support Technology prize went to Tilta for their Hydra-Arm Mini portable camera crane with an Honorabe Mention bestowed upon Motorized Precision (Designers: Sean Brown, Brian Davidson)

for their MP-AR motion control robotics tool. In the abundant Lighting Technology category there was a dead heat between Velvet USA for The Velvet Cyc 6 LED cyclorama light and the RuPixels Inc, RuFlex System (designer: Michael Kelly) for interactive lighting.

Post-Production Technology winner was Blackmagic Design for the DaVinci Resolve 18. Diety Microphones picked up the Sound Technology win for their TC-SL1 Wireless Timecode Slate (designer: Andrew Jones).

The Other Technologies category brought in two winners. SmallHD scored for their Vision 24 and Vision 17, 4K HDR Production Monitors. Filmmaking Research Lab (Designers: Lawrence Sher ASC, Alon Ziv, Bodhi Oser, Ethan Young) also took home a win for their ShotDeck filmmaking research website.

The CineGear 2022 esteemed panel of Tech Awards judges included: Jeff Siljenberg, Joe Lewis, Joshua Pines, Lawrence Sher, ASC, Sarah Priestnall, Ted Hayash and Peter Santoro.

For additional information on upcoming shows, industry vendors and happenings throughout the year visit www.cinegearexpo.com.

July 7, 2022

ZEISS Conversations with Steven Meizler

DP of The Queen's Gambit

Tuesday July 19th at 12pm PST

This virtual ZEISS Conversation event is taking place with esteemed Emmy Award-
winning Director of Photography, Steven Meizler! Meizler is known for his work on TV
series such as, The Girlfriend Experience, Godless, The OA, and many more titles
including The White House Plumbers, an upcoming American political drama TV
miniseries. We'll chat about his experience using ZEISS Supreme Primes on all seven
episodes of "The Queen's Gambit," and get feedback on his collaboration with Director
Scott Frank.

Hear about how he developed his operating style based on many years working on
feature films as a first AC, as well as equipment choices.

To Register:

First 300 people to sign up will be accepted. Recorded session will be uploaded to @zeisslensesamericas on YouTube at a later date.
A Zoom link will be emailed to ticket holders upon registration for the event. Please check your spam folder for Zoom Webinar reminders.

June 27, 2022

Top Honor for Women in Media WIM + ZEISS Altitude Awards Goes to Estzer Csepeli, HCA

ZEISS hosted the Women in Media WIM + ZEISS Altitude Awards Ceremony on June 9 to celebrate the recipients of the prestigious annual honors. Held at Cine Gear Expo in the Los Angeles Convention Center, the air was thick with anticipation as the auditorium filled with nominees, WIM members, and guests.

The full house was greeted by Tema Staig, founder of Women in Media which is dedicated to promoting gender balance in the film and entertainment industries. Also on hand to help launch their new annual Altitude Awards collaboration was ZEISS' Tony Wisniewski, Senior Manager of Marketing and Anna Schmidt, Cinema Marketing for the Americas.

Submissions were open to camera operators, gaffers, and cinematographers. Esteemed judges including ASC members Johnny Simmons, Tami Reiker, Alan Caso, Sandra Valde-Hansen, and David Harp as well as cinematographers, Laura Merians Gonçalves and Ana M. Amortegui, carefully surveyed the applicant's reels, supplemental materials, and artist statements.

On stage Staig named the Semi Finalists: Michelle Clementine, Jenny Desrosiers, Rachael Hastings, Crystal Kelley, Emilia Mendieta Córdova, Lucia Rinaldi, Elle Schneider, Aymae Sulick, Haley Watson, and Sarah Thomas Moffat. Then the finalists included: Jenn Gittings, Barbie Leung, Caitlin Machak, Sarah Phillips, Ashton Rae, and Jen White. All took home a brimming bag of filmmaking gear contributed by: Quasar Science, Rosco, Filmtools, and ShotDeck.

Next Lawrence Sher ASC ("Joker," "Hangover," "Garden State") took the podium to award the WIM + ZEISS Altitude winners. ZEISS' First Prize $3,000 cash award, in addition to one week free use of ZEISS prime lenses, went to cinematographer Eszter Csepeli. A founding member of the Hungarian Cinematography Association (HCA), her body of work includes the Palme d’Or nominated short, The Execution, and the upcoming feature, The Flower of the Apple Tree. Second Prize $1,000 was awarded to cinematographer Jendra Jarnagin while Carolina Costa and Veronica Bouza took home $500 in addition to other generous prizes.

The evening concluded with a party for winners and guests sponsored by Frame.io and ZEISS.

To find out more about Women in Media (WIM) visit: https://womennmedia.com/ and #HireTheseWomen

For more about ZEISS contact www.zeiss.com/cine-democenter

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the fields of optics and optoelectronics. In the previous fiscal year, the ZEISS Group generated annual revenue totaling 6.3 billion euros in its four segments Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology and Consumer Markets (status: 30 September 2020).

For its customers, ZEISS develops, produces and distributes highly innovative solutions for industrial metrology and quality assurance, microscopy solutions for the life sciences and materials research, and medical technology solutions for diagnostics and treatment in ophthalmology and microsurgery. The name ZEISS is also synonymous with the world's leading lithography optics, which are used by the chip industry to manufacture semiconductor components. There is global demand for trendsetting ZEISS brand products such as eyeglass lenses, camera lenses and binoculars.

With a portfolio aligned with future growth areas like digitalization, healthcare and Smart Production and a strong brand, ZEISS is shaping the future of technology and constantly advancing the world of optics and related fields with its solutions. The company's significant, sustainable investments in research and development lay the foundation for the success and continued expansion of ZEISS' technology and market leadership. ZEISS invests 13 percent of its revenue in research and development – this high level of expenditure has a long tradition at ZEISS and is also an investment in the future.

With over 32,000 employees, ZEISS is active globally in almost 50 countries with around 30 production sites, 60 sales and service companies and 27 research and development facilities. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. The Carl Zeiss Foundation, one of the largest foundations in Germany committed to the promotion of science, is the sole owner of the holding company, Carl Zeiss AG. Further information at www.zeiss.com

ZEISS Consumer Products

ZEISS Consumer Products combines the company's business with camera and cine lenses, binoculars, spotting scopes and hunting optics. The unit is allocated to the Consumer Markets segment and is represented at sites in Oberkochen and Wetzlar.

June 22, 2022

BC Live Productions Relies on AJA Gear to Get it Right the First Time

From star-studded Hollywood film premieres and concerts to esports tournaments and reality shows, BC Live Productions helps bring the wow factor to live productions around the world. Musician-turned-live event producer, BC Live CEO Brett Collins founded the company out of his living room and has since grown it to include four locations in and around Los Angeles that offer a combination of on-site and remote live production services as well as gear rental. With a job that leaves no room for second takes, Collins has made AJA gear a go-to in the company’s ever-expanding kit.

“We rely on a lot of AJA products that we source from Key Code Media, both in production and our rental pool. We use Fiber on a lot of projects so that we can transmit audio and video across longer distances, so FiDO Mini-Converters have been great for video transport; the four-channel throw down is super convenient,” noted Collins. “We also do a lot with KUMO routers, and the Ki Pro GO multi-channel H.264 HD recorders are fantastic for when clients want files right away – they can just grab the USB drive and go as soon as the program wraps.”

While the BC Live team initially developed remote workflows for its international corporate clients pre-pandemic, they quickly pivoted to offering remote kits as work on local in-person, on-site shows ceased. Demand for the remote kits skyrocketed, and the company’s solutions helped productions get back on air safely, from talk shows, game shows, and reality competitions, like “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” to content for the NBA and NFL. Using its AJA gear, the BC Live team can continue delivering high production value content remotely.

“The pandemic challenged many production outfits, BC Live included, to embrace distributed ways of working, and now that people have realized that everyone doesn’t have to be in the same place to create content, it’s becoming easier to keep pace with consumer demand for content,” Collins explained. “As clients become more aware of new possibilities, however, the requests become a little more adventurous. We try to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate their asks, so that we’re always providing the best solutions possible. Part of that is evaluating new technologies and implementing them where it makes sense, like video over IP, which is now totally ubiquitous.”

“There are also endless instances where we need to spit out different flavors of video, which is easy to navigate with our AJA gear, even as we step into the 4K world. Our Ki Pro units are also super popular as rentals,” he added. “ In general, using AJA gives me comfort because I know they take their engineering seriously, and their tools hit the trifecta of metrics: price point, reliability, and elegance.”

One of BC Live’s largest undertakings to date was for an event celebrating the launch of “Arcane,” an animated Netflix series set in the universe of Riot Games’ “League of Legends,” which attracted 10 million viewers upon its debut. Collins and his team streamed the red carpet event to Twitch – which was held at Riot’s Santa Monica campus and featured a large dome with a projection map on the interior. Its team handled everything from the initial event broadcast to the live show premiere, and a re-broadcast for the European audience, streamed in 22 languages simultaneously. To pull it off, the team recorded the show in ProRes to a tower housing many AJA Ki Pro Ultra Plus recorders. One master video file was embedded with 22 different languages to stream out across an encoder farm, and each one of those was discretely recorded onto a Ki Pro. For the re-broadcast, the team wrote code to gang play the Ki Pros, and outputs were sent to different encoding channels to go to different regions.

As Collins looks to the future of live production, he’s keeping an eye on video over IP technology. He concluded, “Plugging in BNC is great for reliability, but with IP video, you can also include a lot of ancillary data, and it’s incredibly scalable. Fortunately, we have exceptional network engineers so adding IP capabilities has been relatively smooth and we’ve been able to thrive in the remote world. Each new venue or OB truck we interface with has their own set of connectivity protocols, so we need to be nimble and make sure we’re able to work with all kinds of formats. With gear from manufacturers like AJA, we’re well situated to navigate between protocols, platforms and codecs.”

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.

Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high-quality, cost-effective products to the professional broadcast, video and post production markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.

June 3, 2022

ZEISS Primes, Awards, and Live Events at

Cine Gear Expo ’22 Booth # 143

Renowned lens giant ZEISS is pulling out the stops at Cine Gear Expo June 9, 10, and 11, 2022 with a host of activities and events dedicated to cinematography.

ZEISS Conversations kick-off Thursday, 3:45-4:45, in Petree Hall with a roundtable regarding how each artist achieves their special "look" and finding the right balance of art and technology. Moderated by ZEISS Cinematography’s Snehal Patel, panelists include Michael Dallatorre, Michelle Clementine and George Mooradian ASC.

Following at 5:30pm in room 515A ZEISS will host the Women in Media WIM +ZEISS Awards Ceremony to celebrate the semi-finalists, finalists, and announce the winners of the prestigious annual honors. Judges include ASC members Johnny Simmons, Tami Reiker, Alan Caso, Sandra Valde-Hansen, and David Harp as well as cinematographers, Laura Merians Gonçalves and Ana M. Amortegui. All Cine Gear Attendees are welcome.

Friday 4:30pm ZEISS Conversations continues in Petree Hall with cinematographer Eszter Csepeli. A founding member of the Hungarian Cinematography Association (HCA), she joins Snehal Patel to discuss her body of work, including the Palme d’Or nominated short, The Execution, as well as her upcoming feature, The Flower of the Apple Tree, lensed on ZEISS Supreme Primes.

Then Saturday at 3:00pm in Room 515A, Robert McLachlan, ASC, CSC stops by to talk about his cinematography on Game of Thrones, Lovecraft Country, Ray Donovan and Westworld and the upcoming series American Gigolo, filmed with Supremes, including the newest edition to the family, the 15mm.

Throughout the show in Cine Gear Booth #143 ZEISS will display their range of cine optics including the new wide 15mm T1.8 lens which completes the 14-lens Supreme Prime set. Attendees can also see the Supreme Prime Radiance family, known for stunning blue flare capability as well as CZ.2 full-frame Cinema Zooms and CP.3 cinematography lenses.

Also in the booth, the optics pioneer will demonstrate the new VFX studio software solution, ZEISS CinCraft Mapper that opens the door to a whole new workflow ecosystem. This groundbreaking digital service quickly and easily provides frame-accurate lens distortion and shading data essential to VFX for the most cinematic digital compositing and matchmoving.

For more information on ZEISS and links to online ZEISS Conversations visit:

www.zeiss.com/cine-democenter

About ZEISS

ZEISS Consumer Products

May 24, 2022

OWC Brings on Farshid Tabrizi to Lead New Atlas Series Media Cards and Card Readers Product Lines

OWC Atlas Pro and Atlas Pro Ultra CFexpress Type-B memory cards are now shipping

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OWC®,a leading customer-focused creator of innovative solutions for over 30 years that have enabled individuals, businesses, creative professionals, and educators to get maximum usefulness from their technology investment, today announces it has tapped industry veteran Farshid Tabrizi to lead the new Atlas series of CFexpress cards, SD cards, and card readers.

Farshid Tabrizi brings the knowledge of over 30 years of experience in the high-tech industry building and leading successful business development, marketing, design, and manufacturing engineering organizations. A proven leader in the photo media storage ecosystem Farshid Tabrizi plans to expand the OWC storage media catalog with even more innovative products for years to come.

"OWC is the leader in workflow solutions that professional photographers and videographers depend on daily, " said Farshid Tabrizi, Sr. VP of Flash Memory & Media Development. I am thrilled to join the OWC team to deliver the highest quality and the most differentiated memory cards and readers to complement the existing products and solutions."

"We are so thrilled to have Farshid Tabrizi on staff with OWC," said Larry O'Connor, OWC Founder & CEO. "With his knowledge of the photography and storage industry, the sky is the limit on what new innovative products we can create for creative professionals. OWC will continue to increase our level of investment into cutting edge media storage and deepening our relationships and engagement within the video and photography industry."

OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress Type B cards are Now Shipping

The OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress Type-B cards are the perfect solution for reliably capturing RAW images and up to 8K footage of fast-moving sports, nature, and other action scenes in demanding locations. Rugged and OWC Beyond Fast™, these cards are ideal for professional photographers, videographers, and content creators. The OWC Atlas Pro CFexpress Type-B cards support up to 8K Capture, 1791 MB/s Peak Speed1, and XQD Compatible2. The OWC Atlas Pro™ CFexpress is available in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities, and the OWC Atlas Pro Ultra™ CFexpress is available in 320GB and 640GB capacities.

OWC Atlas Pro™ and Atlas Pro™ Ultra Highlights

Advanced: Utilizes the latest flash storage technologies to provide leading-edge performance, durability, and reliability
Efficient: Fast write speeds let you offload data to your computer for immediate file access and quicker post-production
Tough: Impact, bend, shock, UV ray, and x-ray resistant
Supportive: Compatible with the latest Canon, Nikon, PhaseOne and Panasonic cameras
Compliant: Fully meets CFexpress Type B 1.0 and 2.0 specifications
Worry-Free: Up to 5 Year OWC Limited Warranty

Pricing & Availability

The OWC Atlas Pro Ultra™ CFexpress is available now in 320GB and 640GB capacities starting at $399.00 on Macsales.com
The OWC Atlas Pro™ CFexpress is available now in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities starting at $349.00 on Macsales.com

Also available The OWC Atlas S Pro™ SD UHS-II V90 SD media card is available now in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities on Macsales.com, starting at $69.00

May 18, 2022

OWC Announces Envoy Pro mini The Ultimate Works with Everything Pocket-Sized USB-C and USB-A SSD

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Take, access, save, and share your data anywhere with any computer, tablet, and more, available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities

OWC®,a leading customer-focused creator of innovative solutions for over 30 years that have enabled individuals, businesses, content professionals, and educators to get maximum usefulness from their technology investment, today introduced the OWC Envoy Pro mini.

The OWC Envoy Pro mini is a pocket-sized SSD with full-sized SSD performance and capacity for audio, photography, graphics, gaming, and general data storage/backup uses. Now, everyday users, students, mobile professionals, IT techs, and content creators can take, access, save, and share their data anywhere. The OWC Envoy Pro mini works with USB and Thunderbolt (USB-C) Macs, PCs, iPads, Chromebooks, Android tablets, and Surface devices made over the last 15 years. Available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities and can access and transfer data with everything at up to 946MB/s real-world speed with Plug and Play ease.

Boot, Backup, Beats, and Blockbusters

Launch your OS and apps on a remote machine. Back up important data, a business presentation, or a classroom project. Capture some sweet drumbeats in a 24-track session or tracks from your DJ deck. Watch a blockbuster movie on a Smart TV 2, whatever your data desire. The Envoy Pro mini lets you do it all:

Store photos, videos, movies, music, and documents
Consolidate files from multiple smaller drives for faster, more convenient access
Migrate data from an existing machine to a new computer
Free up space on a computer's internal drive to improve performance
Schedule Time Machine or File History backups of essential business data and irreplaceable personal photos
Create a secondary/portable OS boot drive
Explore, share, and travel with large Affinity Photo and Adobe Photoshop master files
Record tracks on a multitrack mixer
Utilize large sample libraries within audio projects
Create a portable Steam games library
Expand game storage of console gaming systems

Reads and Writes Mac and Win Files

Using the Envoy Pro mini in a mixed Mac and Windows environment is remarkably easy with the addition of OWC’s MacDrive (sold separately). This seamless software runs in the background, so there is nothing to launch or learn. Just plug in the Envoy Pro mini, and not only do you have instant-read access, but full write access. MacDrive also includes powerful features that enable you to format and partition drives and repair fundamental disk issues.

OWC Envoy Pro mini Highlights

Universally compatible: plug and play with USB or Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports on Macs, PCs, iPads, Chromebooks, Android tablets, and Surface devices
Versatile: perfect for audio, photography, graphics, gaming, and general data storage/backup uses
Protective: Apple Time Machine and Windows File History ready
Game on: ideal for game storage with PlayStation and Xbox consoles
Entertainment center: watch videos, listen to music, and view pictures through your Smart TV
Bootable: Startup and launch apps in just seconds
Slim: keeps adjacent ports available for use
Pocket-sized: thumb drive-sized and bus-powered for easy transport and use anywhere
Wear and share: safety breakaway neck lanyard keeps drive at fingertip reach while a detachable end offers easy drive sharing between devices and other users
Silent: heat-dissipating machined aluminum housing for calm and quiet use
Worry-free: 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty

Pricing & Availability
The OWC Envoy Pro mini is available for pre-order in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities on Macsales.com, starting at $79.00.

May 12, 2022

ZEISS Conversations with Brendan Uegama

We're back virtually for another ZEISS Conversation event with Brendan Uegama! Brendan has an impressive list of interesting projects such as Moonshot, Child's Play, Van Helsing, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Truth Be Told, Riverdale and his upcoming series release, Iron Mike, which explores the career of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Join us as we chat all things cinematography, from inspirations to lens choices on fan-favorite projects. We'll also hear from Brendan about how his ancestry inspired his art, and how that tied into his early career. We look forward to seeing your questions during the Q&A!

Wednesday May 18th at 12pm PST